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More passion and loosen up: advice to all budding artists thumb

More passion and loosen up: advice to all budding artists

The following videos are packed with useful advice for painting and drawing students at OCA. The same message comes through time and again when assessors are reviewing student work, and so it is, even when asked to pick examples of really good work to talk about on camera, that the need for students to follow […]

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Taking it further thumb

Taking it further

It was a pleasure to meet Chris Hodgson at the graduation ceremony last month. Chris had started on her degree studies nearly a decade ago, but clearly didn’t see achieving a degree as an end point. As she described what she was currently working on it became clear that we had to invite in to […]

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How Ben works thumb

How Ben works

Ben Robinson, OCA Photography student, has agreed that we can show this short (soundless) video that shows how he builds up his knowledge and adds to his learning log. Its a really good insight into working methods, so worth a minute or two of your time. It’s a good example of looking at other artists’ […]

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Blog of the week: Fran Clark thumb

Blog of the week: Fran Clark

Fran’s learning log is a refreshing and straightforward reflection on the development of her work. As a Drawing one student she is clearly just finding her feet in terms of writing about her work, and searching out things that inspire her and give her the opportunity to ruminate and respond to. I personally would prefer […]

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A nose on the floor has significant consequences thumb

A nose on the floor has significant consequences

John Robertson is a level two sculpture student at OCA. John showed promise as a boy making 3D objects and a teacher recognized this and gave him the materials to start a carving project. John worked after school to chip away at the block provided and produced a carving he was proud off after two […]

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Blog of the Week: Pam Wright thumb

Blog of the Week: Pam Wright

I am grateful to the OCASA Committee for flagging Pam Wright‘s learning blog for the Graphic Design course (I think it was Mary who told Stan who told me). It is well worth a visit, not just to see how Pam is researching, recording and reflecting on her work but also the way she has […]

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Shape-Form-Texture-Colour thumb

Shape-Form-Texture-Colour

I am grateful to tutor Alan Byrne for bringing my attention to the work of student Ghada Al Qassimi. Assignment 4 of Art of photography requires the student to use their knowledge of lighting to bring our physical properties of a single object, producing two photographs each which emphasise shape, form, texture and colour. It […]

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Blog of the week: Jane Wellington on Drawing Skills thumb

Blog of the week: Jane Wellington on Drawing Skills

Jane keeps a good learning blog. Not only are her drawings a delight, but she has a chatty honest style, and is disarmingly self-critical. She knows how to motivate herself: at the end of a section, she’s stopped and reflected on what she has learned: for example: So, key learning points: 1. My positioning is […]

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Blog of the week: David Atkinson-Beaumont thumb

Blog of the week: David Atkinson-Beaumont

The latest learning log to make Blog of the Week is David’s People and Place blog. David is probably better known to fellow students from the student site and flickr as Atkobeau, and People and Place is his second OCA course. (His Art of Photography blog is also worth a look and is here). There […]

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A story of achievement: from nursing to success as an artist thumb

A story of achievement: from nursing to success as an artist

The creative urge just won’t go away….. that’s what brings many people in mid life to OCA. Here Jane Perkins tells the story of her mid life conversion to achieve her creative dreams. ‘As a young child, I always enjoyed being creative; drawing, embroidery and ‘making things’. From school, I trained as a nurse and […]

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