Patchings Art Centre

About Patchings Art Centre

An ‘Open Garden’ with a difference – a range of walks with links to art with an inspiration to inspire painting in the open. It all began in 1988 with two ploughed fields used for root crops. . . it is now a well established landscape with woodland walks, pathways through meadows and a lake area linked to Monet. A setting where nature and fine art are companions. Many artists throughout history have used nature as the subject for their paintings. The gardens, walks and views provide inspiration for artists alongside many painting opportunities.

During your visit do call to see the current exhibitions in our two galleries – also freely available to visitors.

Part the gardens is the tree-lined Artists’ Trail which features 62 mounted and weather-protected paintings ranging in time from Leonardo’s 16th-Century masterpiece Mona Lisa to the 20th-century urban landscapes of LS Lowry.

Some are photo-reproductions of original paintings but the majority have been painstakingly copied, with the co-operation of copyright owners, by talented members of Patchings’ own art club. Using phones and a QR (quick response) code, visitors will hear club members explain why they chose their paintings and how they rose to the challenge of reproducing them.

The free Patchings App also enables visitors to see and hear “augmented reality” versions of master artists. Rembrandt, Turner, Monet and Van Gogh come to life in their own gazebo studios, against sunlit glass backdrops featuring some of their greatest works.
Welcoming visitors to the Artists’ Trail is the augmented reality version of Richard Parkes Bonington, the influential landscape painter who was born in Arnold, just few miles from Patchings, and died aged 25 in 1828.

The Patchings Artists' Trail - a walk through art history, famous paintings presented in glass takes visitors through the centuries. Artists painting in the grounds during NGS Day.