The 10 Most popular posts in the first million visits (Part 1)

One of the assets of this blog - which started 20 years ago - is there is a very considerable archive of past posts - some of which have been very popular indeed. 

I've just come across a post which highlights what were the 10 most popular posts in 2011 - after the first five years of Making A Mark. 

During this period I did regular "big projects" on specific topics - and these are reflected in the most popular posts

Below are the top five posts - with the links to each blog post embedded in its title.

Tomorrow I'll list the next 5 posts in the top 10

I've extracted a short piece of text and an image from each one - so you can get an insight as to what the post is about.

CAUTION: Given the age of the posts some of the links embedded in the post will no longer work as websites have died and been wound up.

1. 10 Tips for How to Sketch People

Drawing and sketching people is an invaluable way of developing a wide range of artistic skills.

I've been drawing people for very many years - family, friends, people in cafes and restaurants, life class models - and other artists. People often tell me how much they like the sketches I make of people I come across on my travels with a sketchbook - which I find a bit odd as most rarely have faces!

Cheers Boston!
(sketching fellow travellers at Logan Airport, Boston, USA September 2006)
8" x 10", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

2. Van Gogh: Drawing media and techniques

Drawing Media:

• Pencil: He employed pencil for preliminary drawings and then combined it with ink. He often worked with a carpenter's pencil. He liked to press hard and often worked on wet paper.
• Pen and ink: Van Gogh had a remarkable gift for pen drawing and graphic technique.
• Most of Van Gogh's pen and ink and brush drawings (such as the one above) are executed first in pencil first. He then inks/bruhes over the pencil marks once he is happy with them.
• some of his pen and ink drawings are drawn without any preliminary use of pencil
• During his visit to Arles in 1888, Van Gogh discovered the reed pen (made from local hollow-barreled grass, sharpened with a penknife). It changed his drawing style. He created some extraordinary drawings of the Provençal landscape, including a series of drawings of and from Montmajour (east of Arles) , in reed pen and aniline ink on laid paper. The ink has now faded to a dull brown.
• The Van Gogh Museum is conducting research into pigments and drawing inks in use in the period 1888-1890 and comparing this to the inks Van Gogh used [UPDATE: See the Research Results REVIGO: Paintings - which also comments on inks]

Trees with ivy in the asylum garden, 1889
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, May-June 1889
pencil, reed pen and brush and ink, on paper, 61.8 cm x 47.1 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

3. Composition - Principles of Design

This post forms part of an introduction to the elements and principles of composition and design and follows on from yesterday's post about the elements of design. 

It's an overview. More can be written about each and every principle - and has been!

• Good composition doesn't happen by accident. A quick reminder. The analogy which I find helpful for remembering which is which is to compare the elements and principles of art and design to the ingredients and method of a recipe. Cookery and composition have quite a lot in common!
• All the elements are ingredients - they are separate and need to be combined effectively to produce a successful outcome. Each ingredient gets to play a major or a minor role in the eventual outcome. This, in part, is dependent on the quantities employed and, in part, on the nature and intrinsic power of each ingredient (think garlic and chilis!).
• It's the particular way that they they are combined - using the principles of design - which enables a successful outcome. The same ingredients can for example be combined in a number of different ways (think of recipes for eggs!)

Observations about Wayne Thiebaud at the Courtauld Gallery

The major revelation of this exhibition is how Thiebaud's painting is as luscious as his subject matter. Many images of his work o date appear to flatten the profound surface textures contained in his paintings - but his brush marks are fully loaded and aim to impress.

I love Wayne Thiebaud's artwork on a lot of different levels and will always recommend that people go to see exhibitions of his artwork. 

Could be because I'm a bit of a foodie! Mostly it's because of how he visualises and draws and paints. 

Close up of "Pie Rows"

Wayne Thiebaud, Pie Rows, 1961, 

Oil on canvas, 46 x 66cm, 

Collection of the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation. 

© Wayne Thiebaud/VAGA at ARS, NY and DACS, London 2025.

Image: Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark)

I got my review "knickers in a twist" trying to think about HOW to review the first ever exhibition of his work at the Courtauld Gallery in London after I first saw it last month - mainly because it was right in the middle of an exhibition opening blitz.  (I think I did five in just over a week).

Partly because I couldn't find my notes from the PV! (Then I finally remembered - they were digital! Thank you Apple Notes!)

Mainly because I've not written a whole lot before about why I like his work so much. There again there are these posts.... 

