Graham started this watercolour picture during a recent session and had fun painting it. Whilst rain teems down and the background is London Bridge on a dull, wet day, the colourfully dressed, exuberant dancers enjoy the rain whilst others rush past with their brollies. It’s called ‘Summer Rain’.
Beautifully painted, Graham, the bright colours against the muted background work so well!
Jackie has finished three paintings from previous sessions. The Year of the Fire Horse picture was painted in acrylics with several layers of paint being used on black paper, giving a great impression of the heat and brightness of fire.
People in Winter was painted in watercolours, with the colourful sound waves above the people being listened to by the young lad in headphones. What a clever idea!
Jackie sketched this wintery landscape at Shorne Country Park then painted it in watercolours. With a great depth of field, one could walk straight into this landscape and follow the meandering path deeper into the woods.
Well done, Jackie, your pictures are beautifully painted!
Fifteen artists attended the Wednesday evening session, including Denise’s granddaughter, Sophie, who painted with us to see if she’d would like to join the group.
Most members began their portrait drawings and paintings in readiness for our annual competition, to be held at the next session.
Other members drew, painted and cut paper to their own themes.
Our next session will be on Saturday 28th March from 10am to 3pm.
It’s time for our annual competition which is a friendly affair and NOT compulsory. If you don’t want to enter a painting, that’s okay, please use the suggested idea as inspiration for a drawing or painting.
The competition theme will be on both the Wednesday and Saturday sessions, but if you prefer you can come along and ‘do your own thing’ and not enter the competition.
Wednesday 11th – 7-9pm – Start painting for the competition
The subject is – PORTRAITS
This is a very broad subject but hopefully a popular one as many members like drawing and painting people. A portrait can be a literal, realistic representation or interpretive and symbolic.
The subject can be a self portrait, a family member, a friend or someone famous or infamous, living or dead. Any size, any ground, a single medium or mixed media. A simple black and white sketch in pencil or charcoal, or a colourful multi media picture.
Don’t just plonk someone in a landscape, make the picture of just their head, or head and shoulders or include their whole body or a relevant background if it adds to the portrait.
Info from the National Portrait Gallery in London for schools, but scroll down and there’s info from Curtis Holder, winner of Portrait Artist of the Year in 2020… www.npg.org.uk/schools-hub/art-explainer-what-is-a-portrait
Here are a few people with milestone birthdays in 2026…
Will be 100 years old – Sir David Attenborough, Mel Brooks.
Would have been 100 – HM Queen Elizabeth II, Marlyn Monroe, Eric Morecambe, Kenneth Williams, Bill Pertwee, Lionel Jeffries.
Will be 90 – Brian Blessed, Samia Halaby.
Would have been 90 – Glenda Jackson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Pope Francis.
Will be 80 – Dolly Parton, Liza Minnelli, Cher, Sylvester Stallone, Sir Barry Gibb.
Would have been 80 – Freddie Mercury, Alan Rickman.
Any person, past or present, at any age in their life, can be your subject.
There is no right or wrong way to create this subject…just your way.
Saturday 28th – 10am-3pm – Competition continued
Continue with your portrait, or paint another. All pictures to be on the display tables by 2.30pm then we all cast one vote for our favourite painting. There will be small cash prizes for the winner and runner-up.
A maximum of TWO drawings/paintings per member.
If you have a picture but can’t attend today, please arrange with someone to take and collect your artwork. Or if you come to the Wednesday session but know you can’t make the Saturday session, your picture can be put in our storage cupboard upstairs and brought down for the competition.
If you feel uncomfortable entering the competition, you don’t have to. Paint a portrait but leave it on your own table so it won’t be on the separate tables with the submitted pictures.
Good luck everyone!
The hall was abuzz with chatter and laughter on Saturday with 26 members attending the session. The suggested subject of People in Winter was popular and everyone worked industriously on their pictures.
Some members were inspired by the Winter Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina in Italy. If you enjoyed watching the events, don’t forget to watch the Paralympic Games which start on Friday 6th March
Some paintings are finished and others are works in progress. There are so many interpretations of the subject, it’s interesting to see all the themes.
