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| Ruth Harris.."Cosmic Poppies"... SAA Amateur Artist of the Year 2012 |
Ruth has recently
been awarded the
with her stunning painting, titled “Cosmic
Poppies”. This was the first time that Ruth had entered
anything let alone win, so you can only imagine her joy. It made it even more of a special occasion to be able to attend the show, as fortunately it was within traveling distance for her this year.
As they had
moved the show this year, and one was to be held in Bristol, this gave me the chance
to combine catching up with some dear friends along with attending a fun packed day doing what we both love
best.
The only disappointing thing, especially for
Ruth as a winner, as well as for both of us as we love to view the work of other artists, was that this year
there would be no exhibition, it would have been so encouraging to Ruth to see her work hanging there along with the other winners. We all often doubt ourselves as artists
along the way and something like this gives an artist so much reassurance and encouragement, as well as the inspiration to head further along that road. There were other much admired artist friends who also received awards, so it would have made the day even more special to have been able to view their work in real life.
Although
initially, when I first walked in, I was a bit disappointed at the size of the
show, especially having been to the London one in the past. I soon realised it
was as full of the same excitement and inspiration as the London venue. From demo's, to
mini workshops, to lots of tempting goodies to spend your pennies on, and lets
face it, we artists don't need much encouragement to do that now, do we.
As there was
only a certain amount of time to fit everything in, we chose carefully. We went for opting out of the comfort zone of watercolours which is the preferred medium for both Ruth and I, instead for
the chance to try a different media, which after all is the aim of it.
This was from one of the workshops on offer. A
quick try at pastels following along with tutor and demonstrator Vic
Bearcroft.... I have tried pastels a few times but never really persevered with
it. Being asked often to do pet portraits along with having a love of
both pets and wildlife, I thought this would be a good choice, and Ruth relished the challenge as well.
I found pastels work well for this subject, it creates a certain softness for animals especially when done on velour. It really is amazing how much these professional artists pack into these workshops, and I have much admiration for the amount they teach you in such a small time. Thank you Vic for a very enriching if not quick workshop, I really learned so much from it.
The SAA show
really does have a lot to offer other than the obvious of being a great day out with friends. It gives
you a chance to try something different, along with being able to get some sound advice from both the professional artist on technique along with expert knowledge on buying whats needed afterwards from the shop. We also had the chance to try other items , then purchase them if desired . Thank you SAA, I will certainly do my best to get there again next year.
Please go take a look at the SAA website and the work of all the others winners. You won't be disappointing at the wonderful variety of art on display.
