Artists to showcase work at exhibition in Beccles

The annual exhibition by the Beccles Society of Artists will be launching in the town tomorrow.

The exhibition will be held at Beccles Public Hall and will be open daily until Saturday, August 6.

The display will feature a wide range of artistic styles and subject matter, and offers a unique opportunity for the society’s members to showcase their work.

Beccles Society of Artists was formed in 1969, and is dedicated to the furtherance and enjoyment of art. The founder, the late Frank Delf, a retired marine engineer who lived in Worlingham, was a keen artist. He was also well known as a naturalist and had expert knowledge of windmills and round-towered churches. The late Frank Forward, a much respected professional artist, also played a part in the foundation and it was after a successful exhibition arranged for his pupils at the Corn Exchange in 1967 that the desire for a local art society was born. Mr Delf took up the challenge and held the first meeting of the society in October 1969.

Colin Blake is one of the many artists taking part in the exhibition, and work on display will include his painting of the steps leading to St Michael’s Church in Beccles. Titled ‘Thirty-three steps’, the painting was inspired by parents with young children who use the cliffside steps beneath the church as a counting exercise.

Mr Blake said: “Whilst I was in Puddingmoor making preparatory sketches, several families counted each step aloud as they worked their way up or down - not all of them came to the same total as me!”

The society meets monthly as the Waveney Centre in Newmarket, Beccles, for talks or demonstrations by professional artists or other experts in art and associated fields. New members are always welcome. The exhibition will be open each day from 10am to 6pm, with a late night opening until 9pm on Thursday, August 4, when the bar will be open. The exhibition closes at 3pm on the final day and admission is free.

For more information visit www.becclesartists.co.uk