• my obit post An appreciation of Wayne Thiebaud (1920 - 2021) after he died age 101 on Christmas Day in 2021.
• More Wayne Thibaud: "This for you is my world to look at" (2019)

For me this is a bit of a click and salivate post! In all honesty written entirely for me - for looking at from time to time - rather than sharing with any of you - but you can look too! ;)

• and finally Wayne Thiebaud working on etchings (video) (2019) age 99!

So here goes....

Wayne Thiebaud at the Courtauld Gallery

This is very much a "one time only in your lifetime" sort of exhibition!

• It's not just the first ever exhibition of Wayne Thiebaud's still like artworks at the Courtauld. 
• This is the first ever serious museum exhibition of his iconic and vibrant still lifes of post-war American subjects anywhere in the UK. 
• AND it's taken over 60 years to get them here. It's probably going to be at least that many years before they come back again.

View of three of Wayne Thiebaud's works
- with "Cakes" in the middle and "Three Machines" on the right
Image: Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark)

We've occasionally seen examples of his paintings in the UK - but never a solo show and never of the subject matter for which he is famed and never so many!

This is what some of the newspaper reviews have said.
 

The New York Times called him “the Edward Hopper of the dinette tabletop”

I'm going to get the basics out of the way first.

After the Mall Galleries - where smaller art societies went next and why they're loving it!

Traditionally, there have always been some smaller and more specialised art societies and groups who exhibited at the Mall Galleries.  In recent years, the nature and cost of the arrangements for renting the galleries has changed significantly. 

As a result of which, these societies started looking elsewhere for places to exhibit.  

Two of these societies are:

• The Wapping Group of Artists (the "Wappers")
• the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers (the RMS)

and this post is about where they have gone!

Details of their current and opening soon exhibitions in 2025 are at the end of each section about the societies.

Note also that these are two groups of artists which love to give demonstrations during their exhibition! You can find out more on Facebook.

The Wapping Group of Artists 78th Annual Exhibition 

- at 340 Kings Road, Chelsea

Every Wednesday between April and September, whatever the weather, the Wapping Group of Artists meets to paint at venues along the River Thames - anywhere between Henley and the Thames Estuary. 

One wall of the ground wall Gallery.

I thought I'd lost the exhibitions of The Wapping Group of Artists. Except this year I saw notices about the exhibition and decided to visit last Friday when I was in Chelsea for a meeting.

Which is how come I came to visit their 78th Annual Exhibition 2025 at the 340 King's Road Gallery

I chatted to the people running the exhibition about how they liked it - and they were VERY enthusiastic about the new location!

• rent is much less than the Mall Galleries i.e. £3,000 plus VAT per week for 
• space over two floors totalling 1,178 Sq Ft
• see plan of gallery
• agents are Sloane Stanley who merchandise the space as a "pop-up shop/art gallery"
• the Wapping Group of Artists could afford to take it for two weeks - which is more days than most of the FBA Societies get at the Mall Galleries!!
• they're in an excellent location in Chelsea (just before the bend in the King's Road as you go west)
• their sales have increased since they started exhibiting here - I think they had sold nearly 30 when I was there. It proves that location is everything when it comes to passing trade. 
• The King's Road is very much a shopping location and those who come shopping here sometimes have bigger purses/wallets than others visiting other locations.
• That said, all the artworks I saw had very sensible prices - because they are all the size of plein air paintings - and certainly the red dots I saw on the wall indicated some of what had sold and they also had very sensible prices

New member Paul Alcock who was steward for the say
- standing next to the red dots of the sales.

Why you may ask are the red dots on the wall rather than on the wall where the  sold painting is hanging?

• This is because when you are running your own exhibition, you can let people take their painting away after they bought it. You then hang another "reserve" painting by that artist in its place.  So in effect they refill the gaps in the wall from sales with new artwork from reserve.
• The arrangement for the exhibition was:
• 20 members display 6 paintings - but make 2 more available to hold in reserve
• those who are Candidates for Membership can exhibit 2 paintings and have one in reserve.

It's not an exhibition which has a catalogue so much as a current list of what is on offer.

It also has a table of pics of all the artists in the show - showing them painting plein air "somewhere" along the Thames between Henley and the Estuary

The Exhibition has a table of great photos of each of its members 
- painting plein air on location somewhere near the River Thames

The exhibition has a simple (and very repeatable) approach to the management of the exhibition

• there is one paid member of staff only who handles all sales - for the duration of the exhibition. 
• Plus members and candidates staffing the floor and being able to answer questions.

It all sounded an eminently sensible arrangement to me! 

You can see a video of what it's been like here

It was also wonderful to see a Group which has been around for a long time, thriving at a new location.

