Demonstrations 2026
Venue
(Unless otherwise stated)
Demonstrations are free for NNAC members and £5 for non members.
Julia Tooley : Still life in guache
Julia Tooley is a Norfolk-based, self-taught artist specializing in vibrant gouache paintings that capture everyday objects, still life, and, frequently, food. Her work, often characterized by a focus on light, texture, and form, is displayed in galleries such as Chequer House Gallery and Anteros Arts Foundation. She also teaches gouache workshops.
Tracey Ross: North Norfolk Coastal Scene in Acrylic & Mixed Media
Tracey Ross studied textile design and then completed a Visual Studies degree at Norwich University of the Arts. As a member of the Norwich 20 Group she regularly participates in the annual North Norfolk Open Studios. Tracey was shortlisted for the National Open Art Competition, was a finalist for the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA), the Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) at the Mall Galleries and the Sir John Hurt Holt Art Prize. Her work is held in private collections and galleries both in the UK and abroad.
Demonstrations 2027
Kay Barker: Subject TBC
Aspects of the environment: Seascape, landscape, sky and nature inspire all of Kay’s works.
Kay produces artworks using various media including works on paper, canvas and three dimensional pieces.
She has been practicing as an artist for over 25 years exhibiting widely throughout Britain and abroad.
Her work has been purchased by private and public collections and she is a prize winner in printmaking
John Patchett: A Garden Scene in Pastel
John Patchett is a well-known East Anglian professional artist, who is a member of the East Anglian Institute of Artists and whose pastel paintings are much sought after, both in England and abroad.
Born in Deal, Kent in 1946.
After attending Grimsby School of Art, Kingston-upon-Thames College of Art and Brighton College of Art, John settled in Australia where he lived for 19 years.
In 1994, he returned to this country, settling in East Anglia where he has easy access to some of his favourite locations.
Besides holding over 40 successful solo shows in Australia and England, John’s pastel paintings have been exhibited in Japan, New Zealand and with the ‘Pastel Society’, ‘The Royal Society of Marine Artists’ and the ‘Laing Exhibition’ at the Mall Galleries, London, where he was awarded the ‘1997 Guest’s Choice’ prize.
In recent years, John Patchett’s pastel paintings have become a regular feature in articles in the ‘Leisure Painter’ magazine.
Recent recognition by the International Pastel Artist Magazine, America, of John Patchett as a ‘Master Pastelist’ reiterates the impact of his artwork on a global scale.
Liz Balkwill: Portrait in Oils
Artists Statement
I enjoy painting both still-life and the figure and have recently started painting horses at the start of the pandemic (they have become my new figure/portrait subject). No matter what my subject, I endeavour to achieve a good drawing followed by capturing the way that light and shadow fall over a face or figure to convey form. With still-life, I like the way light can convey mood and can transform everyday objects from the mundane to the beautiful.
Method of working
This can depend on how I feel at the time. Sometimes I just want to get going with little preparation. At other times, I do a lot more planning and preparatory work. I might start with compositional studies/notans moving on to a detailed drawing. Sometimes, I do small poster studies to decide on the colour and value range to convey a mood. Although this sounds lengthy, it can ultimately save me a great deal of time on the finished piece.
Penny Overton: Landscape in Acrylics & Mixed Media
She works in acrylics, bringing extra depth, texture and intricacy by combining the paint with other media including chalk, pastel, ink, sand, foil, even tea and coffee grounds. Natural objects like leaves, feathers and earth may feature, with Penny often scraping back layers and then reapplying paint multiple times, washing over the canvases with other media and applying colour and texture with non-traditional implements, to achieve a complex and captivating result that is as much a physical and emotional response to the land and sea as it is a depiction of them.
Paul Zawadzki: Forest Scene in Oils
Working in oil on canvas, He has a grounding in traditional landscape painting while his current style uses paint manipulation techniques such as dripping, blotting and splattering. This spontaneous way of working embraces the love of the spirit of chance and randomness – seize the happy accident!
He is also a member of several Art Collectives and Organisations such as Norfolk & Norwich Art Circle (Chairman 2024), Harleston & Waveney Art Trail Collective, and Easterly Artists.
Teresa Seals: Wildlife in Pastel
As an artist, my main objective is to capture the likeness and personality of my subjects. A pastel portrait has a dynamic three-dimensional quality that far surpasses the static flatness a photograph can have. I love the tactile nature of working with soft pastel and the way that, by rubbing each layer onto the paper, I almost ‘stroke’ the subject into life. Particularly drawn to wildlife and animal portraits, I focus on bringing character and life to each of my artworks.
Steven Martyn: Watercolour landscape in the style of Edward Seago
I had no formal schooling in art, but somehow, and rather late, the idea of painting in watercolour crept up on me. I was very fortunate to get good adult tuition, and I gradually acquired the techniques that enabled me to make my dream of painting become reality. The more I studied nature the more I painted, and the more I painted, the more I fell in love with the landscape. These days the wheel has come full circle and I spend a lot of time giving tuition to others, in the hope that art will be as life changing for them as it has been for me.”