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Open Day – Saturday 26th September 2026

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This year we moved our annual Open Day from cold, wet November to September, in the hope of better weather for visitors and it was a warm, sunny day.

17 artists painted in the hall whilst our paintings were on the walls all around or in browsers. We welcomed about 36 friends, family, local residents and people who had seen the Open Day advertised on social media and in the village.

We enjoyed the day drawing and painting and chatting to visitors and many commented that it’s really interesting to see artists at work whilst they enjoyed walking around the exhibition.

Words from visitors in the comments book included…

“Impressed with art as usual – well done.” “Truly wonderful!!!” “Really impressive work. Thank you.” “So interesting to see all the different mediums and styles.” “Lovely work.” “Some really beautiful paintings. Very talented people!!!” “Amazing work here – we love coming every year. Thank you!” “Some lovely pictures . Lovely to see the artists working.” “I am speechless, everything is amazing.”

75 framed paintings were on the walls with 6 sold, 1 each by Vikki and Jane and 2 each by Mary and Susan.

In the browsers were 40 mounted pictures, with 10 sold. 2 each by Dot and Angela D and 6 by Susan. This is an Open Day record, well done, Susan, you paint beautiful pictures!

Thank you to everyone who helped with hanging on Friday evening and a HUGE thank you to members who kept tea, coffee and biscuits supplied to visitors on the day. Also for washing up and drying the crockery and cutlery. We couldn’t run the day without your help and enthusiasm!

Here are all the framed paintings from the day. (Apologies for the reflections on some paintings from the lights and windows.)

Look out on 1st October for details of the next sessions on Wednesday 14th October 7-9pm and Saturday 24th October 10am-3pm.

Finishing pictures – September 2026 – Wednesday

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At our last session 14 members painted, drew, pastelled, pencilled and inked industriously, in an effort to finish pictures for our Open Day and Exhibition on Saturday 26th September.

It was a busy evening and a very useful time to complete and nearly complete pictures ready to mount and frame. What an interesting selection of subjects.

Our next session is on FRIDAY 25th September 7-9pm when we hang all our paintings on the walls.

On SATURDAY 26th September we meet from 10am to 3pm as normal, with visitors welcome from 10.30am to 2.30pm.

Please keep advertising the day by passing the poster to friends, family, neighbours and any groups you belong to. Thank you :o)

Ink & watercolour workshop with Victoria Wainwright – April 2026 – Saturday

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On Saturday twenty one members enjoyed an ink and workshop with artist and tutor Victoria Wainwright. We learned about different types of inks, including acrylic and Indian inks and used several colours in different paintings. It was the first time we have done four paintings at one workshop and we all went home having learned a lot and appreciated her knowledge, inspiration and encouragement.

Victoria’s website is here… https://www.victoriawainwright.com

As art group subs covers the hall hire, members not attending the workshop are welcome to come along and create pictures to their own theme.

We started the workshop by doodling with a pen on a sheet of paper, filling in some or all of the shapes, choosing 3 different coloured inks from a large selection and painting the shapes. After this exercise we placed all the pictures on the floor to view them.

For the next exercise Victoria showed us some examples of paintings of everyday household kitchen items. We chose items from a selection for a little still life. We drew the objects in pencil, used inks to paint outside the lines then drew loose lines in pen for the outlines and details of the objects. Having painted within the lines for many years we were encouraged to paint outside the lines, add splashes of ink and it was quite liberating!

After lunch we moved on to watercolours to paint birch trees with a coloured background. Victoria drew vertical lines for the tree trunks, put clean water between the trees then added watercolours wet in wet to create mixed colours. Whilst the paint was wet we added large salt granules to the colours which made interesting patterns when dry. Once the dry salt was brushed off we used Quink ink in black or blue with a cocktail stick to add the lines and details on the birch trees. By adding more Quink to one side of a tree trunk and using a brush with water to create a darker side it made the trunks become rounded and not flat. We added more paint to the bottom of the picture by using sponges and a bunch of elastic bands loaded with paint. It makes a difference to the atmosphere of the woods by the paint colours used.

The first three birch tree paintings are Victoria’s and the rest are ours.

For the last painting we had a reference photo of a fishing boat. We loosely drew the shape of the boat and used watercolours for the sky, land and boat, emphasising the rusty areas. When the painting was dry we used Quink ink or a black pen to outline the boat and pick out areas of interest.

The first photo is the reference picture, then Victoria’s painting, then ours.

We all really enjoyed the workshop, learning about and trying different types of ink, using cocktail sticks with Quink, drawing with a pen and taking home four paintings. Thank you, Victoria, for a tiring but inspiring day!

Look out for the next newsletter on 1st May and our next session is on Wednesday 13th May from 7-9pm.

Animals in Winter – January 2026 – Saturday

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Twenty two artists met at the hall last Saturday, whilst one poorly artist painted at home then sent in photos of her pictures. It was a lovely relaxing day with arty friends catching up with each other over a cuppa and biscuits. To all members ill with this sore throat/cough bug, get better soon!

The suggested subject of ‘Animals in Winter’ was a popular one and several artists produced two pictures during the day. There were squirrels, highland cattle, foxes, squirrels, deer, birds, puffins, a snow leopard, hares, butterflies, a rabbit, ladybirds, a dormouse and robins. Several different mediums were used, such as watercolours, soft pastels, graphite pencils, acrylics, coloured pencils and inks. Some pictures are finished and others are works in progress, such as a landscape waiting for the animal to be added. The last 5 pictures were created at another art group but are of the same subject.

Some artists chose their own themes to draw and paint with pencils, pastels and watercolours.

Well done, everyone, it was a very productive day!

Ideas for next month will be published on 1st February and the next session will be on Wednesday 11th February from 7-9pm.

Back to Basics – January 2026 – Wednesday

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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!

Tracy’s pictures

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Tracy took part in Inktober 2025 by drawing an image every day using a 4-coloured ball point pen. By dividing up 2 pages of a sketchbook each box was only 5cm x 7cm. Each small picture took less than 5 minutes, including a quick sketch in pencil.

Every day was suggested by a list of prompts. Tracy’s favourite days were the 4th – ‘murky’, the 20th – ‘rivals’ and the 26th – ‘puzzling’. The 30th – ‘vacant’ was the easiest!

Tracy also finished her ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ picture, now called ‘Zentangle Girl with a Holographic Earring’. Drawn using a black waterproof pen, a Faber Castell Polychromos coloured pencil in Cold Grey III and some holographic nail varnish.

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.

Paint on a postcard – August 2025 – Wednesday

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Last Wednesday fifteen members attended the session on a very warm evening. Most painted on the black and white and lightly tinted postcards, bought from eBay for a few pounds. They were mostly views from the West Country, Kent, the Lake District and Scotland, with a few other places too.

Acrylic paint applied thickly and thinly worked really well to add the colour, as did thick watercolour paint, ink, coloured pencils and felt tip pens. Some of the postcards had been used and the earliest message and stamp dated back to 1908!

Some artists drew and painted to their own theme.

Well done everyone, the painting on a postcard challenge was well received and very enjoyable.

Our next session is on Saturday 23rd August in the private gardens behind Rochester Cathedral. Please email Tracy asap if you can come or not.