Dates for your diary…
Mon 27 Jun. Free !! Clive Gross gives an Introduction to a week-end course to be held in September -  “Self Expression”. How to promote yourself and your work. See under “Stop Press”.
Mon 27 Jun. Burton Society meets in AF2. “The Duties of a Ranger”. Talk and discussion for Society members in relation to stewarding St Leonards Gardens.
 
Fri 1 Jul. 6 – 9.30. Two PVs at Sussex Coast College.
Private View for SCCH Diploma Show. Thereafter, 10 – 2 on Sat 2 Jul and on 4 and 5 Jul 10 – 5.
Private view for Academy 6– It is not generally known that Sussex Coast College runs GCE art courses.
 
Sat 2 Jul@ 3pm. Walk’nTalk in AF1 led by Victoria Kiff.
 
Sun 3 Jul. Sculptor Mike Williams is holding a clearance sale at the Beacon, 10 – 3pm. Come early for breakfast !! See members annopuncements.

Fri 7 Jul. Preview for Zoom. (AF1 and 2)

Stop Press…
Sales. Sales of artwork have been unpredictable this year. This, in spite of exhibitions being well received and prices being moderate. Many blame the effects of a recession which has more time yet to run. The good news is that the two most recent exhibitions, ‘Six printmakers’ and Bruce Williams exhibition of oils experienced fairly good sales. Both received favourable reaction at the private views, ranging from ‘well integrated’ for the printmakers’ to ‘powerful’ and ‘I had to come in’ for Bruce’s oils. The printmakers sold ten items (all members selling) and Bruce sold three portraits see image below.

Members Show. The Arts Committee has decided to add a further Members Show to the Forum exhibition calendar 2011 as follows. This will take place in AF2 . Submissions are invited as follows.

20 Jul – 2 Aug. Members, surnames A – L. One piece per member. Hand-in, Mon 18 Jul 10 – 1 pm, unless by prior arrangement. Collect Wed, 3 Aug 10 – 1 pm.
2 – 17 Aug. Members, surnames M – Z . One piece per member. Hand-in on Mon 1 Aug 10 – 1pm, unless by prior arrangement. Collect, Wed 17 Aug10 – 1pm. 

Mark Fisher’s Woodland Art Days. Mark is staging a new idea of tutored painting sessions, with a ‘delicious’ picnic in his own woodland of four acres. See Members’ announcements. 

Marybeth Haas wants us to unwind, relax through ‘dance’. 
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up” Pablo Picasso
See members announcements.

Volunteers. We are currently having a ‘root and branch’ look at how the Forum attracts and organises volunteers. The Forum currently has no paid staff and depends on the dedication, love and hard work of a few. This small band needs refreshing and replacement. Simply, without volunteers we don’t exist. All those who signified their readiness to volunteer services may expect to be contacted over the next few weeks. Please bear with us as we do this. If you have a special expertise or none at all, we can find a slot. We need a bookkeeper, administrators who can take charge of a particular aspect of the forum’s work, picture hangers, press and publicity, IT, stewarding. cleaners – in short volunteers for all aspects of our work. If you have the time and inclination, 
please contact us at info@hastingsartsforum.co.uk and head your email “Volunteers” or drop in and discuss.
In due course we will have a ‘get together’ with the aim putting this on a practical long-term basis, and offer some form of training.

Free 2 ½ half hour course for Open Studios or Coastal Currents, 28 June.
Hastings Borough Council has asked that we circularise members with details of a free course on how to present a good image. Details are given in Members’ Announcements. 

***Free*** Self Expression Course Intro on 27 June. Clive Gross is facilitating an intense week-end course in Hastings (9-11 September 2011) which will give artists the knowledge and confidence in selling their work and themselves. There is a free evening introduction in the Forum on 27 June. This is a topic on which many artists have expressed an interest. How would you like to express yourself as creatively in the rest of your life as you do through your work?

Many artists find it difficult to talk about themselves and promote their work away from their chosen medium. The Mastery of Self Expression is an intensive weekend workshop designed to put you in touch with your passion and enable you to discover the joy that comes from realising your unique ability to communicate creatively and expressively.

Please come along to our free introductory evening at the Hastings Arts Forum on Monday 27th June at 6pm where you can find out more about the next Hastings Mastery running in early September and how it might help boost your creative practice. You can also visit www.hastingsmastery.org.uk.

Current Exhibitions…
Alistair Kendry and Victoria Kiff . 23Jun – 5Jul in AF1
Alistair Kendry and Victoria Kiff have a shared interest in the construction and the sensual qualities of the surface of the image. Both artists share a common interest in the painted constructed mark as a material presence in its own right and the potential of chance and accident to convey an emotional and intuitive sensibility. A common thread in both artists work is absorption of a European tradition which appropriates Northern European Expressionism and Modernist concepts.
Victoria. My Art is made from various kinds of paper in the form of prints, paintings and drawings. I combine found papers, (newspaper, letters etc), to construct an
image. It is like a poem, with poetic structure and broken narrative. My favourite writer and poet is Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The title Sommernacht’ is inspired
by one of Goethe’s written compositions. These lines best describe my Art concept, ‘All our most honest toil succeeds only in unconscious moments’. Goethe
Victoria Kiff. BA Hons, Central St Martins School of Art, London.
Alistair. ‘Art about Art’. Transcending the everyday. “For Beauty presents itself to sense, feeling, intuition and imagination, and not to reason” Hegej
Alistair Carl Kendry – Studied at Bath Academy of Art Corsham, Wiltshire. Post-Graduate studies Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.Post-Graduate Printmaking, Wimbledon School of Art

Colin Heavingham. 23 Jun – 5 Jul.  London-based artist in mixed media  

“…I remember a picture based on a painting by Australian artist, John Brack (1920 – 1999).  This picture was perfect, However, I have never liked perfection and strived to undo my ‘training’ with my version, as I liked the painting and the pose, but I was at art school and they wanted me to paint in an abstract way .My temptation to do figures is so strong that I just give in to it.
I am not in love with the business of painting – the process of hanging in galleries and the blurb that invites the audience to browse . My background is from the chaos of the 60s, where art was a happening, a musical, artistic extravaganza — no holds barred !!There were Arts Labs everywhere. Everything was free and you could just sit in .It is something in these days of moneymaking that I have to acclimatise to–It is difficult.
All my paintings really just go towards my love of the medium. I was fascinated by oil paintings from an early age and wanted pictures for my walls .They were beyond me financially , so I painted them for myself ,in a style that I liked .The majority of them I wanted to keep for larger work . I was unable to store them so I just continued noting down the ideas and images .
I tend to want to run when everyone else wants to walk .I went to art school by accident and it was the best thing that I have ever done. It has given me a part of my life that otherwise, I would never have known…”    Colin Heavingham

Zoom is a collective of local visual artists from diverse backgrounds, with ages spanning six decades from 20’s to 70’s,  united by a passion for experimental, exploratory and expressive approaches to our work.
   