Exhibition Venue: 340, Kings Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 5UR

Dates: 31st October - 11th November (Until Tuesday)  Open daily during exhibitions

Free admission | No booking required

Website https://www.thewappinggroupofartists.co.uk/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wappingart/

The RMS at the Bankside Gallery

The Annual "Art in Miniature" Exhibition of the RMS showcases (literally) over 500 miniature artworks from contemporary artists worldwide, using traditional 16th century techniques, as well as many new and innovative styles.

The RMS had a similar opinion of the new proposed rents for galleries at the Mall Galleries - and promptly decamped to the Bankside Gallery 

Review: Episode 6 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

We've reached Episode 6 of Series 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025. I'm beginning to wonder how many more to go - but I do know there is another heat next week as I know who the sitters are (at the end).

This review follows the normal order of my reviews - with one significant deviation for the person and the paintings that nearly all the public think should have won.

The other major deviation is that there is no pic of all the artists lined up and looking to their right to the Judges because - for the first time in a very long time - there was none in the programme. 

Here they are - with no faces - from the other angle! (Note to Director: we ALL like to see their faces in the normal line up shot! What happened?)

The artists line up in front of their self portraits for the shortlisting announcement.

Episode 6: The Sitters

Sitters in Episode 6
Beth Rigby (top right) Gabby Logan (bottom left) and Shane Lynch (bottom right)

The three sitters in the first episode are as follows:

• Beth Rigby - Journalist and Political Editor for Sky News and co-host of the podcast Electoral Dysfunction (which I listen to a lot). She had brought a pen which jer brother gave her and a small notepad of the sort journalists use. (You can also watch it on YouTube)

Rigby is known for "her trademark dark bob and red lipstick, her distinctive diction and her persistent questioning of senior politicians" Wikipedia

• Gabby Logan - a Welsh television and radio sports presenter, and a former rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales and Great Britain. Her special item was her 50th birthday present - a black standard poodle called Maverick.
• Shane Lynch - an Irish singer, best known as a member of Boyzone.  He's also well known for his tattoos and piercings. Latterly he has pursued his interest in racing cars which he has done for 30 years and has appeared in various television programmes. He brought one of his helmets

Episode 6: The Artists

The Artists in Episode 6 after they had finished and been banished to the outside
so the artists can judge and they can get their photo taken together

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

The mini bio provided in the programme skips over some rather important information about some of the participating artists.

• Emma Alexandra (Instagram) - a contemporary artist who works in a variety of mediums from Aotearoa New Zealand. The last few years she has been living between Italy and UK. She now lives in Bath.
• Laura Cronin (Instagram) - full time professional portrait artist who was born and brought up in Dublin. Studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York. When she returned to Ireland, she initially worked as an illustrator and did regular drawings and paintings for the two national newspapers- weekly portraits for The Irish Times and court drawings for The Independent. She has had a number of successful solo shows in Ireland and London - and her first in Dublin sold out. She is married with two daughters and a son.
• Thalia Elliot - From Sunderland. Currently studying Fine Art and Textiles at Newcastle University.  (If you know Thalia and she has sites please get her to tell me about them!)
• John Matta (Instagram) - a motion graphics designer and musician located in Suffolk. He is also an artist inspired by the timeless beauty and craftsmanship of the Old Masters.
• Robert McLeod (Instagram) - Currently a third year student studying for a degree in fine art at Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology where he has been winning prizes two years in a row! His university also featured him on their website.
• Lizzie Patterson (Instagram) - She describes herself as a creative who works across the mediums of art and photography. As a contemporary figurative artist, she creates large-scale, life-size portraits that celebrate colour, character, and connection. She is based near Guildford in Surrey.
• Rick Roberts (Instagram) - a painter and decorator from Ashton Under Lyme. He has worked as a life model and as an art technician.
• Ash Tyson (Instagram) - She lives and works in London as an illustrator and a tattoo artist (for 10 years). She has a love hate relationship with the biro she uses for drawing.
• Uthman Wahab (Instagram) - born in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria in 1983 and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. He holds a higher diploma degree in Fine Art from the School of Art, Design and Printing, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. He is a multidisciplinary artist, who lives and work between Lagos Nigeria and Kent in the UK. He has an overarching interest in social phenomenon; yet, he is not concerned with a consistent use of medium or even singular aesthetic style. His work seeks to challenge perceptions and foster dialogue around issues of faith, tradition, and community, particularly within the context of African and Islamic identities. (His about page is more comprehensive and impressive than those of most artists)
  

Open Call for Entries: Royal Society of British Artists - Annual Exhibition 2026

You have two months to prepare an entry for the Annual Open Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA). Online entries close on Friday 9 January 2026 (12 noon).

