You CAN draw and paint

with Angela Birchall

Incorporating

Art by Angela Birchall

and

The Art of Stress-busting

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
Commission or buy works of art
Find out about art classes

Discover how art CAN relieve stress in the workplace

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.

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.

Celebrating my lifelong love of drawing as "Artist of the Month"

I’m delighted to be showcasing a selection of my work at the ArtHouse Gallery as Southport Contemporary Arts’ “Artist of the Month” for July.

The trio I have chosen represent my life-long love of drawing and my favourite drawing media of pencil, soft pastel and tinted charcoal pencils.

I was extremely fortunate that as a teenage art student I was taught drawing by a Royal Academy-trained artist who inspired that life-long love which I have also passed on to my students.

I know how drawing teaches me to truly “see” and record any subject in any drawing media; it is the finest way to switch into working in the creative right hemisphere of the brain; and the precision it demands makes it the foundation of all my 2D work.

I have gone into more details about each of the three on show and my love of drawing generally in my latest blog (you can find the link at the end of this article) but, briefly, the trio on show are:

“Resting,” a soft pastel drawing where the drama is created by the subject – a graveyard – and a soft, muted colour palette depicting the last rays of the sun flickering through the trees and hitting the edges of the gravestones and tombs. It’s an amalgamation of images from Highgate Cemetery and when I saw the light playing on the folds of the figure’s garment, I couldn’t resist portraying it.

My pencil drawing is “Strength and Grace” showing the ballerina performing on stage to her appreciative audience. You view the event from the wings so you feel much more involved. The play of dark shadows next to the dancer’s pure white costume uses the technique of "chiaroscuro" (light-dark) to add a sense of drama.

Much of my soft pastel work has been drawing commissioned pet portraits so for the third picture I focused on just one aspect of a pet – the eye – but drew it in tinted charcoal pencils. To create this larger-than-life-size image of a cat’s eye necessitates really focusing in on the details that one doesn’t normally notice; it is a classic example of what I love about the demands of drawing.

That truly inspirational artist and art teacher who taught me to draw and paint nearly half a century ago at the art school he founded instilled in me a love of creating art and taught me a myriad of techniques for being able to turn those ideas into finished artworks. For that I am truly grateful, as are so many art students to whom I have passed on his knowledge.

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I was taught to draw properly and it also lead me to use the theme of how to teach drawing as the topic for my teaching dissertation. That, in turn, lead me to studying how this could help anyone switch onto working in the thought processes of the creative right hemisphere of the brain. That, too, has become a topic of lifelong fascination for me.

Small wonder then the importance in which I hold drawing as a crucial tool for all my artwork, and the reason I chose to focus on it for my current display of work as the SCA’s Artist of the Month for July 2024.

The display is on show throughout July and, being in the side window of the ArtHouse Gallery, it means it’s on display 24/7 as it can even be seen when the gallery on Eastbank Street in Southport is closed. All works are for sale.

For full details on each drawings, and my love of drawing, click the link to read my latest Picture Perfect blog.

Picture Perfect blog on becoming Artist of the Month

With your vote I can become "Lancashire Artist of the Year 2024"

I’m overjoyed to announce that my painting “Springtime in Wrea Green” has been shortlisted in “Lancashire Artist of the Year 2024” competition!

Now I need your help – and your vote! – to get into the final winning selection.

Lancashire County Council asked artists to submit works depicting scenes in Lancashire in one of the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. A judging panel then picked their favourite 8 from each season and I’m delighted that “Springtime in Wrea Green” was in that group.

The 32 shortlisted artworks go forward to the public vote which opens from today (July 15) to Monday August 5. That’s where I need your help to vote “Springtime in Wrea Green” into the calendar.

The 32 shortlisted artworks go forward to the public vote which opens from today (July 15) to Monday August 5. That’s where I need your help to vote “Springtime in Wrea Green” into the calendar.

When the public votes are counted up, the three gaining the

most votes for each of the four seasons will become the 12 images to be featured on the council’s Lancashire Artist of the Year 2025 calendar. The image with the most votes will become the cover of the calendar and its artist will get the title Lancashire Artist of the Year.

I loved creating this image of Wrea Green because it’s a picturesque village all year round but when I’ve seen it in springtime its iconic duck pond on its equally iconic village green is ringed with a golden necklace of bobbing daffodils. Thus, when I thought about the ideal image of Lancashire in spring, it just had to be “Springtime in Wrea Green”.

With your votes, we can get “Springtime in Wrea Green” featured in all the thousands of Lancashire County Council calendars for 2025 on sale in libraries, museums and archives. Proceeds from the sale of the calendars will go towards activities to support Lancashire Care Leavers.

To cast your vote visit https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/artist-of-the-year/ You will be asked to confirm your vote in the email they send you and until you have confirmed it, the vote will not be registered.

Get in touch

Use the message box to drop me a line if you want to:

  • purchase my paintings or drawings;

  • discuss commissioning me to create a unique work of art especially for you;

  • have a question to be answered in a future Picture Perfect blog post;

  • join one of my face-to-face painting or drawing classes in West Lancashire or have private coaching online;

  • discuss a bespoke staff development event using art to encourage teamwork and leadership

Contacts

0044 77242 00779
youcandrawandpaint@gmail.com