Painters lined Putney Embankment on Saturday, their easels pushed up against the railings, painting the bridge, the pier and the river at low tide.

A painter in an apron at a tripod easel on the Embankment railings, looking out over the river at low tide

A painter in a straw hat at an easel on the Embankment railings, with Putney Bridge and the pier gangway behind

A painter seated on a stool at the railings, with the riverside path and Putney Bridge beyond

A painter at an easel by the railings, painting Putney Bridge and a passing boat
At the railings on Putney Embankment

One set up down on the foreshore. Others turned their backs to the water and painted the tree-lined path, a back street and the Star & Garter.

A lone painter on the foreshore below the Embankment slipway, rowers on the riverDown on the foreshore

The same painter at a small easel on the shingle at low tide, a moored cruiser behindCloser

The same painter seen close up from behind, a small canvas on the easelCloser still

A painter working on a canvas of the Star & Garter while drinkers sit at tables outsidePainting the Star & Garter

A painting of the Star & Garter with tables outsideThe finished Star & Garter painting

A painting of the tree-lined riverside path, propped against the railingsThe path

A painting of a back street with yellow road markings and a parking signA back street

They are London Plein Air Painters, a group that meets on one Saturday a month at a different spot in London. “Plein air” is French for “in the open air”, and the group is free to join.

Tushar Sabale, who runs the group with Carol Owen, picks the place. “Everybody just turns up,” he said. On a nice day, he reckons, about a hundred of them are out painting on the street.

Carol Owen and Tushar Sabale in matching London Plein Air Artists T-shirts on Putney EmbankmentCarol Owen and Tushar Sabale, who run London Plein Air Painters

“So we are running out of places where we actually can come,” he said. Tushar has painted in Putney for some time, and the group used to set up on the bridge or on the other side. This time most of them worked along the Embankment towards the rowing clubs.

“So we’re all just a bunch of artists,” he said. “Some are professionals. I’m a professional, but many others are just doing it as a hobby.”

A painter in a wide-brimmed hat at the railings, rowers and boats on the river below

An easel at the railings with a palette of mixed paints and brushes in a mug

A painter's easel and palette on the Embankment, with passers-by walking along the path
Easels all along the Embankment

Sheri Gee is one of the professionals, and has been coming for a little over four years. “But it’s more than a hobby. It’s a career,” she said.

“I’m a fair-weather participant,” she added. “If it’s raining, I’m not coming. Some people do.”

They start in the morning. At 2pm they prop the paintings in a long row against the railings, Putney Bridge behind them, for a group photo.

Paintings propped in a row against the Embankment railings with Putney Bridge in the backgroundThe day’s paintings along the railings, with Putney Bridge behind

A painting of the Embankment with rowers on the river

A painting of Putney Bridge's arches with a red bus crossing

A painting of the Putney pier gangway in bright colours

A small painting of a cruiser on an easel, with the real boat on the river behind

A small framed painting of a moored cruiser

Two watercolours of a boat and the riverside laid on the ground at the railings

A watercolour of riverside buildings and a tree

A painting of a small cruiser with bunting
Some of the paintings in the 2pm line-up

Nothing on the railings carried a price. “We are all on our own, so there’s no kind of selling exhibition,” Tushar said. Anyone who likes a painting gets in touch with the artist directly.

Tushar managed just one small picture, looking from the rowing club end. Organising, he said, keeps distracting him.

Tushar Sabale holding a small painting of the river on Putney EmbankmentTushar Sabale on the Embankment on Saturday

“Once a month we come together, paint, go for a pint after this, and people just paint whatever they fancy, and some sell,” he said.

Painters gathering on the riverside plaza for a group photographThe 2pm group photo

Tushar and Carol, who comes up from the Isle of Wight, started the group in 2021, the group says. Once a year it goes further afield. Tushar listed the Lake District, Stoke-on-Trent and the Isle of Wight.

How to join

It costs nothing and there is no commitment. The group describes itself on Instagram as welcoming anyone who wants to bring their gear and paint, and it posts the day’s work there, at @londonpleinairpainters.

The next stop, Tushar said, is Nine Elms.