classic cambridge

For those who don’t know me personally — one of my jobs as a self-employed artist is hosting “Sip and Paint” classes for The Paint Club. Occasionally, a commission comes up. And this month, I’ve been invited to do a commission of a classic Cambridge scene outside the Graduate Cambridge Hotel.

Punts, deckchairs, and afternoon tea by the river? Very Cambridge!

I was delighted to accept this commission. Working with my clients, I’m constantly reminded of how meaningful my career connections are to me. I’m so grateful to be able to contribute to the art scene for a living.

For this commission, I need to be able to craft the painting in The Paint Club style as well as create it in a way that means it can be replicated within a two-hour class: challenge accepted!

To start, I used a bright blue I could darken later to map the construction of the painting.

From there, I begin to fill in areas to block out areas of colour in two tones. Blue for shadow, and yellow for light.

After adding some more detail and mixing the yellow and blue to create green tones — which is the majority of the painting — I finish off with the deck chairs.

Upon creating a recognisable impression for the commission, I must understand how I would construct this painting if I had an infinite amount of time. I can then reflect on the construction to break it down into new stages.

The stages I go through when I teach the class will not follow the order in which I created it so that the work can feasibly be replicated by the attendees in a two-hour sip-and-paint class. As well as figuring out the technicalities in preparing a finished commission, this means I can whip out a “here’s one I made earlier” at the beginning of the class as a reference!

In the Paint Club sessions I host, I aim to balance the instruction and meditative element so painters can thoroughly enjoy their creations whilst forgetting about their responsibilities outside of the room in a supportive and positive creative environment.

I will be teaching this Paint Club on how to recreate this classic Cambridge image on the 9th and 23rd of September, you can book it here:

• 9 September: https://sevn.ly/xjWVqNZn

• 23 September: https://sevn.ly/x6wvfyXq

I look forward to painting with you all!

• Warm tones in summer and autumn paintings

• DIY Allotment painting

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for how my projects evolve,

M.C.