Education

On arrival participants  were given jigsaws of some paintings by other well-known artists to complete. This helped everyone to get to know each other and to start looking closely at the artist’s work, learning the importance of small details, colours, texture and form.

Participants were told about  Moore’s life leading up to the point when Family Group was created. This gave them an insight into his feelings about the subject.

Then the differences between abstract and realistic art were discussed using Surrealist artist Salvador Dali to demonstrate how these boundaries could be blurred. Participants were also shown how to create graphic movement through the work of Op artist Brigitte Riley, and how to focus the eye on specific parts of the image through the work of artists Joan Miro and David Hockney. They were also shown the work of  Vincent van Gogh’s smooth expressive style in his Starry Night, and to think about different painting techniques.

Participants were then given a practical demonstration on how to recreate some of the techniques discussed using paints, glue, string, tissue paper, saw dust, sand, beads, wool and sequins.

Each participant  was given one of twenty canvases with the outline of a section of the Family Group image already drawn onto it. After identifying which part they were working on from the original, they set to work with a multitude of materials.

When all had finished, the canvases were hung together on a large easel to reveal one GIANT masterpiece! At the end of the workshop everyone was able to take home their small abstract canvas along with a photograph of the whole image, taken and printed on the day.