A top art blog for artists and art lovers: news about major art competitions and exhibitions, interviews with artists, techniques and tips for art and business
I'm getting my major whine about this episode out of the way upfront.
I'm wondering if anybody else is as irritated as me by the Director of the current series of
Portrait Artist of the Year who appears incapable of providing us with any
wide shots of:
ALL the self-portraits - without Judges cluttering the view
the submission and heat portrait of the three shortlisted artists - lined up
across the screen - one of the really pivotal images of the entire programme
- if it actually existed. I'm not interested in arty farty camerawork grovelling on the ground looking up at the Judges with all the portraits
side on to us and COMPLETELY INVISIBLE!
the three short listed artists lined up with their portraits prior to the
announcement
These are three really important images which have always been available before and all three have been missing from both of the first two episodes.
The nearest we get to seeing the self-portraits minus judges or
participants is the background of this overview of PAOTY Episode 2
We know what the Judges look like - we want to see ALL the self
portraits lined up!
I just don't get it. Did the Director or cameraman not look at any of the
previous series?
The obvious solution is to employ a stills photographer who takes photos of
the key shots of IMAGES OF PORTRAITS NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER (i.e. No Judges and no presenters getting in the way) and then insert
these into the video. It's not difficult if you use 16:9 format.
Right that particular mega-whinge out of the way - on to my review of Episode 2!
The Artists
This episode had an interesting imbalance between amateurs and professionals - with yet more eyebrows raised by me as to which qualified in which category.
I always order the artists in the same way - professionals first, then amateurs with everybody listed alphabetically according to their surname. Links to website are embedded in the name and social media accounts are identified where these can be found.
What's extremely weird is that this week many of the artists have no website. I can't remember the last time there were so few with nothing about them online.
The artists having a break
The Professionals
Rory Draper - a former art teacher born in Dublin who now works in Wexford. (Rory sent me his website URL after this post was published). In October 2022, he will be the artist in residence for the Presentation Arts Centre in Enniscorthy
Sally Roberts- graduated from Wimbledon School of Art. Paints people floating in space - including her submission which is a full figure (Self Portrait)
The Amateurs
Trudi Atherton (Facebook | Instagram) - from Southport. Studying part-time for a degree in fine art. Uses mixed media, specifically soluble pencils to create both pen and watercolour effects
Alice Barker - recently graduated (2020) from the School of Art at Edinburgh University with a degree in Fine Art. This is her degree show. She appears to be a Figurative Artist rather than a Portrait Artist
Isabelle Howe (Instagram) - An Estate Agent from Staffordshire. Interestingly there's nothing much on her Instagram to suggest a portrait artist
Ruhkiah Johnston - Medical student from London. No website or social media presence
Robbie Murdoch - born in Birmingham in 1943 and now lives in Milland, West Sussex. He trained as a Dental Surgeon at Guy’s Hospital and has been painting all his life. Since retirement in 2008 he has studied at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and now concentrates on painting both plein air and portraiture. He has frequently exhibited with the ROI and the RSMA.
Shaquelle Whyte - a figurative painter studying studying for a BA honours at the Slade school of fine art. He has been awarded a Rome Scholarship.
The Self Portraits
I'd like to be able to see the self portraits next to one another so I can do an analysis of size, format and nature of the self portrait.
Cameramen need to learn to use Zoom!
The interesting part of the screen is the six of the nine portraits not obscured by the Judges!
The rest is a waste of space....
But we didn't get a good sighting of the self portraits until the halfway point when an assessment is made of how they're getting on.
The New Light Prize Exhibition is coming to London next month. In a
time when we seem to see art competition with major prizes (£10,000 or more)
dropping like flies, it's great to see an art competition which has a very
precise focus - and still has a £10,000 prize.
The common thread through all we do is a deep belief that the visual arts matter and the North of England deserves to be celebrated.
£10,000 Valeria Sykes Award – open to all artists over the age of 18
with a connection to the North of England, whether through birth, degree
level study or residence.
£2,500 Patron’s Choice Award – this award will be presented by our
patron on the night of the Private View; all exhibited works will be
considered.