Some artists drew and painted their own themes. Sandra’s stoat is beautifully drawn in many colours and looks a cheeky chappy.
Paintings from previous sessions on Animals in Winter and the Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse were worked on and some completed.
Fantastic artwork, everyone, you did so well this month!
Our next session is on Wednesday 11th March from 7-9pm when we start drawing and painting for our annual competition.
Peta has finished two more of her amazing pictures. The first, of bellringers in Southwark, London, is painted with ink and shows intricate details and has great depth of field.
The second, of a turnip stall in Borough Market, also Southwark, with the vegetables looking real. One could reach out and touch the feathery mushroom caps on and smell the herbs.
Fantastic paintings, Peta, well done!
Fourteen members met on Wednesday evening and one artist worked at home. The Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse begins next week and happens only once every 60 years.
The subject was popular and it was challenging to draw and paint not only a horse, but fire too. We used coloured pencils, pastel pencils, watercolours and acrylics to achieve the depth of colour needed for the flames. Most are works in progress. When finished, please bring them along to the next session.
Other artists drew and painted their own themes, which we are always interested to see. Special mention to Patrick who used coloured pencils to draw a scene from the life of Pocahontas.
Lovely work everyone!
Our next session is on Saturday 28th February from 10am to 3pm.
Steve finally finished two pictures that he has been working on recently.
Watercolour on Bockingford paper.
Soft Pastels and Pastel pencils on White Pastelmat
2026 started well with many members attending both sessions in January, so hopefully you want to keep coming along!
Here are two suggested ideas for February, but if you prefer to draw or paint your own theme that’s absolutely fine. Come along and join your friends for relaxing art sessions over a cuppa and biscuits.
Wednesday 11th – 7-9pm – Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse
February 17th is the start of the Chinese New Year, which this year is the Year of the Fire Horse. Along with the twelve zodiac animal, years also have one of five elements associated with them, earth, fire, metal, water or wood. The sexagenary cycle means this combines the horse and fire for the first time in 60 year.
Draw or paint your vision of the fire horse. If you prefer your subject to just be a horse, that’s fine.
Saturday 28th – 10am-3pm – People in Winter
Last month we drew and painted animals in winter. This month we look at people in winter but add in landscapes as they are very popular, and portraits, which some members prefer.
Landscapes – people in a wintery landscape, urban or rural, walking, working, skiing, ice skating, building a snowman, having a snowball fight etc
Portraits – at home draw a person in a woolly hat, wearing earmuffs or a hooded coat. Bring your sketches to the session and paint their portrait.
Fast and loose – work fast and loose with pencils and paints to bring energy to your picture. A downhill skier zooming past would work well.
Texture – as suggested last month, add watercolour ground, acrylic ground, fabric or paper textures to your surface and paint over the top.
Collage – collage the whole image. Bring a cover for your table if you choose this as collage can get very messy!
Mixed media – use three or more mediums to create your people in winter picture.
Twenty two artists met at the hall last Saturday, whilst one poorly artist painted at home then sent in photos of her pictures. It was a lovely relaxing day with arty friends catching up with each other over a cuppa and biscuits. To all members ill with this sore throat/cough bug, get better soon!
The suggested subject of ‘Animals in Winter’ was a popular one and several artists produced two pictures during the day. There were squirrels, highland cattle, foxes, squirrels, deer, birds, puffins, a snow leopard, hares, butterflies, a rabbit, ladybirds, a dormouse and robins. Several different mediums were used, such as watercolours, soft pastels, graphite pencils, acrylics, coloured pencils and inks. Some pictures are finished and others are works in progress, such as a landscape waiting for the animal to be added. The last 5 pictures were created at another art group but are of the same subject.
Some artists chose their own themes to draw and paint with pencils, pastels and watercolours.
Well done, everyone, it was a very productive day!
Ideas for next month will be published on 1st February and the next session will be on Wednesday 11th February from 7-9pm.
Chalk Art Group 