St Mary's Art Group
Painting Days Out
Club Day Al Fresco: Painting at Lacock Abbey June 2026
A number of the group braved the weather (which was kind- no rain or wind) and spent 'club morning' sketching around the grounds at Lacock Abbey. There was a wealth of material to choose from, bright flowers and imposing architecture.... we were spoilt for choice...
Sketch of the Abbey Courtyard
Urban Sketching meet in Trowbridge:
Saturday, April 18th brought a beautiful morning as members of St Mary’s Art Group gathered at the newly refurbished Trowbridge Town Hall with other local, urban, sketchers. For two hours, artists sketched and painted, inspired by their surroundings—it’s remarkable what can be achieved in such a short time when the setting is so engaging.
Trowbridge Town Hall, a Grade II listed building, is situated in the heart of Trowbridge, with lovely gardens just behind it. The town offers a myriad of architectural buildings for excellent sketching opportunities so, whilst some participants clearly appreciated the view from the Sensory Gardens, others explored central Trowbridge generally.
We thank the Staff at the Old Town Hall for their support. It was a delightful and creative celebration of the refurbished building and the town of Trowbridge itself.
Painting of 'Buds of Rhodendrons at Bowood' by Sue Barratt
Tip Toe Through the .... snowdrops!
Seven degrees. The warmest & driest day for weeks. How lucky were we to chose this Wednesday to visit the magnificent snowdrops at Welford Park, in Berkshire. A quick cup of coffee, an obligatory piece of fruit cake, and off we went, cameras and sketch books in hand, to try to capture something of these wonders at Welford Park.
Welford Park, if you don't already know, was the original home of the Great British Bake-Off but, fortunately for us, snowdrops come earlier in the year than Bake-Off contenders and their wonderful creations. (Bake-Off is returning to Welford this May). Snowdrop time, in February and March, sees hundreds of people following the carefully laid out bark pathways through the grounds and woodland around the 5 acre beechwood, enchanting River Lambourne riverbanks and the gardens of Welford Park to 'ooh' & 'ahh' at the glorious sights of one of the UK's finest snowdrop collections. Not just snowdrops but hellebores, aconites and primroses are in abundance. We walked, we sat & chatted, we took masses of photographs, but did we sketch? Well no, but I promise you will see something of our artistic endeavours in the coming weeks.
A couple of snowdrop paintings from this day