"Paint-Off!!"

Paint-Off 2013 was held today in Salisbury Cathedral's Cloisters, a new and inspirational venue.

For a fiver, you would have been able to buy a ready made canvas, basic materials and spent up to five hours in this glorious setting, painting pretty much what you pleased. Artists are then encouraged to sell at a special charity auction their creations. It was nicely full, with a great friendly communal vibe and ages from child to the elderly, and from the distinctly amateur to the seasoned professional all took part.

Paint-Off 2012 was held out of doors on a lovely July day - at least the Cloisters are covered, should it have rained. As it was, it was quite overcast and so light levels for photography (and art) was limited.

Two f2.8 lenses were my official armoury, the Tamron SP 17-50mm and this one, Sigma's EX 70-200mm f2.8. Especially useful for eavesdropping on concentrating artists and their works, as here.

Sean Slater, here, puts the final touches to his stunning portrait. Shot at maximum aperture, to get as much of him as soft as possible, this is uncropped but I have desaturated him and upped the colour and contrast of the painting, as that is what I wanted to emphasise, not him.

Now, I have even more images to edit and get up onto Facebook albums, from last night as well as these, today. I also stupidly spilled cola all over my remote mouse and since it has worked only when it wants to, which is not often. Try using a PC without a mouse!! A spray from the WD40 can on the battery terminals has helped and so I hope it will now behave better!