Monthly Meetings
These are held on the second Wednesday of most months at St Georges Hall, Tiverton. Doors open at 6.45pm, for meetings between 7.00pm and 9.00pm.
These meetings include demonstrations, talks and critiques of members’ work by professional artists.
We have a tea/coffee break at about 8pm for members to chat and socialise, for about 20 minutes.
There are no meeting in August and November’s meeting hosts the AGM.
(Information for guest speakers regarding projector connection and internet can be found here.)
Meetings for 2025
| Date | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| January 8th | Coastal Scenes | Owen Williams |
| February 12th | How to approach painting en plein air. | Phil Creek |
| March 12th | Critique | Ray Balkwill |
| April 9th | Big sky Coast-scape painting | Margaret Micklewright |
| May 14th | Floral still life | Julie Dunster |
| June 11th | Expressive Abstract Landscapes – acrylics | Lisa Parkyn |
| July 9th | Reg Cull Memorial Prize Critique | Members chance to talk about their own artwork, feedback from other members. |
| September 10th | Still Life fruits – oil paints | Tom Stevenson |
| October 8th | Watercolours – landscape and floral | John Hoare |
| November 12th | AGM | |
| December 10th | Deeper, richer, textural painting | Claire Western |
January 8th Coastal Scenes demo with Owen Williams
Living in the beautiful Devon countryside I am surrounded by inspiration wherever I look; from the intertwining fields and hedgerows and stunning coastal walks both North and South to the awe-inspiring Victorian industrial buildings and sprawling farm buildings. I paint with a limited palette to attempt to paint that feeling of the ‘first impression’ where the juxtaposition of colour and form catch the eye and the imagination. My inspiration comes from artists such as Van Gogh and Kandinsky as well as illustrators like Arthur Rackham and the designer Abram Games.
Owen will demo and take us through how he would approach painting a bold and colourful coastal beach scene.
February 12th How to approach painting en plein air with Phil Creek
Phil Creek, BA (Hons), ATD, SWAc was born in Cambridgeshire, England. He received his Honours Degree in Fine Art Painting from Manchester University before undertaken post-graduate study in the History of Art and Design at Birmingham University.
After a career in art education, he now concentrates full-time on his painting. Phil is a founder member and Trustee of the Devon Arts in Schools Initiative (DAISI) and, more recently, Trustee and Honorary Academician of SWAc.
His paintings are inspired by the landscapes, seascapes and townscapes of the southwest of England and Cape Cod, USA where he visits each year to work in the coastal towns of Eastham, Wellfleet and Truro. He has also made many paintings of The Jurassic Coast with its varied landscape, weather and coastal resorts
Phil is going to demo and explain how to approach painting en plein air. What materials and equipment you might use and how to choose a suitable scene. He will bring sketchbooks and newer outside plein air paintings completed on location. www.philcreek.co.uk
March 12th Guest artist critique with Ray Balkwell
The March meetings are one of the best attended meetings during the year. March is when we have the “Critique of Members’ Work” by a guest artist. It is always constructive to have another pair of eyes view your work and suggest other options that you could take with your work.
It’s great to welcome back Ray Balkwill. Ray is a strong advocate of painting en plein air, with his main objective being to capture the mood and ‘spirit’ of a place. Living as he does on the coast, it is little wonder that the wide-open spaces of sea, estuary and sky have been the mainspring of his art.
So please organise a piece of your artwork that is unframed or unfinished, that maybe you have been struggling with or would like some advice on how to further improve it and bring it along to the March meeting.
April 9th Big sky Coast-scape painting with Margaret Micklewright
I am a Scottish painter living in Somerset who loves to paint en plein air, especially in more challenging weather conditions.
I love working on location, preferably in wet and windy conditions to really capture feelings that are generated by the landscape around me. I enjoy the interference or adaption from weather conditions at that time.
I am influenced by the landscape of the South-West, from the Cornish Coastline and Kilve in Somerset to Orkney and some of the lovely Scottish Islands in between. I love to paint landscapes which show little evidence of human intervention. I am currently working on a body of work based on wonderful Dartmoor.
I use acrylic and handwriting ink with a wet surface, manipulating the ink to create my work. I am working on oil paintings too, especially as influenced by my trips to Dartmoor. www.margaretmicklewright.com
May 14th Acrylics – Floral still life with Julie Dunster
Julie Dunster is passionate about painting from life, on location, in all weathers. Working in oils, she hopes to capture the essence of a moment in the landscape, an emotion in a portrait, a narrative in a still life. Occasionally she works in her mid Devon studio, often using studies made en plein air to inform her painting, or in painting commissions.
Living in Devon, it is easy to be inspired by the countryside, moors, coast and sky.
