This month our talk was entitled ‘Castles and Roses’ which puzzled some of our members. It was, of course, all about canal art and the wonderful floral patterns and castle designs that can be seen painted on the outsides and decorating the interiors of narrow boats.
Jane Clements, from Swindon gave us a very interesting talk about the origins of this colourful artwork and the ‘painters’ whose job it was to decorate boats and furniture. Little is known about how it all started or who the painters were as most work is unsigned. Why castles are so prominent is also a mystery although there are many theories.
As she talked, Jane gave us a demonstration of how she paints using the very unique brushes and paints. She had prepared a series of panels and was able to show us, stage by stage how to arrive at a beautiful and very colourful panel covered in pink and yellow roses and green veined foliage.
Jane had a lovely display of her work and we were able to buy hand painted cards, key rings, lanterns, candleholders and many other items.
Next month, our speaker will be Richard Broadhead and will be entitled ‘Soldiers of the Great War’. It is the story of some of the soldiers remembered on our local war memorials. Members are invited to bring a partner or friend to this meeting. We are a friendly group and welcome new members, so why not give us a try. Our next meeting is at 7.30pm on Wednesday 17th October, at Broad Town village hall.