drawing

Chalk Church – July 2025 – Saturday

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On Saturday 10 members visited Chalk Church for our annual outing there and enjoyed drawing and painting together in the gardens around the pond and Monet bridge. It was cloudy but dry so the artists stayed outside during the day.

Most members painted the view in front of them but others chose to continue with their artwork from previous sessions or their own theme. Several mediums were used to great effect.

Everyone one had an enjoyable and productive day, well done!

Next month’s newsletter is due on 1st August with the next session on Wednesday 13th August 7-9pm back at the hall in Chalk as usual.

A date for your diary is Saturday 23rd August when we will be returning to the private gardens behind Rochester Cathedral. There are 5 Saturdays in August this year but we meet on the 4th Saturday, which is also bank holiday weekend. Tracy will be taking names soon so please check your calendar and ‘save the date’.

Tracy’s finished pictures

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Tracy saw a handmade ceramic plate online of a boat and colourful, curving waves. She painted something similar using watercolours in many shades of blue, green and purple, then outlined all the shapes in gold watercolour paint. The boat’s hull is currently white but she might paint it orange or red or maybe vermillion, as the colour in between the two. Decisions, decisions!

Last year we had a session on drawing and painting on printed paper, including dictionary pages. One of Tracy’s daughters loves capybaras so that page in the dictionary was cut out and finally used this year. Tracy used coloured pencils and very dry watercolours for the capybara and left the dictionary entry of capybara free of colour. Once framed the page was given as a present.

For the last Wednesday session the theme was the Live Aid concert of 1985. Tracy drew Freddie Mercury singing under a spotlight in white coloured pencil on black craft paper. She’s pleased as the effect is what she was aiming for.

If you complete pictures from previous sessions please send them to Tracy or Steve. We’d love to see them finished!

Live Aid 1985 – July 2025 – Wednesday

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Thirteen members attended the session on a muggy summer’s evening, but the aircon kept us cool. Some artists painted the theme of Live Aid, the dual concerts held in London and Philadelphia in July 1985. Freddie Mercury and Bob Geldof were the most popular subjects to draw and paint.

Chris W’s painting of an animal carcass in a barren landscape and an RAF C-130 aeroplane carrying food and supplies is a sombre reminder of the concerts’ aim to raise money for the 1983-5 famine in Ethiopia. £40 million was raised on the day, equivalent to £100 million today.

Most pictures are works in progress to be finished at home or another session.

Other artists drew and painted to their own theme, including a finished picture from Peta of the Angelina Tea Room in Paris which she visited last year.

Lovely work everyone, well done!

Our next session will be on Saturday 26th July at St.Mary’s Church in Chalk, from 10am to just before 3pm, not at the Parish Hall.

“Summer”- Annual Competition – June 2025 – Saturday

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Twenty members met on Saturday to start or continue drawing and painting for our annual competition, which is a friendly affair, not fiercely contended. There was lots of chat throughout the day and we enjoyed painting with like-minded folk.

At the end of the session nineteen pictures were entered and after studying all the pictures we voted for our favourite one. After counting there was a clear winner and runner-up, with the rest of the votes evenly spread to other paintings.

These were the entries…

The runner-up was Chris W with her watercolour painting summing up the theme ‘Summer”. Her entry was all about Wimbledon with the winning men’s trophy, tennis rackets, tennis balls, a net and strawberries and cream. Well done Chris, what a fabulous picture!

The winner was Steve with his water mixable oil painting giving summer vibes of drinking wine on the beach in the sun with the blue sea lapping nearby. Congratulations on winning, Steve, we loved your painting!

Other artists drew their own pictures, brought in paintings from previous years with a summer theme or didn’t enter the competition.

Well done everyone, you rose to the challenge with your amazing paintings!

The next newsletter will be published on 1st July, with the next session on Wednesday 9th July from 7-9pm at the hall.

Dot’s portrait

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Dot’s portrait of Tina Turner for the different ethnicity theme is ‘Simply the Best’. In soft pastels the portrait captures Tina in full singing mode, vibrant and full of character. Well done, Dot!

Portraits – The Diversity of Humanity – May 2025 – Saturday

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Twenty members attended the session with the suggested subject being to draw or paint a portrait of a person of a different ethnicity to themselves. It was a busy session with lots of work being produced, along with cuppas and biscuits and natter as usual.

It was pleasing to see that several people used pastels to create their portrait, using techniques learned at the workshop, as well as watercolours, acrylics and inks. Most are finished but some are works in progress.

Cynthia finished her Lynx from the workshop and it’s absolutely beautiful. The lynx’s coat looks real with the highlights the hairs. Well done!

Other members continued with their wild animals from last month or drew and painted to their own theme.

Great work everyone, it was a good, productive session.

Our next session is on Wednesday 11th June from 7-9pm.

Portraits by Angela and Tracy

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Angela started drawing Sepoy Namdeo Jadhao VC at the last session and finished it at home. He won a VC in 1945 at the age of only 23, details of which are from the National Army Museum… https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1966-04-5-1

Lovely work, Angela, with good use of pencil in many tones on Namdeo’s face.

Tracy enjoyed drawing and painting a face she saw online during the recent VE Day commemorations. Dorothea ‘Pixie’ Barron is 100 years old and gave an interview with The Big Issue about her life and joining the Women’s Royal Naval Service after she left school and serving as a Wren during WWII. Last year she celebrated her 100th birthday with a Spitfire flight! Read the interview here… https://www.bigissue.com/life/ve-day-second-world-war-dorothea-barron-interview/

After an accurate drawing was made Tracy used watercolours to capture Dorothea’s beautiful face.

Julia’s painting

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Julia started her painting at the session on Art Deco, with colourful, geometric circles her main focus. She spent a long time drawing the circles then hours painting each one in acrylics. Many of the circles have more circles on them.

Well done, Julia, what a fabulous painting!