Saddleworth a big draw for international artists

A dedicated group of international artists have made the long trip to the Saddleworth hills to capture the borough’s beauty in their work.

Budding painters travelled from France, Belgium, Switzerland and even America to take their canvases outside and use the quaint villages and rolling hills as their inspiration.

Even the unseasonably gloomy weather could not get in their way, as the group of 21 donned their coats and set out on a week-long tour around the North.

Organiser Cliff Moorhouse, from the Saddleworth Group of Artists, said: “The week was absolutely wonderful despite the weather.

“We had rain, sun, clouds and wind but they got outside and really enjoyed painting and experimenting with the beautiful locations Saddleworth has to offer.”

The event called Journees de Peinture, meaning painting days, is the fifteenth annual meeting of artists and the third time it has been held in Saddleworth.

Using the picturesque Dobcross and Uppermill villages, as well as the Brownhill Centre, the locations were a far cry from the painters’ home towns of Geneva and Maryland in the USA.

Cliff said: “The artists were so enthusiastic and they were really interested in the contrast between the local area and where they came from. I thought it would be the rolling hills, but many of them were fascinated by the stone terrace houses and their uniformity — it was brilliant.”

The group also visited Bolton Abbey and Skipton during the week that culminated in a display at the Saddleworth Museum and Gallery.