This was our first visit to Goodwood Aerodrome which is located near Chichester, between the south coast and the South Downs. A historic wartime airfield, it is now a busy base for light aircraft and Spitfires.com which operate single and two-seat Spitfires.

Ten Guild artists attended the event and we enjoyed fabulous weather – hot and sunny all day. We were greeted by Mark Gibb, the manager of the aerodrome and Aero Club who kindly made available a smart meeting room with views of the airfield.

After a safety briefing we dispersed to explore the airfield or sample the excellent café in the clubhouse. Sketching and painting on a live airfield always presents problems in that aircraft come and go – so most of us looked for subjects that looked likely to remain stationary for the duration of our visit. One of these was a DC-3 painted in the livery of Western Airlines which was soon to return to the USA after taking part in the D-Day 80th Anniversary commemoration. Gleaming in the sunshine this caught the eye of several artists.

Others sought out the Spitfires within the Spitfires.com hangar including the famous round-the-world ‘Silver Spitfire’ which was undergoing maintenance. Outside the hangar, a couple of two-seat Spitfires were busy with pilot training and public experience flights.

As usual we gathered at the end of the day to review the work completed with a critique provided by Richard Wheatland.

To complete the day Graham Singleton shared a painting he had produced at home on which he needed feedback. I hope the discussion was helpful and would encourage others to bring in their projects as these days provide a great opportunity to get advice from other artists – which we all need from time to time!

With thanks to the Goodwood team for their hospitality and inviting us back next year.

David Livesley GAvA
South East Region Organiser