So You Want to be an Artsist?
Young painters make a splash in The Lowry gallery
So You Want to be an Artist?
Sat 26 July – Sun 2 November 2008
Youngsters will have a brush with the world of art when The Lowry’s new hands-on exhibition opens its doors a week on Saturday.
In art galleries the rule is usually ‘Look but don’t touch.’ But The Lowry is changing all that with children creating their own artwork in So You Want to be an Artist? After exploring how LS Lowry and other artists created their art, children can decide what materials and colours to use, what their inspiration will be and how they might frame their work.
The youngsters will learn direct from renowned North West artists Liam Spencer and Ghislaine Howard who will share some of their secrets on screen. Fun exercises will help the kids relax at the start then they can perch on pencil-top stools and scribble alongside LS Lowry’s own early jottings. Sitting astride the donkey easels they can also take part in ‘Life drawing’ with a mannequin and sometimes even a real life model.
Ghislaine Howard commented:
“Drawing is something we all do as children and so many of us as we grow older seem to lose the sense of magic that comes when you put pencil to paper. This exhibition recaptures that child-like sense of creative play”.
Visitors can see many of the places which inspired Lowry and decide what they want to paint – from landscapes to dreamscapes. Budding artists will find out about colour and how it can bring their drawings to life. In the ‘danger zone’ painting area they can paint in the galleries all day long. Towards the end of the exhibition kids can find out about framing, relax with some children’s art books and then exhibit their work for everyone to see.
Michael Simpson, Head of Galleries, commented:
“This is The Lowry’s first exhibition aimed primarily at families. Galleries are usually nervous about painting activities because of the inevitable mess but we have turned this upside down and gone completely hands-on”.
Posted on Tuesday, 15 July 2008 under Press Galleries Press