NEWTON St Cyres Art Group was treated to a demonstration by Rod Ashman on February 27.

Rod is Exeter-based and has spent his life working in art, teaching in various places for many years, inspiring countless students.

His enthusiasm and imagination are undimmed!

His method of creating involves constant experimentation, allowing the unexpected to lead, rather than meticulously planning every mark. However, a great deal of preliminary ideas are sketched first, so he does have an overall idea of what he wants to paint.

He likes working en plein air and brought many sketchbooks and journals which illustrated the breadth of his travels and his ideas.

He uses a huge array of materials and tools, including cardboard, with exciting effects. He stressed the importance of not being “precious”, wanting to record every detail, because that kills a painting.

He often tears up old work and uses it to create new pictures. If you get stuck with a painting, he advised trying different media, different tools, a different size, playing around and aiming to be just a bit out of your depth, to allow things to happen.

An inspiring demonstration.

Jenny Hallam