Saul Hay Emerging Artists Prize offering mentoring, professional
advice and exhibition opportunities.
Zillah Bell Printmakers’ Prize – all forms of original printmaking
are eligible for this prize, the winner of which will be offered a solo
exhibition in the Zillah Bell Gallery in Thirsk, which plays host to some of
the best printmakers’ shows in the country.
The tig Visitors’ Choice Award – where visitors will be asked to vote
for their favourite work in the Prize Exhibition.
New Light Purchase Prize – the winner’s work will be purchased by New
Light to add to the New Light Collection.
Artists awarded a prize will be asked to provide original evidence of how they meet the entry criteria.
The exhibition showcases the very best of art inspired by the natural
world and includes drawings, paintings, original prints and sculptures
from both members and non members of the Society.
It opened last week
(but I was at an Online Conference for four days and Monday was the
earliest I could make it)
and continues in all three galleries until 1pm on the 24th October. Otherwise
it's back to normal opening hours - 10am to 5pm.
If, like me, you're still being very careful re social contacts, then it's
nice to know that the galleries are large and there's lots of space for those
attending - and everybody wears a mask!
If you can't get to see it right now, I've uploaded my photos of every wall of
the exhibition to three Facebook Albums - so you can see what you're missing!
view the President's tour of the exhibition (above)
view the exhibition in 3D Online. Matterport still have not resolved the hyper-brightness of images in
the Wet and East Gallery - although views of artwork in the North Gallery
are much closer to reality. I think the quantity of white walls is
overwhelming the 3D software!
This post about The Natural Eye exhibition, on the SWLA website, introduces particular features of the artwork and
how/why it was developed. Much kudos to the Society for actually having a
commentary on their own exhibition on their own website before the exhibition
opened! I've grown tired of there being rather too many Societies which are
far too slow in updating their websites to provide complementary marketing of
the exhibition - and the artwork of their artist members!
Overview
I'm pleased that more people are going to get to see the show this year. I saw
it last year - but many people didn't travel (including many members) and the
ravages of 'you know what' meant it closed early (see SWLA's new website and annual exhibition closing early).
I'm afraid, exhibition views are now more limited for me. I always used to
walk round exhibitions three times - but now I have to be careful how many
steps I take before my bone on bone ankle seizes up! (see
Ever so slightly distracted
- from a year ago!) Plus I get very tired.... Which is partly why I now take
more photos - to remind myself of what I've seen.
That said, I do jot notes and this is my take on the exhibition overall
the quality of work generally is very good - with some work being
excellent
there's a huge variation in style and media used for the drawings,
paintings fine art prints and sculpture on display
Some smaller works - fine art prints and sculpture in the North
Gallery
the Hang seems different this year - with more themes and series
apparent on the walls. I queried this with Harriet Mead, President of the
SWLA and this year there was a different hanging team - and Harriet got
involved too! The most difficult wall to hangs the end wall in the West
Gallery - because it's seen from afar by everybody entering the gallery -
and MUST be interesting,. This year it was almost "off the wall" with
colour! (see image at top)
Screen prints of birds by Robert Gillor PPSWLA MBE
I thought I saw rather fewer fine art prints - which saddened me as
I always enjoy seeing the prints in this show. I think it's because one
member chose to do oil paintings rather than prints and another chose to
do rather smaller artworks as prints compared to previous years. That
said, there are some extremely affordable unframed prints to be had - so
much so that I think buying groups of prints would be the best approach!
Part of the exhibition have a strong maritime theme
Maritime themes involving wildlife - in the East Gallery
Paintings of urban foxes and other wild life by John Dobbs SWLA and
sculpture of Wild dogs by Nick Mackman SWLA
It's also worth remembering that its' not coincidental that
the name of this annual exhibition is "The Natural Eye".
I always used to think this was a play on visual art and nature.
I'm now more convinced than ever that's just as much about
the emphasis which the SWLA places on artwork conceived, started and
sometimes developed to completion while observing wildlife "in the field / sea / air"
Impressionistic drawings, paintings and sculpture - from observation
- in the East Gallery
SWLA are not looking for photorealistic artworks. They're looking for
artists who OBSERVE wildlife
- in the raw and in its natural habitat! Indeed I'd go so far to say, with
some degree of certainty, that being very photorealistic might mean an
artwork in the open entry might get passed over pretty quickly.....
