You CAN draw and paint

with Angela Birchall

Incorporating

Art by Angela Birchall

and

Picture Perfect blog

Tel:
077 242 00 779
Email:
youcandrawandpaint@gmail.com

Inspired by terrific trio of artists

I’m both an artist and an art educator so I get the best of both worlds!

I get to draw and paint a myriad of subjects in any media that either my patrons or I desire. Having enjoyed creating those works of art I know that when they are sold they will give years of pleasure to their new owners. Then I also get to see my students blossom and progress as they learn how to create their own unique works of art.

Two of the three artists who have inspired me the most are Leonardo and Monet and I loved the years I lived within a few hours’ drive of both their last homes now opened in homage to their incredible works of art. As diverse as these artists are they both set out to capture the effects of light and shade in their artwork. Leonardo was a maestro of chiaroscuro and Monet thought that capturing light was more important than the subject of his paintings. The play of light and shade and how it creates a 3D quality to the images on a 2D surface as well as the changing colours at different times of day is something by which I, too, am fascinated.

My third inspirational artist was Peter Birch. He was the incredible artist and teacher behind the private art school where I studied as a teenager. He gave me the confidence that I could draw or paint anything and as a result I have never got pigeon-holed into using one medium or focusing on one subject area.

I’m just as happy painting landscapes in acrylics, or still life in watercolours, drawing pet portraits in pastel, or ballerinas in pencil . . . not forgetting people and portraits, cityscapes, seascapes, birds and wildlife. In other words, I draw and paint anything that inspires me or my patrons in whichever medium I think will depict it the best!

Thanks to that inspirational artist and teacher, I’m still drawing and painting, and still loving it 48 years later. I’m also still using his teaching methods to help my students to realise that they, too, really CAN draw and paint.

Discovering why those methods worked became my first degree dissertation topic and then a life-long interest.

In a nutshell, it is switching you from the logical, time-centred, stereotypical thinking processes of the left hemisphere of the brain across to the creative, individual, timelessness of the right hemisphere’s thinking processes. In this mode, time can fly or stand still, it is as relaxing as it is stimulating, and you become so much more aware of the colours, shapes and patterns of the world around you.

I love operating in right hemisphere mode, and I love seeing students switch from left to right – you can actually see it in the marks they are making in their art work. It is fascinating!!

I teach face-to-face painting classes and have a tutored class for more experienced artists in West Lancashire in north west England. You can also book private, one-to-one or small group, tutorial sessions with me, or I can design bespoke corporate events using art to de-stress your workforce.

So, welcome to my world! Have a look around and discover how art can change your life in so many wonderful ways

Art can change your life

Unique gifts for
special people
Learn to draw    and paint
Relax and de-stress
Inspirational surroundings

What do you put in a painting, where, and why?

Composition is key to the success of your painting. It helps you to invite the viewer into the scene and to look around the whole picture plane.

In my latest blog post I want to start introducing you to basic composition and how you can use it.

I find it fascinating to look into how artists over the centuries have used the rules of composition that have been prevalent in their particular age and time. In the days of the old masters, composition was a highly structured mathematical formula of the Golden Ratio or Golden Rectangle – and of course every fan of the Da Vinci Code knows about the Fibonacci Sequence!

In future blogs I’ll show you how so many of the Dutch masters used the low-lying distant horizon to such dramatic effect in creating incredible skyscapes. Turner used the same format for works like “The Fighting Temeraire”. Or how two of the French Impressionists that I love, Monet and Pissarro, played with roads and paths to invite the viewer in, or keep them standing at the front with no entry point, to take the viewer on a slow meander or race them headlong into the scene. There’s even the classic paintings where Monet uses light and shade to break the rules and slow down what should be one of those headlong dashes.

All that and lots more are for another day. Today I want to start introducing you to basic composition and how you can use it. Just click the link below to go to the blog post

Freddie's grin is immortalised

Freddie's half birthday . . . he's 6 months old . . . was an ideal time to unveil his first portrait.

The photo that it's based on (left) was taken a few months ago and he's now longer, taller, and more filled out than the cute little scrap of a pup that he was in that photo. One thing that hasn't changed is the delightful little grin that he wears permanently and which allows him to get away with murder!

I could have done a portrait from a more up to date photo (and I'm sure I will do!) but I wanted one to match Ezra's first portrait (below) and now the two of them are hanging next to each other in my studio/office.

If you have a pet that you would love being immortalised in a pastel pet portrait, please get in touch for details of how to commission a picture.

It doesn't matter what pet you have - I have done dogs, cats, horses and even pigs!

See the gallery of pet and people portraits on my website for lots more examples.

Soft pastel portrait of Ezra, an adorable three-month-old Westie puppy
Soft pastel portrait of Ezra, an adorable three-month-old Westie puppy

Art can help busy, stressed workforces come together to look for new ways to solve problems as well as find relaxation and build teamwork!

Ask any artist and they will tell you that art is one of the finest stress-busters because when we draw or paint we can switch off the stresses of everyday life and switch over to a relaxing, rejuvenating, creative reverie. 'The Art of Stress-busting' takes that switch over into a workplace setting designing bespoke corporate events to inspire creativity, problem-solving and teamwork.

Fun exercises enable participants to leave behind the stresses of thinking and working in the left hemisphere of the brain and access the creative, blue-sky, big-picture thinking processes of the right hemisphere.

Working in this changed perspective offers new and creative ways to look for solutions to problems, patterns or issues in working situations.

Contact me via the message block below to find out more about how 'The Art of Stress-busting' could help your workforce.

Discover how art CAN relieve stress in the workplace