Risedale’s Art Talent Programme offers a unique opportunity for pupils in Years 8, 9, and 10 to dive deeper into ambitious creative projects. By exploring sophisticated techniques and working on a larger scale, pupils are encouraged to develop both their technical skills and their individual artistic voices.

Year 8 pupils Caitlin Arling, Kacey Clarke, Theo Hodgkinson, Aleah Perkes and Isabelle Smith describe their recent project:

"In the Art Talent Club, we have been making giant skull paintings. First, we did a pencil transfer from a giant photograph so that we had a basic outline to work from, then we added acrylic paint with brushes, scrapers and finger painting techniques to add colour; We loved the crazy effects, it was very satisfying to do. We finished the colour stage by adding inky splats and drips. To finish our paintings, we added a monoprint outline on top of the paint - this involved rolling ink directly onto the table, transferring it onto a big skull photograph, before tracing around the edges so that the outlines and shadows stood out again. Rolling ink onto the table made us feel really free, as we wouldn't normally be allowed to do things like that in a classroom. The whole activity was crazy, fun, wild, inspiring and conflicting! We were ecstatic with our paintings in the end."

Ms Westwood, Head of Art, commented:

"I am incredibly proud of the ambition and dedication these pupils have shown. This project required a difficult balance of technical accuracy and total creative expression. Seeing the Year 8 pupils embrace unconventional techniques like monoprinting with such confidence was wonderful—the final pieces are truly impactful and full of energy."

Join the Programme: The Art Talent Programme is open to all pupils in Years 8, 9, and 10. If you would like to work on ambitious projects and experiment with new media, please join Ms Westwood in Room 38 every Wednesday until 4:30pm.

#TeamRisedale 💙💜🧡❤️ #RisedaleBESTArtist

RESPONSIBILITY  RESPECT  RESILIENCE  RELATIONSHIPS