The North Gallery has a display of the sketchbooks and drawings produced by
previous bursary winners. It's a good platform for getting noticed - if you
produce good work.
Liz Myhill is a Scottish artist and a native of the Isle of Skye in Scotland
....whose observational works span a wide range of subject matter,
gathered through working directly from life. The act of walking, watching
and recording numerous facets, whether fleeting or through lengthy study,
allow her to gain a connection and sense of place. Although often an end
in themselves, these field works are also developed into paintings and
printmaking.
Liz exhibits her work throughout the UK, regularly showing with societies such
as the Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Scottish Society of Painters in
Watercolour and Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. She has also
received a number of awards.
The BIRDscapes Gallery 'Conservation through Art' Award
Steve and Liz Harris have decided to increase the prize fund for this year
to £1,000.
I started this project in response to being part of a funded project for
The Somerset Wildlife Trust, called The Somerset Brilliant Coastline.
Quite by chance, last September, Andy Don, an International Eel Expert
came to my studio to buy another print for his collection. Over a cup of
coffee he told me about what he did for a living and how eels had declined
in the last 40 years and especially here in Somerset. This was a perfect
subject for me to explore for this project.
I wanted to make people from Somerset and further afield aware of what we
could be losing, by impediments to eel migration, such as weirs and other
man-made structures, also the mortality caused by being drawn into lethal
intakes such as pumping stations, hydropower plants and nuclear power
stations.
Julia Manning is an artist and printmaker based in Somerset. She studied fine art
at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham and "for over 40 years I have earned a living with a paint
brush!" She's a member of The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Somerset Printmakers, The
Society of Wildlife Artists and of The Royal Society of Painter Printmakers.
This is the background to the award
The Conservation through Art Award, sponsored by The BIRDscapes
Gallery, acknowledges an artist’s efforts in using their art to help
conserve the natural world. It also directly benefits wildlife by the
prize money being shared equally between the artist and a nature
conservation body of the artist’s choosing. This year’s Award goes to
an exceptionally deserving candidate.
Her powerful body of
work is both visually exciting and dynamic, leading the viewer to look
more closely at what is portrayed. Her thought-provoking commentary on
the plight of a threatened British species and its environment, is a
huge conservation message contained within the appealing images of a
skilled printmaker.
Ben Woodhams
is an English artist and illustrator currently living and working on the
Danish island of
Bornholm in the Baltic
Sea. His practice is founded in direct observation and he specialises in
birds, working primarily in watercolour.
Larson-Juhl Award
To celebrate drawing or dry media, draughtsmanship and capturing ideas as
an art form, £500 worth of
Larson-Juhl materials
to the winner and a feature in their '4Walls' magazine
Three large charcoal drawings by Tianyin Wang - the shoal of fish
and the two birds.
Tianyin Wang is an artist working primarily in charcoal drawing.
Born in 1986, he is currently based in London, UK. He graduated
with a BA (Illustration) from Arts University Bournemouth
in 2009. Between 2009-2015 he worked as a digital-based
editorial illustrator. From 2015, Tianyin started to
develop his unique charcoal drawing technique using a
combination of different charcoals to achieve a distinctive
look.
Great Crested Grebes with Yellow Water Lilies and Banded
Demoiselles by Brin Edwards SWLA
Brin Edwards
works from his straw bale studio in Assington near Sudbury in the heart of
rural Suffolk. He has been a member of the SWLA since 2005 and has served on
SWLA Council for many years
Portrait Artist of the Year returned to our screens last night for Series 8. This is the first of my reviews of every episode, semi-final and final and the commission over the next 10 weeks or so.
Title caption for Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2021 (Series 8)
We learned that the £10,000 commission this year will be to paint Nicola Benedetti- a Scottish-Italian classical solo violinist who won BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16 and is now one of the most sought after violinists of her generation - for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
I think I might have guessed where they might be holding the Final if it's not at Battersea Art Centre!
