‘Gay abandon’ at Arran Visual Arts

Elisabeth Ross wrote a rapturous review of the weekend Painting With Knives workshop run by Rebecca Roberts, and said participants all agreed that it was one of the best workshops they had ever been to. Rebecca’s teaching skills were as impressive as her prowess as a painter, as Elisabeth’s report shows. She said:

‘After a little loosening up with some quick life drawings, we got stuck in with our paints and tools and slapped it on the canvas with as much gay abandon as we could manage. Rebecca discouraged the use of brushes and most people quickly learned to love the freedom and three dimensional effects that using the knife generates.

‘When the sun came out on Sunday, some of us ventured outside to draw and paint, which produced more masterpieces. Students all produced more than one picture and some had painted three or four in the two days. The final showing was an eclectic mix of styles, colours, scenes, some abstract, others based on photos, a truly magnificent testimony to the enthusiasm and skills of our tutor.’