HOME-GROWN GALLERIES OF GOOD EXA

The Bracknell Community Gallery of Greeters & Inspirers

ALONG THE RAILINGS OUTSIDE ST JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH BY PRINCESS SQUARE IN BRACKNELL BERKSHIRE RG12 1HA

EARLY 2015 GUIDANCE ON THE WHO, WHAT, HOW AND WHY FOR CHOOSERS & ARTISTS
This page sets out answers to some basic questions
WHO MIGHT BE YOUR CHOICE OF 'INSPIRER'? WHO MIGHT BE YOUR CITIZEN ARTIST? WHAT COMMON STYLE IS REQUIRED? WHAT MATERIALS WILL THE ARTIST NEED? HOW DO YOU MAKE THE HOOKS AND FRAME? HOW DO YOU DO THE LETTERING ON THE FRAME? WHAT'S THE ARTISTIC STANDARD EXPECTED? WHO OWNS THE GALLERY PICTURES? HOW MUCH MIGHT THE MATERIALS COST? CAN EXPERIENCED ARTISTS OFFER TO HELP? WHAT'S THE FIRST STEP (GET IN TOUCH!)
WHO MIGHT BE YOUR CHOICE OF “INSPIRER”?
It’s someone that you feel is a good example you value and want to share with others. It might be for citizenship, or kindness, or courage, or commitment, or whatever. Your Inspirer might be real or fictional; living or dead; well-known or not; someone worth sharing (eg that lovely granny); related or not to your group or interest; religious or secular; whoever.	BE IMAGINATIVE in your choice of figure. Young people’s choices for similar galleries included Isaac Newton, The Queen, The Good Samaritan, Martin Luther King, David Beckham, Nelson Mandela, Gordon Ramsay in charity marathon mode, Malala Yousafzai, Rosa Parks, Mary Berry with a Fairtrade recipe, assorted saints, Blessed Brian O'Driscoll... Warm appreciation came from some when told they’d been chosen! We'll be doing the same with the Gallery of Greeters & Inspirers.

WHO MIGHT BE YOUR ‘CITIZEN ARTIST’?
If you can find an experienced or trained artist or friend willing to help out, that’s fine. If not… ANYONE WILLING TO HAVE A GO even if you’re never done anything like this before. The panels do not demand a Rembrandt. Someone who can get things done and dusted without fuss by the middle of March 2015. Seen on the right is Gallery Co-ordinator Hugh Gibbons, squeezed into a corner of his garage in Hanworth in making a 7' Romero Cross. Note the simple figure and painting style, and help in a Wickes tin.
WHAT COMMON STYLE IS REQUIRED?
Plain but full of colour. Here’s Florence Nightingale painted for a Year 1 choice in a local primary school. NB1 very simple figure, with an arm raised in greeting, using flat areas of paint with a lack edging (waterproof marker is useful). NB2 objects and small figures add to the picture and make the viewer ask what’s the story behind that, then? NB3 The deep blue sky and white clouds at the top give a visual bounce when seen from a distance. NB4 Keep in mind that the paintings will be seen from a distance, not close-up as in a conventional art gallery – so tiny details are fine, but big strong Inspirer figures are essential.
WHAT MATERIALS WILL YOUR ARTIST NEED?
One standard width plywood sheet – 600mm wide x 1000mm high x 9mm thick (eg from Wickes) A white primer/undercoat (both sides) which makes a good ground for painting. (If you want, the back can be a random mosaic of spare paint splashed on!) Exterior varnish to weatherproof everything Weatherproof paints – which might be tubes of acrylics or similar polymer paints. You use water with them - unlike oil paints. These are good for amateur artists, who may need to correct a mistake or change something. It takes only a few minutes for the paint to dry, ready for painting over. NB The paint also dries quickly on brushes! So keep them in water while you're painting, and wash them out thoroughly each time you finish. A basic palette might be: white, black, a bright yellow, a bright red, a deep blue such as ultramarine.	Permanent markers are very handy for drawing the lines around the blocks of colour, and touching up odd bits of painting. You can get an economy version t WH Smiths - and Poundland
HOW DO YOU MAKE THE HOOKS AND FRAME?
The pictures hang on the horizontal bar of the railings, which is about 85mm wide. So they need two snugly-fitting hooks attached robustly to the back of the frame. One easy way way to make this is by bolting together two brass L-shaped brackets (again from Wickes). Anyone has a better suggestion for this, or knows of a source for a a similar U-shaped bracket, get in touch. The picture on the right shows the component parts - two 90mm brass L-brackets; two machine screws with countersunk heads (so they give a nice smooth surface on the railing); and a couple of brass eyes for the screws - helping to make a tight join. The upper-right picture shows a wooden block with the machine screws going right through - but this isn't actually necessary. To make the simple frame, you need 2200mm of 45mm x 18mm planed wood - which goes flat on the plywood front, fixed with screws through the back. The frame can be painted any colour you like, and words added - such as the subject, the name of the artists, and/or who commissioned or provided the portrait. If in doubt, NAME OF INSPIRER at top, PAINTED BY down left side, FOR PROVIDER down the right side. The back? How about a simple big face - so it can look through the vertical bars of the railings, as a sort of reminder of prisoners. It will help if you position a simple metal eye on the outside of the frame about 30cm up from the bottom. This is to let us slip a plastic tie through to help hold the your painting firm against the buffets of Bracknell wind.