Inspired by one another, we thrive on the challenge of cooperating, collaborating and integrating as practitioners using different styles and a wide range of media, including  photography, digital, paint, pastels and mixed media.
 
We draw our influences from the world around us, rural, urban and seaside; from people, animals and nature; from history, current affairs and popular culture; from others we admire; from music, dance, and ice-skating; the mundane; the night; patterns and repetition; from concepts of alienation and otherness, the universe and existence; life and death; from ourselves and our internal worlds and memories; from the spaces in which we exhibit; from shared projects or themes. 
 
Zoom started in May 2005 with only 7 photographers, and now has 24 members from all parts of the arts disciplines. The group has never been in receipt of arts grants, and has to manageon its own budget.

Exhibitions Elsewhere…
 
SoCo  Exhibition. This exhibition continues until this Sunday in the Stade Hall.
 
Siobhan Hanlon posts: “Take Five” is a group show, including Forum members Siobhan Hanlon and Lynne Bingham 21 Jun – 23 Jul. Open Monday – Saturday, 1030 – 5 and 6 – 8pm.
 
The Degree show continues at Sussex Coast College and the F-ish Gallery.

Members’ Announcements…
Mark Fisher’s Woodland Art Days: this is a tutored art project day at our own 4 acre woods with all materials provided and a delicious alfresco lunch.  These days are suitable for all abilities and are kept to a maximum of 10 people. At the end of the day everyone will go home with a piece of work created by their own artistic endeavours.  These days are a great day out for friends or as a gift day, we also arrange days for groups and company outings.
All the projects will take their inspiration from the beautiful woodland location. Example projects include mixed media, collage, ‘found art’ work and print making with some including the use of natural pigments sourced from the woods. Cost is £45 with deals available on group and multiple bookings. 
Further information about these days and photos are on Mark’s website www.markfisherart.co.uk.

Mike Williams, sculptor, is holding a studio clearance sale at the Beacon, St
Marys Terrace, West Hill. Sun 3 Jul 10 -3. £5 Breakfast available..
 
Marybeth Haas posts.‘E c s t a t I c Trance Dance, a moving meditation. Weds 22 June, 20 July, 17 Aug at Assembly Rooms, Masonic Hall, St Leonards TN38 0DR. Get out of your head and into your body; dance freestyle to a variety of rhythms, grooves and beats, punctuated with live percussion. See www.conscious-arts.co.uk/dance, 01424 460477′.
 
 Life Drawing Sessions.Caroline Macey organises Life Drawing Sessions every Thursday 10 – 12 noon at Ore Community Centre at 10 am-12 noon.  £7 at the door. Beginning 0n 7 July, evening sessions, 7.30 – 9.30.    Tel : 079 23 49 44 15
 
Andrey Shipilov posts.  I am a creative and active local artist in graphic design and photography, recently graduated from Hastings Art College with distinction.
I am looking for local freelance work or any other work , which will give me recognition as a graphic designer / photographer.
I am familiar with Adobe Creative Suite such as Photoshop and Illustrator and I am happy to help anyone requiring these skills.
Andrey is a Forum volunteer helping with the Hanging Team and the IT team.

FILM…
St Leonards Film Society at the Forum.  St Leonards Film Society aims to bring film culture to neighbourhoods.

The Film Society is now on the summer break and will re-open in September.

POETRY…
The next meeting of the Poetry Group will be Saturday, 2 July at 5 pm in AF2.
The theme will be “Books”, suggested by Stacey Lane.
The meeting on Saturday drew nine members to read and discuss poems on the subject of oil. This followed the writers’ workshop on oil led by Anne Rouse. What seemed to be an unromantic topic produced a variety of stimulating ideas.
 
In general discussion, it was generally agreed that a record of poems should be kept, with a view to publishing an anthology- perhaps illustrated. So members are requested to produce one hard copy of their poems at meetings.
 
It was further suggested that the Poetry Group should submit an entry to the Members Show . This  might be a short poem mounted in a frame –  perhaps illustrated.                                                                  .                                                                 

 

 

 

Dates for your diary….  

****Tue 21 Jun 6 for 6.30pm. Countdown to Zero. St Leonards Film Societry take part as one of 60 venues for a screening at BAFTA of the premiere of this anti nuclear film.  See under ‘Stop Press’ below.

Thu 23 Jun 7 for 7.45. Mon 27 Jun. Free Clive Gross gives an Introduction to a week-end course to be held in September -  “Self Expression”. How to promote yourself and your work. See under “Stop Press”.

 Fri 1 Jul. 6 – 9.30. Private View for SCCH Diploma Show. Thereafter, 10 – 2 on Sat 2 Jul and on 4 and 5 Jul 10 – 5.

 Sat 2 Jul @ 3pm. Walk’nTalk in AF1 led by Victoria Kiff

Stop Press…

Members Show. The Arts Committee has decided to add a further Members Show to the Forum exhibition calendar 2011 as follows. This will take place in AF2 . Submissions are invited as follows.

20 Jul – 2 Aug. Members, surnames A – L.  One piece per member. Hand-in, Mon 18 Jul  10 – 1 pm, unless by prior arrangement. Collect Wed, 3 Aug 10 – 1 pm.

2 – 17 Aug. Members, surnames M – Z . One piece per member. Hand-in on Mon 1 Aug 10 – 1pm, unless by prior arrangement. Collect, Wed 17 Aug10 – 1pm.

 Call to artists. The arts committee wishes to remind artists who have been allocated exhibition space that Artists’ Agreements should be returned and signed. Without this, your gallery hire is not secure. Failure to return the agreement puts further pressure on the all-volunteer committee to secure the Forum exhibition calendar. One instance of a late cancellation illustrates this point.

 

Free Exhibition Space. Clara Montforte is opening a bar with light music in Hastings Old Town. Clara says her outlook is to engage with the local community and she is sympathetic to the arts. Anyone interested should con tact Clara at (01424) 460224.

Volunteers. We are currently having a ‘root and branch’ look at how the Forum attracts and organises volunteers. The Forum currently has no paid staff and depends on the dedication, love and hard work of a few. This small band needs refreshing and replacement. Simply, without volunteers we don’t exist. All those who signified their readiness to volunteer services may expect to be contacted over the next few weeks. Please bear with us as we do this. If you have a special expertise or none at all, we can find a slot.  We need a bookkeeper, administrators who can take charge of a particular aspect of the forum’s work, picture hangers, press and publicity, IT, stewarding. cleaners – in short volunteers for all aspects of our work. If you have the time and inclination,

please contact us at info@hastingsartsforum.co.uk and head your email “Volunteers” or drop in and discuss.

