Long Slough Workshop – 28th September
I was very excited to run my first ever workshop on geology and art for a group of women from Granite Girls, a local women’s climbing club.
The group was a lovely mix of experiences of both art and geology. We went to The Long Slough, which is a local Aberdeenshire climbing crag.
To start I talked about how I started painting outside and the benefits I had found personally. We then walked to the crag and I introduced some geological concepts that we can see all around us, like erosion on the path. After a scramble down to the crag, we talked about the rock cycle with a focus on the metasediments and the granite intrusion visible at the crag. This helped us look for things to paint – different coloured folded and flat layers, faults and fractures picked out by shadows, cross cutting veins of white quartz and pink granite, the different textures of granite and schist, and the shapes the rocks have eroded to. Plus of course the sea, the sky and all things flora and fauna that inhabit the area, including a friendly seal!
We painted together, with everyone painting what they wanted to and moving around to different viewpoints while we were chatting. I encouraged multiple paintings on different scales, and we did a “5 minute painting challenge” to help prompt painting with confidence.
It was great to see the variety of art work, different styles, colours and themes that emerged. To finish the workshop we each chose a painting to share and discuss. There were some great conversations about inspiration and future work!
Some feedback I received after the workshop;
“Thank you so much! Had the best time this morning, perfect start to the weekend <3” – Catherine
“Thank you so much to you Phoebe and to all of the girls! It was fun to draw with you and learn a bit more about the rocks” – Natasha
“The first of many (I hope) geology and art workshops and it was magic. I had such a lovely day, thank you all and thank you Phoebe! It was such a challenge initially – rocks and stone usually become background in my observational drawing so to learn to see and understand their curves and cracks and how they hold history was amazing. Since I started climbing, I’ve been getting curious about rock and stone a lot more and it’s fascinating. I’m still terrified 🙃 but it’s also exciting.” – Rosa
“Thanks again Phoebe! A lovely wholesome morning with Granite girls and Phoebe at her geology and art workshop. I’m heading down to the beach later for a dip and might just take my paints with me :D” – Kirsty (she did!)
“What a lovely day out, thanks a lot Phoebe” – Linda
“Thanks for a great morning! I really enjoyed the session and learnt quite a lot about how I sketch and how I might loosen it up in only 2-3 hours. I really hope to do a lot more sessions at the crags doing forwards.” – Julia
“Many, many thanks Phoebe and all for your loveliness and such a wholesome morning” – Nora
“Amazing geology workshop on the Aberdeen sea cliffs today. It was great being creative with others while learning about the geology of the sea cliffs. Thank you for such a lovely day!” – Kat
More photos
