| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: | |
| When: | On Thursday mornings 10:00 am-12:00 pm Monthly on 2nd & 4th Thursday |
| Venue: | Guides HQ |
| Cost: | Approximately £14 per term |
The Art Group meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month [except for August] from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon at the Guide HQ on Southern Road, Thame).
New members of all levels of ability welcome. Come along for a session to meet us and have a go.
2026 Autumn Meetings
U3A ART GROUP PROGRAMME: AUTUMN 2026
Hi everyone
Hope you have had a great summer….and are raring to go!
I feel I have done so little with all this heat. Not felt like being arty
at all!
SEPT 10th: WORKING WITH SOLUBLE INK AND PEN
I love this stuff esp sepia. While you can soften edges with permanent ink while is still wet, you have to be quick and it never works quite as well. Most pens are permanent but some like Stabilo Point 88 are semi soluble and using a damp brush you can tease out some of the colour to provide shape and shadows…
great for sketching. For the best effect you can use drawing or fountain pen ink and a nib pen or a fountain pen. Some gel pens also work. I find the overall effect is softer than permanent ink and watercolour. You can also put your watercolour down first and then add soluble ink when the paint is FULLY dry. If it isn't or you try to put the soluble Ink first you end up with that old favourite….MUD!!
SEPT 24th and OCT 8th: SEASCAPES
I'm away for the second session …in St Ives
so I should be able to have a go there, even
if the long promised rain drowns me!
As a longer session you can do all kinds of
things…a coastal cliff scene, a study of just
waves, seascapes with or without boats. As
usual use whichever medium you are
happiest with….or try something new.
OCT 22nd: HALLOWEEN OR GUY FAWKES
There is probably more choice with the former eg witches or pumpkins but night time scenes with fireworks on a black background always look good. I'm sure that you can all be more inventive than me!
NOVEMBER 12th and 26th: AUTUMN FRUITS AND FLOWERS
Autumn may come a bit early this year as it has been so dry
but you can either take some photos or resort to the internet.
We have not had flowers on the menu for some time….and I
have another planned for the Summer.
DECEMBER 10th: RENNIE MACINTOSH
I have always loved the work of this Scottish. Art Nouveau artist and his wife. There is loads of stuff online. The designs are often quite simple as they were for applied art eg fabrics, glass and furniture…but the lines are beautiful.
2026 Summer Meetings
U3A ART GROUP: SUMMER TERM 2026
This is a long term but please note that I will be away on May 28th and June 25th which is why I have sessions then that do not need me to bring stuff along.
APRIL 9th: DOODLES
A return for this topic which proved very popular last time. I have discovered a new source for ideas….Creative Paula, though if you look on YouTube you need to pick and choose a bit. Creationsceecee has started posting stuff again but her style has changed a bit and the best bits are from two or three years ago.
APRIL 23rd: PASTEL TYPES
Some of you are fairly new to using pastel but have asked for a session to try them out. Please bring along anything you have so we have as big a range as possible. I will bring along soft pastels of various types as some are much firmer than others. If you don’t like the chalky feeling on your hands you can either wear thin rubber gloves or try pastel pencils. I will put together a sheet of basic techniques that you can try out.
MAY 14th and 28th: SPORT AND MOVEMENT
We did something similar with Dance a couple of years back.The aim is to work out how to give the impression of movement eg people's stance, blurred edges in places. You can use any sport as your reference F1 racing, cricket, tennis involving speed or test your anatomy knowledge with gymnastics.
JUNE 11th: THE IMPRESSIONISTS
The idea here is not to a copy a whole masterpiece but to isolate a section and look at the colours and techniques used by a particular artist. Choose a favourite artist or maybe one you are not so familiar with….or even one that does not initially appeal and try to see why others might admire it.
JUNE 25th and JULY 9th : FREE SESSIONS
This is a chance to finish off previous work or to try out a topic or technique of your own. I shall be off exploring the Hebrides on the 25th…and may be this time can actually do some sketching while away.
JULY 23rd: USING CLINGFILM
This is a wonderful watercolour texture technique. We can try out different ways of doing this or you can prepare some sheets in advance and then use them to create a simple scene with rocks or water.
2026 Spring Meetings
U3A ART GROUP: SPRING TERM 2026
Due to an early Easter we only have six sessions this term but the Summer Term will have eight.
JAN 8th: PENCIL GRADES AND TYPES
Back to basics for the New Year! Too often we just reach for a standard HB or possibly a 2B in my case …but there is a massive choice out there, mostly little used or understood. I will bring along a whole range of graphite pencils for you to try out and experiment with…plus a sheet on different possible uses. I will also bring a range of other pencil types…pastel, Conte, Intense, water soluble and charcoal for you to play around with.
JAN 22nd and FEB 12th: PORTRAITS
I have always hesitated to suggest this one as I love drawing faces but this request came from another group member. Please bring your own reference material but make sure it has good side lighting to show up facial features. It is tempting to try a family portrait but if you are new to this you may find it easier to use an internet picture as there is less pressure to achieve an exact likeness and you can concentrate on getting the proportions right. I will try to find a useful list of things people often get wrong given to me by Peter Keegan when I went on one of his courses.
