For many, there's nothing like spending time sketching the rural delights of the West Country. David Clensy visits the Wiltshire artist who loves to pass on her passion for the natural beauty of the countryside

W iltshire artist Meryl Ainslie doesn't believe in doing things on a small scale. Last year, she unveiled a drawing of a tree in the gallery she runs from a converted barn just outside Marlborough.

Nothing strange about that, you might imagine. Until you realise that the tree was drawn to scale – life-sized, and filling one whole wall of the gallery.

"It was drawn with a single pencil line across 45 square metres of paper, but it was an accurate copy of the apple tree that stood in the garden of my old house," Meryl says.

"It was rather nice, actually. It was like being able to take the tree with us when we moved.

"I like to draw things life-sized – trees, bushes, shrubs – because it gives a sense of the scale that you experience when you're outside in the country."

Similarly, when Meryl decided to set up her own drawing school, she didn't buy in a few extra sketchbooks, sharpen the pencils and advertise for students in the local Post Office window – she did things on a characteristically ambitious scale.

She converted two enormous barns into workshops and gallery spaces and rapidly developing one of the most prestigious drawing workshops in the country.

"I'd worked as an art teacher at Swindon School of Art for a number of years, but I'd always made an effort to get students out of Swindon and into the countryside to work on drawings. My husband is a second generation farmer," she says, "and often I'd invite groups of students out to the farm to develop their pieces and spend time in a more rural landscape.

"For me, it was about being on the farm again. When you live in a beautiful location like this, there's a real urge to actually spend more time at home. I found I was only seeing the place at night and at the weekends.

"So in 2004, I decided I'd spent enough time commuting up to Swindon each day, and came up with the idea of converting the barns into my own drawing school.

"I didn't want it to be just another artists' retreat. Drawing was my specialism, and I knew that by focusing entirely on drawing we could create something unique.

"If people wanted to develop their drawing skills after leaving art school, they had two choices – sign up for a degree, which is quite a commitment, or join an evening class, which are fine, but often are aimed more at hobbyists, rather than serious artists.

"I wanted to create a school where professionals and amateurs alike could come and receive expert tuition, on the level of Art School teaching."

The result is an impressive complex set amid the rolling scenery of the 700-acre Rabley farm.

"We had our work cut out at first," Meryl recalls. "These two big Victorian barns were falling down.

"They had no modern agricultural purpose, so we thought we should make use of them by converting them into a space not just for my art workshops and displays, but also for the farm – a place for meetings and farming conferences.

"We also run a commercial shoot on the farm, so it makes a good base and a place to serve lunch."

In the spirit of keeping everything local, Meryl directs students to the neighbouring farm, where B&B is available. "It's good to give the whole community a boost each time we run a course," she says, "so the people at the B&B benefit, as do Marlborough's restaurants and shops. I think that's great."

The drawing workshops are not confined to Meryl's tuition – she has organised a range of guest tutors who run courses throughout the year.

"It's a nice idea because while the students learn from the artist in the workshop, we develop an exhibition of the tutor's work in the gallery – so the students are really able to immerse themselves in their tutor's work.

"There's always such a great atmosphere on the first day, when the students come over to the gallery and we all sit together to eat lunch, surrounded by the work that has been created by their tutor for the weekend."

This attention to detail has won the Rabley Contemporary Drawing Centre an excellent reputation – recently they were even featured at the London Art Fair, a distinction that means the centre is now considered to be in the top 100 galleries in the country.

With 700 acres of farmland at their disposal, visiting artists often enjoying getting out and about in the open air to enjoy some drawing.

"There's nothing like it," Meryl says. "Especially if you normally live in the city.

"I think as an artist, you have to get out and about and experience new and interesting places – push your boundaries all the time. I've even taken groups of artists on sketch book tours of India to try to stimulate their work in new directions.

"Sketch books are vitally important," Meryl adds as an aside. "I've always taken sketch books around with me all the time, but it was only fairly recently that I realised you don't necessarily need to come back to the workshop to develop further sketches you've made outdoors. Often, the process of making the sketches is enough to develop your style as an artist."

The latest stage of development at Rabley Farm is the construction of a swish new uber-modern farmhouse. Viewers of Channel 4's Grand Designs might have seen the development take shape before Kevin McCloud's eyes in a recent episode. The property benefits from enormous picture windows.

"I just love the rolling nature of the countryside here," Meryl says.

"I think it attracts and inspires a lot of our artists. I really do feel it's a very special place.

"It's been wonderful to see the centre develop and thrive over the past few years.

"It's really does feel like a unique place to be."

The next course at the Rabley Drawing Centre is a three-day workshop given by Lori Sauer who specialises in contemporary fine book binding. For more information visit the website at www.rableydrawingcentre.com or call 01672 511999.