Ellon & District Art Group

We are all now reluctantly becoming used to uncertainty in our lives; a salutary lesson perhaps for many of us! So, the best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ EDAG gang a-gley, yet again; we will not be returning to our Thursday meetings on the 13th. We are hopeful for the 20th – but, who knows!

We have all been saddened to learn of the devastation wreaked at Haddo Country Park by the weekend’s storm; a huge number of trees blown down and so much damage done that will take a long while to repair. Inevitably this means we are not able to hold our exhibition on Sunday. Everyone had been inspired by the prospect and it would have been lovely to show our efforts to a wider audience. We are planning to hold the exhibition in the spring, and in the meantime, we will keep meeting on Thursday mornings to exchange ideas and inspire each other

Weekly meetings resumed some while ago and those members who have been able to return have enjoyed the inspiration and feedback which has been missing this last while. Some of us have not been happy to return while there is still a requirement to wear a mask during the sessions, and we look forward to welcoming those people back as soon as possible.

One of the highlights of our year has always been the annual exhibition, and it is two years now since our last one. We decided to put on a small event, exhibiting paintings and also to show a few of the projects that kept us going during Lockdowns:-

ELLON and DISTRICT ART GROUP EXHIBITION

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5th 10.30am – 3.00pm

THE PHEASANTRY, HADDO HOUSE

Finally, we are able to announce that Ellon and District Art Group is able to meet again in person. Hooray! Our first meeting will be on Thursday September 9th, in the Kirk Centre from 10.30 – 1.30.

We need to put in the usual Covid safety precautions, and this will all be explained at the first session. Please bring your own refreshments as we are unable to share that facility at the moment.

We hope to welcome back all our existing members, and, in addition, look forward to seeing some new faces, with new ideas and inspiration to share.

The weather was kind to us last week for our summer get together. Ten or so of us were able to make it along to Ellon Castle Gardens for a morning of socialising and a little sketching. We all thoroughly enjoyed meeting up and are anticipating that it won’t be long before we can re start the indoor sessions at the Kirk Centre.

After a few weeks of meeting up by the river in Ellon, the group is taking it’s summer break. We are planning an outing to Ellon Castle Gardens in August; hopefully the weather will oblige and we will enjoy a social gathering, with the opportunity to do some painting and sketching in these very pleasant surroundings in the centre of Ellon. By then, with a bit of luck, we be able to announce dates for returning to our weekly sessions in the Kirk Centre

Relaxation of Covid restrictions and a spot of decent weather has allowed us to return to our outdoor gatherings down by the river in Ellon. We are planning to continue these throughout June, and then take a break in July, though we hope to have a summer outing [date and venue yet to be arranged]. We are all looking forward to being able to return to our art sessions inside, but at the moment we have no date for when this might be. Although many of us have continued painting and sketching throughout the pandemic, we have all missed the camaraderie, mutual support and social aspect of the group, so here’s hoping it won’t be too long.

In our recent on line meetings we have looked at various styles and types of painting, illustrating our thoughts with examples from both renowned artists and our own efforts. We discussed the use of light and dark to emphasise and create drama and there are many examples of this in classical art, but we also had some interesting home made examples in Barrie’s Buddy Holly picture and Sheila’s of Billy Connolly. In another session, with Hilary’s guidance, we created a still life arrangement which some of us intend to paint. Finally we have looked at how the impression of movement can be created. We showed some beautiful examples, again from established artists and our own attempts. These sessions have allowed us to explore fascinating topics and learn a lot and we are considering continuing in some way when we move back to ”in the flesh” art meetings