ArtHouse

My name is Malcolm Thompson; I have a BEd (Hons) and moved to Spain about three years ago. Having been a long time practitioner of watercolour painting I was persuaded to give painting lessons to a neighbour and it sort of blossomed from there! In a previous life I was a teacher at a small independent college near Chester in England for a number of years. I do the painting, the ‘leader of the opposition’ AKA ‘wife’ Carol, runs the money side, advertising, transportation manager, morale officer, keeping me fed, etc, well she always said she could multi-task!

I live near Hondon de las Nieves, (near Aspe/Elche), and have been running watercolour classes for beginners for a year now at Las Chumberas Finca near La Canalosa owned by friends of ours who have lots of space to spare. Recently we also started a watercolour class at ‘Camping Marjal’, Guardamar and got off to a good start. Recently, I and the art group went off to Murcia to look at the Ramon Gaya Art Gallery and the Murcia Provincial Collection at the Museo des Belles Artes. Later that month a group went to the MUBAG in Alicante and had a look at the Alicante Provincial Collection. The emphasis is on art appreciation with a little bit of art history combined with a hearty lunch. I have had one or two articles published in English language magazines in the area about art and our art group, which is good publicity for us. We are also trying to get watercolour holidays started and have produced a brochure. We have a website www.watercolourholidays.com and a sister website for Las Chumberas Finca www.laschumberas.es

At the Las Chumberas Art Group we welcome everyone, particularly complete beginners. We do a two hour session once a week and include a ‘taught’ element in every lesson, for example, perspective or complimentary colours. We cover sketching and drawing ‘sight size’, you know holding the pencil up to the subject and scaling off with your thumb. We always stop for tea and biscuits at half time; it’s wonderful how a chocolate hob nob can re-stimulate the creative urge. There is always a little giggle when someone, usually me, dips their brush into their tea cup. (An occupational hazard I’m afraid).

As for myself, I’m being increasingly attracted to abstract expressionism in acrylic on canvass and hope to make a departure in this respect soon.

Recently, we have found exhibition and selling space at ‘El Pabellon’, an arts and crafts commercial enterprise at Culberon, near Pinoso. And we also sell prints of one or two of my paintings.

Apart from that, if there’s anything more I can tell you please let me know.

My phone number is: 616 052 079.

Thanks,

Malcolm Thompson.