Julie kindly took the reins in this annual spot to appraise works brought in by OVAS members - particularly works in need of an artist's expertise and insight.

She was presented with a Caribbean beach, a Puffin, a puffin' train across a Welsh lake, a floral bouquet, a Spanish panorama, a verdant view of topiaried bushes, a brooding and dramatic seascape, a section of the Great Wall of China, and much besides.

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Julie gave kindly and constructive criticism to all as well as helpfully inviting comments from the artist themself and from the rest of us.

Her list of things to keep ever in mind were

• Inspiration

• Light direction [see suggests keeping a drawn arrow in sight as a constant reminder]

• Tonal values [Thumbnail sketches can prove useful when emphasising - e.g. in charcoal - the different dark, middle, and light tones]

• colour temperature

• edges - perhaps a variety of sharp and blurred images bearing in mind that our peripheral vision, and therefore the periphery of a picture, might well be less well-defined - assuming a naturalistic picture is intended.

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Another tip she gave is to look at your picture in the mirror. This is a good way to notice and home in on errors so as to address them.

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We are grateful to Julie for a very successful and rewarding evening.

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