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2025 Winners

The theme for March-April was “SOMETHING WILD” attracted 8 entries. Geoff Sully’s suitably dramatic and powerful painting stormed into the winning position.

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The first theme for 2025 (Jan-Feb) was “REFLECTION(S)” and attracted 11 entries. Many of the submissions featured reflections in water and the winner was no exception to this – with 7 of the 16 votes cast, the winner this time was Rob Shuttleworth.

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2024 Winners

The theme for the final Challenge of the year (Nov- Dec) was “TREES”. There were 11 entries in a range of media. Sharron Ayerst’s distinctive and atmospheric painting just edged out the competition.

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The September-October Challenge “MOVEMENT” saw 9 entries roll in. There was a tie for first place – with 4 votes each these two pictures blew away the competition. [Click on an image to view full screen.]

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The Challenge in July-August was “PLANES, BOATS & TRAINS”. There were just 7 entries and the joint winners took us to Venice and Beer:

[Click on an image to view full screen.]

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The May-June Challenge was “TEXTURE”. There were 9 entries and the joint winners were these two fine images:

[Click on an image to view full screen.]

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The March-April Challenge “IN THE STREET” attracted 10 entries – a mix of photographs, paintings based on photos and some looser interpretations in woodcut or paint. Voting resulted in a 4-way tie for first place:

[Click on an image to view full screen.]

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The first (January – February) Challenge of 2024 was “PERSPECTIVE” and attracted just 6 entries. With a total of 8 of the 13 votes cast, one picture came to the fore, leaving all others fading into the distance – the winner was Geoff Sully with “Bridgwater Canal”.

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2023 Winners

The theme for the final Challenge of the year (Nov- Dec) was “PLAY OF LIGHT”. This opened the door to a range of dramatically- or subtly- lit subjects. Four of the seven entries were photographs and the winner was Hiroyuki Sakurai’s enigmatic “Colour within”.

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The theme for September-October was “FRUIT”. Pick of the crop from a field of 7 entries was Ken Church’s charming watercolour “Blackberries”.

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The July-August theme “IN THE STYLE OF …” attracted a strong field of 10 entries paying homage to an interesting range of artists. Many chose artists whose work was distinctly different from their own, with very creditable results. Pat Preater was less adventurous, choosing an artist whose subject matter and style are close to her own – but it topped the vote.

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The theme for the May-June Challenge was “SOMEWHERE SPECIAL”. Geoff Sully chose a subject full of sentiment and was the outright winner this time with this carefully-composed and evocative scene.

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The March-April theme of “NIGHT SCENE” attracted 15 entries and there was a tie for first place. The joint winners were Sharron Ayerst and Geoff Sully – click on each image to view full screen.

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The first (January – February) Challenge of 2023 was “USING JUST 2 COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS”. There was a completely free choice of subject, but a requirement to use just 2 colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel (use of white was also allowed if not using watercolour).

Perhaps not everyone would appreciate having their portrait painted in yellow and lilac, and Ken Church originally gave his work the title “Ugly Man”. They say “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and voters felt handsome Ken made a real success of the challenge.

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2022 Winners

The theme for the final (November-December) Challenge of 2022 was “FOOD” and the appetising painting that Geoff Sully served up was the clear favourite on the menu:

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There was a tie for first place in the September-October Challenge on the theme of “WILDLIFE” – the joint winners were Jackie Curtis and Pat Preater:

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Voted “head and shoulders” above all other entries, the July-August Challenge “SOMETHING OLD” was this incredibly detailed portrait by Steve Gathercole:

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The joint winners of the May-June 2022 Challenge “TRADITION” were David Daggar and Steve Gathercole:

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The crystal clear winner of the March-April Challenge “GLASS” was Geoffrey Bailey.

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The Jan-Feb 2022 Challenge “CLIMATE” was won by Steve Gathercole’s foreboding watercolour “Climate Change”. (A dramatic scene but if you think about it, not one to be taken literally.)

Take a look at our 2021 winners

Pat Preater won the Nov-Dec 2021 challenge on the theme of “ANNIVERSARY” with this charming little painting:

The joint winners of the Sept-Oct 2021 Challenge “COMMUNICATION” were Ken Church and Steve Gathercole:

The July-August 2021 Challenge “WORK” was won by Steve Gathercole with this powerful image painted in oil on wood panel.

Another outstanding painting by Rob Shuttleworth was chosen for the May-June Challenge ‘FESTIVAL’

The Mar-Apl 2021 Challenge ‘WETLANDS’ was won by Rob Shuttleworth with this beautiful oil painting.

The Jan-Feb 2021 Challenge ‘WINTER’ was won by Jackie Curtis with this striking monoprint landscape.

Take a look at our outstanding Challenge winners from 2020