Following the Plein Air Challenge in January, there’s been a lot of chat within the Time Foragers’ Club of what challenge to do next! It wasn’t a hard decision to make! Still Life was pretty obvious!!! Thinking lemons, clementines, coffee pots, gingham table cloths and local blooms whatever they may be… all the lovely things that make spring gorgeous!
Challenge
This challenge will run for 3 weeks in April, from Monday- Friday. It’s for anyone to take part, whether you’re a paid subscriber or not. You can create your own still life at home and experiment with materials, colours, mark making. Having fun is what this is all about! 15 days of draw/paint still life and share your artwork online! At the end of each week, you can use the 2 days at the weekend to either push your ideas and experiments a little further or rest (rest is a very valuable asset). Bonus for paying subscribers: At the beginning of each of these weeks, Monday mornings (British time), I will send images an email with a bundle of 5 seasonal photographs you can work from. I’ve been creating still life for the past few weeks with props and fruit etc. It’s been quite fun and I’m excited to share these photos with you.
Schedule
1st April Gazette (free): This month it will be packed with Still Life goodies - there will be lots of references, from books to YouTube videos on the subject and possible courses and workshops, should you want to take it further. Certainly a lot to whet your appetite!
Kick Off Party (free, open to 50 participants): Monday 7th April 7pm GMT on Zoom - A relaxed and chatty session, everyone brings their own still life (on a desk/table or a photo reference) and we will do some basic trouble shooting, discuss the challenge. You can use this time to gather your materials and swatch etc. Click here for the link to sign up!!!
Still Life drawing session (paid) Tuesday 8th April 7pm GMT - we will be looking at some masterpieces and creating some of our own artwork. Sign up in the club chat.
Draw or paint a still life every day during these days:
Week 1 (7-11th April)
Week 2 (14-18th April)
Week 3 (21-25 April)
End of challenge co-journaling Party (paid) : Friday 25th April 7pm GMT - This will be a chance to review and appreciate all your hard work and experimentations. Come prepared to share your work or use this time to reflect solo. I will share some of my top take-aways from the challenge and will journal these visually. Sign up in the club chat.
Materials
Whatever you want to work on or make progress with this could be:
Pencils, pastels, watercolours, gouache, acrylics, oil paints, mixed media, you may want to try different mark making and even explore abstract!
This can be in your sketchbook, on canvas, on bits of paper, on postcards (this would make a really cool gallery at the end of the month).
Your choice!
SHARING YOUR WORK
There is absolutely no pressure to share your work. However I’ve found that sharing means I have an extra little incentive to get it done and sometimes in the deep dark gloomy days, it would much more comfortable to just not bother! With that in mind, let’s share our sketchbooks, images, drawings, paintings, whatever you choose to do!
Where? I will aim to re-share as much as I can and celebrate all our work together!! It’ll be so fun to see what everybody draws and paints throughout the month! I will also re-share some of the work in the club gazette in the May issue.
Instagram: I’m @Helen.C.Stark if you want to tag me on your stories or posts and can re-share your work in my stories. That way you can see everyone else’s and learn so much from each other.
Bonus for paying subscribers: at the end of each week, I will open a chat thread here in the Time Foragers’ Club chat for paying members to share their work within the club. This might feel more intimate and cozy, should Instagram feel a bit daunting.
Do feel free to share with anyone you think might enjoy this challenge.
I can’t wait to see you!! xx
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