In due course we will have a ‘get together’ with the aim putting this on a practical long-term basis, and offer some form of training.

Free 2 ½  half hour course for Open Studios or Coastal Currents, 28 June.

Hastings Borough Council has asked that we circularise members with details of a free course on how to present a good image. Details are given in Members’ Announcements.

 ***SLOS Film Society links in to BAFTA National Film evening. “Countdown to Zero” on Tuesday, 21 June in AF2.

Countdown to Zero will open the Global Zero London summit with a gala screening at BAFTA. High-profile dignitaries, UK parliamentarians, and celebrities will come together to hear a discussion panel starring Her Majesty Queen Noor, Labour Party politician Margaret Beckett, ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson and Oscar-winning producer Lawrence Bender. This discussion panel will be broadcast live via satellite and web-stream to around 60 cinemas nationwide, as well as a similar number of ‘Ambassador’ screenings in non-cinema venues. See http://goodwithfilm.com/s/1617

 ***Free*** Self Expression Course Intro on 27 June. Clive Gross is facilitating an intense week-end course in Hastings (9-11 September 2011) which will give artists the knowledge and confidence in selling their work and themselves. There is a free evening introduction in the Forum on 27 June. This is a topic on which many artists have expressed an interest. How would you like to express yourself as creatively in the rest of your life as you do through your work?

Many artists find it difficult to talk about themselves and promote their work away from their chosen medium. The Mastery of Self Expression is an intensive weekend workshop designed to put you in touch with your passion and enable you to discover the joy that comes from realising your unique ability to communicate creatively and expressively.

Please come along to our free introductory evening at the Hastings Arts Forum on Monday 27th June at 6pm where you can find out more about the next Hastings Mastery running in early September and how it might help boost your creative practice. You can also visit www.hastingsmastery.org.uk.

Current Exhibitions… 

16 – 21 Jun in AF1. Six Printmakers.

This is the 3rd show for this group of local printmakers, most of them have exhibited in all the shows.  They are all graduates of Hastings College, and currently use the facilities at the new South Coast College at Hastings. All are highly dedicated to the art of printmaking and to developing their already significant experience.

They share the use of strong imagery and a commitment to the progression of their craft. They are inspired by each other’s work and share an enthusiastic admiration for their fellow artist/printmakers. Although their work is diverse in approach and style they find that the opportunity of working in the shared environment that the print room in the college offers allows them to learn from each other. Screenprinting and etching are traditional methods of printing, the techniques involved are many and various, the sharing aspect of the group has allowed them to learn from each other.

Because of the limited wall space the artists will each have their own browsers where earlier work and other editions can be seen and purchased.

Phillip Cosham I am showing work relating to the City, films and aircraft of the 50’s and 60’s. I have an equal passion for ceramics and printmaking. I am currently experimenting with large scale prints using cardboard collagraph.

Geoff Dendle I hand screen print from original photographic images taken here in Sussex or on the island of Crete. For this exhibition I will be showing a series of prints taken on a filmset in Crete where the novel “The Island” written by local author Victoria Hislop was being filmed for an epic 25 part Greek TV production.

Marylyn Edwards. My work for this show has taken the form of an exploration of ideas and techniques. I am still working with the form of narrative and there are new developments in the ‘Lolita’ and the ‘Apocalypse’ series, and the development of the new ‘Rainbow’ series. I use photography, photoshop, screen print and etching.

George Mundell  George Mundell’s recent work features child images from film. He continues to display his love of bright colour in his Monoprints. He is also including popular old favourites ‘Hastings Bonfire’ and ‘New York City’
Derek Treacher.I work in the mediums of screenprinting, monoprinting and etching. My images are derived from photographs and drawings of urban imagery, and recently to the sadness I feel about the destruction and loss of Hastings Pier.

Del Querns. My prints are based on photographs taken in America and around Europe and are inspired by Americana/Pop art, the images are produced using traditional silkscreen techniques.

Bruce Wi.liams in AF 2. 16 – 21 June.   

I love atmosphere. I want the viewer to slip in and out of the painting. My work is mainly in oils, though sometimes I mix in emulsions. My work, I see as sculptural.
I love to paint from life but my imagination often changes the  subject matter, because at the end of the day I am hoping for chance to assert itself and to end up with something I didn’t expect. Out of this, hopefully great structure and atmosphere come forth.

I recently completed a landscape of my garden, as seen from my studio. It has a tremendous tranquility that has come out of this work, with space and light. It was not my original concept, but chance – a sort of serendipity.

Forthcoming Exhibitions…

 

Alistair Kendry and Victoria Kiff . 23Jun – 5Jul in AF1

Alistair Kendry and Victoria Kiff have a shared interest in the construction and the sensual qualities of the surface of the image. Both artists share a common interest in the painted constructed mark as a material presence in its own right and the potential of chance and accident to convey an emotional and intuitive sensibility. A common thread in both artists work is absorption of a European tradition which appropriates Northern European Expressionism and Modernist concepts. 

Victoria. My Art is made from various kinds of paper in the form of prints, paintings and drawings. I combine found papers, (newspaper, letters etc), to construct  an image. It is like a poem, with poetic structure and broken narrative. My favourite writer and poet is Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The title Sommernacht’ is inspired by one of Goethe’s written compositions. These lines best describe my Art concept, ‘All our most honest toil succeeds only in unconscious moments’. Goethe.

Victoria Kiff. BA Hons, Central St Martins School of Art, London.

Alistair. ‘Art about Art’. Transcending the everyday.

“For Beauty presents itself to sense, feeling, intuition and imagination, and not to reason” Hegej

Alistair Carl Kendry – Studied at Bath Academy of Art  Corsham, Wiltshire. Post-Graduate studies Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.Post-Graduate Printmaking, Wimbledon School of Art

23 Jun – 5 Jul. Colin Heavingham. London-based artist in mixed media.

“…I remember a picture based on a painting by Australian artist, John Brack (1920 – 1999).  This picture was perfect, However, I have never liked perfection and strived to undo my ‘training’ with my version, as I liked the painting and the pose, but I was at art school and they wanted me to paint in an abstract way .My temptation to do figures is so strong that I just give in to it.

I am not in love with the business of painting – the process of hanging in galleries and the blurb that invites the audience to browse . My background is from the chaos of the 60s, where art was a happening, a musical, artistic extravaganza — no holds barred !!There were Arts Labs everywhere. Everything was free and you could just sit in .It is something in these days of moneymaking that I have to acclimatise to–It is difficult.

All my paintings really just go towards my love of the medium. I was fascinated by oil paintings from an early age and wanted pictures for my walls .They were beyond me financially , so I painted them for myself ,in a style that I liked .The majority of them I wanted to keep for larger work . I was unable to store them so I just continued noting down the ideas and images .

