CHLOE RODENHURST, who shows her art work at Origin Gallery, King Street in Carmarthen and is a Ceredigion Art Trail artist, was recently the subject of a special project for the Year 7 pupils at Coleg Cymmunedol Y Dderwen, Tondu in Bridgend.
The project’s aim was to make contact with and learn about a real working Welsh artist and the children were so inspired by Chloe’s original and unusual style that they chose her work.
The assignment’s objective was to encourage the children to think of different questions to ask the artist and then to produce their own work inspired by Chloe’s style.
The questions that the Year 7 pupils asked were very imaginative; they wanted to know lots of different things about Chloe’s work from ‘How old were you when you became an artist?’ to ‘Do you travel across Wales to make your paintings or do you paint from photographs?’ and ‘Do you have any tips for us?’.
A full copy of all the questions and Chloe’s responses is available on the Ceredigion Art Trail’s website.
Chloe said that she thought this was an inventive yet grounded way to study art at school. So often children are only introduced to paintings from ‘old Masters’ that are internationally acclaimed, such as Van Gough or Picasso, which is important for learning about art history but not necessarily helpful or relevant to children who might think that becoming an artist is an unrealistic dream.
Chloe said that she never believed it was possible to be an artist when she was young but if you try hard enough anything is possible. Being able to ask questions and learn from a real, living artist that is local and pertinent to their own communities encourages children to believe that they too can become artists.
When asked for a practical tip for the pupils’ artwork, Chloe responded: “For me, painting is about having fun. Everyone can do something, it doesn’t have to be technically brilliant to be good. Anyone can produce art even if it’s colouring in a doodle. Some of the bits I enjoy the most when I’m working is simply painting stripes, everyone can do that!
“The main thing is not to be afraid of using paint, going over the lines etc. & practice as much as possible. And do have fun with colour: I like to deliberately pick colours that clash – like red & green or purple & yellow. I am also not too worried about any particular aspect of each painting being perfect, it’s about evoking an atmosphere.
“One final tip, I always plan the drawing first in pencil & start painting from the top down. I instinctively want to start painting in the middle of the page but if you do that you end up brushing your arm all over it & can mess up the paint or rub out the drawing so start from the top of the picture & work down from left to right – unless you’re left handed then go from right to left.”
Chloe concluded: “I was thrilled that the children chose my work to inspire their own paintings. It is an honour and I absolutely love the photos of their work. It is fantastic, they should be very proud of themselves! I hope that they all carry on enjoying and developing their creative skills.”
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