Being an artist is in many ways a solitary pursuit but it doesn’t have to be all the time. If you keep your eyes out there are opportunities to paint with a community of likeminded people and a good example of this is the London Plein Air Painters group. At the beginning of my third month as a full-time artist I decided to meet up with this open group for a day of painting at St Paul’s Cathedral.
London Plein Air Painters was launched more than three years ago by artists Carol Owen and Tushar Sabale who were inspired to arrange informal painting days in London for anyone who wanted to bring along their gear and paint. They announce different locations for the first Saturday of the month and wait to see who turns up. I went to the very first meet in September 2021 at St James’s Park and recall producing a pretty bad painting but having a great time anyway!
The announcements of locations kept coming: the Southbank, Battersea Park, Soho, Camden, Tower Bridge, and for that first year I’d get myself into London and paint with the expanding group as many times as possible. Family commitments on Saturdays has meant my attendance has tailed off the last couple of years but it’s always on the radar and at the beginning of this month I was able to go.
We met at St Paul’s Cathedral in front of the main entrance steps at 10am and I was greeted with a warm welcome. I have made friends and acquaintances in the group and it was good to see so many familiar faces. We then headed off to a location of our choosing close to the meeting spot and arranged to assemble back there at 2pm to share our work with everyone. The weather wasn’t great but there is something about painting in cold and wet conditions that makes me feel slightly smug at how committed I am!
Getting out there