I tend to want to run when everyone else wants to walk .I went to art school by accident and it was the best thing that I have ever done. It has given me a part of my life that otherwise, I would never have known.

Exhibitions Elsewhere…

 SoCo  Exhibition.

 Sassy Luke 3 – 19 June – A Retrospective at Love Cafe & Gallery.Sassy Luke invites all Hastings Arts Forum members to her exhibition at
Love Café. Norman Rd, St-Leonards-on Sea., (during South East Open Studios). Private view: Friday 3 June 6 – 8:30

 Dragon Bar. 2 – 15 Jun. Wendy Oxlade exhibits.

Jeremy Ebdon and Brij Sharma post Affordable Art  in “The Stables” 16 May – 18 Jun. Seven artists show. *** New work from Jeremy and Brij.*** Beware the opening times. Mon – Sat 1030 – 2pm and 6 – 8pm.

Members’ Announcements…

 Siobhan Tanner posts.  **Studio space available ** at Oak Passage Studios, Hastings Old Town .  Suitable for single artist or share with one other. £100pcm. Please ring Anna 435799 or Siobhan 712840 for more details.

 Life Drawing Sessions. Caroline Macey organises Life Drawing Sessions every Thursday 10 – 12 noon at Ore Community Centre at 10 am-12 noon.  £7 at the door. Beginning 0n 7 July, evening sessions, 7.30 – 9.30.    Tel : 079 23 49 44 15

 Andrey Shipilov posts.  I am a creative and active local artist in graphic design and photography, recently graduated from Hastings Art College with distinction.

I am looking for local freelance work or any other work , which will give me recognition as a graphic designer / photographer.

I am familiar with Adobe Creative Suite such as Photoshop and Illustrator and I am happy to help anyone requiring these skills.

Andrey is a Forum volunteer helping with the Hanging Team and the IT team.

FILM…

St Leonards Film Society at the Forum.  St Leonards Film Society aims to bring film culture to neighbourhoods.

Thu 23 June. 7 for 7.45 start. The Coen Brothers do it again, but this time with cowboys! In this remake of the John Wayne classic the brothers set the scene for a powerful story of vengeance and retribution.

14-yr old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is determined to avenge her father’s murder over two pieces of gold. She sets about hiring one-eyed, trigger-happy U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and hardened Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon).

POETRY…

The next meeting of the Poetry Group will be Saturday, 2 July at 5 pm in AF2.

The theme will be “Books”, suggested by Stacey Lane.

The meeting on Saturday drew nine members to read and discuss poems on the subject of oil. This followed the writers’ workshop on oil led by Anne Rouse. What seemed to be an unromantic topic produced a variety of stimulating ideas.

 In general discussion, it was generally agreed that a record of poems should be kept, with a view to publishing an anthology- perhaps illustrated. So members are requested to produce one hard copy of their poems at meetings.

It was further suggested that the Poetry Group should submit an entry to the Members Show . This  might be a short poem mounted in a frame –  perhaps illustrated.

 

 

 

Dates for your diary….

Sat 11Jun @3 pm. Gallery Talk and walk. Fenya Sharkey is in AF2 to discuss her Group’s work and to lead a walk around this drawing exhibition. This group comprises members of the UK-wide “World Domination” group of friends.

 Wed 15 Jun at 6.30 and 8.30. Two  fashion Shows at Sussex Coast College, Hastings. Tickets @ £5.00 in advance or on the door.

Fri 17 Jun. PV for Six printmakers.in AF1.

 Fri 17 Jun. PV for Bruce Williams. Oils. AF2.

 Fri 17 Jun 6 – 9. SCCH private view for the Degree Show. Thereafter, 18 – 24 Jun  open daily  10 – 4.

 ****Tue 21 Jun 6 for 6.30pm. Countdown to Zero. St Leonards Film Societry take part as one of 60 venues for a screening at BAFTA of the premiere of this anti nuclear film.  See under ‘Stop Press’ below.

Mon 27 Jun. Free Clive Gross gives an Introduction to a week-end course to be held in September -  “Self Expression”. How to promote yourself and your work. See under “Stop Press”.

 Fri 1 Jul. 6 – 9.30. Private View for SCCH Diploma Show. Thereafter, 10 – 2 on Sat 2 Jul and on 4 and 5 Jul 10 – 5.

 Stop Press…

Volunteers. We are currently having a ‘root and branch’ look at how the Forum attracts and organises volunteers. The Forum currently has no paid staff and depends on the dedication, love and hard work of a few. This small band needs refreshing and replacement. Simply, without volunteers we don’t exist. All those who signified their readiness to volunteer services may expect to be contacted over the next few weeks. Please bear with us as we do this. If you have a special expertise or none at all, we can find a slot.  We need a bookkeeper, administrators who can take charge of a particular aspect of the forum’s work, picture hangers, press and publicity, IT, stewarding. cleaners – in short volunteers for all aspects of our work. If you have the time and inclination,

please contact us at info@hastingsartsforum.co.uk and head your email “Volunteers” or drop in and discuss.

In due course we will have a ‘get together’ with the aim putting this on a practical long-term basis, and offer some form of training.

URGENT. South East Summer Exhibition (SESE). 8 Jul – 4 Aug. Applications for this exhibition close on 14 June. It is held at “The Grand”, Folkestone and forms part of the Folkestone Triennial. Work should be handed in on 17 / 18 June. Follow the link http://www.grand-uk.com/SESE.html.

Free 2 ½  half hour course for Open Studios or Coastal Currents, 28 June.

Hastings Borough Council has asked that we circularise members with details of a free course on how to present a good image. Details are given in Members’ Announcements.

 ***SLOS Film Society links in to BAFTA National Film evening. “Countdown to Zero” on Tuesday, 21 June in AF2.

Countdown to Zero will open the Global Zero London summit with a gala screening at BAFTA. High-profile dignitaries, UK parliamentarians, and celebrities will come together to hear a discussion panel starring Her Majesty Queen Noor, Labour Party politician Margaret Beckett, ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson and Oscar-winning producer Lawrence Bender. This discussion panel will be broadcast live via satellite and web-stream to around 60 cinemas nationwide, as well as a similar number of ‘Ambassador’ screenings in non-cinema venues. See http://goodwithfilm.com/s/1617

Open Studios – South East. South East Open Studios opened last week-end and continues  for the next two weeks. Many Forum members are taking part. For those who are new to Sussex / Kent, the aim is to persuade artists to welcome the public into their studios and be on hand to discuss their work. For further info see under Members Announcements. Hospitality is up to the individual artist – see who is offering tea and cake!!  See who will put the kettle on, when you arrive. Brenda Hartill also makes a call for your attention – see Members Annopuncements.

