Month: October 2025

Johannes Vermeer – October 2025 – Saturday

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Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) lived over 350 years ago and his beautiful paintings of people and places are still popular today. Sixteen members met on Saturday and the suggested subject was to paint in the style of Vermeer or to bring your own style to any of his paintings, particularly the Girl with a Pearl Earring from 1665.

Members rose to the challenge with gusto and all the paintings showed imagination of Girl with a Pearl Earring, with bright colours, a ruby earring instead of a pearl, as an elderly lady, as Claudia Winkleman, in Zentangle patterns, with glasses and other interpretations. Special mention to Cynthia who painted her little dog, Mollie, as Vermeer’s Lacemaker, and Mary who painted her granddaughter standing by a window, lit from the side, like so many people in Vermeer’s paintings. Some paintings are finished and others are works in progress to be finished at home.

Two watercolour paintings from the last session about trains have been finished.

Some members painted their own subjects. Sandra’s portrait of her sister’s dog is amazing and Doreen’s pencil portraits are beautifully detailed.

Super work everyone!

Next newsletter is on 1st November with details of hanging evening on Friday 21st November and our annual Open Day on Saturday 22nd November. Please note that there are 5 Saturdays in November but we meet on the fourth one.

Railway 200 – October 2025 – Wednesday

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Eleven members met on Wednesday evening to draw and paint together over a cuppa and biscuits. The suggested subject was the 200th anniversary of the first passenger railway journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, with artists invited to paint historical or any age locomotives up to modern times.

Some paintings have been photographed with the reference image, to see how the artist was inspired.

Some members created pictures to their own theme or continued artworks from previous sessions.

The next session is on Saturday 25th October from 10am to 3pm. Check the newsletter from 1st October for the subject idea.

Inktober 2025

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In addition to our usual two sessions this month, why not give Inktober 2025 a go?

Started in 2009 Inktober is now a worldwide event for artists to draw a picture in ink daily (you can use pencil underneath) and share their work or just for the pleasure of being creative every day.

Use a sketchbook for your images or any surface. If you don’t have much time, use a Post-it note pad for a small picture every day.

Website here… https://inktober.com

Please send Tracy photos of your images if you try the challenge.

October 2025

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Our annual Open Day is next month on Saturday 22nd November, so hopefully you’re finishing your pictures and getting them mounted and framed ready to be exhibited. Max 6 framed pictures per artist, unlimited mounted pictures in the browsers. Hanging evening is Friday 21st November from 7-9pm. Please note those dates in your diaries/calendars/phones!

Wednesday 8th 7-9pm – Railway 200

It’s the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. George Stephenson’s steam-powered locomotive, Locomotion I, pulled the first ever passenger carrying train on a public railway 26 miles between Sheldon, Darlington and Stockton. Hundreds of passengers were aboard and since then railways and train travel have changed the world.

Hark back to pictures from that era of these early trains, or maybe you grew up loving to watch steam trains. You may prefer sleek, modern trains or have been on holiday on trains in countries and continents far away. Choose any era of train travel to draw and paint your picture in any medium.

The 200 year anniversary website… https://railway200.co.uk

more info… https://www.hra.uk.com/railway-200-home

Remember the BBC2 programme Great Railway Journeys of the World, first broadcast in 1980? More recently Michael Portillo’s Great British Railway Journeys and his subsequent trips to the USA, Europe, India, Australia, Asia and Canada have been broadcast.

Saturday 25th 10am to 3pm – Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)

Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer painted only 34 artworks in his 43 years, but they have grown in popularity in the 350 years since his death. He painted one house and one landscape, all the rest being people in domestic settings lit by a window to one side giving a direct light source on to the subject. Most famous is Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, painted in 1665.

Choose to draw or paint a picture in one of three ways using any medium…

  1. Create ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in your own style and colours.

2. ‘…with a Pearl Earring”. If you like portraits draw or paint any person, family or famous, past or present, as a head and shoulders portrait but wearing the luscious pearl earring.

3. Draw or paint a domestic setting with a person lit only from one side, thus giving dramatic lighting to the scene.

    Wiki info… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer

    List of paintings… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_paintings_by_Johannes_Vermeer

    Click on ‘Discover Vermeer”… https://www.vermeerdelft.nl/en

    Tracy Chevalier’s book published in 1999 called ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ is a good read and the film of the same name from 2003 stars Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.