Past Event: Cass Art Festival

Over 175 artists took part in the Cass Art Festival which included a breadth of creative workshops and live demonstrations from the world's best brands at the Bargehouse at the Oxo Tower Wharf.

Explore the full line up below and find out how you can get involved. But watch this space – we’ll be revealing more creative events, workshops and demonstrations in the lead up to the Festival all this week.

Artists from left to right, top to bottom: Ronan McGeough, Pierce Braysher, Riki Rathod and Kate Blanford.

Exhibition: Showcasing Our Staff Artists

Experience an eclectic mix of over 200 artworks by Cass Art staff artists including drawing, painting, mixed media, installation and digital media. The exhibition will take place over five floors, with the opportunity to explore a diverse range of themes and creative processes on every level.

The exhibition will be open from 12 noon on Thursday 19^th October to the public and at various points throughout the weekend.

Please note: not all artworks will be suitable for young audiences. Please ensure that all children are accompanied by an adult.

Experiment with the World's Best Brands

Reeves Pop Up: Show Your Colours at the Cass Art Festival

Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd October  • 11am – 6pm

Reeves is on a mission to democratise art, empower everyone to express their passions and unleash their creativity.

Join Reeves at the Cass Art Festival and ‘Show Your Colours’ in a series of creative activities across the weekend. You’ll be able to decorate plant pots, colour in London-themed postcards and even create your own flipbook, which can be transformed and shared by Reeve’s special ‘GIF machine’.

Don’t forget to share your creations on social media using the hashtag #WeAreReeves

Free admission. All materials provided. 

Discover the Possibilities of Liquitex Acrylic & Mediums

Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd October  • 11am – 6pm

Watch as a Liquitex artist paints live with Liquitex Professional Acrylic, showcasing the range’s intermixable properties.

Have a go yourself and be one of the first to try Liquitex Basics Mediums. Adding mediums to your paint creates infinite possibilities in terms of texture, thickness, gloss, drying time and more, taking your artwork to that next level.

Creators of the world’s first water-based acrylic paint, Liquitex continue to evolve and innovate, working closely with artists to ensure they truly listen to your needs.

Explore the full range of Liquitex Acrylic and Mediums on our website.

Free Admission

Winsor & Newton: Live Masterclasses on Watercolour and Oil Colour

Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd October  • 11am – 6pm

Step into the world of Winsor & Newton and witness masterclass come to life.

For the first time, a series of Water Colour and Oil Colour masterclass sessions will be hosted live. You’ll experience the best of masterclass, with professional artists sharing techniques and insights to help you perfect your practice.

The live topics will cover a range of methods and insights, including watercolour wet-on-wet techniques and washes, using mediums to create granulation effects and liquid masks, and demonstrations of Winsor & Newton Water Colour Sticks and Markers. You’ll also learn about Oil Colour’s fat over lean principle, creating gradients, and introducing mediums such as Liquin to your oil work.

Throughout the day there will also be a show reel of Winsor & Newton’s most popular masterclass videos. Learn about scumbling with oil, drawing with charcoal, creating hard edges with acrylic, comparing transparent and opaque pigments and more.

Free admission

Accidental Fusions and Pebeo Demos with Artist Fiona Burn

Creative Events & Workshops at the Festival

ProColour Portrait Workshop with Artist Jake Spicer

Friday 20^th October 2017 • 12 noon – 2pm

Join us for a very special life drawing class at the Cass Art Festival in Bargehouse OXO Tower Wharf taught by artist, author and drawing tutor Jake Spicer. The session will start with a drawing demonstration and introduction to some basics of portrait drawing followed by a practical drawing session.

Survival Techniques with Artist Naomi Edmondson

Thursday 19^th & Friday 20^th October • 2pm - 5pm

Survival Techniques is a street art project by Naomi Edmondson that promotes hope and optimism and brings a little light to people having a dark day. In this workshop you will learn more about the project and develop some of your own ‘survival techniques’, phrases and reminders that help you to feel good. Using the most personally resonant action or phrase from your list, you will create your own typographic artwork on artboard using paint and mixed media markers with guidance from Naomi on dynamic lettering and use of colour.

