It was a somewhat overcast morning when we arrived at the East Midlands Aeropark. We proceeded to the café where the friendly staff supplied us with cups of tea/coffee.

We then had an update of what was going on within the Guild from Phil and what was happening today. After a selection of second-hand books showing examples of various aviation artists work had been purchased by members of our group, we proceeded to the staff briefing room.

Phil had arranged for Marc Jackman of Jackman’s Art Materials to give us a presentation on how they manufactured their water colour paint. Marc gave an enthusiastic and detailed demonstration of the materials and production methods used to produce their paint. From the quality of the presentation and his answers to our questions, Marc showed a real passion and in-depth knowledge of his craft. He also brought along a wide selection of his excellent water colour paints for us to try out.

We all finally headed home after a great afternoon of ‘speed sketching’ and now knowing a lot more about the manufacture of top-quality water colour paints.

Many thanks to Phil Hadley for arranging the sketching day and the presentation. Also, a big thank you to Marc Jackman for an excellent talk and demonstration.

Finally, as ever, many thanks to all the staff at East Midlands Aeropark for making us feel so welcome.

Grahame Witts