Find out how to enter the RBA Annual Exhibition 2026

This post explains:

• why this is a good exhibition for artists submitting via the open entry
• why the last two exhibitions have been very disappointing in terms of sales - particularly for member artists - but have lots of scope to "come back" and do as well as they have done in earlier years
• how to enter

Why submit to this open entry?

This is a good exhibition for non-members to try and get selected for, because of the variety of media, subject matter and styles which are acceptable to the RBA

This is probably the most eclectic of all the art societies belonging to the Federation of British Artists BA Exhibitions - whose home is at the Mall Galleries. My comment in this post Artwork I liked at the RBA Annual Exhibition 2025

It also has an excellent range of prizes, many of which open artists are eligible to win.

However, there are always a LOT of entries and this exhibition gets more open entries than some of the top flight art competitions in the UK (

Those who enter have a good chance of being exhibited as the RBA aims to split the artworks hung in the exhibition 50:50 between RBA members/associates and the open artists. 

Why the last two RBA exhibitions have been disappointing 

These were my blog posts about the 2025 exhibition

• Review: Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2025 (3 March 2025)
• Artwork I liked at the RBA Annual Exhibition 2025 (5 March 2025)
• RBA Annual Exhibition 2025 METRICS: Analysis of art sales & Recommendations about pricing (2nd April 2025) I suggest all members of the Selection Panel read - or re-read this post before they start selecting artwork for the 2026 exhibition. There's a lot of pointers as to where they are underselling the artists that exhibit.

The artwork selected comes from 3,843 submitted images. To give you a sense of what that represents it's bigger than the entry for some major art competitions. 

Mostly it was good work, although it certainly included artwork I personally would have edited out at the selection stage.

I start from the basic premise that major art exhibitions are for selling art as well as showing it. As in people want to recoup their expenses and generate income for an artist.

The reality is that the last two exhibitions have have had VERY LOW SALES

• 2025: 63 artworks sold (just 11% of the artwork hung) which is VERY LOW
• 2024: 52 sold from 491 hung (10%) last year - but only just (11%!!)

This is in the context of a society which, in the recent past, has generated in excess of £100K in sales at its annual exhibition (as another FBA Society did recently).

Moreover, in 2025, 60% of the artwork SOLD was generated by the Open Artists (selected via the Open Call to exhibit with the members of the RBA).

My thinking is this is because:

• open artists tend to submit smaller and more affordable artworks - priced to sell (I will allow myself to think some have been reading my blog posts which have provided clear signposts as to what sells!)
• member artists are sometimes self-indulgent and submit large works which have little chance of selling - and too many don't read my blog posts about the exhibition metrics!
• the Selection Panel sometimes seems to be 
• too indulgent to its members in terms of what they what they want to exhibit and 
• thinking too little about the business of making money from the exhibition - to fund their contribution of the costs of running the Mall Galleries.

A guide to price brackets at the last RBA Exhibition

I should emphasise that it's not just my opinion it was the members who were mainly responsible for the overall level of low sales. It's a FACT.

• There were 554 artworks hung in the show (which in my opinion is about 200 too many) split between:
• 275 artworks by members
• 279 artworks by open entry artists
• In terms of the number of artworks which sold
• 60% were by open artists
• 40% were by RBA Members and Associates

Most sales were, as I constantly reiterate, BELOW £1,500

Most sales in this RBA show were also by OPEN ARTISTS

This sort of performance is a function of:

• artwork submitted for exhibition
• the critical faculties of those selecting the work that gets on the wall.

Selection for 2026

In relation to the 2026 Annual Exhibition (26 February - 12 March), I'm really hoping that the panel of selectors will get their critical and business faculties in gear and become more discriminating by aiming to:

• RADICALLY REDUCE the number of artworks they select (i.e. the more they hang, the less they sell). 
• BE MUCH MORE RIGOROUS IN THEIR SELECTION - in relation to BOTH members and open entries - about preferring artwork that will sell rather than artwork which will just hang on a wall for 10 days and do very little for art, the artist or the RBA wanting to generate funds to run future exhibitions.  After all, this is what commercial galleries need to do all the time if they are to stay in business.

The key is to select the best and not just everything you like the look of it. 

artwork at the entry to the West Gallery in 2025

How to Enter

Artists are invited to submit work for exhibition alongside members of the Royal Society of British Artists at the RBA Annual Exhibition 2026. More details below.