wELCOME!


​​Welcome to the Harpenden Arts Club!

The Harpenden Arts Club aims to provide a wide range of creative workshops, demonstrations, life drawing and studio practice evenings, as well as a sociable meeting point for artists of all abilities. We meet most Thursday evenings at 7.30 - 9.30 pm in the small public hall, Harpenden Public Halls, Southdown Road, Harpenden, AL5 1PD (behind the Harpenden Arms pub) from September to May.
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Have a look at this coming season's programme for details of all the exciting new workshops and demonstrations:
NEXT  MEETING:
Presentation and workshop on Henri Matisse Cut-outs
Led by Debbie Knight
Thursday 30 January 2020, 7.30pm
The cut-outs by Henri Matisse were part of his  revolutionary late-period work. Towards the end of his monumental career as a painter, sculptor, and lithographer, an elderly, sickly Matisse was unable to stand and use a paintbrush for any length of time. So in this late phase of his life - he was almost 80 years of age - he developed the technique of 'carving into colour', creating bright, bold paper cut-outs. Though dismissed by some contemporary critics as the folly of a senile old man, these gouache decoupages in fact represented a revolution in modern art, a whole new medium that re-imagined the age-old conflict between colour and line: Matisse described it as "Drawing with Scissors". 

Debbie Knight, artist and HAC committee member, says
"I plan to talk about Matisse's artistic journey that led him into abstraction,and about his use of paper to produce his 'cut outs,' and then we will have a go!".

Please bring the following materials:
  •  At least one good large sheet of paper for finished artwork ( A3 or larger)
  • Some cheaper paper for cutting up, could be newsprint or lining wall paper
  •  A good large pair of scissors
  • Some paint and pots, you will need to mix up enough colour to paint a fair sized area solidly, so poster, gouache or acrylic
  •  Some glue and a spreader
  •  A large brush/ brushes.
  • Newspaper to protect the tables
How to Find Us:

Location of the weekly (7.30 - 9.30pm) Thursday evening meetings at the Harpenden Public Halls:
HARPENDEN ARTS CLUB ANNUAL EXHIBITION!
7 - 10 November 2019
What a great exhibition that was! Our exhibition had more than 250 original artworks on display, beautifully created by 54 talented artists from Harpenden and the surrounding area. There was an exciting variety of media, styles and subjects, ranging from richly coloured oil paintings and serene watercolours, to contemporary abstract mixed media paintings, and skilful pencil and pastel paintings, in a showcase of art that inspired all! Many thanks to all who came and visited us!

​For more information and photos from the exhibition see the 2019 exhibition page:
BEST IN SHOW PUBLIC VOTE RESULTS
We are delighted to announce the results of the vote by the public for their favourite artworks. More than 700 voting slips were filled out by visitors with the following result:
First place: "Footprints in the sand" - oil painting by Sarah Poppleton
Second place: "St Peter's, Rome" - oil painting by Peter Brown
Third place: "Harpenden Arms, wet evening" - oil painting by Peter Brown

If you would like to see the full voting list click on the button below these pictures.

First prize:  "Footprints in the sand" by Sarah Poppleton

second prize:  "St Peter's, Rome" by peter Brown

third prize:  "harpenden arms, wet evening" by Peter brown

aBOUT uS


We are a sociable and creative group of people who enjoy learning new art techniques and sharing ideas. We have over 130 members and a strong committee of nine enthusiastic individuals who, along with many willing helpers, organise and run the activities.
 SOME MEMBERS CELEBRATING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY
If you would like to join:
MEMBERS' GALLERIES

Don't forget that there are pages here on the HAC website that can display your work. If you would like your own section or would like to update the current pictures you have on display, please do email Sarah Poppleton on poppleton94@yahoo.co.uk with jpegs of your paintings (up to 6 images, under 1MB file size each please) and a paragraph about you and your work.
Have you seen our Facebook page yet? We post regular photos from the weekly sessions there and more day-to-day information. If you use Facebook, do "like" our page to hear from us!

gdpr iNFORMATION

Harpenden Arts Club has now published a data protection policy in line with the new General Data Protection Regulations.

Are you getting our emails?

We have changed our email system over the summer. Emails to members now come from info.hac2018@gmail.com . Please make sure your email system accepts this new address and doesn't put our emails into your Junk folder! Also, please make sure we have your current email address. If in doubt, contact Membership Secretary Peter Brown on 01582 793174 or pjbrown4242@gmail.com.
If you have any comments or suggestions for this website or would like to contact the webmaster, please email Sarah Poppleton on info.hac2018@gmail.com .