A little-known personal fact, at the tender age of twelve I won a posh set of Windsor & Newton oil paints via a Kellogg’s competition, and feared to touch them for years! Oils are the crème-de-la-crème of art, in awe of those humongous Renaissance paintings hanging in the National Gallery came the worry I’d never be able to handle such a craft, and until art college days of yore they collected dust under my bed. Even when I did finally use them anything I painted, truth be told, was rubbish!!
If you have a similar story, fabulous local charity working to improve the health, wellbeing, and quality of life of older people through the provision of a range of participatory arts projects since 1999, Arts Together, have a fundraiser on 12th May at The Old Cricket Pavilion in All Cannings.
A Beginner’s Introduction to Oils invites you to light lunch in the Wiltshire countryside for a few peaceful hours of painting. The workshop will be run by Paul Oakley, an acclaimed landscape and still life artist who paints in oils on location and in his studio in All Cannings. As well as exhibiting his work as part of Marlborough Open Studios, Paul is an experienced teacher who runs oil painting courses for beginners and more experienced artists and regularly demonstrates to art groups throughout southern England.

The morning will be spent in the studio learning oil painting techniques and building confidence. After lunch there will be a chance to have a go at painting en plein air outside the studio where beautiful views of Wiltshire can be seen in every direction. The cost is £75. To booking a place: Call Belinda on 07779608196 or Online Here.
Arts Together truly is a wonderful charity, I once got the opportunity to visit one of their workshops in Melksham, and it remains one of my fondest experiences since running Devizine, even if, I still can’t paint well!




Trending….
McDonalds Coming to Devizes?!
Okay, it was the April Fools joke I broke the Internet with in 2021, but it’s not the 1st of April today….. Bishop’s Cannings Parish…
Using Fulltone as a Proper Noun
To most, “full” and “tone” are two separate words, but around here it’s been a portmanteau and a proper noun since 2019, conveying a unique…
Devizes’ Sammi Evans Features on Innereyefull Dub
If I was pleased to hear the vocals of Devizes singer-songwriter Sammi Evans would feature on a single, I was even more delighted when I…
Looking Back At Devizes Arts Festival 2026
Featured Image: Gail Foster. Features extracts from reviews by Andy Fawthrop, Ian Diddams and Madelaine Blake. Does it ever stop?! The weekend is upon us…
Phil Beer to Perform at The Pump on Friday 4th December!
“Mr Phil Beer needs no introduction to anyone,” says a spokesperson for The Pump in Trowbridge, our grassroots venue kicking up turf on Rolling Stone…
“Bullshot Crummond” at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath June 17th – 20th 2026
by Ian Diddamsimages by Ian Diddams & Lisa Hounsome A few weeks ago I scribbled a preview of this production – Bullshot Crummond. I extolled…
Award-Winning Circus Cortex BizZzar Comes to Devizes This July
Get ready for an unforgettable family day out as Circus Cortex BizZzar brings its award-winning Big Top spectacular to Devizes from 9–12 July 2026….. Performing…
Who are you most looking forward to seeing at CrownFest?
CrownFest at The Crown in Bishops Cannings is making a fantastic comeback this July with a stellar lineup, particularly supporting local acts, begging the question,…
“Don’t Drive to Stonehenge” Advises English Heritage!
Summer Solstice in Wiltshire; it’s a crowd-puller, but even forty years after the Battle of the Beanfield and decades of attempted commercialisation, it remains a…
Nothing Seems as Sweet as the Start; NRWO as Devizes Arts Festival’s Finale
All Images: ©Gail Foster If last Saturday’s Celtic punk band quipped if the Devizes Corn Exchange was a bingo hall, and Milton Jones jested “it’s…