Thursday, January 6, 2022 WOKINGHAM.TODAY
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How Twyford and Hurst are helping people learn how to paint with watercolours EXCLUSIVE
By SUE CORCORAN news@wokingham.today AN artist whose earlier books topped best seller lists, has produced a brand new one on how to do ink and watercolour pictures.
Liz Chaderton’s new book, Line and Wash Painting, is full of her trademark and clear guidance. “Using ink and watercolours is wonderful because it’s perfect for anything from the simplest doodle to a fully finished piece of art,” said Liz, of Hurst. “The ink is like scaffolding on which you hang the beautiful and transparent watercolour. It’s almost like draping silk. The technique is both hard and soft, that’s why I like it.” Combining ink and colour goes back hundreds of years. The Lindisfarne Gospels, fabulously written and illustrated by monks in around 700 AD, is ((correct)) an outstanding example. Line and Wash’s 170 illustrations is pictures of local places like Twyford Post Office, Reading Abbey ruins with clever use of the town’s map within the walls, The Castle Inn and St Nicholas Church at Hurst and also Mapledurham watermill. She’s just sold the original of her picture of Reading Town Hall and its clock tower transformed to have the feel of a fairy tale castle. “The lady who bought it has just moved from Reading and was very fond of the town. The town hall is a fantastic building and I love the museum there,” added Liz. The new book describes a wide variety of styles and other subjects including insects, people, animals, a statuesque cedar tree and a small blue sports car with smoke pouring from its bonnet – seemingly on a trip to France, indicated by background maps. The book advises on materials to use, exercises to hone drawing and painting skills and use of mixed media. There are ways to take line and wash to another level and step by step demonstrations of ideas
TIPS AND TRICKS: Liz Chaderton with her new book Picture: Sue Corcoran
IN COLOUR: The Old Post Office building on Twyford High Street and The Castle Inn, in Hurst Pictures: Liz Chaderton and projects. The publishers, The Crowood Press, say it is “a visual treat and an essential guide.” They printed Liz’s earlier books: Painting Watercolours on Canvas and Painting Animals in
Police warn residents over gift card email scam POLICE are warning people to be on their guard against a new gift voucher fraud. Emails have been sent out by scammers appearing to be from a friend or colleague. In it, they ask the recipient to buy a gift card, saying they can’t do it themselves as they are in a meeting or can’t get to a shop, but will reimburse as soon as possible. Thames Valley Police said that the email will also likely ask the victim to photograph the cards and send the unique codes printed on
them. This allows the scammer to use the gift cards to make online purchases. The force advises that recipients do not buy any gift cards. If in doubt, contact the friend or colleague via another method such as calling them, to see if they really did make the request. Anyone working in retail is asked to be on guard for this scam, and phishing emails can be reported by forwarding the email to: report@phishing. gov.uk
Watercolour. The second reprint of the latter was caught in last March’s Suez Canal container ship traffic jam, but did make it to the UK. Both books have been top of Amazon’s best seller lists for their
category. The new book, costing £12.99, is due out on Monday, January 24.
n For more information, visit: www. crowood.com/products/line-andwash-painting-by-liz-chaderton
NEWS | 3
COLD: OFTEC is warning that people who live in fuel poverty often have poorly insulated homes
Government urged to tackle Berkshire’s cold home crisis
NEW research shows that more than 350 Berkshire people died from excess winter deaths between 2019 and 2020 – and with more than 25,000 homes in fuel poverty, there are fears that this winter’s total could be higher. Now, a trade association for off-gas grid heating, is calling for action, warning that many of the deaths were preventable, as they were caused by people living in cold homes, particularly in rural areas where properties are typically older, less energy-efficient and harder to keep warm. The Excess Winter Mortality report, from the Office for National Statistics, shows that, in England and Wales, there were 29,290 excess deaths between December 2019 and March 2020, excluding Covid-19. OFTEC says that in rural areas, a disproportionate number of households live in fuel poverty, many of whom are classed as vulnerable, adding further complexity to the problem. In Berkshire, around 25,700 households are classed as fuel poor, which means their disposable income after energy costs puts them below the poverty line and their home has an energy efficiency (EPC) rating of band D or below. Official figures for last winter (2020/21) have yet to be released. OFTEC’s Malcolm Farrow said: “Experts believe that people who are older, live with long-term health conditions or have lower average income are most at risk of winter illness or mortality. We have serious concerns that another cold winter, coupled with rising living costs and the ongoing risk posed by coronavirus, could make this situation much worse, as more households face a stark choice between heating and eating.” He added: “We know that many of those in Berkshire who are least able to afford their heating costs live in some of the most poorly insulated properties, making them much harder to heat and keep warm. “The government needs to take action and provide more support for fuel poor households to help tackle the excess winter death crisis.”
