On a very wet February afternoon, Sidmouth Society of Artists welcomed Ray Balkwill to appraise members’ artworks.

Ray is a well- known West Country artist whose watercolours, pastels and oils are much sought after.

He initially reminisced over his long association with the Society, going back almost 30 years both as a member and an appraiser. A strong advocate of painting ‘En Plein Air’, Ray’s main objective is to capture the mood and ‘spirit’ of a place.

To reinforce these ideas, he introduced the appraisals by identifying the key elements to look for in a picture, especially the requirement to ‘love’ the subject; without which success can be difficult to achieve. He then referred back to these criteria as members shared a range of artwork.

The meeting was well attended with more than a dozen pictures brought for appraisal. There was a variety of subject matter and a range of materials used. The discussions Ray held with the individual artists as each piece was considered were lively, analytical, and well received. His professional advice was extremely useful to all the members as indicators to help when reflecting on their own work.

Ray also spoke of his own work and a current exhibition at Green Hill Arts in Moretonhampstead’.

The SSA has its own popular ‘En Plein Air’ group who meet monthly. For more information please visit http://www.sidmouthsocietyofartists.com or email: sidmouthsocietyofartists@yahoo.com