“Painting outside on location “en plein air” when the light, weather and even the subject is changing, is a challenge that I love. One that helps to create paintings that hopefully are atmospheric, authentic and evocative, whether outside, from life or developing work in the studio.” www.juliedunsterartist.com
June 11th Expressive Contemporary Abstract landscapes with Lisa Parkyn
Lisa has been painting since she could hold a paintbrush! “I spent my early years on a remote farm in the Kalahari semi-desert, Botswana—a childhood shaped by vivid memories of hot sand beneath my feet, the thrill of riding on the back of a Land Cruiser, searching for scorpions, and uncovering the treasures of the bushveld. Creativity was ever-present, inspired by my grandmother and mother, both painters, with my mother also serving as the local art teacher. Painting and artistic exploration became a natural and joyful part of my life from an early age.
I pursued a career in graphic design, studying and working in South Africa and London, where I also completed a degree in movement psychotherapy. After traveling abroad, I settled in Devon in 2008 with my husband. Surrounded by the dramatic landscapes of the countryside, I rediscovered my passion for painting—initially focusing on portraits and landscapes before evolving into a more abstract style.
Exploring nature with my family and creating art has become a deeply fulfilling way to share creativity and connect with the world around me, both as an artist and as a parent. www.lisaparkyn.com
July 9th Black and White art Critique
Talking to others about your artwork can be challenging and difficult. All artists feel that when they have painted or drawn something that it’s either what they wanted to achieve alternatively others may be a little disappointed with the result and not sure why. Is it the colour, the composition, the technique used, the view chosen, the medium, which of these elements could be improved?
The Members Critique
Is a friendly supportive evening when all members can bring in a recent piece of artwork of any medium to share and discuss with peers.
The three levels of art critique are: description, analysis and self evaluation. Description describes objective qualities of the work – what do I see when looking at this artwork? Analysis attempts to answer what techniques have been used by the artist to achieve their result – how is the work organised? Evaluation or self-evaluation – What does the artist or the viewer think of the work?
September 10th Still Life in oils with Tom Stevenson ROI
Tom Stevenson is based near Tiverton where he works from life to create paintings that follow a path between figurative and abstract styles to explain the light and colour of his surroundings.
In his paintings Tom relies upon the uncontrollability of oil as a medium to build a fresh and organic surface. He works from life and is drawn to subjects such as the coast, figures and the dramatic skies seen over the surrounding countryside.
His work is underpinned by strong composition and is often constructed around a simple compositional idea or collection of colours which form the starting point and focus of the painting.
Tom is an elected member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI). He studied at Plymouth College of Art and Design, Bath School of Art and holds a degree in Fine Art from Exeter College of Art and Design.
October 8th Watercolours – landscape and floral with John Hoar
John Hoar, (b.1947), is a prize-winning watercolourist who has had over 50 one-man shows in England and Ireland. His latest was in China in 2016 where he represented Britain at the 2nd International Watercolour Salon at Qingdao.
John now spends a lot of time teaching, both at home in Devon and elsewhere and is available for workshops and courses. At present he directs two week-long courses a year in Ireland, at Renvyle House Hotel, Connemara, Co Galway, and another two at Dedham Hall in Essex. He is represented in London by the Llewellyn-Alexander Gallery, Waterloo and in Devon by the Lantic Gallery, Tiverton.
He also has a gallery at home in South Molton.
10th December Deeper, richer, textural painting with Claire Western
Wellington based painter Claire is an artist with a deep and endless fascination for exploration of the natural world and the right materials to portray it. She says ‘I aim to make paintings which are physically exciting, which show my inclination to risk-taking and which involve a vast range of materials and techniques. My teaching, both in schools and in adult education, has kept me constantly searching for new ways of expressing my passion for the natural environment.
She will demonstrate ways of enriching and enlivening the surface of a painting.
She will apply colour using some of the following mediums – acrylic paints, inks, dyes, watercolour and drawing media, in some cases flooding the surfaces with fluid colour, in others brushing delicate layers onto raised surfaces, all with the intention of enriching and enlivening the artwork.
Notes
The Reg Cull Memorial Award: £25, awarded at the July meeting, by the invited guest, for the best black and white drawing or painting submitted that evening. One submission per member.
The Alan Rigby Award: £25, awarded for the best picture developed from sketches and photos from the sketching days and painting holiday.
Sales Table Held at the May and October meetings. Members’ ‘Bring and Buy’ of art materials, books etc. No commission.
Information for guest speakers
Below are the connections that our projector can use to connect to external devices. Please note that there is no Bluetooth or wireless.
Internet connection (or lack of)
Please note, the hall does not currently have any internet connection via WIFI or hard cable. Therefore if your presentation is cloud based, you will need to down load a copy to your device.