The Mayor Desna Allan opened the Annual Summer Exhibition of Chippenham & District Artists in the Main Gallery of Chippenham Museum on July 16, accompanied by the judge Charlie Graham-May and President Bob Rudd. She was welcomed by the Chairman, Bob Nation, who thanked everyone for their contributions, the Museum for their hospitality and use of the Gallery and encouraged everyone to browse and buy.

Desna Allan commented how good the paintings looked in such an excellent space and how fortunate it was to have this facility. Charlie Graham-May explained that as judge he was looking for different aspects of painting, medium and a range of art. He awarded Best in Show to member Prue Backway'sTowards Bredon Hill for its beautiful composition, recession of colours, good mark making and separation of foreground from background. Six other artists were Highly Commended: Oliver Dirs' West Country Scrum for its graphical style, use of colour and the movement; Glyn Overton's Cloister, Lacock Abbey for the foreshortening of the arches, cool palette, blocks of colour and atmosphere; Alan Padwick's Woodland Trail for the nice loose style, use of watercolour and graphic lines in the foreground; Yvonne Auld's Poppies for a design beautifully done on a difficult material; Cathy Courtney's The Bear Hotel, Chippenham for an unfussy watercolour with a great palette and Jennifer Rudd's Irises and Rose for its transparency and fragility.

Bob Rudd, the CDA President and local artist, remarked on the innovation in this year’s show and how he was always amazed at how a group of artists could be introduced to the same subject and produce completely different works.

The Exhibition is showing and selling 78 paintings, from members and invited artists, using many different media plus there are unframed pictures and cards for sale. There is also a free children’s quiz. The Exhibition runs until Saturday 27 July during usual opening hours and all are welcome. Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite picture and the People’s Choice will be announced at the end of the exhibition, alongside the winner of the first Gill Minter Prize chosen by the members.