Vectis Decorative and Fine Arts Society Lecture

Doors open at 7.15pm. Tea, coffee and bar are available before the lectures which begin at 8.00pm.

We ask you to be seated by 7.55pm. They finish at approximately 9.15-9-30pm Guests are welcome at a cost of £7 and £2 for students.

---

Alexandra, a practising artist takes us from the lapiz lazuli mines of Afghanistan to the studios of Vermeer and Titian. _______________________________________________________ Have you ever wondered where the Blue in medieval illuminated manuscripts came from, or how the glaziers of our Gothic cathedrals made their blue glass? The Ancient Britons tattooed their bodies in a blue dye, and, two thousand years later in a Parisian art gallery Yves Klein in a public performance painted his nude models blue and dragged them across his canvasses. Why doesn’t the Virgin Mary wear green, and why is Krishna painted blue? These are some of the questions that I will be addressing. The story of blue takes us from the lapis lazuli mines in Afghanistan to the studios of Titian, Vermeer, Hokusai, Picasso and Matisse, to name but a few. The spirituality of Blue led Kandinsky and Franz Marc to name their art movement “The Blue Rider”. As a professional artist myself, I pay special attention to contemporary artists who use blue, such as Louise Bourgeois’ sculptures, Ann Hamilton’s Blue Jeans installation, and John Wonnacott’s paintings. Join me for an hour of true blue sky thinking!

Reading list
Colour: Travels Through my Paintbox, Victoria Finlay
Colour in Art. John Gage
Colour and Meaning. John Gage
Colour and Culture. John Gage
The Alchemy of Paint. Spike Bucklow
Bright Earth: the invention of Colour. Philip Ball
Colour: Art and Science. Edited by Trevor Lamb
Colour: making and using dyes and pigments. Francois Delamare

Lecturer Profile:
Alexandra Drysdale is a graduate of Chelsea College of Art where she gained a 1stsBA(hons) in Fine Art and an MFA from Cambridge School of Art.

In 2007 and 2012 she lectured in Australia for ADFAS.

Alexandra is an art historian and professional artist. Her lectures combine art historical knowledge with personal expertise in aesthetics and artistic techniques. It is this combination that makes her lectures so original and dynamic.

Alexandra lives in Cambridge. She is a studio artist at Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire