Kibworth Art Lovers – March 2025
At our first meeting of 2025, the Kibworth Art Lovers enjoyed an evening with David Dunmore. He introduced us to his technique of botanical watercolour painting.
David works from his home studio in Husbands Bosworth. As a member of the Harborough Artists Cluster, he takes part in Open Studios and local exhibitions. He recently held an exhibition at the Northampton Open Studios Exhibition at Lamport Hall. Although accomplished in a range of media, botanical painting in watercolour has become his preference.
During the evening, David talked us through the early steps towards becoming a botanical artist, which he had learnt over an eight year course. He described how he found inspiration from his passion for gardening. David chooses plants and flowers from his own garden, along with photographs, to inform his paintings. He brought a number along to our meeting.
David explained his choice of equipment: Half-pan watercolour paints, a range of special brushes for botanical painting, a ruler for exact measurements and even a magnifying glass to enable detail work. His paintings begin with a light pencil drawing. This is traced onto tracing paper and transferred to an aquarelle board in a way which protects the board’s texture. Paint is applied to exactly reflect the colours and markings of the subject. Our members and visitors admired the beauty of this meticulous work.
Our next meeting on 29 March will be led by professional artist, Lesley Brooks. She is a member of the Leicester Society of Artists, and will demonstrate her unique style of painting in oils. We hold our meetings at the Kibworth Community Hub lounge at 7pm. Visitors are warmly welcome.
Meanwhile, works by Gussie Toft are on display at the Kibworth branch of the MHBS, to be followed by those of Hilary Willars in April.
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