Tricia Forrester leads the Teignmouth & District u3a ‘Happy Art’ group.

Tricia says: ‘Sometimes it can feel a bit intimidating to start putting paint on paper, especially for someone, who has had little experience of art, or feels that they are without talent.

‘This is such a pity because painting can be a really enjoyable thing to do just for the pleasure of it, and there’s no reason why the end product has to be ‘good’.

‘The Teignmouth and District u3a Happy Art group emerged in September.

‘We would just get together to paint and chat without being too attached to the outcome.

‘Although we’ve learned some basic techniques – mostly with water colours so far – the group is a lot less about learning how to paint, and a lot more about enjoying doing it, and in line with the u3a principle of “by the members, for the members” we all learn from each other.

‘Our most recent project was paint marbling with shaving foam, which was great fun, and we needed a lot of help from each other in trying to get the technique right.

‘A few nice pieces emerged but there was definitely more mess than masterpieces this time!

‘After Christmas we are going to experiment with abstract painting, collage and anything else that members of the group feel like having a go at.’

‘Some of our members are quite experienced, whilst others are very new to painting, and it’s lovely to see how supportive everyone is to each other.

‘Whatever level people are at, everyone is able to see what works for them and to be creative in their own way.’