Forum Members taking part include Louisa Crispin, Mark Fisher,  Brenda Hartill, Robin Holtom, Mike Leale, Mary and Tim Morris, Anna Pontonutti, Tim Riddihough, John Shanks, Annie Soudain,  Clare Winchester, Anthony Wynne. For opening times over the next three weeks visit  www.seos-art.org

***Free*** Self Expression Course Intro on 27 June. Clive Gross is facilitating an intense week-end course in Hastings (9-11 September 2011) which will give artists the knowledge and confidence in selling their work and themselves. There is a free evening introduction in the Forum on 27 June. This is a topic on which many artists have expressed an interest. How would you like to express yourself as creatively in the rest of your life as you do through your work?

Many artists find it difficult to talk about themselves and promote their work away from their chosen medium. The Mastery of Self Expression is an intensive weekend workshop designed to put you in touch with your passion and enable you to discover the joy that comes from realising your unique ability to communicate creatively and expressively.

Please come along to our free introductory evening at the Hastings Arts Forum on Monday 27th June at 6pm where you can find out more about the next Hastings Mastery running in early September and how it might help boost your creative practice. You can also visit our website at www.hastingsmastery.org.uk.

 Current Exhibitions… 

 1 – 14 Jun in AF1. Pip Carpenter. “There and Then – Here and Now          

Pip’s exhibition continues. See last week’s bulletin for a full account.

 “My work is about colour, in landscape both locally or in sunny climes, the essence of flowers in a vase or garden, or glimpses of colour in the darkness of a cathedral, creating settings which only exist in the imagination…”

 1 – 14 Jun  in AF2. “Graph” – an exhibition by “World Domination”  ( a group of Eastbourne, Brighton and Staffordshire members) continues in AF2. See last week’s bulletin for full account.

On Sat 10 Jun, Fenya Sharkey will give a “walk and talk around the gallery.

What do you know about Q-r codes? Can you spot the image below in the exhibition?

Forthcoming Exhibitions 16 – 21 Jun in AF1. Six Printmakers.

This is the 3rd show for this group of local printmakers, most of them have exhibited in all the shows.  They are all graduates of Hastings College, and currently use the facilities at the new South Coast College at Hastings. All are highly dedicated to the art of printmaking and to developing their already significant experience.

They share the use of strong imagery and a commitment to the progression of their craft. They are inspired by each other’s work and share an enthusiastic admiration for their fellow artist/printmakers. Although their work is diverse in approach and style they find that the opportunity of working in the shared environment that the print room in the college offers allows them to learn from each other. Screenprinting and etching are traditional methods of printing, the techniques involved are many and various, the sharing aspect of the group has allowed them to learn from each other.

Because of the limited wall space the artists will each have their own browsers where earlier work and other editions can be seen and purchased.

Phillip Cosham I am showing work relating to the City, films and aircraft of the 50’s and 60’s. I have an equal passion for ceramics and printmaking. I am currently experimenting with large scale prints using cardboard collagraph.

Geoff Dendle I hand screen print from original photographic images taken here in Sussex or on the island of Crete. For this exhibition I will be showing a series of prints taken on a filmset in Crete where the novel “The Island” written by local author Victoria Hislop was being filmed for an epic 25 part Greek TV production.

Marylyn Edwards. My work for this show has taken the form of an exploration of ideas and techniques. I am still working with the form of narrative and there are new developments in the ‘Lolita’ and the ‘Apocalypse’ series, and the development of the new ‘Rainbow’ series. I use photography, photoshop, screen print and etching.

George Mundell  George Mundell’s recent work features child images from film. He continues to display his love of bright colour in his Monoprints. He is also including popular old favourites ‘Hastings Bonfire’ and ‘New York City’
Derek Treacher.I work in the mediums of screenprinting, monoprinting and etching. My images are derived from photographs and drawings of urban imagery, and recently to the sadness I feel about the destruction and loss of Hastings Pier.

Del Querns. My prints are based on photographs taken in America and around Europe and are inspired by Americana/Pop art, the images are produced using traditional silkscreen techniques.

 Alistair Kendry and Victoria Kiff . 23Jun – 5Jul in AF1

Alistair Kendry and Victoria Kiff have a shared interest in the construction and the sensual qualities of the surface of the image. Both artists share a common interest in the painted constructed mark as a material presence in its own right and the potential of chance and accident to convey an emotional and intuitive sensibility. A common thread in both artists work is absorption of a European tradition which appropriates Northern European Expressionism and Modernist concepts.

 Victoria. My Art is made from various kinds of paper in the form of prints, paintings and drawings. I combine found papers, (newspaper, letters etc), to construct  an

image. It is like a poem, with poetic structure and broken narrative. My favourite writer and poet is Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The title Sommernacht’ is inspired by one of Goethe’s written compositions. These lines best describe my Art concept, ‘All our most honest toil succeeds only in unconscious moments’. Goethe

Victoria Kiff. BA Hons, Central St Martins School of Art, London.

Alistair. ‘Art about Art’. Transcending the everyday.

“For Beauty presents itself to sense, feeling, intuition and imagination, and not to reason” Hegej

Alistair Carl Kendry – Studied at Bath Academy of Art  Corsham, Wiltshire. Post-Graduate studies Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.Post-Graduate Printmaking, Wimbledon School of Art

16 – 21 Jun in AF2. Bruce Williams. Oils.

I love atmosphere. I want the viewer to slip in and out of the painting. My work is mainly in oils, though sometimes I mix in emulsions. My work, I see as sculptural.
I love to paint from life but my imagination often changes the  subject matter, because at the end of the day I am hoping for chance to assert itself and to end up with something I didn’t expect. Out of this, hopefully great structure and atmosphere come forth.

I recently completed a landscape of my garden, as seen from my studio. It has a tremendous tranquility that has come out of this work, with space and light. It was not my original concept, but chance – a sort of serendipity.

23 Jun – 5 Jul. Colin Heavingham. London-based artist in mixed media 

“…I remember a picture based on a painting by Australian artist, John Brack (1920 – 1999).  This picture was perfect, However, I have never liked perfection and strived to undo my ‘training’ with my version, as I liked the painting and the pose, but I was at art school and they wanted me to paint in an abstract way .My temptation to do figures is so strong that I just give in to it.

I am not in love with the business of painting – the process of hanging in galleries and the blurb that invites the audience to browse . My background is from the chaos of the 60s, where art was a happening, a musical, artistic extravaganza — no holds barred !!There were Arts Labs everywhere. Everything was free and you could just sit in .It is something in these days of moneymaking that I have to acclimatise to–It is difficult.

All my paintings really just go towards my love of the medium. I was fascinated by oil paintings from an early age and wanted pictures for my walls .They were beyond me financially , so I painted them for myself ,in a style that I liked .The majority of them I wanted to keep for larger work . I was unable to store them so I just continued noting down the ideas and images .

