There’s something great going on this weekend for anyone living in and around the Potteries. Some of you may not know that Drawing the Street began in David Brammeld‘s drawing class not far from my home here in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Dave’s passion for drawing and painting the older parts of the Potteries has been a terrific example for me.
Dave’s work has gone from strength to strength and his work has been exhibited widely including the Mall Galleries and Royal Society of British Artists to name a few. This weekend however, he is giving a painting demonstration in the Potteries Museum to mark the grand finale of the Lowry and Berry exhibition when entrance to see the the exhibition will be free.
From the museum’s website:
‘This special exhibition features works by distinguished artist L.S Lowry and his local counterpart Arthur Berry together for the first time. It reflects their passion for urban life and highlights their individual styles. These two working class artists who portrayed the world around them were unpretentious and their work showed the beauty and humour in the everyday.’
When I first joined the class, Dave encouraged me to dig into the character of the area that I was drawing, and told me about the book ‘ The Vanished Landscape‘ by Paul Johnson who wrote about growing up in the Potteries during the thirties. Johnson recalls Lowry visiting his father, the head of the Burslem School of Art, during his childhood – the book’s a great insight into the life and character of the Potteries and the people.
I feel very lucky to attend Dave’s drawing class. He’s a dedicated teacher, patient with his students and there’s a great atmosphere as you can see here as we spring a surprise toast to one of David’s big art moments. I’ll be going to the exhibition and demo on Sunday. Hope some of you can make it too!
Thanks for reading –
Ronnie.
Drawing the Street 