FACEBOOK is blooming these days. There are so many interesting people doing interesting things. Under the banner Covid19poetry journalist and broadcaster Eamonn Mallie is reading poetry every morning and takes the trouble of looking to the manor born with his tasteful shirts and scarves and, of course, his choice in poetry which has introduced me to a whole new array of poets, himself included.
And his own story of Dressing Pigs on the farm in Co Armagh was a vivid look into his growing up.
Then along comes author Tony Macaulay reading chapters from his books, most recently Breadboy, the story of a young teenager, delivering bread from the Ormo bakery to homes on the Shankill Road in Belfast.
If it’s music you want, singer-songwriter and Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan is prolific with his well known songs plus some more recent like ‘We are going to have such fun after all this is over’! And journalist Letitia Fitzpatrick offers a charming interlude when she sings some of her favourite songs accompanying herself on guitar.
So the arts are well covered and you’ll find much more to enjoy if you look hard enough – all we need now is a little bit of watercolour painting to challenge our hours of lockdown.
:: Awash with colour
And here it comes in the form of Dermot Cavanagh, the artist who is well remembered for his television series Awash with Colour, when he took personalities who had no experience and little interest in painting and turned them into credible artists.
He has plenty of stories to tell, like the day he invited Jimmy Cricket to be his pupil.
"He was hilarious, it took ages to film him because he was so funny. I went over the questions I’d ask this man who had never painted before. So when I put the first question: ‘Have you ever painted before, Jimmy?’ to my horror he replied yes!
"Then he elaborated: ‘My first job in England was to paint the white line up the centre of the road. I did 50 feet the first day, 30 the second and then 10 the third. The foreman said to me, I’m sorry Jimmy, I have to let you go, you’re getting less work done each day. I told him, of course it takes longer because I get further away from the bucket of paint everyday.'"
Dermot is a born teacher who loves inspiring. There’s an artist in everyone, he says, and he can certainly bring that artist out and on to paper. I know, as I’ve been to his weekends in Donegal and I was proud of the work I brought home – not me boasting, rather the skill of my teacher.
Dermot has written books on how to paint, he’s demonstrated on television, he runs classes at his home in The Moy, Co Tyrone, all year round and his painting trips to Croatia always have a waiting list with people from all over the UK wanting to combine watercolour with wide open spaces and sunshine.
:: Easy when you know how
Now that these are on hold, Dermot has taken to live classes on YouTube. Although he demonstrates ‘live’, the beauty is you can watch over and over again and so perfect your technique.
It always fascinates me how Dermot uses only 12 colours and part of the tutorial is focused on mixing colours to get hundreds of shades both dark and light. He also devotes time to sketching and then techniques, like rocks, for instance – and here a credit or debit card comes in handy!
You’ve got to see this to believe the effect. It’s incredibly easy to follow the lessons because this man has a lovely manner and a belief that you will succeed.
He has the ‘gift of the gab’ and for two hours he chats away explaining and demonstrating so you are drawn in to having a go yourself. And if you like, once you’ve finished your painting you can send it to Dermot who will access it and give more guidance for a perfect finish. To make sure of the professional standard, Dermot has turned one of his ‘classrooms’ into a television studio.
“I was gardening one day and thinking how to carry on throughout the Covid-19 pandemic until I get my tours up and running again and it seemed obvious to turn to an online classroom where social distancing isn’t a problem," he says.
"I bought three broadcast cameras, set up an edit suite with professional lighting rigs and I’m delighted with the quality of the pictures and the fact that students can access the tutorials anywhere in the world.”
Once you sign in, Dermot will send a list of materials he recommends and you’re set to go. The live classes are two hours in duration and then you can download and work away in your own time to add here and there. If you watch it live you can ask questions and have them answered during the sessions. These are very personal lessons, just you and Dermot and, don’t worry – these tutorials are for painters of all ages and levels of ability.
There will be a new class every Wednesday evening from 7pm until 9pm on YouTube and each class costs £14.99, payable via PayPal or by card. Get a taste of what you can achieve by watching Dermot’s promo; https://youtu.be/dNdA3zSlx4g and you can get more details about the classes and payment by contacting him at: Email: info@dermotcavanagh.com
:: Front row seat
MUSIC on a grand scale coming up next week. I’ll be talking to the man behind an ambitious project which features some of our top musicians all joining together in a tribute to the NHS and frontline workers. You are invited to attend this classical gala concert next Monday night at 8pm on YouTube. Meet the man in question on this page next week.
