It was our first event since the AGM weekend way back in March and eight members arrived down on the Surrey / West Sussex border for a days sketching and painting at the delightful Gatwick Aviation Museum.

Although not connected in any way to London Gatwick Airport, the museum is located in the village of Charlwood in Surrey, very close to the airport runway. More changes have taken place at the museum since our last visit two years ago; the aircraft collection remains the same but they have introduced a small café area and relocated the Gatwick Airport historical artefacts into a different building.

After some very changeable weather conditions during August it was a relief that the forecast for our day was set fair with only an outside chance of a shower around midday. The group divided evenly between choosing inside or outside subjects. I decided to keep to the sketchbook and headed for a rather forlorn Hawker Hunter
sitting in some undergrowth, not I guess an ‘official exhibit‘ but an attractive
subject slowly being overrun by the vegetation.

We rounded off the day with our usual revue meeting, very kindly conducted by Ken Farmer in the education area. As usual the work done on the day was of a good standard with plenty of variety. and discussions about the challenges and experiences during the day were exchanged. It had been an enjoyable day and the weather had been kind to us. Unfortunately I had to arrange the event at rather short notice but hopefully I can give more time for the next one planned for October.

Richard Wheatland GAvA
South East Regional Organiser