THE activities for the evening had needed to be re-arranged so chair, Val Harris, opened proceedings with the presentation of the trophies and certificates for the winning artists at our recent Kingfisher Centre exhibition.

Some announcements were made regarding our planned visit to the Art in Action Festival at Waterperry Gardens. Members were then invited to place their votes on the paintings submitted for our ongoing artist of the month competition.

Cheryl Clayton, our general secretary, had agreed to give a demonstration of wildlife painting in pastel, her favourite medium. Describing her technique as she worked, she used a soft white pastel stick to sketch the outline of a wolf on to her black velour board. With her fingertips, she lightly rubbed the sketch into the velour surface before changing to pastel pencils for more precise marks. She applied layer upon layer, strengthening the highlights and working on the facial features with directional strokes of her pencil, particularly where a texture could be suggested. The final touch was the detailing of the piercing eyes, making the painting spring to life.

Cheryl painted a pastel study of a hare, this time on plain card, demonstrating surface blending of pastels as opposed to adding layers in the velour technique.

A wildlife study had been produced by each method and the meeting thanked Cheryl for her efforts.

The next meeting will be at St. Luke’s Memorial Hall, Evesham Road, Headless Cross on Wednesday, July 1 at 7.30pm. Stephen McLoughlin will demonstrate Landscapes in Acrylics.