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Royston Arts Society’s Autumn Exhibition is one of the most popular events in Royston Arts Festival and for many years has been a highlight in Royston’s cultural activities.

The 2023 exhibition opens in Royston Town Hall (SG8 7DA) on Friday 29 September, 7.30-9.30pm; and continues on Saturday 30th & Sunday 1 October, both 10.00am-5.00pm.  ADMISSION is FREE.

As in previous years, the 2023 exhibition contains entries from both RAS members and other talented local artists, with a wide variety of affordable art.  More than 330 framed and unframed paintings, together with greetings cards, will be on show and available for purchase.  Visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite picture, with a prize for the artist whose painting receives most votes. The exhibition is sponsored by Johnson Matthey plc and the Royston Town Mayor’s Community Trust Fund.

For further information email secretary@roystonarts.org.uk  or tel. 01763 261808.

Coming shortly …..

(click on an event for details)

The next Friday evening demo will be held on 14th July in Market Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm when John Tookey, whose demo’s have always proved popular, will once again be visiting us.  The time his subject will be “A Street Scene in Pastels”.

John trained in Graphic Design and Fine Art at the Sir John Cass School of Art in London and then worked as a graphic artist in a number of advertising agencies before taking up painting full time in 1986.

He works mainly in watercolour, pastel, oil and sometimes acrylic, working mainly in his studio from sketchbooks but also outdoors when possible.  His approach to pastels is to overlay them on watercolour under paintings to create a vibrant impression rather than a producing a photographic likeness.

John has exhibited with the numerous Institutes, Academies and Galleries, authored various articles for leading Art magazines, and has won multiple awards for his pastels.  His work can be viewed on the websites of the Pastel Society as well as the Mall and Hunter Galleries.

FREE admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door, no pre-booking required.

The next Friday evening demo will be held on 9th June 2023 in Market  Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm when Phil Biggs will be making a welcome return visit to paint a ‘Traditional Landscape in Watercolour’.

Free admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door, no pre-booking required.

Our  2023 Members Online Exhibition is now open and will run until Saturday 27 May 2023.

Just click on the exhibition poster to the right (below for mobiles) and that will take you to the exhibition website where you can view and buy over 100 original artworks at very reasonable prices.

The next Friday evening demo will be held on 12th May 2023 in Market  Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm and will feature ‘Accidental Artist’ Jo Brown painting a ‘Bird Portrait in Acrylics’ (click on poster to the left or below for mobiles).

Jo is a qualified Veterinary Nurse by training and with a special interest in birds and is drawn to producing paintings inspired by the natural world.  Based in Cambridgeshire, she spends most of her time outdoors in the countryside, gaining inspiration from the simple things in life and the beauty of nature.

Jo is a member of Royston Arts Society and has had work exhibited both in the UK and also in Times Square, New York, where her NFT of a kingfisher was selected to help represent the diversity of NFT art. You can see examples of both her acrylic and digital art on her website.

Free admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door, no pre-booking required. A list of forthcoming RAS demos can be found to the right or below for mobiles.

Our  2023 Members Online Exhibition is now open and will run until Saturday 27 May 2023.

Just click on the exhibition poster to the right (below for mobiles) and that will take you to the exhibition website where you can view and buy over 100 original artworks at very reasonable prices.

 

The next Friday evening demo will be held on 14th April 2023 in Market Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm and will feature Naomi Tomkys OBE painting a “Portrait in Oils”. Naomi lives and works in Cambridgeshire. She attended Central St Martins School of Art. After devoting time creating the charity Sky Badger to help parents of disabled children she has reengaged her artistic talents and has been featured in a wide range of group and one-person shows both nationally and internationally. You can see some examples of her brilliant work HERE. Free admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door, no pre-booking required.

On the following day, Saturday 15 April, our RAS 2023 Members Online Exhibition will open and run until Saturday 27 May 2023.