I tend to want to run when everyone else wants to walk .I went to art school by accident and it was the best thing that I have ever done. It has given me a part of my life that otherwise, I would never have known.

Exhibitions Elsewhere 

SoCo  Exhibition in the Stade Hall. Runs until Sunday 26 June.

Sassy Luke 3 – 19 June – A Retrospective at Love Cafe & Gallery.Sassy Luke invites all Hastings Arts Forum members to her exhibition at
Love Café. Norman Rd, St-Leonards-on Sea., (during South East Open Studios). Private view: Friday 3 June 6 – 8:30

 Dragon Bar. 2 – 15 Jun. Wendy Oxlade exhibits.

Jeremy Ebdon and Brij Sharma post Affordable Art  in “The Stables” 16 May – 18 Jun. Seven artists show. *** New work from Jeremy and Brij.*** Beware the opening times. Mon – Sat 1030 – 2pm and 6 – 8pm.

Members’ Announcements…

Michael Hambridge posts

Training for Open Studios with Julian Sutherland-Beatson Tuesday 28th June, 10:00–12:30 & 14:00–16:30 (please state preferred session at time of booking)
Room 5.12, University of Brighton in Hastings

FREE EVENT
After having run popular courses in venues such as the Towner in Eastbourne, artist and coach Julian Sutherland-Beatson will be hosting these 2.5 hour sessions at the University of Brighton in Hastings.

These sessions will cover the essentials for artists wanting to promote themselves effectively, particularly if participating in the Coastal Currents festival and other open studio events.

Topics covered include: time management, goal setting, presentation, open studio protocol, personal marketing materials, websites and social media.

The workshop will help you organise your activities and maximise your opportunities as an artist. All you will need to bring with you is a positive attitude and something to write with!

We will be running two courses, each for a maximum of eight people. Please state your preferred session when booking.
For more information on Julian and for testimonials, please visit www.juliansutherlandbeatson.co.uk
These workshops are sponsored by East Sussex Arts Partnership, Hastings Borough Council and Media Enterprise Centre.

 Brenda Hartill tells us that it is “all go” at Udimore, where she is opening her studio to visitors as an SEOS participant. Forum members and their friends are particularly welcome. See www.brendahartill.com

Louisa Crispin (Silversmith and Printmaker). I would like to welcome you to our Open Studio at Guernsey Cottage, Wilsley Green Cranbrook TN17 2LG from Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th June and from Thursday 16th to Sunday 19th June, 10am to 5pm. The kettle will be on…

 Full details are set out on the attached .pdf invitation, including our late night opening. www.louisacrispin.co.uk

 To help you find your way around, Downloadable Trail Maps are available for our area on http://www.seos-art.org/art-trails/ : we are part of the Weald Trail.

Looking forward to seeing you, the kettle will be on ……. Tel  01580 752139

  Siobhan Tanner posts.  **Studio space available ** at Oak Passage Studios, Hastings Old Town.  Suitable for single artist or share with one other. £100pcm. Please ring Anna 435799 or Siobhan 712840 for more details.

 Life Drawing Sessions. Caroline Macey organises Life Drawing Sessions every Thursday 10 – 12 noon.  £7 at the door.  Soon there will be an evening session, 7.30 – 9.30.    Tel : 079 23 49 44 .15

 Andrey Shipilov posts.  I am a creative and active local artist in graphic design and photography, recently graduated from Hastings Art College with distinction.

I am looking for local freelance work or any other work , which will give me recognition as a graphic designer / photographer.

I am familiar with Adobe Creative Suite such as Photoshop and Illustrator and I am happy to help anyone requiring these skills.

Andrey is a Forum volunteer helping with the Hanging Team and the IT team.

FILM…

St Leonards Film Society at the Forum.  St Leonards Film Society aims to bring film culture to neighbourhoods.

Thu 23 June. 7 for 7.45 start. The Coen Brothers do it again, but this time with cowboys! In this remake of the John Wayne classic the brothers set the scene for a powerful story of vengeance and retribution.

14-yr old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is determined to avenge her father’s murder over two pieces of gold. She sets about hiring one-eyed, trigger-happy U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and hardened Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon).

POETRY…

The next meeting of the Poetry Group will be Saturday, 2 July at 5 pm in AF2.

The theme will be “Books”, suggested by Stacey Lane.

The meeting on Saturday drew nine members to read and discuss poems on the subject of oil. This followed the writers’ workshop on oil led by Anne Rouse. What seemed to be an unromantic topic produced a variety of stimulating ideas.

 In general discussion, it was generally agreed that a record of poems should be kept, with a view to publishing an anthology- perhaps illustrated. So members are requested to produce one hard copy of their poems at meetings.

 It was further suggested that the Poetry Group should submit an entry to the Members Show . This  might be a short poem mounted in a frame –  perhaps illustrated.

 

 

Dates for your diary….

 Fri 3 Jun 2009. 6.30 – 8.30 Private View for Pip Carpenter in AF1.

 Fri 3 Jun  at 6 pm. Robin  Holtom invites you to a preview for ‘Open Studios’

At 41B Marina. Entrance from the rear service road for Marine Court.

 ***Sat 4 Jun 2009. 6.30 – 8.30. Private View for “Graph” by “World Domination”.

 (Note the date. This group is involved in the Brighton Festival on Fri 3 Jun )

 Fri 3 Jun. 6 – 8.30  Private View for Sassy Luke’s retrospective at Love’s Café.

Thu 9 Jun. 7 for 7.45. Film evening. “Chico and Rita” , See under ‘Film’.

 Wed 15 Jun at 6.30 and 8.30. Two  fashion Shows at Sussex Coast College, Hastings. Tickets @ £5.00 in advance or on the door.

Fri 17 Jun 6 – 9. SCCH private view for the Degree Show. Thereafter, 18 – 24 Jun  open daily  10 – 4.

 ****Tue 21 Jun 6 for 6.30pm. Countdown to Zero. St Leonards Film Societry take part as one of 60 venues for a screening at BAFTA of the premiere of this anti nuclear film.  See under ‘Stop Press’ below.

 Fri 1 Jul. 6 – 9.30. Private View for SCCH Diploma Show. Thereafter, 10 – 2 on Sat 2 Jul and on 4 and 5 Jul 10 – 5.

 Stop Press…

Philip Bray wants volunteers to help him improve the Col;onnade area, which the Forum shares. See under Members’ Announcements.

Members Show. The Arts Committee has decided to add a further Members Show to the Forum exhibition calendar 2011 as follows. This will take place in AF2 . Submissions are invited as follows.

20 Jul – 2 Aug. Members, surnames A – L.  One piece per member. Hand-in, Mon 18 Jul  10 – 1 pm, unless by prior arrangement. Collect Wed, 3 Aug 10 – 1 pm.

