Sixteen members came along and painted colourful pictures in celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the RNLI. There were many lifeboats and rescues and an historical lifeboatman, with many members inspired by photos in the RNLI magazine ‘Lifeboat’ and scenes from the tv programme ‘Saving lives at Sea’.

We had cake available for a donation and with the proceeds from the raffle the RNLI will receive £125 from the group. Thank you very much for all your donations!

Here are photos of members and their works in progress.

There were 20 pictures created on the day and 19 entered into the competition. After thoroughly perusing the paintings we voted for our favourite one and the votes added up. Although the votes were spread, there was a clear winner and runner-up.

The runner-up was Steve with his watercolour of a dramatic scene of a rescue from ‘Saving Lives at Sea.

The winner was Tracy with her pastel picture of the Severn class lifeboat the Ivan Ellen, based in Penlee, Cornwall, racing to a rescue in stormy seas. She will be spending her prize money on…more pastels!

There were also pictures on their own theme.

Well done everyone, all your pictures were fantastic and thank you so much for your generous donations to the RNLI. Long may they continue their brave life-saving rescues around the coast of the UK and Ireland.

The next session is on Wednesday 8th May 7-9pm.

At the session yesterday we received the very sad news that Ruth, the founder of M&C Art Group 32 years ago, had recently died. Her funeral was last week, but unfortunately no one from the art group attended as we hadn’t yet heard the news.

M&C still runs on her original ethos of an informal gathering of friends creating art together over a cuppa and a natter. Many members are still friends after three decades and Ruth remained a member until three years ago. She only gave up coming to sessions when she no longer drove.

Ruth was a lady with a kind soul, sparkling eyes, a wicked sense of humour and a good artist too. We remember you with love and many happy memories.

More members have finished their wild animal pastel pictures from the workshop with Paul Hinks last month.

Chris chose a pine marten as her wild animal and created the picture using bold, colourful pastels. She smudged the pastels in the background which make the pine marten really stand out. The purple, blue and orange colours work so well together.

Angela D’s picture is of the head of a puma. She used several colours of brown, yellow and cream to form the shape of its head. Adding the whiskers on the puma’s muzzle, eyebrows and ears brings the puma to life.

Brenda’s picture of a cute red squirrel scampering over a log with a nut in its mouth is very colourful. She used complimentary colours of red and green to create this bold picture. Several pastel colours of brown and red were used for its fur, with Brenda following the way its fur grows to achieve the furriness.

Mary couldn’t come on the day of the workshop but still created a pastel pictures of elephants. She used warm orange pastel for the lit part of the elephants, with cool purple as the shadow colour. Complimentary colours used to great effect.

Well done, ladies, it’s great to see your finished pastel pictures!

Denise is always busy being creative by attending two art groups and also Columbine China Painters, who meet at Sutton at Hone three times a month.

Her latest china paintings are on a white tile and a plate. Denise paints on the object and they are fired several times to build up the layers of paint.

It’s hard to see from the photos but some of the painting is raised up from the surface, creating an extra dimension to the image.

Well done, Denise, beautiful work!

The clocks changed recently so we arrived at the hall in daylight, making it much easier to find a parking space. Eight members came to the session and started painting their RNLI pictures of lifeboats and a portrait of Grace Darling in pastels.

Angela D started a snowy painting and also brought along her Heath Ledger Joker painting which she had started in acrylics at the ‘Heroes and Villains’ session last month, then finished at home in oils.

Brenda brought along two collages she has made in preparation of a collage workshop she is running next month. The first collage was made by using strips of coloured paper, most of which she printed herself, glued down with a glue stick following the shape of the apple then varnished with Mod Podge to give a lovely sheen. The second collage is made from strips of fabric ironed down using fabric web glue. Hope the workshop goes well!

Thank you everyone who brought in completed wild animal pastel pictures, they will feature in their own post soon.

The next session is on Saturday 27th April from 10am and will be the final of the competition, so get drawing and painting anything to do with the RNLI.

Steve chose a majestic lion in profile against a dark background as his reference picture for Paul Hinks’ wild animal soft pastel workshop last month. He built up layers of different coloured pastels for the lion’s mane, making each piece of mane seem 3D against the next piece, with a good use of shadow. Great work, Steve!

Tracy used an image of a painted dog, also called an African wild dog, as it had an arresting gaze and many colours and patterns in its fur. Several different colour pastels were used for its fur including ivory, light flesh, burnt sienna, burnt umber, van Dyke brown, black and white. She really enjoyed the workshop and learned a lot, especially how to use a greyscale value chart to accurately judge tones in a picture.

If you’ve finished your pastel picture at home please take a photo and send it to Tracy. Or bring it to a Wednesday or Saturday session to be photographed.

It’s time for our annual competition which is a friendly affair and is NOT compulsory.  If you don’t want to enter a painting that’s fine, please just use the suggested idea as inspiration for a drawing or painting. The competition theme will be on both Wednesday and Saturday sessions, but if you prefer come along and ‘do your own thing’.

Wednesday 10th April 7-9pm – Start painting for the competition

The subject is – the 200th Anniversary of the RNLI – The Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Philanthropist Sir William Hillary began the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, with King George IV as patron, after witnessing and taking part in many shipwreck rescues where he lived on the Isle of Man. It was renamed the RNLI in 1854.

24 hours a day, 7 days a weeks, every day of the year for 200 years the RNLI has provided a ring of safety around the UK and Ireland. Based in Poole, Dorset, there are now 238 lifeboat stations, 448 lifeboats and hovercraft, over 5700 volunteer lifeboat crew members, lifeguards on 200 beaches and flood rescue teams on standby nationally and internationally.

Lifeboats have been launched over 380,000 times saving more than 144,000 lives. Lifeguards have responded to over 303,000 incidents, saving over 2000 lives. 19 lifeboats took part in the rescue of Allied troops from Dunkirk in 1940. Sadly, since the RNLI’s inception, over 600 crew members have died during rescues.

Gravesend lifeboat station opened in 2002, one of four lifeboat stations on the River Thames.

The tv programme ‘Saving Lives at Sea’ began in 2016 and follows crew and rescues at many lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland. Have you visited Chatham Dockyard and seen the many lifeboats in one of the covered slips?

Further details to read are under the ‘what we do’ header on the RNLI’s website… www.rnli.org

Several RNLI quarterly magazines, given to those who donate to the service, will be available at the sessions to read and use as inspiration for your drawing or painting.

There are countless subjects to draw or paint…

People – paint a portrait of a crew member in their uniform from modern times or earlier years, or one of the lady launchers who launched lifeboats from the shore to the sea.

RNLI founder Sir William Hillary… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hillary . Cromer crab fisherman Henry Blogg ‘one of the bravest men who ever lived’… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Blogg. Lighthouse keeper’s daughter Grace Darling… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Darling.

Buildings – lifeboat stations on the coast or rivers, or those that launch lifeboats down a slipway in the sea.

Lifeboats – there are several different classes of lifeboat from huge sea-going craft to smaller river rescue boats and hovercraft. Some are launched by tractor in to the sea, like at Dungeness.

A rescue – paint the drama of a rescue at sea.

There’s no right or wrong way to paint this subject…just your way.

Saturday 27th   10am-3pm   –    Competition continued

Continue with your RNLI picture, or paint another. All pictures to be in by 2.15pm 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 that’s fine, you don’t have to. Paint the RNLI theme but leave your painting on your own table so it won’t be on the separate tables with the submitted pictures.

All proceeds from the raffle will be sent to the RNLI, along with all donations for cake that will be available on the day :o)

Good luck everyone!