The weekend (three nights) was a hotel high on a hill in Church Stretton, Shropshire. HF Holidays organised a pick up from the station and when I arrived I was right chuffed with my room. I thought I'd be given a single. Maybe they had all gone. Instead I had a large twin room, ensuite and with the most wonderful view over the hills. I spent many a time with the chair in front of that view, feet up on the window ledge with a mug of tea in my hand. I found it so peaceful just watching the light change, the mist roll in, and one evening we had a beautiful sunset.
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| Early one morning - somewhere are the hills |
Hospitality is high on the agenda on any HF Holiday and afternoon tea was served on arrival between 3 and 5pm. So after unpacking I went downstairs. The lounges (and dining room) have large windows offering the same view as from my bedroom - beautiful. Anyway, as I went to get my tea I came face to face with someone I knew. She and her husband were there for the same course! What were the chances?
Before dinner that evening some hardy ones (me included) took up the offer of a short walk into the town bypassing the pathless road with it's hairpin bends and instead crossed a lovely squelchy field! This was led by the leaders of the walking groups and I met my tutor there too off for a breath of fresh air. It was raining but I did have my walking shoes and a brolly. I thought this might be the only chance for a walk (it wasn't but I'll come back to that).
On returning the art group met formally in the studio to introduce ourselves and say why we had chosen this break. Irene, our tutor ran through what we would be doing over the weekend.
After a gorgeous three course dinner our tutor, Irene Sanderson, gave a talk on the history of Chinese Brush Painting. A few of the walkers came along and were interested to learn about what we would be doing.
At 9.30 the next morning our class began with a five minute meditation. We were offered images to reflect over with feet on the ground and finding our energy in our middle. After that we each adjourned to our own table and chose a brush and paper and our first lesson began. Chinese Brush Painting is a lot harder than it looks. A few simple brush strokes is all that's needed sometimes. Yet getting them right in one sweep is very tricky. We each had a grinding stone and ink stick to make ink and then it was all about control of brush and how much ink was on it. We soon found out how quickly blobs spread and were constantly wiping off excess ink. We spent ages practicing leaves and learning not to use our wrist but only our arm, using the body to direct the brush. Standing to paint was a good option. Irene said to pretend the brush is airplane coming into land. It sweeps across the paper and takes off again. My plane either missed the runway or crash landed!
Soon we all had umpteen sheets of paper (as thin as tracing paper) littering our tables. I had enough to make wallpaper. My leaves looked like crows feet! We tried making petals and then bamboo. Suddenly everyone was happy. Bamboo turned out to be the easiest thing to do, even when it looked like bones. Other things we had a go at was other plants, and animals. I finally got something on paper I quite liked. By that time we had just moved on to adding watercolour and I was quite free and easy with this. I enjoyed the randomness of colour. Later we were given a board (with paper sealed to it) to do a final piece over the weekend.
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| Bamboo |
Mid afternoon on that first day the hours were beginning to drag. I looked outside to see that the rain had finally stopped and my soul was calling me away. We had been told we could break any time we wanted but trust it to be me, the restless one, to escape. I believe others did have a break too later. I was out of there so fast, out across the muddy field and down into the town. I even managed a visit to the church we walked by the previous day. I found a rather nice mound (can't call it a hill) where there as a Celtic cross and view across the town. Bliss. Returning I did a walk around the hotel grounds and down a few pathways before going back to my room to read and relax. That evening there was a talk on the history of HF Holidays which I went to while others from the group went back to painting. Such keenness.
The following day there was more practice, demonstrations and after lunch I decided it was time to do my final piece. I'd found a calendar with lovely colourful birds and animals in a sort of free style that appealed to me. Our tutor had lots of material - books, worksheets, pictures, all for our use. I practiced my chosen picture on a piece of paper first and then agonised over the first brush stroke. This paper was different on the card and didn't absorb the ink quite the same and if you make a mistake there is no way to put it right. You just have to adapt it somehow. Oh the pressure! It didn't go quite the way I hoped and I had to fiddle a bit adding watercolour or toning down colours and ink but in the end it was the best I could do, and actually now I'm quite happy. I then had to write my name in Chinese on it. That was difficult as I couldn't quite get it small enough. I needed a much smaller brush but at least I produced it reasonably well. Then I used a seal. One lady from our group had two and I chose the one I felt was me - it means 'for my own pleasure'.
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| My final piece |
Soon I was clearing up because that evening (our last) was to be a private viewing of our best work which would then be opened up to other guests later before dinner. Everyone was so complimentary about our work. One of our group had really got into the large paintings and had a scroll rolled out over two tables. We were joking about the wallpaper again. She made three.
After dinner Irene gave a demonstration of Chinese Brush Painting to the hotel guests and we had a raffle (money towards the Pathways Fund) and I won. The prize was to pick one of the prints (worth over £35) from the fair hand of our tutor. I couldn't believe I'd won!
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| My prize |
I'm keen to have another go now and will see what I can find in my local library to copy. I have a small Chinese Brush Painting Kit here at home so I have no excuse. Soon I shall be busy grinding my own ink and mixing it with watercolour in the hope I can produce something worthwhile.
A few other photos from the weekend:
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| Private viewing of class work |
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| Open to all guests |
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| St Lawrence's Church |
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| Still snow on the hills |
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| In the hotel grounds |
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| Hotel grounds |
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| Sunset from my window |
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