Our sketch out days and demonstrations are very popular. The demonstrations are held monthly (except during our exhibition and when we have our AGM) usually on a Thursday evening at the Herne Leisure Centre in Petersfield. The Sketch out days run during the late spring – early autumn season at a variety of locations and we try to accommodate everyone by having some in the mornings, some in the afternoons and some at weekends. All afford members an opportunity to meet and chat and indulge in their art, and are great fun. Below are a selection of images from there most recent event. Visit out members page if this inspires you to find out about joining PACS.
August 2026 - Buriton Village pond
Images from the August sketchout which took place a the pond in the beautiful village of Buriton. A good turnout of members took the opportunity to sketch and paint this iconic scene nestled in front of the church on the approach to the village centre. In contrast to earlier in the week, there were some clouds in the sky, but no rain (although we do badly need a drop).
There will be another sketch-out inSeptember. Check the Members home page on our membership system, as these events are for members only.
JULY 2026 Alison Butler
Transfer Printing onto Fabric
Alison is a PACS member and no stranger to giving demonstrations. She is also running a workshop in November, places for which will be going on sale mid August.
Alison has a background in textile design. And during this demonstration of transfer printing onto fabric she showed that the possibilities are almost endless. She started by applying special dyes to paper and showed how using a simple heated press the image was transferred onto the fabric. Not only once but the paper “master” can be used several times, the intensity of the image getting weaker with each pressing. She then showed how using templates made from natural pressed dried plant petals and leaves, or paper, can be used to create more interesting designs. This is the essence of the workshop she will be running in November.
This was the last demo before our summer exhibition. The next demo will be in September 12th, Richard Whincop – South Downs scene in oils.
The May workshop was Julia Cassels demonstrating her talents with using watercolour to capture movement in wildlife. Julia has travelled widely to find her subjects and at our demo she focussed on a group of ostriches. The final painting is a the end of this section, and was a challenge to get that far in the time.
Julia laid down the background using plenty of water and pigment, moving the board to allow the colour to flow across the paper to create a graduated effect. While that dried she demonstrated some exercises to work more loosely, and then after the break she returned to the ostrich painting to add the feathers of the adult bird and drop in the chicks. Then delicate application of darker tones to achieve shadows It was amazing how it all came together.
Above :-Julia in action and some of her books
APRIL 2026 - SKETCH IN WITH SONYA VINE
Our demo night in April was led by Sonya Vine who guided a group of members through the art of sketching. It was a lot of fun and we learnt lots from Sonya about loosening up in our approach when sketching
portraits. Special thanks to those members who offerd to be models for the evening.
MARCH 2026 -
Judit Matthews - Pen & Ink hare with collage & watercolour
We had a very good attendance for our March demonstration, which was Judit Matthews showing us how she creates her illustrations using pen and ink, watercolour and collage. Her works involve many layers and include both hand made and pre-printed paper collage. Judit has the knack of being able to chat whilst working and came out with many tales, not just about her art but also her life journey, which began in Hungary. She demonstrated her technique working on three images at various stages of completion. She uses a limited pallet to achieve a subtle blend of light and shade and proved that you don’t have to spend a lot on materials to create wonderful artworks. A thoroughly informative and entertaining session.
If you have enjoyed scrolling through our events, why not find out more about becoming a member here. These events are free to members.
Sketchout days are restricted to PACS members only and take place in stunning locations like this.
View the Sketchout Programme here.