2023 Christmas Party

Due to the centre having their Christmas party early this year we moved our celebratory meeting forward to the 7th December. As usual there was a warm inviting atmosphere where, as well as bringing a painting from 2023 for the competition, everyone brought a contribution of something to eat or drink and a card to exchange. The festivities got under way with a short art based quiz organised by Paul and later in the evening votes were counted for this years winner of the John Emmerton Trophy. The quality of the work was high and It was a close contest but this years winner was Mike Ainsworth with is graphite of ‘Hedge Sparrow’.

Julie Searing, last years winner had the honour of presenting the trophy to Mike who now has the responsibility of cleaning it for the next 12 months! The group meets again on the 11th January 2024. Images provided by Sue Redman, Stephen Watson and Leyland Artist Archive.

Mike Ainsworth receiving the John Emmerton Trophy from
Julie Searing, last years winner. 

Sparrow by Mike Ainsworth (Graphite)

Other entries to the competition

High standards from everyone and the voting was close

Who was John Emmerton?

Many new members have joined the group since Johns passing in 2014 so here is a little note about this founder member.

John G Emmerton was born in 1924 and served as a Leading Aircraftman with the RAF from 1940 to 1946. After leaving the service he joined the police force where he retired at the rank of inspector in 2005. John was a prolific artist and covered a wide range of subjects but his favourite genre was historical and present day buildings, both in and around his home and on holiday locations. As a long standing member of the former Farington Art Group John became a founder member of the new ‘Leyland Artists Group’ at its inception in 2011 and took pride in mentoring new artists and running children's art workshops in the summer at the local park. Upon his death in 2014 it was decided to create the “John Emmerton Trophy” in his honour which is awarded to the competition winner (by votes) at the end of each year and is presented at the groups end of year Christmas Party.

We present some of his work.

String Theory Workshop

A voluntary workshop with member Stephen Watson covered the technique of using string (or in this case elastic) to check the accuracy of both singe and double point perspective when laying out the composition of your artwork. Stephen also showed and demonstrated the 'rule of thirds' to help position and scale a regular series of diminishing objects such as fence posts or street lights.

Luckily, the String Theory workshop was nothing to do with 'Quantum Entanglement' or 'Quantum Flux Collapse Into Waveform Energy Upon Observation'.

2023 Chorley Library Exhibition

Members Joan Hassall, Sue Redman, Pam Harvey and Paul Stanley hung our latest exhibition on the community wall inside Chorley Library. Over forty works of art are on display until the end of November. Blog images provided by Pam Harvey.

Click/Tap image for larger view

Still Life Workshop

Member Sue Redman organised a still life workshop where most of the members left their comfort zones had a go. completed works were in acrylic, watercolour, charcoal pencil and graphite.

2023 Leyland Library Exhibition

A selection of works from Leyland Artist are on display in the library for one month. Note to other groups: Lancashire County Council have increased commission on any sales to 35% so please bear this in mind!

Liam Dickinson Demonstration

A very enjoyable evening with professional artist Liam Dickinson. Liam demonstrated how he produces monotone portraiture from the initial blocking in to full tonal representation.

For the presentation he used Water based oils of black and white.

2023 Exhibition at Birkdale Community Hub

Our first exhibition of the year is at The Birkdale Community Hub & Library, Southport, and runs through May and June. Over thirty paintings are hung around the building.

2 Liverpool Road, Birkdale, Southport PR8 4AR. Opening Hours are Mon - Wed - Fri 10am to 4pm. Tues - Thurs 10am to 7pm and Sat 10am to 1pm.

Seascape Workshop

Member Joan Hassall demonstrated the use of pan pastels and provided the appropriate paper for the group to try on. She gave us a lot of useful information on the application and blending as well as how to restore damaged pans. Select an image for a larger view. Our 'Meetings' page shows all the activities planned for the year.

Collage Workshop

Our own Julie Anne Searing led a very informative and entertaining workshop demonstrating the art of collage. Great fun was had by all who took part and at the end of the evening some very creative pieces were made.