This is the link to
Episode 1
on Sky Arts. It is being broadcast every Wednesday evening at 8pm on Sky Arts Channel - which is available via Sky, Now TV and Freeview.
View of the pod structure inside Battersea Arts Centre
The artists on their "pic of the artists photocall" outside Battersea Arts Centre
They've not yet got the Artists Profiles upper Series 8
Episode 1
on the usual page
- which also usually provides you with a speeded up version of their heat
painting. I guess they're processing that and it might appear later today?
The distinction between Professional and Amateur is self-identification and - as always - it's debatable whether some are in the right category.
The order below is alphabetical - not as they appeared on the programme.
The Professionals
There were four professional artists
Shane Berkery (Website
|
Instagram) - an Irish-Japanese contemporary artist based in Dublin,
Ireland. His cultural background has been a major influence on his work
and is a frequent theme in his paintings. Berkery primarily works out of
his studio in Dublin and is represented by The Molesworth Gallery.
Alicia France (Website |
Instagram) - Her home town is Rochdale and she is now based in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She studied Art for a degree. She is a British
artist who won the
Portrait/Figure Category Award in the Jackson's Open Painting Prize 2018
(see interview). Paints on aluminium. You can see her "Self-Portrait in Green velvet"
on her website.
Araminta Lawrie (Website
|
Instagram) - lives in Hampshire creating figurative paintings and classical
portraiture with a contemporary twist. Did an Art History Degree at
Nottingham University (2010-2013), followed by a Masters at Sotheby's
Institute/Manchester University (2013-4). She has also studied at
studied at Sarum Studio, Charles Cecil Studio (summer school), London
Fine Art Studios, The Art Academy and Heatherley’s School of Art. Works
in Public Relations.
Tedi Lena - (Instagram) - (b.1996) Graduated with a BA (Hons) degree from the Sir John
Cass School of Architecture and Design at the London Metropolitan
University. In addition to his university studies, Lena attended short
courses at Hampstead School of Art and the Royal Academy of Arts. He
painted a portrait of Frank Bowling
which was selected for the BP portrait Award in 2019. He came with a
signer as he is deaf. It worked very well I thought. Good to see people
with disabilities on a programme like this. A number of you will
recognise some of his portraits in this video about him
The Amateurs
There were five amateur artists
Nicola Cummings (LinkedIn) Lives in London - is Head of Art at Queens Park Community School. Looked very familiar to me but I couldn't work out / remember why. She really likes Gabrielle who she got as a model.
Experienced Head Of Art with a demonstrated history of working in the secondary education industry. Skilled in Drawing, Contemporary Art, Art Education, Visual Arts, and Painting. Strong arts and design professional with a Bachelor's degree focused in Fine and Studio Arts from Wimbledon School of Art.
Joseph Dupre (Website | Instagram) - he's a a UK based artist and doctor. Splitting his time equally between these two passions. Draws, prints and sculpts. Won the Art Scholarship to Dulwich College for a remarkable series of closely observed portraits in line. Has studied at the Royal Drawing School and has exhibited in various competitive open exhibitions. BUT he's a doctor 2007-2013 - Manchester School of Medicine, MBChB; 2011 - Humanitarian and Conflict Resolution Institute, MA; 2016-2019 - Specialist Medical GP Qualification, MRCGP (I like his bird mobiles!). He did a monoprint for the Heat.
Kat Hughes (Facebook) - Her self-portrait took 40 hours to complete. Needs to get her online presence sorted!
Tony Robinson (Website | Facebook | Instagram) - born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK and now lives in Wexford in Ireland. Completed a Fine Art Foundation course there. Graduating with a fine art degree at Stoke-on-Trent he moved to Ireland, working for a time as a mural painter and sign-writer. Founder of plein air festival, Art in the Open (2008), based around Wexford, Ireland. He paints plein air a lot and doesn't normally have the luxury of four hours to complete a painting.
Denni Waterhouse [Instagram] - Has loved art from a very early age, qualifying in the subject at both GCSE and A-level. Currently in her third year at the University of Art in London. Comes from Grimsby and her local paper wrote about her before the programme.
