East Ayrshire schoolkids attend design classes

Aug 8 2008 by Ian Russell, Kilmarnock Standard

SCHOOL may be out for summer but it was ‘business as usual’ for keen young artists recently.

In total, 20 teenagers from schools across East Ayrshire attended an art and design summer school in Kilmarnock Academy, where they improved their drawing and painting skills.

Classes were led by acclaimed portrait painter Andrew Ratcliffe, from Appleby.

The young artists enjoyed working alongside a professional artist and gained valuable knowledge and experience about painting from life and using a model, rather than photographs.

Andrew has painted portraits of members of the royal family, including HRH Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry.

The famous artist has also painted a variety of dignitaries and stars including Neil Kinnock and Ken Dodd, with his paintings hanging in galleries across the UK, USA, Australia and Europe.

Councillor Iain Linton said: “This was a wonderful opportunity for pupils from schools across East Ayrshire to work with this fantastically renowned painter. The intensive summer course will help the students with future work in their higher or advanced higher art and design courses. It was an honour for East Ayrshire to welcome the hugely acclaimed artist to lead this summer school.”

The artwork produced during the summer school will be exhibited in an exhibition in January next year in the Young People’s Gallery in The Dick, Kilmarnock.