2025

January – Graham Thew – Watercolour

Graham first Demonstrated for members some five years ago. In Graham’s own words:-

” A love of sketching and drawing daily underpins all of my work. I am lost without a pencil in my hand and find drawing by far and away the best form of communication.  I consider myself to be so lucky to have this natural inclination to express myself through various artistic endeavours. These ‘ artistic endeavours ‘ are reflected in my varied portfolio which ranges from contemporary work to prints and pastels to watercolour.

“The variety in no small way reflects my background. I trained as an Architect and ran a successful practice (Derek Hicks & Thew) in Liverpool for many years.  My art in those days was architectural perspectives and holiday watercolours and sketches.

“In 2005, I undertook a Fine Art Degree at John Moores University, Liverpool and obtained a First Class Honours degree. Following qualification, I travelled to Austria for a show of some of my contemporary art and had exhibitions in London, the Northwest and a residency in one of Liverpool’s cutting edge galleries/studios.”

Graham demonstrated primarily in watercolour – a colourful landscape scene incorporating people.

February – Andrew Jenkin – Watercolour

Andrew Jenkin is an artist, author and illustrator, originally from Yorkshire now living in North Wales. He works mainly in watercolour depicting the beauty of British landscapes, landmarks, waterways and architecture.

He has been writing and illustrating books since 2009. He has a degree in History and Ancient History from Keele University, and his particular interest is local history and folklore, exploring legends and their (possible) historical background.

Andrew also teaches watercolour classes and speaks to art societies throughout the UK. He has written articles and tutorials about watercolour painting.

His Gallery portrays an exciting range of paintings that have been sold (and one or two still for sale). His prints and greetings cards are all available for sale.
We are pleased to say this is the second visit by Andrew, the first was in January 2016.

March – Andrew Moodie – Mixed Media

Andrew Moodie works in Mixed Media, Pastel and Oils. He was born and bred in Glasgow and now lives in the beautiful Yorkshire Spa town of Harrogate, close to some of his favourite art locations in the Yorkshire Dales and coastal areas.

Andrew managed to retire early from a busy career as a commercial lawyer. He is delighted to now be able to follow his boyhood dream of being an artist. Andrew is an Associate Artist with Unison Colour Soft Pastels and his principal medium continues to be pastel.

He loves working in mixed media, using inks, acrylics, graphite and oil and soft pastel in various combinations. He also enjoys working in oils.

Andrew’s subjects are varied, but although he enjoys figurative and portraiture, his first love is to be outside seeking to capture the landscape around him.

He enjoys textures and using lively mark-making to create work that is full of energy and expression, and in Andrew’s own words, “My art is like my life, full of energy”. Andrew demonstrated a mixed media landscape.

April – Sharon Wagstaff – Pastels

Sharon is an Artist and Art Tutor who grew up in Yorkshire. From an early age, she had a love of painting.  Her favourite subjects were big cats and other wild animals. Sharon started out by doing commissions – mainly of people’s pets or family members. Shortly after moving to Wales in 1993, what had started out as a hobby quickly became a full-time occupation.  Sharon was painting for exhibitions, the North Wales Society of Fine Art, The Association of Animal Artists and the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art.

In 2012, Sharon joined forces with other local artists to form the Cilcain Artisans to exhibit and demonstrate her work each year as part of the Helfa Gelf Art Trail.

 Sharon discovered a love of walking and started to combine her two favourite hobbies of walking and art. Her favourite places are in the hills and mountains of Snowdonia where she gathers the reference material and photos to use to produce her artwork.  Although the mountains are her first love, a few years ago she started walking the Welsh Coastal Path which naturally led to a few coastal scenes appearing in her artwork.

 Sharon gained a BA (Hons) in Interior Design. She is self-taught in the use of pastel and, whilst most of her work is created using pastel, when the subject calls for it or the mood takes her, she works in Pen and Wash. Sharon runs Art Classes in Mold and visits many Art Groups across North Wales, Cheshire and the Wirral to give demonstrations and workshops.

September – Richard G Green – Watercolours

Richard Green is a part-time artist based in Preston, Lancashire.  He is a watercolour landscape artist.

He has always had an interest in art and, as a child, always had a constant supply of paper from a relative who worked in a paper mill.

At the age of 13, Richard had to choose his subjects for his final 2yrs.  He wanted to take Woodwork, Technical Drawing and Art but these were classed as Craft subjects. As he would be in the top form, he was only allowed to take two subjects and a foreign language.  

Dad resolved his dilemma in his usual pragmatic way, “Take technical drawing and woodwork lad.  They’ll help you get an apprenticeship. If you want to draw a cat, you can do that in your spare time”.  So that’s what he did.  Richard left school in 1980 and worked for British Gas and in the Gas industry for 37yrs.  He is married with 3 children and 5 grandchildren.  He purchased a Cotman Set of watercolours and had a particular interest in two artists Seago and Wesson.  This led him to the door of Wiltshire artist and teacher Steve Hall…………

October – Greg Howard – Watercolour and Pastel

Greg Howard has been painting and illustrating in watercolour and pastel for over thirty years and now resides in the Lake District, Askham in Furness, Cumbria.

Greg is very passionate about helping people to appreciate the natural beauty of the wonderful countryside we are so lucky to have in abundance here in the U.K.

“In my mind, the most important job of a landscape painter is to capture the atmosphere and essence of a place and give you, the viewer, somewhere to escape to.  So, it is only when one of my paintings triggers a memory of a place you hold dear and associate with happy memories, that I can say I have achieved and done my job as an artist.  It doesn’t actually matter whether the place it reminds you of was the place I based the painting on. What’s important to me, is that you feel something and that the painting provides you with that moment of escape”. 

This approach also means that the painting will always hold a Special place in the affections of the person who purchases it. In other words, it will never just be something to hang on the wall!