After a long, dry, very hot summer there’s definitely a hint of autumn in the air, with cool breezes and plenty of clouds about. Several members have said they found it too hot to paint in the recent scorching weather, so hopefully the cooler weather brings with it some artistic inspiration!

Subs of £25 are due on 1st September to take your membership up to the end of 2022. Please pay online using the bank details Steve has previously sent, or by cash or cheque. If you can’t find his previous emails then look out for another email soon. If the amount is not received by the end of the month then sadly your membership will lapse :o(

Here are the suggested sessions for this month but you’re welcome to paint anything you want to.

Wednesday 14th September – 7-9pm – Clarice Cliff

Clarice Cliff (1899-1972) was a ceramic artist and designer, regarded as one of the most influential ceramicists of the 20th century. Her designs are in museums worldwide and when they appear on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow programme they are much admired.

Paint any of Clarice’s ceramic designs or create and paint your own, inspired by her work. Here’s a website with lots of inspiration… www.claricecliff.com

‘The Colour Room’ film was released this year about Clarice’s early working life in the potteries, to her rise as designer at her own studio. Starring Phoebe Dynevor and Matthew Goode it is interesting to watch. It’s currently free to view on Sky and may also be available elsewhere.

Saturday 24th September – 10am-3pm – “Eyes are the window to the soul”

Draw or paint a close-up of eyes using any medium. Human or any animal, focus on the shape and colour of the eyes to produce an interesting picture.

If you don’t want to paint eyes then carry on or start a Clarice Cliff picture, or choose to paint your own subject, that’s absolutely fine.

Seventeen members visited Rochester Cathedral on a perfect painting day. The temperature was in the low to mid 70s, not too hot but pleasantly warm, with a little light breeze and fluffy white clouds adorning the bright blue sky.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable day drawing and painting a view of the Cathedral and precincts from the private gardens at the rear. We sat under the mature trees, their shade keeping us cool and stopping our paints drying too quickly. At lunchtime some ate packed lunch in the garden, some visited the cafe in the crypt and others bought their lunch and coffee from Rochester’s vibrant High Street. A whip-round for the Cathedral Trust collected £56 cash and several members added to the total by donating by card inside.

Many thanks to Kay for gaining us permission to use the private gardens. Thank you, Kay, we all had a fabulous time!

From sketches to completed paintings to works in progress, using pencils, pens, acrylics and inks, here are our drawings and paintings.

A few more views from inside and outside the Cathedral…

Ron painted a sunset over a lake in acrylics and used opposite colours on the colour wheel, blue and orange, making the picture very dramatic.

Tracy finished a watercolour of Viking Bay at Broadstairs and the second painting is a watercolour commissioned by her neighbours. It’s a view from the balcony of a hotel in Benaldámena on the Costa del Sol in Spain, where her neighbours spend February every year. It’s now in pride of place on their living room wall and they gaze at the view until the next time they travel there..

Two more watercolours on a holiday theme are one in just blue and white, the colours of the Greek flag where it’s set. Tracy splattered some white acrylic paint on the sea’s surface for the sparkling effect of the sun. The other picture is a tiny painting of a beach hut at Herne Bay and is a work in progress.

It was a muggy evening after another hot day and super to have 18 members painting and chatting together in the hall.

The subject of ‘holidays’ was a popular one with drawings and paintings of the bucolic British countryside, a Cornish river, coastal scenes of beaches and Hastings, the Tower of London and also views in Venice, Greece and Egypt . Many are works in progress, to be completed at home or at a future session.

Some members painted to their own theme of a portrait of Marie Curie, a ballerina and a fuchsia.

Here are three paintings finished at home on previous themes of flowers in a container and Tutankhamen.

The next session is on Saturday 27th August at Rochester Cathedral from 10am. Look out for a detailed email in the next few days!

Hopefully you are all enjoying the summer, but wasn’t that a very hot spell at over 40°C/104°F? It’s cooled down now but is very muggy every day. The weather just can’t get it right!

Here’s what we’ll be up to in August, but you can draw or paint anything you’d like to. What is suggested is simply to help you if you’re stuck for ideas.

Wednesday 10th August – 7-9pm – Holidays

A good subject for August as you may have already been on holiday, are on holiday or wish to go on holiday. Draw or paint a favourite holiday destination that you have visited or one you long to go to. From Blackpool to Benidorm to the Bahamas, the choice of destination and medium used is yours. A sweeping vista, children playing in the sea, a long mountainous walk, a cycling holiday, reading on the beach, a cruise etc.

Saturday 27th August – 10am to 3pm – Rochester Cathedral

We will be meeting in the private gardens behind Rochester Cathedral for this month’s outdoor session. Please email Tracy if you would like to attend. Thank you to everyone who has already emailed :o)

Further details are being finalised and all information will be sent by email nearer the time.

Ron recently visited Chalk Church to take some reference photos and on his way home drove down Church Lane. As he passed Eastbrook Oast House he stopped and knocked on the door and asked to take some photos as he’d decided he would like to paint the oast house. The owner very kindly let Ron take photos from the garden. The reference photo on his iPad is below.

Ron has finished his painting in acrylics and he’s done a grand job, well done. What a great idea to have knocked on the owner’s door and it goes to prove there’s no harm in asking to take photos!

What a beautiful day it was for us to meet outside to paint. A hot, sunny day, peaking at 80°F but with a slight breeze to cool us down, just perfect! The old Monet-style bridge has been replaced with a new one in the same style, which should last for years to come. The pond has been filled in and levelled with earth and will be planted up in the future. Here’s a few photos of the church and grassed area, which is very dry at the moment.

Twelve members attended and we all set up our chairs and tables under the trees so we didn’t get sunburnt. As well as painting we all had a good chat, catching up with news and generally having a good day. We had a whip round for the church fund and gave £33 to the church warden.

Some members painted to their own theme whilst others drew and painted the scene in front of them.

George has finished some more portraits in oils, mostly of characters in films. Keep up the good painting, George!

Hi all

Thank you for all who attended on a very hot stuffy evening. The air-conditioning wasn’t very efficient over the 2 hour session so in future we will have to rely on opening the windows and front door and using the ventilation system.

Here a some images of Flowers in vases or just flower studies. Most are ‘works in progress so do send the finished works to either myself or Tracy.

George was painting a lovely image of a horse and rider in a river and Peta brought her excellent finished painting of a roof top scene in Portugal

Well done everyone.

Our next meeting is at Chalk Church on Saturday 23rd July 10.15 am til 3.0 pm

Susan has finished the collage she started at Fiona Spiral’s collage workshop earlier this year. Look closely at the kingfisher and you’ll see it’s made up of tiny pieces of coloured paper, which stand out against the larger background pieces. It’s a beautiful collage, well done!

Susan also belongs to Maidstone Art Society and their annual exhibition has just opened in Fremlin Walk shopping centre in Maidstone until Friday 22nd July. She’s stewarding until 1pm on Monday 11th and Thursday 14th July so do pop in and say hello, or visit another day as MAS exhibitions are always worth going to see.