The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition – the President’s Tour.

Trips

On Thursday the 14th May, a group of Bruton Art Society members took up the invitation from Anthony Connolly PRP to attend his President’s Tour of this year’s Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London.


Anthony, who is also a Patron of Bruton Art Society, gave us a very special two hours of his time, picking out portraits from the exhibition chosen specifically to give us more ‘in depth’ insight into the artists and their work. 


He told us that this year there were about three thousand entries both national and international and that this had to be paired down to just three hundred which he admitted was a very tough decision for the selection panel to make, considering the quantity and quality of the submissions.


To  coincide with the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, the RSPP welcomed Shengxinyu Art, its director, Zhang Hongbin and twenty four Chinese artists as guest exhibitors to this year’s exhibition, which prompted very interesting talking points on comparative style and application. To quote Anthony ‘The Society has a history of reaching out beyond these shores to outstanding artists, but never before have we extended that welcome as far as China.’

We had an amazing and very exciting afternoon and are all very grateful to Anthony for giving us this opportunity once again. 

Sally Ridout – BAS Workshops and Lectures

A new season of Painting & Sketching days begins

Painting Days

It has been fun putting together five venues for outdoor painting and sketching this summer and I look forward to hosting these occasions, with the exception of Knowle Rock and Lordsmead house which will be kindly hosted by Corinna and Shelagh respectively, so on those days I will be a part of the group. 

There is nothing to beat sitting or standing at one’s easel in interesting outdoor settings  and because painting is normally a solitary occupation, mutual support comes high on my list when in a group providing  an opportunity to share and talk art, techniques etc. 

A planned part of the days proceedings will be a convivial lunch spent together munching on our sandwiches , making each day something of a shared adventure . 

All the days are free to members with the exception of Kilver Court which will cost £5.50 (admission fee) per person . I look forward to seeing you there and let’s hope for moderate weather. 

Jeffy Salt

For further details please visit the Events Calendar

A New Season of Workshops is coming soon in 2026

Workshops

Three inspiring workshops are planned for the start of our 2026 Workshop Programme which can  be booked by members, here on the website under ‘Programme of Events‘. 

‘Taster’ day in ‘Gouachepaint‘ 13th March.

We begin with a ‘Taster’ day in ‘Gouache paint’ guided by Kate Cochrane, one of our popular Tutor/Artists.

If you have often wondered what ‘Gouache’ paint is like to work with or you would like to learn more about it, Kate is a master in this medium, exhibiting widely here in the South West and is back by special request, having given us a workshop two years ago.

Gouache paint is an opaque form of watercolour with dense pigment content which provides a smooth and extensive surface area, well loved by designers. 

 Image: ‘Stream in Bosahan Woods’ in gouache, by Kate Cochrane.

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Oil and Cold Wax painting – 9th &10th April 

Jenny Graham will  be teaching us the process of painting using ‘Oil and cold wax’ which provides pleasing  texture and depth to a painting.. 

Jenny is a multi media painter and printmaker and is particulary well known for her intimate paintings of Somerset landscapes in her immediate environment.

Image: ‘Misty Morning’ in oil and cold wax by Jenny Graham. 

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‘Natural Materials into Paint and Ink’- 23rd and 24th of May, 

Fiona McIntyre who is a Founder member of the ‘Arborealists’, will be showing us the exciting process of making  plant material into natural inks, and earth pigments into watercolour paint. You will be using plants utilised for centuries to extract dye for fabrics and to make beautiful inks for painting.

A book titled ‘Sacred Earth’ was published in 2025 about Fiona’s personal journey through lands connected by the North Atlantic and the artist’s attempt to consolidate experiences attached to each landscape. 

Fiona will be bringing copies of this book to her workshop. 

Image: Book cover for ‘Sacred Earth’.

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There are more workshops and lectures planned for the Summer and Autumn which will be written about nearer the time. 

If you are interested, all the information is on this website under ‘Events Calendar’.

