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 meetings in August, and November’s meeting hosts the AGM.
Projector and camera information
Videos on how to set up the camera and projector can be found here.
Information for guest speakers regarding the projector connection and the internet can be found here.
Meetings for 2026
| Date | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| January 14th | Landscape in oil | Maria Rose |
| February 11th | Creating atmosphere in paintings | Belinda Reynell |
| March 11th | Critique | Ray Balkwill |
| April 8th | Townscapes :pen wash and watercolour | John Hoar |
| May 13th | India ink/acrylic ink florals, drawing with reeds | Anna Brewster |
| June 10th | Painting water in pastels: techniques for several different types of water | Rebecca de Mendonca |
| July 8th | Reg Cull Memorial Prize Critique | Margaret Micklewright |
| September 9th | Dramatic September Skies in Oil | Amy Jobes |
| October 14th | The sky is the limit- watercolour | Mark Gibbons |
| November 11th | AGM | |
| December 9th | TBA | TBA |
January 14th, Landscape in oil with Maria Rose
A Devon winter landscape demo in oils with Maria Rose ROI
Maria Rose ROI (Royal Institute of Oil Painters) is a British oil painter, painting mainly outdoors to create softly evocative en plein air landscapes, working spontaneously to capture mood and light. Maria understands the quiet beauty of the English landscape and celebrates the subtle shifts through our unique and ever-changing seasons.
Maria is a prize-winning artist who has exhibited with the South West Academy, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Chelsea Art Society, the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the New English Art Club and is a member of the British Plein Air Painters.
Maria will demo how to approach painting en plein air and will bring plein air paintings completed on location. See also www.mariarose.co.uk
February 11th, Creating atmosphere in paintings with Belinda Reynell
Belinda is an acclaimed contemporary landscape artist who lives and works in Devon. She immerses herself in the landscape where she finds freedom and a love of space. Subsequently, she works in her studio employing her sentiments and a sense of the place to create her art. She holds a BA Honours degree in Illustration from Chelsea School of Art and an MA in Narrative Illustration and Editorial Design from Brighton University. Belinda has previously won Devon Life’s Landscape Artist of the Year and was longlisted for the Jackson’s Open Oil painting competition. In 2019, she held her first London solo exhibition. Her work has been exhibited in London on the Southbank and also at Green and Stone Gallery in Fulham. In 2021 and 2022, she was shortlisted for the British Art Prize run by Artists and Illustrators.
Belinda’s landscapes are a reflection of herself. Every painting is a result of several days of work, with layers of texture and colour added to create a finished piece that seeks to engage the viewer and evoke their individual thoughts and emotions.
March 11th, Guest artist critique with Ray Balkwill
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 8th, Townscapes: pen wash and watercolour with John Hoar
John is widely recognised for his instructional DVDs, five of which were produced by Town House Films. These highly regarded films are designed to help aspiring artists create simple, vibrant watercolours with confidence and enjoyment.
Alongside his own practice, John now devotes much of his time to teaching. He runs workshops and courses both in his home county of Devon and further afield. Each year, he directs two week-long courses in Ireland at the Renvyle House Hotel, Connemara, County Galway, as well as two further courses at Dedham Hall in Essex.
John is represented in London by the Llewellyn-Alexander Gallery, Waterloo, and in Devon by the Lantic Gallery, Tiverton. He also welcomes visitors to his own gallery at his home in South Molton.
May 13th, India ink/acrylic ink florals, drawing with reeds with Anna Brewster
Anna is a landscape/still life artist and art tutor based in East Devon. She returned to painting after a fifteen-year interlude as a photographer, wanting to find a better way to express how a subject felt rather than just how it looked.
A lifelong passion for nature is reflected in what she paints, whether that is glorious bunches of flowers gathered from the local flower farm or a wide sweeping seascape with a storm brewing. Her work is defined by bold mark making, vibrant layers of transparent colour and an expressive take on the world.
‘I love being outdoors. I work from sketches taken in the field, worked up into paintings at Umborne Bridge Studio in Colyton, where I also teach.’
She will be carrying out a series of lottery-funded art events with Seaton Tramway this year, including a community exhibition, and also exhibiting as part of the Art of Exploration Collective at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
June 10th, Painting water in pastels: techniques for several different types of waterxpressive Contemporary Abstract landscapes with Rebecca de Mendonca
Rebecca’s training in Theatre Design sparked a lifelong passion for atmosphere, movement and drama. Pastels are her ideal medium, enabling her to combine drawing and painting in a single process, creating marks with energy, fluidity and precision.
Across all her work, Rebecca seeks to convey the experience of being present, not just what a scene looks like, but how it feels. In recent years, the development of her photography has deepened this approach, introducing the concept of ‘painting with light’ and opening a new chapter in her practice. Her latest atmospheric equestrian pieces explore subtle nuances of shape, light and colour, celebrating the exquisite forms of her models.
https://rebeccademendonca.co.uk/
July 8th, Black and White art Critique with Margaret Micklewright
Talking to others about your artwork can be challenging and difficult. All artists feel that when they have painted or drawn something, 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, or the medium which of these elements could be improved?
https://margaretmicklewright.com/
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 9th, Dramatic September Skies in Oil with Amy Jobes
October 14th, The sky is the limit- watercolour with Mark Gibbons
11th November, AGM
9th December, TBA
Notes
The Reg Cull Memorial Award: £25, awarded at the July meeting, by a vote of those members present, 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 from sketching days, on holiday or en plein air over the past year.
Sales Table Held at the May and October meetings. Members’ ‘Bring and Buy’ of art materials, books etc. No commission.
Camera and projector set up
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 download a copy to your device.