On a cold February morning 16 artists ventured to The British Motor Museum at Gaydon to view a collection of over 400 vehicles. The historic collection includes cars from the early beginnings of the British Motor Industry, through the glory days, to the ups and downs of the late 20th century to an exhibition of what the future holds.

As always, Phil’s organisation was brilliant and we were soon through the entrance and at reception, where we were warmly welcomed by the friendly staff. We had our own room where we had a quick chat about the museum and asked to be back for 3.00pm for the critique.

It felt like you were entering a giant sweet shop trying to decide what to sketch from the vast array of amazing vehicles present. Then it was deciding what angle to take, do I crop or paint the whole vehicle. What materials to use, do I go for a complimentary coloured background to make it pop! Or do I go for the highlights, reflections and darks contrasts brought out by the great lighting in the building.

Eventually we all settled down and as you can see from our endeavours, we had a great day which was followed by Robert and David’s usual very informative and constructive critique. They discussed ways to improve composition, perspective, contrast, and various art materials that could be used to further develop our sketches. As someone who has only been in the Guild for 12 months, I have found these professional critiques very useful to help improve my techniques, understanding of materials and as a confidence builder. Our thanks to Robert and David!

Again, on behalf of my fellow artists on the day a big thank you to Phil, for his time in organising the day.

Bob Spendlove Friend