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Steve also brought along some of his other paintings created with this method, showcasing beautiful use of colors and contrast to produce stunning artworks perfect for any wall. - Thank you Steve. 
 Shape > Shadow > Edge > Texture Paul's approach focuses on shapes rather than features. He advises ignoring the fact that you're drawing a face. Adding eyes might seem like a big step, but if they're not perfect, you're stuck with them. Instead, Paul aims to get the basic outline as accurate as possible, making any time spent here worthwhile. Next, he moves on to shadows, starting with the mid-tones and adding the highest and lowest tonal values last. This method allows for adjustments and avoids committing to strong tones too early. Paul explains that the face doesn't have edges; what we perceive as edges are transitions from dark to light tonal values. A hard line represents a fast transition, while an area of curvature is a slower transition. These effects are achieved by adjusting the tonal values in the shadows. Highlights are added last and very sensitively, as they can easily be overdone and need to be kept subtle. Finally, textures are added. Paul also shared a great tip: avoid putting too much detail into ancillary areas like ears and hands, as they can distract from the face. Instead, he suggests hinting at these areas to let the face stand out as the main attraction.
We had a delightful evening themed around ‘Still Life’. Instead of our usual setup, we gathered around a single group of tables to create art together. Mushrooms were our subject, and everyone chose their preferred medium. The atmosphere was wonderfully sociable, filled with chatter and the occasional peek at our neighbors’ progress. The consensus was that this format was a hit and worth repeating. After enjoying a cup of tea and some delicious homemade cake (thanks to Margaret), we shared and reviewed our work. The variety was impressive, with watercolors, pastels, pencils, and acrylics, each showcasing different styles and techniques. Of course, there were a few playful excuses for unfinished pieces, notably: “the tea and cake were ready.” Here are some of the images:    No mushrooms were harded during the production of these artworks.
However, I suspect a few might have ended up in the frying pan for breakfast the next morning!  On Saturday 31st August, Alison was kind enough to come an visit us to provide a workshop on watercolour painting. The lesson was based on a choice of two images that Alison provided.
If you take a look at Alison's website "Learning to Paint with Alison C. Board" you will see that Alison's painting style is very loose, so some of us were challenged to preplicate this style. By the end of the day, we all had some great fun and learned a great deal about painting, paints, and paper. Below are some images of the work done. Thank you Alison for a great day.      
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