2 – 17 Aug. Members, surnames M – Z . One piece per member. Hand-in on Mon 1 Aug 10 – 1pm, unless by prior arrangement. Collect, Wed 17 Aug10 – 1pm.

 SOS !!! This is a call to all creative and artist members to fill in the survey form at http://www.jotform.com/form/11140921231. This survey is being collated and is expected to have a bearing on the levels and nature of funding for the arts in our local Hastings and St Leonards area. So act now to save it!!

 ***SLOS Film Society links in to BAFTA National Film evening. “Countdown to Zero” on Tuesday, 21 June in AF2.

Countdown to Zero will open the Global Zero London summit with a gala screening at BAFTA. High-profile dignitaries, UK parliamentarians, and celebrities will come together to hear a discussion panel starring Her Majesty Queen Noor, Labour Party politician Margaret Beckett, ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson and Oscar-winning producer Lawrence Bender. This discussion panel will be broadcast live via satellite and web-stream to around 60 cinemas nationwide, as well as a similar number of ‘Ambassador’ screenings in non-cinema venues. See http://goodwithfilm.com/s/1617 

Open Studios – South East. South East Open Studios opens this coming, bank holiday week-end and runs for three weeks. Many Forum members are taking part. For those who are new to Sussex / Kent, the aim is to persuade artists to welcome the public into their studios and be on hand to discuss their work. For further info see under Members Announcements. Hospitality is up to the individual artist – see who is offering tea and cake!! See who has a preview on Fri 3 Jun.

Current Exhibitions… 

 1 – 14 Jun in AF1. Pip Carpenter. “There and Then – Here and Now          

My work is about colour, in landscape both locally or in sunny climes, the essence of flowers in a vase or garden, or glimpses of colour in the darkness of a cathedral, creating settings which only exist in the imagination. 

 I begin working directly from the subject using drawing and watercolour to get down my first impressions. The finished work either remains as a pure drawing or painting or I make it into an original print by various methods including monoprint, drypoint and collagraph.

Having had a long and successful career as a lecturer, I am now a full time practising artist in Hastings, where I have more time to develop my work and can experiment with different techniques and media, concentrating on producing unique prints and paintings rather than vast editions of the same image

Whilst based in London, I was involved with setting up the Half Moon Group and Southbank Printmakers and have been a member of Greenwich Printmakers for many years, specialising in different forms of printmaking.

All the prints I make are limited editions, each print finished individually and hand coloured. The final working is the most critical, each piece dictating its own unique finish.

 1 – 14 Jun  in AF2. “Graph” – an exhibition by “World Domination”  ( a group of Eastbourne, Brighton and Staffordshire members)

Fenya Sharkey. “Domestic Science” drawings.

A series of electrical circuit diagrams for household appliances.

Liminality is defined as ‘the transitional period or phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant lacks social status or rank, remains anonymous, shows obedience and humility, and follows prescribed forms of conduct’; this could describe the status of the housewife.  The stitch provides a metaphor for liminal states; the act of drawing with a needle generating simultaneous dual images.

Lizzie Hingley ‘I work in pen and paint, I create chaotic and ordered patterns with both.’

Andrew Flint– “..My art explores the nature of truth and authenticity, the fluidity of fact and belief that shapes the world around our selves. Asking questions of that world, such as: ‘how does myth affect us in our contemporary lives? -..”

Jennifer Sassi. “… I am a brighton based visual artist who uses a range of different materials to explore our human relationship with attraction and aesthetics. I use mechanisms such as nostalgia, ambiguity and raw image to create and question our humanistic attraction and aesthetic processes which is rooted withn our consciousness and existence…”

Fenya Sharkey. “Domestic Science” drawings.A series of electrical circuit diagrams for household appliances. Liminality is defined as ‘the transitional period or phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant lacks social status or rank, remains anonymous, shows obedience and humility, and follows prescribed forms of conduct’; this could describe the status of the housewife.  The stitch provides a metaphor for liminal states; the act of drawing with a needle generating simultaneous dual images.

Lizzie Hingley ‘I work in pen and paint, I create chaotic and ordered patterns with both.’

Andrew Flint– “..My art explores the nature of truth and authenticity, the fluidity of fact and belief that shapes the world around our selves. Asking questions of that world, such as: ‘how does myth affect us in our contemporary lives? -..”

Jennifer Sassi. “… I am a Brighton based visual artist who uses a range of different materials to explore our human relationship with attraction and aesthetics. I use mechanisms such as nostalgia, ambiguity and raw image to create and question our humanistic attraction and aesthetic processes which is rooted withn our consciousness and existence…”

Lisa Donovan.  “…The main impetus of my work is the exploration of our relationship with technology; specifically modern technology.I believe it is the confusion, the errors, the reluctance, and the creative whims that make up the poetic expressions of humanity. I hope to provide a punctum that causes a moment of self reflection within which we become aware of ourselves as human: as contrary and separate from the technological process and spectacle that surrounds us.The works that make up the ‘Catagorial Novum’ series are representations of the theory of emergence wherein a simple action, much repeated, results in the creation of extremely complex systems. The human being, in this instance the artist, acts as an unseen organising force giving rhyme and reason to an otherwise mundane activity…”

Forthcoming Exhibitions…

16 – 21 Jun in AF1. Six Printmakers.

This is the 3rd show for this group of local printmakers, most of them have exhibited in all the shows.  They are all graduates of Hastings College, and currently use the facilities at the new South Coast College at Hastings. All are highly dedicated to the art of printmaking and to developing their already significant experience.

They share the use of strong imagery and a commitment to the progression of their craft. They are inspired by each other’s work and share an enthusiastic admiration for their fellow artist/printmakers. Although their work is diverse in approach and style they find that the opportunity of working in the shared environment that the print room in the college offers allows them to learn from each other. Screenprinting and etching are traditional methods of printing, the techniques involved are many and various, the sharing aspect of the group has allowed them to learn from each other.

Because of the limited wall space the artists will each have their own browsers where earlier work and other editions can be seen and purchased.

Phillip Cosham I am showing work relating to the City, films and aircraft of the 50’s and 60’s. I have an equal passion for ceramics and printmaking. I am currently experimenting with large scale prints using cardboard collagraph.

Geoff Dendle I hand screen print from original photographic images taken here in Sussex or on the island of Crete. For this exhibition I will be showing a series of prints taken on a filmset in Crete where the novel “The Island” written by local author Victoria Hislop was being filmed for an epic 25 part Greek TV production.

Marylyn Edwards. My work for this show has taken the form of an exploration of ideas and techniques. I am still working with the form of narrative and there are new developments in the ‘Lolita’ and the ‘Apocalypse’ series, and the development of the new ‘Rainbow’ series. I use photography, photoshop, screen print and etching. 

