Virtual Art Exhibition

Work from students from Mania Row's classes at Kentwood and Poverest - taught thematically each term.

Theme: Renoir and Impressionism - at Kentwood and Poverest centres 

We examined in detail how Auguste Renoir the French impressionist uses composition and colour and brush work and we were inspired to make paintings in his style and colour including our paintings of members of our own family and delicate landscapes. 

Theme: Neighbourhoods – these lessons were on Zoom both for Poverest & Kentwood 

We looked at several modern European & American & British artists such as Hopper, Lowry, Duffy, Schiele, Vlaminck, Freud etc. to decide on our compositions with rule of thirds & vanishing points, perspectives and colour schemes. We began with a collage based on African American Romare Bearden’s work.  We took photos of our own neighbourhoods and made collages & paintings based on our own chosen artist’s styles or composition or colours.

This painting encapsulates much of our lives in Keston since our arrival on Biggin Hill air Fair weekend 1985:

1. Keston church- all 3 children were christened here and attended Sunday school, Anne confirmed and my mother’s funeral service here too. The children went to Keston primary school and as a church school many concerts and events took place here too. I remember the new church hall being built.
2. The windmill - subject of one of my first watercolour exercises with Mania - painted red in the style of the German expressionist Macke.
3. The pond behind our house with the boardwalk.
4. The pond backs onto Forest Lodge - a Victorian building with a Tudor front and fabulous chimneys.
5. Keston woods.
6. South Lodge - next door - another of the Victorian lodges with the wonderful Oak tree that I can see when I lie in bed!
7. Ravensbourne park - where we have lived 36 years. And details of our house.
8. The basketball ring - well used by many children and now so rusted we can’t budge it.
9. The sundial - my dad’s - a 25th wedding anniversary gift that moved here with us.
10. The garden mirror a 70th birthday gift last year.
11. The cherry tree- subject of Hockney spring paintings last year in lockdown.
12. Nala our adopted dog; she belongs to our son.
13. The trees we planted.

Art Appreciation at Kentwood and Poverest

Life as we see it - from 1880’s Modern Art to Post modern and Contemporary art. 

Theme: Maps

Inspired by the conceptual American artist Juan Downey’s map of South America learners responded with a map of anywhere in the world that they had been to and their take on how that country feels to them visually.

Theme: I PAD Drawing

The forthcoming RA exhibition of David Hockney’s Normandy inspired me to show my learners how to draw on an IPAD using a simple app called Sketch Book.  DH uses custom made Brushes app.

Theme: Ed Rusha

The artist’s room at Tate Modern is showing the conceptual artist Ed Rusha’s art work so we took one of his words OOF and learners responded to the following suggestions:

Read the word aloud. How do the colours and lettering relate to the word/sound “oof?”

• Try imagining the letters written in a different color, position, or size– would it sound different?
• Think of a word or sound that you find intriguing and say it aloud.
• Select a font type and size that would best illustrate your word (for example: if it’s a “soft” word, you may want to use a small curvilinear font, or a large angular font for a “loud” word).
• Try out different colours for the letters and the background (think of how the colours react to each other— colours similar might make an image seem subdued while contrasting colours could make the image more striking).