The Self Portraits
Self Portraits Wall
Most of the self portraits generally seemed to me to be a bit smaller than usual when viewed as a group.
I was looking back at my previous posts and noticed how much of the Episode 1 post I've done for every series of Portrait Artist of the Year I've reviewed was taken up with explaining how this competitions works - so this year I've decided to do a preliminary post!
This looks at how it all works - in principle and what it's really like in practice! Those inspired by the programme to apply for the series next year
Plus this is your countdown reminder that the programme starts in a few hours at 8pm on Wednesday 13th October!
Bottom line - it's classic cold dark evening in Autumn viewing!
How this competition works - in principle
Major fans can skip this but - but for the new to the programme - this is how it works.
The programme / series
The Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year competition is now one of the most important art competitions in the UK since the demise of a number of the other art competitions with significant prizes
It has been running for several years and this is the eighth series
The winner gets a major prize - a commission worth £10,000 - to paint the portrait of a major celebrity.
There are three well known sitters for each heat. Sitters are young and older "celebrities" of varying degrees of recognition - as in I don't recognise a number of the names this year. You'll do better than me if you've caught up with all the series on Sky and Netflix!
The series is very popular with lots of aspiring portrait artists of various ages - not least because it offers the opportunity for an enhanced profile i.e. it helps marketing if nothing else - so long as you acquit yourself well!
It also attracts artists who already have an established careers as artists and in some cases are well known and collectable portrait artists. Interestingly a number of more established artists shy away from it because they can't cope with the constraints - see below......
broadcast every Autumn - generally starting in October - by Sky Arts Channel on digital television (now also on Freeview) and via the NOW TV app.
The Judges
The judges include leading figures in the art world - who are the same as for previous series:
award-winning portrait painter Tai Shan Schierenberg. He studied at St. Martin's School of Art and at The Slade. He lives and works in London, Norfolk and the Black Forest in Germany and has artwork in a number of important national and regional public collections
independent curator, art historian and arts broadcaster Kathleen Sorianoworked in museums and galleries for over 30 years. Currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Liverpool Biennial, Trustee of Art UK and was previously Director of Exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts and Head of Exhibitions & Collections at the National Portrait Gallery.
Her book Madam & Eve: Women portraying Women (2018) - looks at how over 200 women artists have depicted women in art over the last 50 years.
arts broadcaster, curator, mentor and writer Kate Bryanis also currently Head of Collections for Soho House. In 2020 she started to present a new series for Sky Arts exploring exhibitions across the U.K called 'Inside Arts'. She is also the author of:
Bright Stars (September 2021) which examines the lives of 30 great artists that died too young.
#AD NOTE: I am an Amazon affiliate and links to the above books include link to my personal affiliate account. This means that if you buy a book as a result of clicking on one of these links I earn a very small sum. (Income earned in this way helps me finance this blog).
How each episode works
Each episode has three sitters and nine artists (three per sitter), three judges and two presenters.
The interior of Battersea Arts Centre - with one of the segments and easels and kit set-up
Heats are now held at Battersea Arts Centre - and, in normal times, you can view the programmes being made - as I have done.
Each of the three artists is seated in one of three sections of a rotunda type frame (think three segments of a pie or cake). There's no choice as to who paints which sitter - and no choice as to what angle you get on the sitter
Artists have - in theory - four hours to complete a portrait working from a live model - with a break in the middle of the day.
None of the artists know who their sitter will is until they arrive in the room. (TADAAA!)
Filming generally takes place in April.
What it's really like in practice
Reality is never quite what it looks like on screen, so I've made a point over the years I've been reviewing this series (I was a latecomer!) of:
searching for blog posts by those taking part and
asking people I met who participated what it was really like.
Plus when I could be present I've photographed the reality - which, of course, is very different to what it looks like on screen.
This is what the Final actually looks like in the room where it is filmed - and this is what the artists have to contend with on top of painting a portrait live in four hours!
I've been writing about how the programme works in reality and relaying tips and insight from participants in previous posts. (You can read through them all below!)
