A Paint-Along at Turner’s House with Lilian May Studio
Good Evening lovelies,
It’s been a little while since my last post as I’ve been busy with my children and travels over the summer holidays. However, I did manage to get away for a little ‘me time’ at an in-person paint-along at Turner’s House last weekend.
The paint-along was brought into life by the wonderful Will of Lilian May Studio, whom I discovered some time ago now when searching for handmade watercolours in the UK. I found they made the most beautiful paints and plastic-free art supplies. The little matchbox paint sets are truly treasured possessions now. I then went on to find Will, the founder, on Instagram and soon joined in the fun with the Instagram Live paint-alongs. When I heard he was bringing the concept out into the world, and to Turner’s House (which isn’t too far from me), I couldn’t say “sign me up” quick enough!
It was truly the most perfect day. The weather was glorious and the company was pretty lovely too. I reached Sandycombe Lodge at 1pm in order to take advantage of the half-price entry very kindly granted to us paint-alongers, by those at Turner’s House. I really enjoyed looking around this very sweet building designed by Turner himself. It’s a well curated celebration of the artist and it was a pleasure to view some of his works at the exhibition held upstairs. If you ever get the chance, it’s worth a visit. After my mini exploration I made my way outside to meet everyone in the garden…
It was awesome to meet Will and all the other creative souls in person at last. There was a real little buzz about us all in that place together. Seeing all of the special palettes, sketches, pots and brushes so generously given to us by Will, laid out on the table was a real treat for the eyes. Exciting stuff indeed!
We collected our supplies and found ourselves a spot to sit and chatter. At 2pm our activities started with a nice introduction to the place from Rita, the Learning and Volunteer Officer at the property, and once that was done, Will got to the matter of painting our first sketch of Turner’s House. He guided us through the lovely sunset scene with his own large sketch on an easel up at the front of the gathering, and gave us lots of tips as well as lots of the humour that we’ve come to love. We were all having so much fun! This was followed with a little tea break and some biscuits which allowed for people to finish up their paintings at their own pace.
Once everyone was done with the first painting, we moved on to the next sketch of the house. This time it was a daylight scene. Will demonstrated the sky portion of the painting giving us some techniques for painting clouds, and then he had us finish up the rest of the piece however we fancied. I thought this was a nice touch. This may have been the only part of the day where we all went quiet, concentrating and all that, haha. When we’d finished working away, it was really interesting to walk around and see how different everyone’s pieces were. We all had the same scene and the same paint palette to work with but we’d all created something very different. Giving and receiving feedback in person was a real delight too!
At the end of the day, I think we were all in agreement that we’d had simply the best time and I do hope I’ll get to do it again someday. If you ever get the chance to join one, grab it with both hands! Do also check out the Lilian May Studio shop if you are in the market for some beautiful artisan art materials. You can thank me later, haha.
Back soon,
Rebecca x