HOW DO WE DO THE LETTERING ON THE FRAME?
The letters need to be a minimum of 30mm - which gives them good legibility at 20+ metres. And they need to be fairly thick. It's a good idea to: - lay out the letters in the size to be used on a plain piece of paper - paint them on the frame parts before they're screwed in place - use contrasting background colours eg white on dark, dark on pale One way is simple freehand - as with the Romero-Pope panel. You need a steady hand. Another is as used with Ron - a 30mm letter stencil outfit (this was from Hobbycraft) with the letters inked ink using a permanent marker. Note that it's a good idea to rough out the position of the letters on paper first, before moving on to the frame. The wording? - Use the top and bottom for the name of the Inspirer - use the upright sides for Chosen By Xxxxx and Painted by Xxxxxx If you want to add wording on the actual painting, that's fine - but remember to keep it short and legible.
WHAT’S THE ARTISTIC STANDARD EXPECTED?
Simple, within everyone's reach. The Gallery is NOT an outdoor version of the Sistine Chapel. One of its charms will come from seeing the great array of paintings using a common theme but with individual interpretations. So your panel works more like a big poster rather than a watercolour postcard. The overall style will make a great impression – but there’ll be great diversity from 60+ artists.	If you want to see a Catholic Church which DOES have the Sistine Chapel, then visit English Martyrs at Goring-on-Sea in West Sussex - or www.sistinechapeluk.co.uk Gary Bevans took over five and half years to paint on plywood panels. It remains today a place of special interest, receiving an award for excellence in 2014 from Trip Advisor.
WHO OWNS THE GALLERY PANELS?
You do. You have ownership of the panels, and can change, replace or remove them at any time. The Gallery area is actually the property of St Josephs – but is pretty public anyway, and freely lent because it's a very public space. Website entries and other activities are free. There's no funding of the Gallery - though a few modest prizes might be found.
HOW MUCH MIGHT PANEL MATERIALS COST?
Very roughly, about £20-30 – but you might minimise costs by sharing materials such as the paints. If you like what you see with the Gallery, you might want to reward and thank your artist, and cover their costs. One extra inspiring way would be a little donation direct their charity of choice, or maybe the UK Disasters Emergency Committee. NB If you want to use your efforts to raise funds for a charity, you're welcome to do so.
EAGER ARTISTS IN BERKSHIRE AND BEYOND? YOU TOO CAN SERVE
Some groups may want to have a panel but are unable to find their own artist. In this case, it would be useful to have a simple register of anyone prepared to help out. Please contact hughgibbons@just1.org.uk

FIRST STEP? GET PENCILLED IN

Without obligation on either side, contact the Co-ordinator hughgibbons@just1.org.uk

Your interest will be logged, and you’ll be given a reminder briefing
and any updates – so don’t rush off and commit art until you’re absolutely ready and fully au fait with things.

Many thanks!

ALL ALONG THE RAILINGS OUTSIDE ST JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH BY PRINCESS SQUARE IN BRACKNELL BERKSHIRE RG12 1HA