Cowshed

Joining a new group can be intimidating but if you are a painter and want to meet new people then a warm welcome awaits with the Cowshed Artists.

The group meets every Monday at Dartington village hall, having had to move from their usual venue, the church hall. Mavis Jones explained that the hall used to be a cowshed, hence the name.
“Unfortunately the ceiling fell down so we’ve moved here.” Jennifer Easson said: “We don’t teach but we are very forgiving and we share our knowledge. We are largely self taught although one or two went to art schools.”

The group is small but social, running trips to exhibitions, as portraitist Ali Wills told me. “We all went on the bus to The Box the other week to see the Grayson Perry so we do things like that together, which you might not want to do when you are on your own.” Ali went to Dartington College of Arts as a mature student and was a warden at Foxhole for many years. “I did murals which is why I end up with big paintings. You can’t stop once you’ve done big!”

As Jenifer said, they bring their experiences of life to the group – and save on therapy bills. Ali points out it’s not all chat. “When we get going it goes really quiet and everybody is concentrating, it’s quite impressive – but we do like having coffee as well.”

In the summer months they paint outdoors and have occasional selling exhibitions.

Mavis, who at 90 is not the oldest member, was delighted when a young boy insisted his dad buy him her picture of pigs (featured image above). Anne Boulting has work in in the collection of Vanessa Redgrave, among others.

The Cowshed Artists charge £5 for three hours of “fun and enlightenment” each week from September to May with the surplus going on outings.

If that sounds appealing, contact jennifer.easson@icloud.com or aliwills@outlook.com for details of how to join.