Dear Member
Recent Club Events
Club Holiday
The Club Holiday group have recently returned from Bourton on the Water (see main image above). Here are some jottings from one of the group.
We had a fabulous holiday although it did rain on our first day. We all went out before the rain and took photos to paint from and then spent an enjoyable day, in the room allocated for us to paint in, as the rain came down.
For the rest of the holiday were really lucky with the weather and had some glorious days visiting and painting: Hidcote Gardens, Broadway tower and Stanway house grounds which has the tallest fountain in Europe. We all had fun avoiding the water, well, all except one (as per the third image below!).
On Wednesday we went to Upper and Lower Slaughter where we were joined for the day by Lyn, Gill, Tess and Jenny and a very good day was had.
The hotel had a funny tradition which involved collecting bits and bobs (Ecologically friendly) when out and about to fashion into a boat for a boat race on the last evening. All the boats were put on display and a vote was made as to the best boat, one of the visiting walkers won this. Everyone then went to the first bridge and simultaneously launched our boats, we then hare down along the Windrush river until the last bridge to see who won. Sue won the boat race, earning her this very fetching nautical headgear!
As well as the boat race, we had a painting exhibition of our pictures over the holiday, the voting comprised of everyone voting with money to raise funds towards the Pathways fund and we raised £60.65. Ruth not only got most votes, but also sold her painting. It was a beautiful painting and definitely worthy of winning Best Painting.
Want to join in the fun next year? For rural calm in the Shropshire Hills National Landscape, the location of the characterful country house which we have chosen for 2026, the Longmynd Hotel in Church Stretton, is hard to top. See our holidays page for details.
Monthly Meeting
The Critique of our ‘modern style’ paintings in June, by Jan Munro, gave us a very enjoyable and informative afternoon. She gave time to each artist for questions and discussion after each appraisal. Gill has booked Jan for a workshop next April.
After the discussions we voted for our favourite painting and Leng was the winner with this lovely, abstract floral painting.
Summer Party
Our Summer Garden Party, early in July, was at Rita’s as last year. It was a truly lovely afternoon in the good company of friends, and, as always, people brought a superb selection of food for us to share. The weather? Well, we put the cushions out on the garden chairs – and took them in again! An almighty downpour was admired from the conservatory as we ate. We did have a chance, later, to wander in Rita’s lovely garden!
The quiz was a challenging mix of art and literature, people and places – many thanks to Freddie for that. Thanks also to Leng for organising the food list, and huge thanks to Rita for being a wonderful host and yet again letting us invade your house!
Events in August
Because August is our busy Summer Exhibition month, we do not have a monthly meeting in the Parish Centre.
The Annual Summer Exhibition, 12th – 24th August
Our 83rd Annual Exhibition is fast approaching and preparations are well in hand. August is our busiest month and all your help will be appreciated for setting up the exhibition. Most volunteers will already have been in touch with Wendy – if not, and you would like to help, please contact her as mentioned below.
Stewarding: Please contact us if you have not ‘booked’ stewarding dates and times (2 dates)
Exhibition arrangements are as follows:
Saturday 9th August: Artists bring paintings (framed and unframed) and greetings cards to hand in from 10am to 12noon. Please don’t forget the Greetings Cards form. Selection takes place in the morning and templating (planning what goes on each screen) after lunch.
HELP – we need lots of volunteers to porter in the morning on that day. Please contact us if you are available. We would like helpers to come from 9.30 am – 12.30, or after lunch 1.30pm – 5pm, to help move paintings and tables during templating.
Selection Panel: Arrive at 9.45 am.
Members: Rose Towers (lead), Kaz Wilkinson, Sue Carter, Non-members: Jamel Akib, Cath Baldwin.
Sunday 10th August: Bring your Craft to hand in at 1pm.
Screen erection from 10 am and hanging the pictures from 11 am.
At 10 am Good Gym and strong volunteers are needed to put up screens, please.