The next Royston Library changeover will take place 3.15 to 4.00pm on MONDAY 3 April  – click HERE for guidance on hanging requirements.

Our next Tuesday afternoon practical sessions will be on 21 March, then 4th and 18th April from 2.00pm to 4.00pm in Market Hill Rooms.

The next Friday evening demo will be held on 10th March 2023 in Market Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm and will feature Sue Sanders showing us “An eclectic mix of painting styles”.  Sue is a professional painter, printmaker and photographer as well as being a member of our Society.  She is a very active artist within our local community running workshops for adults and also schools.  You can see some examples of her excellent work HERE.  Free admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door; no pre-booking required.

It doesn’t seem long since Christmas but here is some news about our events in February and our exhibitions in 2023.

RAS 2023 Members Exhibition: will run from Saturday 15 April to Saturday 27 May 2023 and will again be an online exhibition.

RAS 2023 Autumn Exhibition: will take place in Royston Town Hall from Friday evening on 29 September to Sunday 1 October 2023, as part of the Royston Arts Festival.

The next Friday evening demo will be held on 10th February 2023 in Market  Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm and will feature James Willis painting a “Architectural scene in watercolours”. James is a qualified fine artist who enjoys sharing his knowledge through lecturing in a range of art historical subjects, teaching painting and travelling with groups abroad. His paintings are in a number of galleries and private collections. You can see some examples of his excellent work HERE. Free admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door, no pre-booking required.

The next Royston Library changeover will take place 3.15 to 4.00pm on MONDAY 6 February  – click HERE for guidance on hanging requirements.

Our next Tuesday afternoon practical sessions will be on 7 and 21 February from 2.00pm to 4.00pm in Market Hill Rooms.

We hope everyone had a good festive season and wish you all a very happy new year which starts with the following events.

The next Royston Library changeover will take place 3.15 to 4.15pm on TUESDAY 3 January (not the usual Monday because the Library is closed then for the Bank Holiday). This overlaps with our Tuesday painting session in Market Hill Rooms (see below), so the Library session is being extended to 4.15pm, allowing time for members to get there after the painting session finishes – please see Secretary Peter Morgan’s recent email for guidance on hanging requirements.

Our next Tuesday afternoon practical sessions will be on 3 and 17 January from 2.00pm to 4.00pm in Market Hill Rooms.

The next demo will be held on Friday 13 January 2023 in Market Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm and will feature Hashim Akib painting a “Marine Landscape in Acrylics”. Hashim has a very interesting approach to the use of acrylics and his demos have been very popular in the past. You can see some examples of his lively and punchy work HERE. Free admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door, no pre-booking required.

The 2022 Online Autumn Exhibition has now ended and the online Members Exhibition is planned for Spring 2023.

The next Royston Library changeover will take place on Monday 5 December from 3.15 to 4.00pm – please see Secretary Peter Morgan’s recent email for guidance on hanging requirements.

The last Tuesday afternoon practical session of 2022 will take place on 6 December from 2.00 to 4.00pm in Market Hill Rooms, and, as usual in December, there is no second session this month.

The 2022 Annual General Meeting will take place on Friday 9 December as a Zoom meeting, starting at 7.30pm and aiming to finish by 8.30pm.  Members will already have received the Agenda and other papers for the meeting, together with instructions on how to join via Zoom, which were circulated on 17 November.  The Financial Report for the year ending 30 November 2022 will follow as soon as it is available early in December.

Because of the AGM there is no Friday evening demo in December, so the next demo will be held on Friday 13 January 2023 in Market Hill Rooms from 8.00 to 10.00pm and will feature Hashim Akib painting a “Marine Landscape in Acrylics”. Hashim has a very interesting approach to the use of acrylics and his demos have been very popular in the past. You can see some examples of his lively and punchy work HERE. Free admission for Royston Arts Society members; £3.00 fee for non-members on the door, no pre-booking required.