It was a quiet day with only 16 members at the session, but there were 14 great paintings entered into the competition.

All the pictures looked very colourful on the presentation table, with Teddy Charles III keeping an eye on proceedings.

We all voted for our favourite picture and there was one clear winner. There was a three-way tie for the runner-up position so we voted again and had a two-way tie. A third round of voting saw a final split of votes with a runner-up painting decided. It was like voting at the Eurovision Song Contest all over again!

In third position was Mary, with her accomplished acrylic painting of the troops and horses of the Household Cavalry.

Susan was runner-up with her watercolour of the coronation ceremony inside Westminster Abbey, with many details and sublime colours.

In first place was Steve, with his amazing oil pastel portrait of Charles III. Well done, it was a worthy winner!

Steve couldn’t be there on the day so Tracy is holding his winning picture. Please note that the crown was borrowed especially from the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London for the day’s presentations ;o)

Some members painted to the coronation theme but did not enter their pictures, or they painted their own subjects.

The next session is on Wednesday 14th June from 7-9pm and please remember our visit to Rochester Cathedral will be on Saturday 26th August 2023, 10am-3pm.

Our illuminated letters session at the end of April led to several artists completing their letters at home or painting new ones. Some letters had gold or silver paint added, so the paintings have been tilted slightly to photograph to show where this paint catches the light, hence the letters being ‘illuminated’.

Thank you Brenda, Denise, Mary, Chris W, Tracy and Steve for completing your paintings, they all look fabulous, well done!

In alphabetical order…

It was quiet evening with only 11 members attending, but we made up for it by chatting about Charles III’s Coronation the previous Saturday and all the pop and circumstance. The Coronation is the subject of the annual competition so many reference pictures were used.

If you look at the following photo closely you will see King Charles looking at us from the kitchen. He stayed watching us intently until Nigel the vicar took him away!

Most members made a start on their Coronation paintings for the competition, so they are works in progress and will be continued at home or at the next session. It was good to use gold and silver paint to add highlights to the paintings.

Some members painted their own subjects in a variety of media.

The next session will be on Saturday 27th May from 10am to 3pm.

All paintings for the competition to be in by 2.15pm, then we will all vote for our favourite painting.

It’s not compulsory to enter, so if you want to come along to paint your own subject then that’s absolutely fine :o)

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the slightly warmer weather, though there’s still rather a lot of rain around.

If you didn’t pay your subs all in one go at the beginning of the year, please look out for an email from Steve about paying the next amount due at the beginning of May. Thank you :o)

Wednesday 10th    7-9pm   –  Start painting for the competition

Our annual competition is a friendly affair and is NOT compulsory.  If you don’t want to enter a painting that’s fine, please just use the suggested idea as inspiration for a drawing or painting.

Get your gold paint out again because the theme is…The Coronation of King Charles III

The coronation is on Saturday 6th May at Westminster Abbey from 11am to 1pm and will be televised and photographed extensively, so you will have plenty of visual inspiration for your drawings and paintings. It’s the first coronation in Britain in seventy years so it will be the first that most members will see.

There will be so many options for you to paint, so decide if you want to paint a person or people, a building, animals, state regalia etc.

• People – King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the royal family, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the pages, any guests, soldiers marching or mounted.
• Buildings – Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the flypast over the Palace.
• Views – the route of The Mall, under Admiralty Arch, along Whitehall.
• The Crown Jewels – St.Edward’s Crown, the Imperial State Crown, Queen Mary’s Crown, The Sovereign’s Orb, Sceptre with Crown, Sceptre with Dove, the eagle-shaped Ampulla and the Coronation Spoon, Swords, Armills, Spurs, the Sovereign’s ring.
• Coronation items – The 700 year old Coronation Chair, also called St.Edward’s Chair, set with the Stone of Destiny. The Chairs of Estate, Throne Chairs or the Anointing Screen, all newly embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.
• Coaches – the old Gold State Coach and the modern Diamond Jubilee State Coach.
• Animals– Windsor Grey horses pulling the coaches, the Household Cavalry, the lion and unicorn on the royal arms and standard.
• Prince of Wales – If the coronation doesn’t interest you perhaps think of Charles’ life before becoming King. Paint Highgrove House with the wildflower meadows and formal gardens, the clematis ‘Prince Charles’, any eco project he’s been involved in, The Prince’s Trust etc.

There’s no right or wrong way to paint this subject…just your way.

Saturday 27th   10am-3pm   –   Competition continued

Continue with your Coronation picture, or paint another. All pictures to be in by 2.15pm then we all cast one vote for our favourite painting. There will be small cash prizes for the winner and runner-up.

A maximum of three drawings/paintings per member.  If you paint a picture but can’t attend today please arrange with someone to take and collect your artwork.

If you feel uncomfortable entering a competition that’s fine, you don’t have to. Paint the Coronation theme but leave your painting on your table so it won’t be on the separate tables with the submitted pictures.

Good luck everyone!