Our August monthly meeting was a great success.  We held the Annual Life Drawing and Landscape Competition. The competition was very well-attended by artists taking part, and non-participating members alike. We had recently re-introduced the original premise for this competition, which had perhaps become a little ill-defined over the years, that is, to paint 'from the source'. We encouraged all members to join our 'outdoor painting sessions' in the summer months and also to participate in our 'life drawing' sessions in the winter, as well as to partake in similar exercises, independently. The artworks submitted were of an extremely high standard and bore a visual vibrancy that testified to their creation from life, rather than source material. (One or two seascapes still proudly wore grains of sand!) Almost all members present made use of the wonderful opportunity of participating in the evening's 'crit' session, after voting had taken place.  This proved to be an entertaining and most informative exercise, not only for those who had submitted works for the competition, but also for the many who attended to lend their support and gain valuable insights concerning technique, composition and approach. The inimitable Margie Johnson once again did us the honour of talking us through each of the works on display. Margie is one of our own very active members, a practising artist and teacher, who very encouragingly highlighted the strengths in each artwork and offered her wisdom to counter the weaker aspects that required attention. The most deserving winners on the evening were:

Congratulations to the winners, and all who took part! The above winners each received 'Deckle Edge' vouchers and the winners in their respective categories each received a Floating Trophy introduced this year. Next year it could be you, so let's get out there!