Colour

Mr. Brett  recently presented the library with a beautiful book all about colour. 'Colour, Travels through the Paintbox' by Victoria Finlay is an exploration into colour and its origins, meanings and uses. She focuses on a different colour in each chapter; ten colours in total.

In the coming weeks SCC Art will feature a number of the chapters from this book. At present it is displayed inside the door of the library and is well worth a look.  Finlay's  first chapter examines OCHRE. Pictured below is a photograph of the famous ochre mines in Luberon in Southern France.

Ochre comes from Greek meaning 'pale yellow'.  It is an iron-oxide and is the first colour paint used and known by man. Evidence of this exists across the world  and nowhere more than in the cave paintings going back 40,000 years, in Australia. It is here that the author first travels in her quest to uncover the secrets of ochre.

Monet

Claude Monet is recognised to be one of the founders of The Impressionist Movement. Light is always the "principal character" in Monet' landscapes, and because his purpose was always to seize a changing effect, he adopted the practice to paint the same subject under different conditions of light, at various hours of the day. The examples of Monet's work posted here includes two of a number of studies he made of 'Haystacks' at various times of the day. This type of painting was typical of the 'plein air' approach to painting that the Impressionists are famous for.

Plein Air

Plein air is a term derived from the French phrase 'en plein air', which literally means 'in the open air'. It's a familiar concept today, but in the late 1800s when the Impressionists ventured out of their studios into nature to investigate and capture the effects of sunlight and different times of days on a subject, it was quite revolutionary. The Form V Q set took advantage of the fine weather a couple of weeks ago to attempt their own sketching plein air.

Summer Concert Poster Competition

Only 3 days remain to get your poster ready for  the 'Summer Concert' 2010.

 Click HERE for all details.

'The Garden' by Joan Miro