A date for your diary…..

AGM, Talks

Following our A.G.M., a talk by Anthony Connelly

Why drawing matters and when it doesn’t.

‘I can truly say that a single drawing changed my life.’

Anthony will explain why that drawing was so seminal. He will illustrate his thoughts as to why a drawing might have such a profound effect on anybody and how the encounter continues to inform the way he looks at the world. 

Wednesday January 14th 2026 at 14:30 in the Caryford Hall. 

Members free, guests £5 payable at the door.

A unique and exciting opportunity not to be missed!

Talks

Talk & Demonstration “Adventure, travel and sculpting” with Mark Coreth

at Caryford Community Hall, Castle Cary on 17th October 2025 from 2.30 – 4.30pm

Mark is an internationally recognised master sculptor of wildlife, and is coming to Caryford Community Hall in Castle Cary – SOON – in fact on the 17th October 2025 from 2.30 – 4.30pm to give Bruton Art Society a Talk and Demonstration about his work and travels.

This talk was originally billed on the programme at Hadspen Village Hall, where we usually hold our workshops, but due to the unique opportunity of seeing and hearing an artist of such renown and standing, we decided to open the event up to all our members FREE OF CHARGE. 

We have therefore changed the venue to accommodate a larger audience. 

Members may bring guests, but we will ask them for a £5 entrance fee. 

Mark spent his childhood on a farm in Kenya where his passion for wildlife began. Over the past 30 years he has travelled the globe studying hundreds of creatures in their natural habitat, from Europe to Africa and Asia, to the Galapagos,the Himalayas in search of the elusive snow leopard to Eastern Europe to study bison on the Polish borders, to Romania for bears and dragons in the Czech Republic. He has highlighted and filmed many documentaries based on his journeys and projects and he will be showing some of these during his talk.

Mark’s working methods begin with modelling in clay directly from his subjects in the field, which he says allows him to capture the essence of their energy in their natural habitat. He then develops the final piece ready for casting back in his studio, usually in bronze. 

His work can be found in some of the most prestigious art collections in the world and if you would like to find out more before you come to listen to him in real life you can find him on  www.markcorethstudio.com  

We look forward to seeing you.    

The 72nd Annual Exhibition draws to a close.

Exhibitions

As we have come to the end of another enjoyable Annual Exhibition, based on the repeated comments of how well it was organised and displayed and how high the standard of work was this year, I think we can safely say it has been a real success.
Some of the comments in the visitor’s book say it all:
“Wonderful exhibition, we will be back next year”.
“Excellent exhibition – best one yet!”
“Improves every year, splendid!”
“A really interesting mix of media, meaning that there was something for everyone and it stimulated much discussion”.
“Great talent on show thanks to the organisers!”
“I’ve seen a few exhibitions recently. This by far is the best, it’s fantastic!”
“Thank you! Wonderful selection and so uplifting.”
“What a great exhibition – lovely feel and a peaceful space to view such talent”.
“Probably the best exhibition I have seen by far in a very long time, excellent. Fabulous
Work”

This year we were honoured to have two guest artists exhibiting with us; Anthony Connolly PRP and David Brayne Hon.RWS. Anthony is President of the Royal Society of Portrait painters and one of our Patrons and David who was one of our judges last year is an honorary member of the Royal Watercolour Society.
Thank you to our External Judges Richard Pikesley PPNEAC RWS and John Walsom ROI.
A very big thank you to all our sponsors, who generously provide the prize money for the awards.
Thank you to the headmaster of Kings School for letting us use the beautiful Memorial Hall again and last but certainly not least, thank you to all our volunteer members who helped with hanging, stewarding and sorting. Their contribution to the success of the Exhibition is unquestionable and we would struggle without them.
Well done to all our artists who took part and a special thank you to our Secretary Jean Stevens who took over as curator at unbelievably short notice, when this particular curator fell ill.


Sally Ridout – BAS Exhibition Secretary ( curator ) 2025