In the month that Diana, Princess of Wales, would have been 60 years old, we drew and painted her at various times in her life.

Chris painted her portrait of Diana in loose watercolours, perfectly capturing Diana’s sense of fun as she laughs at the photographers capturing a happy moment in her life.

Brenda drew Diana in coloured and watercolour pencils, a huge smile on Diana’s face with which she greeted friends and strangers alike. A good use of a darker background which makes Diana with her pale hair come to the foreground.

Juliet drew Diana in the pose that she became well known for of looking coyly at the viewer from under her fringe. By emphasising Diana’s eyes with darker lines Juliet makes sure we are drawn to her gaze.

Steve drew a thoughtful and confident looking Diana in charcoal on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper. He chose a portrait of Diana wearing a tiara, which must have taken ages to draw in such detail.

Tracy also chose a pose of Diana looking coyly at photographers from under her fringe. In watercolours she used darker colours around Diana’s eyes, making them the centre of attention. It took about 15 minutes sketching and and hour painting, on A4 Hobbycraft watercolour sketchbook paper.

Four more pictures have been completed for the suggested July subjects, having being started last weekend.

Doreen drew Mount Fuji in pencil then used coloured pencils to bring her picture to life. She used cherry blossom arching over the top and a figure in the foreground to great effect as they give a convincing depth of field.

Cynthia used graphite pencils in grades HB, 4B and 8B for her geisha, creating intricate patterns on the geisha’s elaborate kimono.

Angela D used pencils for her portrait of Julius Caesar, who the month of June is named for. The stern gaze of Julius stares deeply into the viewer.

The forecast for the day was thunderstorms and rain but they were over before we even got to the church. For the eight hardy members who came along to paint and two who joined us for a chat we didn’t have a single drop of rain for the whole 5 hours we were there! It was a good session and we all enjoyed painting together in the verdant church grounds.

The suggested subjects of Japan and Julius Caesar for July prompted a sketch of the senator himself, a handwritten haiku composed on the day, a Japanese garden and paintings inspired by geisha, Hokusai and an Olympic Games illustration. Other members drew, painted and used oil pastels for pictures based on the scenery around them. It was very pleasing to know that 4 members who couldn’t attend created pictures at home too.

Fourteen members attended the evening session, some coming along for the first time in many months so it was great to see everyone so happy, healthy and enjoying painting together.

Many members started paintings of this month’s themes of anything to do with Japan, Diana, Princess of Wales for the PAOTM or painted their own subjects. The paintings are WIPs (works in progress) so will be worked on further at home or at our next session at Chalk Church on Saturday 24th July.

Have a look through all the paintings and be inspired to paint your own picture.

Here are George’s latest five oil paintings. The first picture is of the actress Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn in a recent tv adaptation. It was a work in progress at a previous session but now George has finished it. The other two people paintings are of a Patagonian gaucho and a girl sitting on grass.

George has also painted two landscapes, called ‘Evening’ and ‘After the Rain’. They’re all super paintings, George, keep up the good work!

Hopefully the rules about meeting others indoors will be relaxed this month, but we just don’t know. We plan to meet on the second Wednesday and fourth Saturday as per usual, but as things could change at any time please do look out for emails nearer the time of the session.

Wednesday 14th July – Chalk Parish Hall – 7-9pm

This will still be under the ‘rule of six’ with tables and chairs cleaned, no mixing between groups, masks worn and no access to the kitchen for tea or coffee. The fee for this session will be £2.

Saturday 24th July – Chalk Church – after 10am-3pm

Please arrive after 10am so that we don’t block the road with cars before the car park gate is open.

This is our usual summer session at Chalk Church but as we meet there every year you don’t have to paint the church, come along and paint anything you want to!

The suggested subjects are below or start a picture for our Open Day which will hopefully take place in November. We may have access to the barn and refreshment facilities but we won’t know until nearer the time. Don’t forget your folding chair and lunch.

If you don’t want to paint why not join us at lunchtime with your own picnic? Bring along a chair and come for a natter with your art friends. If it rains we will still meet as there is shelter near the barn. No fee but a donation to church funds will be appreciated.

Here are some ideas to paint this month…

PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE MONTH (PAOTM)

• Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana would have been 60 this month and there are many articles with photos of her in newspapers at the moment. Draw or paint Diana as a child or teenager before her marriage. Paint her on her wedding day, as a young mother, as a style icon in one of her many glamorous dresses or as an ambassador for one of her many charities. Any medium, any style, you have a whole month to create your picture.

JULY

• Named posthumously for the Roman Senator and General Julius Caesar as it was the month of his birth, previously it was called Quintilis. There are lots of images available online as many statues of him survive in museums.

THE TOKYO OLYMPICS

Due to open on 23rd July Tokyo will host what are called the 2020 Olympic Games, even though it’s now 2021. They may be quite different to watch with fewer people allowed to attend in stadiums but the Olympics are always great to view and be thrilled by the best athletes in the world. Draw or paint ideas connected with the Olympics and Japan…

• any athlete in any sport.
• any sport of the Olympic Games.
• look on the the official website for inspiration… www.olympics.com
• Tokyo – famous sites or quiet places.
• Japan – a country full of bustling cities and stunning mountains and countryside.
• Torii – a traditional entrance gate into a Shinto shrine.
• Haiku – print out or write your own haiku (3 lines of 5/7/5 syllables), illustrate it.
• Japanese traditional artists – Hokusai, Hiroshige and Hiroshige II. Look at their prints and copy a picture or draw/paint/print in the style of one of them.
• a famous Japanese actor/actress.
• a member of the royal family.
• Ikebana – flower arranging.
• Kintsugi – repaired broken pottery, embracing the flawed or imperfect.
• Zen garden – a miniature stylised landscape using rocks, raked gravel or sand, moss, pruned tress, plants and water features.
• any animal or plants/flowers found in Japan.

These are many ideas to get you painting this month, try just one or a few of them. As always these are just ideas if you’re feeling a bit stumped at the moment but you’re welcome to paint anything you want to and send photos of your pictures to Tracy for inclusion on the blog.