On Tuesday, March 3, The Bude Art Society held its annual Golden Brush Award ceremony at the Parkhouse Centre.

The prize has been running since 1970, with members firstly proposing potential themes, and then voting on the most popular choice several months in advance of the presentation. This year's chosen title was 'The Dramatic Effect of Light', a theme last used by the society in 1986.

A dozen entries were submitted this year, using a range of medium and included a variety of subject matter such as portraits, landscapes and still life.

The guest judge for 2009 was the Assistant Head of Art and Design at Budehaven School, Mr Dave King. As an experienced practising artist himself, Mr King captivated his audience and more particularly the anxious candidates, with his vast knowledge of techniques and history of art.

After great evaluation and analysis of the criteria, he reached a verdict of which he considered most worthy of the award, although a difficult choice owing to the collective high standard of entries. The award was won by a delighted Averil Jakeman for her atmospheric water colour painting.

Throughout the year, the society runs regular Thursday workshops at the Parkhouse for both members and visitors of all artistic abilities. These include sessions with life models as well as guest tutored instruction usually once a month.

Also in the programme are Tuesday evening demonstrations from a vast cross-section of artists and specialists. These have included: picture framing, Chinese art and animal portrait painting to name a few. The next events in the society's calendar are a half day workshop with Fran Austin today (Thursday) titled 'Drawing Hands and Feet', followed by an evening demonstration by Mark Charman on April 7, titled 'Painting Birds of Prey'.

Anyone considering joining or visiting any of the society's events, should contact Chairman Brian Wiles on 01288 341612 or the newly elected Membership Secretary Lorna Gibbs on 01288 321870, otherwise visit the website http://www.budeart.co">www.budeart.co. uk for further details, future events and a chance to view members' work.