Notice Board

2023 NEWS & NOTICES

TWASI CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION 2023.
An annual competition for all TWASI members:

1st prize winner Silvana Sumner with “Winter Food Shop”

The artwork was inspired by a photograph by Emmanuelle Keller used with permission. The challenge for me was to capture a sense of drama, as I imagined the fox prowling discretely, led by his raised paw, in the daily hunt for food.

I painted it on velour with Pastel. I chose velour because I felt it was a surface sympathetic to the soft gentle qualities I could see in the fox, although clearly it was also an intrepid hunter.

I very much enjoyed creating the sharp contrast between the red coat of the fox against the severe landscape, by adding the effect of snow in pastel.

2nd Place – Silvana Sumner with “Snow-Speckled Stag”

A friend of mine visited the Isle of Mull in November a few years ago, and came back with some amazing images that she gave me permission to use.

I was totally inspired by the landscape colours in the photographs, which reflected the Stag’s coat & camouflaged it into the background, so couldn’t wait to try a painting.

The original painting is in acrylic, and very autumnal, but I really wanted to find out if the painting would work in a winter landscape, so I went over it in pastel.

I was really pleased to see the glow of the original colours still showing through, but with a wintery feel in snow.

3rd Place – Karen Coulson with “Puffins under the Mistletoe”

Derwent Watercolour pencils & Coloursoft pencils on white mountboard.

This was just a bit of Christmas fun!

I was delivering a 2 Puffin picture Workshop at Nature in Art, and offered this picture as an alternative to the “sensible” advertised picture. Masking fluid was applied for the falling snow in the sky. A blue watercolour pencil was used for the sky colour. Coloursoft pencils were used to complete the puffins and snowy ground – so it offered quite a few techniques within the picture.

TWASI 2023 AGM AND MEMBERS WEEKEND AT NATURE IN ART

2023 AGM and Members Weekend at Nature in Art – 7 th & 8 th October.

We had a brilliant weekend at Nature in Art at the beginning of October for our AGM and
Members Weekend. The weather was fabulous and everyone enjoyed themselves as they
always do.

Some new faces joined us for the weekend having joined TWASI this year and a few old
ones missing but as usual it was a great mix of artists.

Two interesting workshops on the Saturday, mosaic with Erica Bibbing which I took part in
and I had a most restful and creative day after all the organising of the event.
( Do take a look at her Website her work is just wonderful www.ericabibbingsmosaic.com ).

Ian Coleman (a past TWASI member for many years) took a workshop using pencil and oil
on a gesso’d board. He decided to put everyone on an equal footing and asked them to
draw and paint dinosaurs using this very interesting technique. Ian always has something
new and interesting to say and impart when teaching.
www.colemangallery.com

On the Sunday we spent the day with pastel artist Stella Mays who delighted us all with
her openness and technical virtuosi. Her pastel work is just amazing and vibrant, which
she is now exploring through the medium of oils. The critique was great too and she generous with her praise as well as useful tips for the members who brought in artwork. The standard of artwork displayed which I must say was very high and varied.

John Horton bravely put another snow leopard in oils on the wall, the background of the
piece is really quite stunning and the snow leopard itself coming along very well, Stella
was very complimentary. Stella had been let in on the joke from last year so knew that he
might be in for a ribbing from those present again. The lesson here being don’t bring your
partner to a critique as they are usually, after yourself, your worst critic.

John takes it all in his stride as always with great humour and Barbara’s comments the
previous year were quite right of course. Those who came last year but not this will
remember the afternoon well and be really pleased to know John sold the leopard after
taking all the advice on board.

I don’t think Eric Wilson has ever recovered!

Thank you as usual to Simon, Chris and the team at Nature in Art for letting us loose in the
education block and museum. They give us the space free every year and we are so
grateful to them. I am pleased to report that as a self funding weekend we covered all
costs. Jackie and I gave a huge sigh of relief here.

Thank you to all those members especially Kate Smith for supporting it and enjoying yourselves.

Valerie Briggs

The Hilliard Society of Miniaturists

Once again the Hilliard Society would like to invite first time entrants to submit work for a

FREE
pre-selection appraisal.

The usual submission fees will apply if you are invited to send work to the Society for the final
stage of selection.
Open call for first time entrants to submit work to our 2024 annual exhibition

Just some things to note before you apply.
To be considered a piece of miniature fine art, there are rules which apply in terms of size and quality,
including the frame. Guidelines and entry details can be found on our website.

Submission photographs should be clear and detailed – consider removing the glass in order to achieve a photograph without reflections.

You must photograph your work plus the frame and place a ruler alongside to allow the judges a clear
view of the size.

This lovely painting by Tracy Hall gives you an example of the perfect photograph.

Detailed information can be found on our website https://www.hilliardsociety.org/
newexhibitors.html

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact the Society www.hilliardsociety.org
email: info@hilliardsociety.org

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all the other entries this year.

“Summer Competition Results –

1st Place – France Bauduin – “Play with Me” – Colour Pencil

I first saw this playful leopard cub at Le Parc des Félins in France last February
although the reference photo is from my friend Éric Simon who visits the park daily and
has more opportunities to capture great moments like this one. The original photo also
showed her two sisters on the other side of the stump, but it is her pose with her big
paws on the stump that caught my eye and made me want to draw her with my colour
pencils on sand Pastelmat board. I thought the stump being in the same colour scheme
would also compliment her coat very well.

The way she is looking directly at you seems like an invitation to play with her. In
fact, at the time of my visit, these young cubs were fascinated by one to two years old
children passing by and would come close to the gate to talk to them, eliciting delightful
laughs from the children. There and then, the invitation was clear: “Play with me”.

This being a young cub, I used Pan Pastels to create soft pastel colours in the
background, picturing that it would go very well in the bedroom of a child she had talked
to.
France Bauduin

2nd Place – Alison Perkins – “Proud Mum” – Colour Pencil & Pen

I am lucky to live a few miles from Whipsnade Zoo.
One of the highlights of any visit is seeing the new baby animals, in particular the giraffes
and elephants.

“Proud Mum” was inspired by the birth of a reticulated giraffe, and it was celebrated at
Whipsnade as it was a vital addition to the international conservation and breeding
programme.

My picture was created from two photographs, and I chose coloured pencil as the main
medium, adding pen for the finer details
Alison Perkins

3rd Place – Joy Roberts – “New Day, New Life” – Photograph

New Day, New Life was inspired by my first sighting of a newly born Gannet chick on Bass
Rock.

I enjoy spending time at The Farne Islands, the Isle of May, Bempton Cliffs and Bass
Rock, and the loss of birds due to Avian Flu is very sad.
It is always a challenge trying to capture their daily lives in flight, diving for fish, or returning
with a catch.

Landing trips to Bass Rock are accompanied by an experienced and knowledgeable
guide, to ensure we comply with all instructions for our safety and that of the birds.

I was surprised when our guide Maggie pointed to a Gannet sitting on a nest not too far
away from me, and said that a chick had been born that day. It was not obvious for some
time, but after a patient wait, the adult moved to reveal a tiny chick with no feathers. The
interaction between the adult and chick was very brief, but I gained an insight into the
caring nature of these birds, and appreciated the value of learning field craft skills.
Joy Roberts