Dates – Friday 9th – Sunday 11th September
- Friday 9th September –
- 10am start with coffee and refreshments at Market House. Resident artist for the day, Cecilia Stephens to give a demonstration followed by;
- 11am – 4pm, painting locations, The Square, Ferry Street, Shore Road, Castle Street – Cecilia will visit participants throughout the day.
- Saturday 10th September –
- 10am start with coffee and refreshments at Market House. Resident artist for the day, Sara Brown, to give a demonstration followed by;
- 11am – 4pm, painting locations, The Old Quay and Cook Street – Sara will visit participants throughout the day.
- Sunday 11th September –
- 10am start with coffee and refreshments at Market House. Resident artist for the day, Pandora Butterfield, to give a demonstration followed by;
- 11am – 4pm, 11.15am Loughshore and Nugent’s Wood – Pandora will visit participants throughout the day.
- 4pm. All participants invited to gather at the Market House for concluding reception and to view all works created during the three day festival. Refreshments will be provided and spot prizes will be awarded!
Day one – Friday 9th September.
Cecilia Stephens
“I have been painting en Plein air since childhood.
I am drawn to the play of light across the landscape and the resultant passages of contrasting sunshine and shadow.
Gouache on a coloured ground is my preferred approach, which I find makes any unpainted areas less obvious and eye catching.
I like to paint directly without first drawing out my composition, often laying in the bright and dark against one another simultaneously, using more than one brush alternately.
I enjoy the energy that quick mark making brings to a piece and play with colours, using them straight from the tube but then modifying them with overlays. I also like to use exaggeration to emphasize areas that have attracted my attention on first starting a painting.”
Day two – Saturday 10th September.
Sara brown
“Painting en plein air has been an important part of my painting career from early days. In the 1980s I attended James Watson’s summer painting weeks in Portaferry, so on moving here in the 1990s, I was already familiar with some of the favourite painting spots in the area. I quickly joined Portaferry Art society where I found a strong connection with members who also liked to get outside to paint.
I choose materials which bring an immediacy to my work which allow quick changes according to the light conditions. Painting the landscape in soft pastel has been my main passion and in recent years I have introduced charcoal and acrylic inks which have allowed me to explore working in a more expressive style.
I consider myself fortunate to live and work in such a beautiful place, never stuck for inspiration. Capturing the light and essence of “place” interests me greatly. My work is representational and impressionistic – I paint what I see…”
Looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing my approach on day two!
https://www.sarabrownartist.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Sarabrownfineart/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgTx6WvoBfY/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
Day three – Sunday 11th September
PandoraButterfield MA (Fine Art)
“After gaining an MA in Fine Art from Leeds University I studied at The Royal Academy, The Hague, and more recently selected as a Drawing Scholar at The New English Art Club. My paintings have been exhibited in East Anglia, London and Ireland and sold in England and the USA.
My practice is grounded in the discipline of observational drawing from nature, grappling with form, space and light and in making note of shifting seasons, skies and tides. Living by the sea as I do, enables me to stay connected to my changing surroundings, being both aware of and sensitive to them.
Painting outside throws up opportunities to capture the immediacy of what is happening above and around. It challenges, because nature works within its own time and is never still. Working “en plein air” enables me to connect with my senses and recognise nature as a powerful force. I literally draw with the paint, remembering to capture what is infront of me.
For me painting lifts me out of the day-to-day so that it enhances and gives meaning to reality.
I endeavour to find the emotional tie between subject matter and the heart.”
Instagram pandora_butterfield
portaferrypleinair.com 