On Saturday 26th September we are having our annual Open Day and Exhibition with visitors welcome from 10.30am to 2.30pm.
All welcome at Chalk Parish Hall!
Chalk, near Gravesend, Kent.
Chalk Art Group member Peta Bridle has an exhibition called ‘London Day by Day’ opening at Southwark Cathedral on Thursday 3rd September and running until Wednesday 14th October.
An article and photos of the pictures have been published on the Spitalfields Life website. Click on the link to see the images and if you’d like to leave a comment please write it on the Spitalfields Life website… https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/09/02/peta-bridles-london-day-by-day/
Peta is a meticulous artist who draws subjects in great detail then uses inks and sometimes watercolours to bring life to the pictures. Well done on all your hard work, to have an exhibition at Southwark Cathedral is amazing!
Details about Peta and the exhibition… https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/visiting/art-and-exhibitions/london-day-by-day-peta-brindle/
If you’re in London do pop in to Southwark Cathedral which is at the southern end of London Bridge, near London Bridge station. More info and opening times can be found on the cathedral’s website… https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org
Please read everything as there’s lots of info!
Subs of £30 are due for the rest of 2026. Steve will email members who are due to pay. If you don’t get an email then you’re paid up for this year.
Here are the dates of our next meetings-
Wednesday 9th September – 7-9pm – finish paintings
Friday 25th September – 7-9pm – hanging evening
Saturday 26th September – 10am-3pm – Open Day
(Visitors from 10.30am to 2.30pm)
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Please email Steve ASAP with how many framed paintings you will be hanging for our Open Day (up to 6), along with their names, medium and prices or NFS (Not For Sale).
The poster for Open Day has been emailed to everyone. Please print some out and pop a poster in your local library and shops and/or screenshot it and pass the info to friends and family. Share it to your social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads etc.
If you’re a member of another art group, a sports club, U3A, WI etc, please send a copy of the poster to your secretary and ask them to forward it to all members.
Passing on details of the Open Day this way gets the day heard about. Local Facebook and Instagram groups will also be contacted.
On Open Day you don’t have to hang your paintings on the walls or in the browsers if you’d prefer not to, it’s not compulsory. We call it Open Day as we open the hall so visitors can see what we paint at our sessions. It’s also a good way of showing the group to people looking for a local art group to join. If you have interested friends or family please ask them to visit.
If you aren’t showing your paintings that’s fine, please come along and enjoy a day of painting.
Wednesday 9th – 7-9pm – finish paintings
A useful couple of hours to finish any drawings or paintings for Open Day, or spend the time mounting and framing your artwork.
Friday 25th September – 7-9pm – Hanging Evening
Mounted pictures – any number for the browsers but they must be for sale, all labelled front or back. There won’t be a list of mounted work, so keep a record yourself of which ones you bring along.
Framed paintings – up to 6 and not too big to hang from the hooks. No clip frames please as they easily break. Use D rings or reversed mirror plates and cord across the back with a label hanging down below the frame or on the front with your name, name of the picture, medium and the price or NFS.
The details must be seen from the front when the paintings are on the walls, the info is no good written on the back!
If you need insurance for your artwork then please make sure it’s in place for today and tomorrow.
From 7pm drop off your paintings or stay and help hang them all up. Please bring scissors to cut the hanging cord.
If you can’t come on hanging evening then please arrange for someone else to bring your artwork.
Saturday 26th – 10am – 3pm – Open Day
***** Visitors welcome 10.30am to 2.30pm *****
We open our doors and invite friends, family and Chalk locals to come and see our artwork. Please don’t be upset if you don’t sell anything. It’s lovely to welcome people into the hall to talk about art and painting.
There’s no set subject, just bring along something to paint during the day. No raffle today as it’s too busy, but don’t forget your lunch.
So no one gets stuck in the kitchen for hours please take your turn making teas and coffees for visitors, even if you don’t know them, and also wash and dry up the cups and saucers. Please wash up the teaspoons too as they don’t wash themselves ;o)
Membership – If any visitors want information about becoming a member please talk to them about the group then take them to Steve who can answer any questions and take their details.
Sales – If anyone is interested in buying a framed or mounted picture please take them to Tracy for payment. We don’t have a card reader for debit or credit cards, it’s cash only.
Enjoy the day!
For our second outdoor session of the summer fifteen members met at Chalk Church for a few hours. The weather was very pleasant with a sunny blue sky and a few clouds. We drew and painted under the trees and with a steady breeze some members wore cardigans and light jackets as it was lovely and cool in the shade.
We enjoyed each other’s company and chatted away for hours. With the recent heatwaves the grass was brown in the gardens and orchard and the pond water low, but with enough water for pond-dwelling creatures. Thank you for donations of nearly £50 for church funds :o)
Most artists sketched the view in front of them and two members painted to their own theme.
Good work everyone, it was a very enjoyable day with good company!
Look out for next month’s sessions published on 1st September with all the details for hanging evening on Friday 25th and Open Day on Saturday 26th September.
The next session is back at Chalk Parish Hall on Wednesday 9th September from 7-9pm.