You can use any medium but pencil, charcoal or pastel give better control than watercolour.
FEB 26th: ANCIENT GREEK VASES
This idea came from a recent visit to the British Museum. You will only need white, black and terracotta red and may find it easier to use tinted paper so the white shows up. There are loads of examples on the internet but I will print off a few for reference as well. Most designs feature gods, goddesses and heroes and some are very complex so you may prefer to zoom in on just a small section.
MARCH 12th and 26th: CINEMA
This could be a scene from a favourite film…just Google the name of the film and it should come up with some stills. Alternatively you could find a film poster that you like….and I'm sure there are many other more imaginative takes on this idea.
2025 Summer Meetings
24th April: HANDS AND FEET
Everyone's nightmare! It's definitely one of mine…and obviously for many of you too as this was a requested topic.
How do your stop fingers looking like sausages? Choose your own medium and experiment with different close up esp hands doing something eg holding a tool. Be bold a try a few from odd angles …esp if foreshortened when viewed from the front.
I have a book for reference but explore the internet for interesting pictures.
8th and 22nd May: SHAPES IN NATURE
This was a COVID topic but it's such a lovely subject to explore it's well worth doing together. You can be realistic eg looking at the patterns on pineapples, pine cones or spider webs….or you can zoom right in and become more abstract.
I have several macro photos for starters but look forward to seeing what everyone else can find.
12th June: SKIES
Hopefully they will be lovely and clear and sunny by June…but can be a bit dull in a painting.
I will make a sheet of techniques for different weather conditions and cloud formations…but look around and collect some interesting photos.
Sunsets are great but probably best to save these for another session.
26th June & 10th July: ITALY
One of the loveliest countries in the world…magnificent scenery, beautiful coasts and villages, historic buildings.
So much to choose from!
24th July: FASHION ART
Another request topic.
It is an art form in its own right emphasising the lines of the clothes….and impossibly skinny people!
You could Google different fashion houses or try Pinterest for ideas.
2025 Spring Meetings
| 9th January | BEYOND THE PHOTO | Take a photo and try to imagine what might be out of the frame. An easy option would be a garden where you could add more flowers andtrees but you could also try landscapes. If feeling more ambitious you could try a person/ animal or a group of people …eg what are they looking at? It's a bit quirky and you may prefer to stick with what you know but I did say that this is the time of the year to ‘expand your horizons'! |
| 23rd January and 13th February | MUSIC | You could choose a musical instrument in closeup or a performer. You could choose and piece of music and draw/ paint what the sounds suggest to you. This could be realistic or more abstract with just lines and colours like Vassily Kandinsky. |
| 27th February | PEBBLES, STONE AND BRICK | You could try out some of the texture experiments we did last year to give life to real objects and scenes. I will bring along the materials we used last year esp for those who missed it it then and I will also email you a textures sheet as a reminder. |
| 13th and 27th March | WILD FLOWERS | Back on more familiar ground for these sessions. Spring is the best time for wild flowers but you will probably need to work from photos as they should not really be picked and will usually quickly. |
| 10th April | A SIMPLE NEGATIVE PAINTING | This involves starting with a simple template and then building up in layers. Trees and leaves are favourites but you can also fish or shells etc. Use YouTube for some video demos … I will make a list of suggestions and prepare a How To sheet. You can use what ever medium you like … although watercolour is the best for negative painting. I hope you like these ideas and have a go at the more unusual ones you only learn by trying things out (and making mistakes!) |
2024 Meetings
| 11th January: | WATERCOLOUR TEXTURES |
| 25th January and 8th February: | PETS |
| 22nd February: | MEDIEVAL |
| 14th March and 28th March: | THE USA |
| 25th April: | PENCIL DRAWING |
| 9th and 23rd May: | BOATS AND HARBOURS |
| 13th June: | DOODLES |
| 27th June and 11th July: | OLD ENGLAND |
| 25th July: | A ROW OF SIMILAR OBJECTS |
| 12th September: | SUMMER CHALLENGE |
| 26th September and 10th October: | AUTUMN |
| 24th October: | TREES |
| 14th and 28th November: | MACHINERY |
| 12th December: | NATIVE AMERICAN OR HAIDA ART |
2023 Meetings:
| 12th January: | LOOSENING UP |
| 26th January | SPANISH PAINTERS |
| 9th February: | GLASS WORKSHOP |
| 23rd February: | STAINED GLASS |
| 9th and 23rd March | AFRICA |
| 24th April: | COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS |
| 11th and 25th May | GARDENS |
| 8th June: | FRENCH ARTISTS |
| 22nd June and 13th July: | FAMOUS BUILDINGS SEEN DIFFERENTLY - Meeting in the Barns Centre |
| 27th July: | SELFIES OR PAIRS - Meeting in the Barns Centre |
| 14th September: | COLLAGE |
| 28th September and 12 October: | INDIA |
| 26th October: | 17th CENTURY DUTCH |
| 9th and 23rd November: | AUTUMN |
| 14th December: | A COLLECTION OF SIMILAR OBJECTS |