Typographic paintings, including phrases such as ‘Hide Less, Chat More’, ‘Talk to Someone, Anyone, About Anything’ and ‘Now is the Time’ will be on display at the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower as part of the Cass Art Festival 2017.

Find out more about the project on here: www.survivaltechniques.co.uk

Book your place and find out more about the event here: Naomi Edmondson Workshop

Derwent ProColour Workshop with Judith Selcuk

Saturday 21^st October 2017 • 12 noon – 1pm, 2pm – 3pm, 3pm – 4pm, 4pm – 5pm 

Join us for a very special ProColour Illustration workshop in Bargehouse OXO Tower Wharf. Judith will be demonstrating the unique properties of Procolour and their ability to not only layer seamlessly with intense pigmentation but to also illustrate the quality of the fine art capabilities of this range which allow the use of many different techniques to create stunning visual effects.

Whilst highly pigmented the pencils equally lend themselves to subtle colour palettes and luminosity, to showcase this Judith will be demonstrating/teaching the creation of a coloured glass still life. An international award winning artist who specialises in coloured pencil fine art. Judith is a signature member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society, the Association of Animal Artists and Australian Coloured Pencil Association.

Book your place and find out more here: Derwent ProColour Workshop with Judith Selcuk

The Poets by Claire Eastgate © Claire Eastgate

Portrait Painting Masterclass with BP Portrait Award Artist Claire Eastgate

Sunday 22^nd October 2017 • 12:30pm – 3:30pm

Join artist Claire Eastgate for this portraiture Masterclass using Gesture Portrait Painting, a technique of application and movement (action painting) adopted by the early abstract expressionists. Working from a live model, you will focus on colour, light and form while working quickly to capture the expression and character of the model. You will produce an instinctive portrait, rather than focussing on accurate measurements and traditional representation, and fast track your skill in expressing character in your work.

Claire Eastgate studied at Birmingham School of Art, and took further tuition in London, including a masterclass summer school at the Slade School of Art. Her work has been seen in group and solo exhibitions in the UK and the United States.

Book your place and find out more here: Clare Eastgate Painting Masterclass

Life Drawing with Artist & Author Jake Spicer

Friday 20^th October 2017 • 4pm – 6pm

Join us for a very special life drawing class at the Cass Art Festival in Bargehouse – OXO Tower Wharf taught by artist, author and drawing tutor Jake Spicer. The session will begin with an introduction to figure drawing, followed by a mixture of 2-30 minute long poses, drawing from an unclothed model. Jake will be on hand throughout the session to give input and advice. All abilities welcome.

Jake Spicer is the head tutor of Draw Brighton and co-director of The Drawing Circus. Jake runs innovative, award winning drawing events and has written a series of instructional books with the aim of making drawing accessible to everybody.

Find out more about the event and book your ticket here: Jake Spicer Life Drawing Workshop

Drawing Leaves: ProColour Masterclass with Claudine O’Sullivan

Sunday 22^nd October 2017 • 2pm – 4pm

Join artist Claudine O’Sullivan for a plant based drawing class at the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower this month. Sharing tips on observational drawing and colour theory, participants will be encouraged to experiment with a mix of different drawing methods and materials. The drawings will be focused on different plants and leaves on display and each participant will receive a plant and signed A5 print from Claudine to take home.

Book tickets and find out more about the event here: Drawing Leaves ProColour Masterclass with Claudine O'Sullivan

Share it on Social

We want to see your workshop creations, hands on experiences and what you loved most about the festival. Share your images and thoughts with us on social media, using the hashtag #CassArtFest

You can find us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Opening Times & Getting Here

The Bargehouse can be found at the Oxo Tower, just a short walk from the Tate Modern Gallery and Blackfriars Underground Station.

The space will be open to the public at the following times throughout the Festival weekend:

Thursday 19^th October | 12 noon – 5pm

Friday 20^th October | 11am – 6pm

Saturday 21^st October | 11am – 6pm

Sunday 22^nd October | 11am – 6pm

Watch this space, as we’ll be updating the blog with more events, demonstrations and live art over the coming weeks.

We look forward to seeing you all there!