Renowned Artist Visits Charters

On Thursday 17 November the A Level Art and Design students were treated to a painting masterclass with artist, Alistair Little.

Previously Alistair has pursued careers in the film, television and advertising industries before focusing exclusively on painting.

Alistair’s work is foremostly narrative, and his pieces consider issues of conflict, isolation and identity in settings where past and present often intertwine.  Subjects range from his own stories, a single ‘Journeyman’ figure, to the worlds of horse racing, theatre, fast cars and boxing. Alistair has also created powerful poster artwork for some of his favourite films.  These have been commissioned by the Bottleneck Gallery in New York. 

The Art Department were therefore really privileged that Alistair agreed to teach the class for the Year 12 and 13 Art and Design students, for a whole day. Taking them through how to paint a portrait with step-by-step demonstrations and discussion, the students created their paintings in oil paint. Using this medium for the first time was a little daunting but as the day went on, the images gradually revealed an accomplished and carefully observed painting.

Miss Wootten and Mrs Lee-Wragg learnt a lot from his visit and were delighted to see how the students worked and focused on developing their skills with such determination.

We would like to extend our thanks to Alistair for bringing some of his wonderful paintings along; as well as sharing his craft with the us all, he inspired our students by working alongside them on his own canvas.

In addition, Mrs Lee-Wragg would also like to extend her considerable thanks to all the prize winning entries to the Ascot Art Competition who through their achievements, contributed to make the day possible. Students from Charters School won three of the age categories at this year's Schools Art Competition and this generated a cash prize of £1,000 for each winning entry.

The students shared their responses

‘I thoroughly enjoyed Alistair’s company and input. Having the advice, guidance from a professional artist was incredibly rewarding. I learnt a huge amount, especially the little tricks to help speed up and advance my painting’

Aikam

'Throughout the day, I wrote notes about the things Alistair was saying, that were significant to me such as where he got his inspiration from, his thoughts about ‘artist’s block’, and the key is consistency and determination’

Chloe

'Alistair was hugely supportive, emphasising we could do nothing ‘wrong’'

Moya

'After spending my day in art workshop with Alistair, I end my day grounded and at peace. The artist created a warm and inviting environment as we developed our pieces together. The day consisted of exploring new skills, exercising our existing ones, and learning different techniques – we are all very grateful'

Helena