DURING the recent exhibitions at the Trapezium Art Gallery in Bradford, Michele Russell from the Beck Art Group and myself decided to do some live painting.
The visitors who came in to browse were invited to add their mark to the canvases. It was all a bit of fun and to encourage the public to feel at ease within the gallery.
However, it turned out to be much more than this. It prompted some interesting conversations, provoking questions regarding capabilities, confidence and talent. Marks were dabbed and daubed, sponged and brushed, by people aged four to seventy-four. There were bold statements made, including:
“I’ve never painted before in my life.”
“I`m scared I will mess it up.”
“I stopped doing art because my teacher said I was rubbish”
By the end of the first day of live painting attitudes changed. A young lady came in with her partner and was over the moon when I showed her how easy it was to use a sponge to create a tree.
Two 13-year-old boys asked if they could come in and have a look and if it was free. They were an inspiration to watch as they flitted from one canvas to the other with enthusiasm and excitement. Teenagers sometimes get negative press, but we must learn not to judge.
Thomas is an eight-year-old who impressed us all with his amazing drawings. He loves using markers and pencils to draw Manga art images. He first carefully drew a wonderful character in pencil then used paint, although it wasn’t his chosen medium to work in.
Many of the children who took part didn’t want to leave and many of the adults were inspired to go away and try some sort of drawing or painting.
An activity which was initially a simple fun idea to draw the public in to view the exhibitions turned out to be a real learning curve to everyone.
When someone says ‘I can’t draw’ or ‘I can’t paint’ I say if you can hold a pencil or a paintbrush you can. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece.
After we had taken the exhibition down and transported all my unsold artwork back home, I put one of the big live painting canvases out in the garden and my five-year-old granddaughter had a whale of a time adding some more weird and wonderful brushstrokes. This will now be an ‘expressing board’ where friends and family, children and adults can come and de-stress whilst having a fun time and a friendly chat over a cuppa.
There is no right or wrong in art so have a go and you may discover a talent you didn’t know you had. Or at the very least a hobby you can enjoy that will help you relax.
Many thanks to the all the visitors and a huge thank you to the Trapezium Gallery volunteers for all their hard work.
Please check out their website for more exciting exhibitions and events: trapeziumarts.com
* Lynne Dobson, a Bradford artist, runs a regular children’s art page in the Telegraph & Argus. Send your children’s artwork to Lynne at purplegrandma48@gmail.com
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