At the beginning of our ISOLartION series, Annie Rice contacted us to let us know what she had been painting, and in passing mentioned that she was doing Facetime art classes with her grandchildren, so we asked her to share the experience.

At the request of my son I have been making a contribution to my grandchildren’s home schooling!  Once a week via Facetime I provide art tuition to my grandson who is 8 and my granddaughter who is 6.  I love to hear them chorus “Good morning Mrs Nannie Annie” and giggle at the start of each session.  The joy of Facetime is that I can see their little faces whilst they listen and especially when they concentrate on their artwork.

Nannie Annie’s art classes in progress

Even when it has been a half term school break they have still wanted to participate in Nannie’s Art Class and I think it shows the importance of creativity in our lives whatever age we are, and working with them has been such a pleasure and has motivated me to work in my studio more.

Paint splodge creatures and collage trees

Nannie Annie’s Art Sessions

  • Colour and mark making a large Howard Hodgkin style painting
  • Paint splodge creatures using a credit card to make the splodge, then draw something dictated by the random shape
  • Wax resist
  • Fish and other sea creatures, patterns and design. Cut out
  • Make an underwater scene using salt and clingfilm effects, stick it in a box to create an ‘aquarium ‘. Hang fish on threads from top
  • Shadow drawings
  • Face masks on card, decorated
  • Colour mixing to paint fruit and veg
  • Collage trees

Annie’s art

In my own artwork I have been experimenting with free embroidery stitching into my paintings and using textiles as collage.  I am interested in playing with this idea to see if it adds to, or detracts from, the beauty of transparent watercolour.  80% of any painting for exhibiting with the SEAW must of course be watercolour to comply with the rules.  I am fascinated by layering possibly due to years of applying translucent layers of watercolour and  recently I was inspired by my studies on a degree course in Textiles and Surface Design where stitch was the main mark maker, to try to combine the two.