At 11 am volunteers are needed for hanging pictures, an easy job, as all screen layouts are planned during templating. In the afternoon we need people to clear away tables and prepare the hall for Preview Night.
Your help will be greatly appreciated. Please contact us if you are available.
Monday 11th August, Preview Evening 7- 9pm.
Your first chance to see the 2025 exhibition, and perhaps make a purchase or two.
All members are welcome to come along. We invite Guests who have previously supported our exhibitions.
Tuesday 12th August the Exhibition opens at 10 am. It runs until Sunday 24th August.
Sunday 24th August: A bell will be rung at 4.45pm and the end of the Exhibition will be announced. The hall will be cleared, for health and safety reasons, of everyone except those who have a job to do. Craft exhibitors may begin to collect their unsold work. Will all other exhibitors please go around to the side door to wait and buyers go into the lobby. This will make it much quicker and easier for everyone to prepare the tables for checking out. Paintings may not be taken down by artists before 5pm.
At 5pm exhibitors and buyers will be invited back in to collect their unsold paintings and their purchases.
If you are unable to be there yourself, please send someone to pick them up on your behalf.
After taking your pictures down you must check them out. Do not forget your reserve, unhung, unframed work and cards. Cards must all be checked out or you won’t be paid!
At 5.15pm Dismantling Team start to pack-up screens etc. We would appreciate strong volunteers to help dismantle and store the screens and other equipment, please.
The club will not be responsible for paintings left behind.
The committee appreciates your help and would like to thank you all in advance.
We recently sent to you some flyers for the exhibition.
If you use social media, please advertise the exhibition for the Club,
or perhaps circulate some flyers by email.
For the best presentation at our SUMMER EXHIBITION, we ask members to pay particular attention to the framing of their work. Please click here for a guide that will help ‘old timers’ as well as newcomers to arrive on handing-in day with pictures ready to hang and not ‘in need of repair’ (we may charge for any repairs which we do to make it possible to still exhibit your painting. If we cannot repair, we will withdraw your entry).
Sunday Painting
Outdoor Painting Sunday 3rd August 10.30am to 4pm. White Waltham Airfield, WW2 HQ of Air Transport Auxiliary and still a busy operational airfield for light aircraft, so there should be plenty of comings and goings. Topics for your paintings include: old clubhouse buildings; hangars; small aircraft parked on the airfield.
Parking is on-site with bar and café for facilities. See www.wlac.co.uk for the history of the West London Aero Club and directions to the airfield (SL6 3NJ). (This will involve you checking in on arrival, so it is essential that you contact us so we can let White Waltham know how many to expect).
Tuesday Painting Workshops
At Cookham Dean Village Hall, Church Road, Cookham Dean, Berks SL6 9PY, from 1.40pm to 5pm.
| Tuesday Painting: cost £2 A topic, appraisal, tea and cake |
Tuesday Extra: cost £2 Painting, tea and biscuits |
| August 5th: Design and paint a whimsical building or animal. | August 12th: Paint what you like |
| August 19th: An object in an interior, as a surrealist might paint it. Wildly out of proportion or out of place, perhaps? | August 26th: Paint what you like |
TIPS OF THE MONTH
Using white coloured pencils – a useful one for those who like to draw with coloured pencils.
Found on Pinterest in a blog by Luuk Minkman (a commercial artist, who likes to create photorealistic car drawings) www.luukminkman.com
Luuk states that the use of white coloured pencils is great for blending and softening colours; also used as a base for those not so easy to blend colours (fills the crevices of the paper with white making a smoother surface for adding colour); good for creating gradients and smooth transitions, from dark to light for example; fantastic as a highlighter. Luuk goes on to recommend some white pencils: Caran d’Ache Luminance white pencil, Caran d’Ache Supracolour Watercolour pencil and Faber Castell Albrecht Dürer Water colour pencil.
Yours sincerely
Robert Jones
Newsletter Editor