Painting for pleasure and people
Enthusiastic painter exhibits for Christian Aid
Roger talks about his love of painting
Q. How long have you been interested in painting?
I took up painting at school, did A level art. I kept it up intermittently, but upon retirement I took it up seriously, going to art classes, joining a watercolour group, and aiming to hold an exhibition most years.
Q. Do you paint only in watercolour?
At my primary school in India I was introduced to drawing buildings. At my secondary school in England my art teacher gave me a good grounding in watercolour painting, which is still my preferred medium.
Q. How do you choose your subjects?
Whenever I see a scene or a building that interests me, I think I would like to paint it. Wherever I have travelled, I have taken photos of possible scenes to paint!
Q. Do you ever paint sitting outside?
It's an ideal, but I do not carry it out every time, owing to weather conditions and viewpoint, e.g. sitting in the middle of a road But I have done a watercolour sketch under an umbrella in pouring rain!
Roger speaks of his commitment to Christian Aid
Q. What prompted you to hold an exhibition for Christian Aid?
I have supported Christian Aid since my student days over sixty years ago (house-to-house collections etc.), and Christian Aid has been one of 25 charities that I have supported regularly in the last few years. It is one of a short number of charities that are written into my will.
When I moved to Thame in 2016 I asked if I might hold an exhibition in Christchurch Methodist / United Reformed Church. They were happy to agree to it for a good cause and I chose Christian Aid.
So in 2017 I held my first art exhibition in aid of a charity — the most successful exhibition I had ever held. Two years later, in 2019, I have done it again and it has been even more successful, raising over £1,200 for my special charity Christian Aid.
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