On a cold, dark Wednesday evening fifteen artists met for the first session of 2026. There were twelve members and three ladies who came along to experience drawing with the art group. We hope you enjoyed yourselves, Christina, Jackie and Isabelle, and want to come along again and join us!
The suggested session was ‘back to basics’ to draw in monochrome pencils and get used to drawing again after the Christmas and New Year break. Many pictures were produced including some drawn at home and at another art group. If you can’t come to a session you’re welcome to do the suggested subject at home and sent Tracy photos that day or the next for inclusion in the blog post.
Some references have been included so you can see the images and objects that we worked from.
Brenda was very productive sketching with ink and her subjects were other artists at the session. Can you see who she drew?
Good work everyone, it was great to see you being creative as we haven’t had an art session since last November.
Our next session is on Saturday 24th January from 10am to 3pm. This will be on the 4th Saturday of January not the 5th one. Hope to see you there!
Here are suggestions for the two sessions in January, but you’re welcome to come to draw and paint anything you’d like to.
Wednesday 14th – 7-9pm – Back to basics
Let’s start the year going back to basics, using only grades of graphite pencils to sketch and draw in monochrome. Don’t just use an HB pencil, get depth and shading by using several B grade pencils.
If you’re stuck for a subject bring some objects from home to draw or look at the Christmas cards you have to see if there any you are inspired by or start sketching an animal for the Saturday session.
Saturday 24th – 10am-3pm – Animals in Winter
Continue using pencils to draw your animal subjects in monochrome or add a little paint for a splash of colour. Look at your Christmas cards again before recycling as many have animals on the front. Think of…
animals that hibernate – bats, hedgehogs, dormice, bears, bees, ladybirds, butterflies and moths, frogs etc, draw them where they hibernate.
animals that don’t hibernate – squirrels, badgers, deer, foxes, moles, birds etc.
texture – prepare a surface before the session. Add texture medium to watercolour paper or an acrylic surface and paint over the top, or glue white tissue paper down for snowy texture.
draw or paint a winter landscape cold and grey in monochrome, then add an animal in colour.
use coloured soft or oil pastels to give animals a furry feel or white and light pastels for a landscape under a blanket of snow with, for example, deer or farm animals in a field.
If you’ve ever spent the winter in Australia or the Caribbean you may want to paint colourful animals in bright colours!
HAPPY NEW YEAR and THANK YOU to everyone for your continued support for Chalk Art Group during 2025, attending sessions at the hall, Chalk Church and Rochester Cathedral and painting along at home.
Membership
We will finance Chalk Art Group in 2026 with an annual subscription of £90, to cover the hall hire fees for the year.
Alternatively, equal payments of £30 will be due 3 times during the year in January, May and September. If you choose to pay in instalments you are committing to pay for the whole year, not coming for a few months then stopping then starting again. Without this support we will not be able to raise enough funds to hire the hall. Steve emailed everyone on 31st December with details of how to pay by bank transfer, cheque or cash. Please check his email as there is important info about the art group’s name at the bank. If you pay promptly this saves members being emailed and phoned to be reminded to pay.
Please pay your membership fee by the end of January to continue to be a member of the art group. Thank you!
Sessions
Our sessions will continue to be on the second Wednesday evening 7-9pm and the fourth Saturday of the month 10am to 3pm, with session ideas being published on the 1st of that month.
You don’t have to paint the suggested ideas, you’re welcome to come along and paint anything you want to. Or if you come on a Wednesday and want to paint the Saturday idea or vice versa, that’s no problem at all.
Free tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided at all sessions, so if you just want to come and chat with your art friends that’s okay!
Workshops
Any workshops will have the usual ‘first come, first served’ policy of putting your name down, with an additional amount to pay to cover the tutor’s fee. If more artists wish to attend the session than the tutor has room for, we’ll have a waiting list and you have a chance of getting a place as members sometimes pull out at the last minute.
If you don’t want to attend a workshop you have already paid for the hall hire in your subs. You are therefore welcome to sit and paint quietly at the kitchen end of the hall whilst the workshop session takes place towards the window end of the hall.
Session dates for 2026
Please print them out or write them in your diary or calendar. Some months have 5 Saturdays but we meet on the 4th one.
Open Day is on Saturday 26th September, with hanging the Friday evening before from 7pm.
2026
2nd Wednesday 7-9pm
4th Saturday 10am-3pm
January (subs)
14th
24th
February
11th
28th
March
11th
28th
April
8th
25th
May (subs)
13th
23rd
June
10th
27th
July
8th
25th (not at hall)
August
12th
22nd (not at hall)
September (subs)
9th
FRIDAY 25th – hanging evening SATURDAY 26th – OPEN DAY
Chalk Art Group 