On a very warm evening 9 members attended after a slightly later start. We all took advantage of some Solar Eclipse glasses to watch, from a perfect vantage point, the partial eclipse of the sun. It was super to share that moment together.
The subject for the evening was Cacti
Some members chose to ‘do their own thing’
Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help set up and clear away the tables and chairs. Also thanks to the members who were unable to attend but let me know beforehand, it enabled us to put out the correct number of tables.
Well done all.
Our next meeting is on the 22nd August in the grounds of Chalk Church between 10am and 3pm but if you just want to come along for just a few hours that is fine. There will be tea, coffee, soft drinks and biscuits as usual. We usually have a collection to give to the Church as a little thank you for the use of the grounds and facilities. We will still meet even if it is raining as there is ample cover on site.
Gravesend Art Group are holding their annual exhibition from Tuesday 1st to Sunday 6th September at the St.George’s Arts Centre, St. George’s Shopping Centre, Gravesend. See flyer for times and their website details.
Do pop in, you will receive a warm welcome!
When we visited The Friars at Aylesford, Vikki took a photo of one of the gardeners as she worked in the Rosary Way. Vikki’s finished the watercolour and it’s been painted in great detail with a beautiful use of colour. Good work!
Tracy took lots of photos on the day and also on a previous visit when the wisteria was vibrant in the great court. A tree growing in the gardens behind the shrine also caught her eye. After sketching the subjects Tracy added coloured pencils and will probably paint the door and wisteria in watercolour.
Here’s what we’ll be working on in August, but come along to draw and paint to your own subject if you’d prefer.
Wednesday 12th – 7-9pm – Cacti
The weather is hotter than usual at the moment and so dry with parched grass and dehydrated flowers everywhere. Thinking of plants that thrive in hot conditions, cacti are the most obvious. There are 1750 species, so lots to choose from.
Draw or paint cactuses in pots or in their native habitat of the Americas. Paint them in a botanical way, loosely or in silhouette with a sunset behind them.
Saturday 22nd – from 10am-3pm – ‘Do your own thing’ at Chalk Church
We return to Chalk, this time to St.Mary’s Church in Chalk. Please arrive from 10am and no earlier as the gates have to be unlocked by the churchwarden.
The church, ‘Monet’ bridge over the pond and the gardens are popular subjects to paint, but you don’t have to.
Many of us have painted these many times, so instead start any project for our Open Day (only next month on Saturday 26th September!), continue a cactus picture or finish a view at The Friars at Aylesford from last month.
It’s a day to enjoy painting en plein air but if it’s raining we still meet at the church as there’s an indoor room in the barn with tables and chairs for us to use, though we may have to move boxes around, and a sheltered area outside the barn with benches. If it’s really sunny there are plenty of trees with shade to sit under.
There’s a large, free car park, toilet, and tea, coffee and biscuits as usual.
Please bring along a folding chair or stool if you intend to paint outside in the gardens and a packed lunch too.
If you can only make the morning or afternoon, please come along and join us for a couple of hours. We pack up a little before 3pm as the church warden locks the gates then.
The church doesn’t charge us to use the barn or gardens, so any donations to the Church Fund on the day are appreciated, thank you :o)
No need to let Tracy know you are coming, just turn up on the day. Hope you can come to the session!
If you’re new to the art group, here’s a map of where Chalk Church is in relation to Chalk Parish Hall.
Last Saturday we didn’t meet at the hall in Chalk, we visited The Friars at Aylesford, Kent for an en plein air drawing and painting day. 20 members came along and Sue’s friend Annick from France also painted with us, using watercolours for the first time, which is quite an achievement.
The Friars is spread over a large area so some sat with a friend and others with a larger group. It was a hot, sunny day but we all found shade under trees by the pond, in the Great Courtyard, the Rosary Way and near the main shrine. When the sun moved and our chosen spots became warmer we changed to a different area and the gentle breeze kept us cool. Most of the photos were taken by Tracy, but thank you to Gloria and Jane who also took photos. Most people had their photos taken but apologies to Pat and Graham as Tracy didn’t find where you were painting during the day!
During the day we drew and painted what was in front of us using watercolours, pen and ink, graphite pencils and coloured pencils. Some pictures are finished and others will be completed at home. Vikki had the brilliant idea of asking a gardener to pose for a photo before starting to paint her. Some members created 3 or more sketches or painted more than one picture so it was a very productive day
The Friars is a peaceful place to visit with beautiful grounds to walk around and quiet areas for prayer and contemplation. They also offer overnight stays if you want a retreat from the chaos of every day life. Some of us were quite tempted to stay for a few days!
It’s free to visit for all faiths or none, with a £2 donation for parking. There’s a good cafe serving hot and cold food and drink.
The Friars website for more info… https://www.thefriars.org.uk/home
Here’s a surfeit of photos because around every corner was another beautiful view.
Thank you for your company, it was a really enjoyable day!
Our whip round raised just over £70 which was taken to the office and more was raised as some members paid their donation to the box in the car park or at the cafe. Thank you all.
Our next session is on Wednesday 12th August 7-9pm back at the hall in Chalk.
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Chalk Art Group 