George Mundell  George Mundell’s recent work features child images from film. He continues to display his love of bright colour in his Monoprints. He is also including popular old favourites ‘Hastings Bonfire’ and ‘New York City’
Derek Treacher.I work in the mediums of screenprinting, monoprinting and etching. My images are derived from photographs and drawings of urban imagery, and recently to the sadness I feel about the destruction and loss of Hastings Pier.

Victoria Kiff. BA Hons, Central St Martins School of Art, London.Victoria Kiff. BA Hons, Central St Martins School of Art, London.

“My Art is made from various kinds of paper in the form of prints, paintings and drawings. I combine found papers, (newspaper, letters etc), to construct  an image. It is like a poem, with poetic structure and broken narrative. My favourite writer and poet is Johann Wolfgang Goethe.The title ‘Sommerna cht’ is inspired by one of Goethe’s written compositions. These lines best describe my Art concept, ‘All our most honest toil succeeds only in unconscious moments’. Goethe     Victoria Kiff. BA Hons, Central St Martins School of Art, London.

Alastair Kendry. Studied at Bath Academy of Art  Corsham, Wiltshire. Post-Graduate studies Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. Post-Graduate Printmaking, Wimbledon School of Art.

Art About Art. `Transcending the everyday` `For Beauty presents itself to sense, feeling, intuition   and imagination, and not to reason` Hegel

16 – 21 Jun in AF2. Bruce Williams. Oils.

I love atmosphere. I want the viewer to slip in and out of the painting. My work is mainly in oils, though sometimes I mix in emulsions. The work itself I see as sculptural.
I love to paint from life but my imagination often changes the  subject matter, because at the end of the day I am hoping for chance to assert itself and to end up with something I didn’t expect. Out of this, hopefully great structure and atmosphere come forth.

I recently completed a landscape of my garden, as seen from my studio. It has a tremendous tranquility that has come out of this work, with space and light. It was not my original concept, but chance – a sort of serendipity.

23 Jun – 5 Jul. Colin Heavingham. London-based artist in mixed media

I love atmosphere. I want the viewer to slip in and out of the painting. My work is mainly in oils, though sometimes I mix in emulsions. The work itself I see as sculptural.
I love to paint from life but my imagination often changes the  subject matter, because at the end of the day I am hoping for chance to assert itself and to end up with something I didn’t expect. Out of this, hopefully great structure and atmosphere come forth.

I recently completed a landscape of my garden, as seen from my studio. It has a tremendous tranquility that has come out of this work, with space and light. It was not my original concept, but chance – a sort of serendipity.

I am not in love with the business of painting – the process of hanging in galleries and the blurb that invites the audience to browse . My background is from the chaos of the 60s, where art was a happening, a musical, artistic extravaganza — no holds barred !!There were Arts Labs everywhere. Everything was free and you could just sit in .It is something in these days of moneymaking that I have to acclimatise to–It is difficult.

All my paintings really just go towards my love of the medium. I was fascinated by oil paintings from an early age and wanted pictures for my walls .They were beyond me financially , so I painted them for myself ,in a style that I liked .The majority of them I wanted to keep the idea for larger work . I was unable to store them so I just continued noting down the ideas and images .

I tend to want to run when everyone else wants to walk .I went to art school by accident and it was the best thing that I have ever done. It has given me a part of my life that otherwise, I would never have known.

I remember a picture based on a painting by the Australian painter, John Brack (1920 – 1999)- this picture was perfect, Whatever, I have never liked perfection and I strived to undo my ‘training’ with my version, as I liked the painting and the pose, however, I was at art school and they wanted me to paint in an abstract way .My temptation to do figures is so strong that I just give in to it.

Exhibitions Elsewhere…

Sassy Luke 3 – 19 June – A Retrospective at Love Cafe & Gallery.Sassy Luke invites all Hastings Arts Forum members to her exhibition at
Love Café. Norman Rd, St-Leonards-on Sea., (during South East Open Studios). Private view: Friday 3 June 6 – 8:30 

Dragon Bar. 2 – 15 Jun. Wendy Oxlade exhibits.

Jeremy Ebdon and Brij Sharma post Affordable Art  in “The Stables” 16 May – 18 Jun. Seven artists show. *** New work from Jeremy and Brij.*** Beware the opening times. Mon – Sat 1030 – 2pm and 6 – 8pm.

 Members’ Announcements…

Philip Bray posts. Care for your Collonade!!  Here at Post Office Tea Rooms, we have started a campaign to spruce up the Georgian Collonade that is also home to the Forum – if we don’t do something, no one else will. We have already started to repaint the pillar box outside the tea rooms. 

There are also two unsightly empty units, one next to the Tea Rooms, the other next to the Forum. We would welcome proposals from Forum members on how we could brighten up the fronts of these shops (with the permission of the freeholders!).  Other plans include replacing the bulbs in the lamps under the Collonade.

If you can spare just an hour or two, or have some ideas for the empty units, and would like to help, please pop in to Post Office Tea Rooms or email philip@onehandmade.co.uk.  THANK YOU from Philip.

Siobhan Tanner posts.  **Studio space available ** at Oak Passage Studios, Hastings Old Town.  Suitable for single artist or share with one other. £100pcm. Please ring Anna 435799 or Siobhan 712840 for more details.

 Life Drawing Sessions. Caroline Macey organises Life Drawing Sessions every Thursday 10 – 12 noon.  £7 at the door.  Soon there will be an evening session, 7.30 – 9.30.           Tel : 079 23 49 44 .15

South East Open Studios. Forum Members taking part include Louisa Crispin, Mark Fisher,  Brenda Hartill, Robin Holtom, Mike Leale, Mary and Tim Morris, Anna Pontonutti, Tim Riddihough, John Shanks, Annie Soudain,  Clare Winchester, Anthony Wynne. For opening times over the next three weeks visit  www.seos-art.org

 You will notice that Hastings is not well represented. Robin Holtom and Anna Pontonutti for paintings and John Shanks and Mike Leale for photography.

 See the following links.  http://www.seos-art.org/artists/marymorris

http://www.seos-art.org/artists/timmorris

 Andrey Shipilov posts.  I am a creative and active localartist in graphic design and photography, recently graduated from Hastings Art College with distinction.

I am looking for local freelance work or any other work , which will give me recognition as a graphic designer / photographer.

I am familiar with Adobe Creative Suite such as Photoshop and Illustrator and I am happy to help anyone requiring these skills.

Andrey is a Forum volunteer helping with the Hanging Team and the IT team.

FILM…

Thu 9 Jun.7 for 7.45.  Chico and Rita. An epic animated story of love and heartbreak, set against the colour and bustle of Havanna, New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Paris in the late 1940sand early 1980s. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams.  Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire  unite them, but their journey – in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero – brings heartache and torment.

POETRY…

The next meeting of the Poetry Group will be Saturday, 4 June at 5 pm in AF2.

The theme will be “Oil”