

(top) Sublime - winner of the Annie Langley Award
(bottom) Crashing - Winner of the Buzzacott Prize
The Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society is currently on display at the Mall Galleries until Saturday 17th April. I finally got to see it today - much later than I'd planned.
Logistically, the Gallery was looking a little different to usual. As last year the East Gallery is given over to the workshops which are being held during the course of the exhibition - with Ednesday being given over to Urban Landscapes by John Tookey.
Most of the members work is being displayed in the Main West Gallery while most of the work in the North Gallery seemed to be by non members. However members work is shown together as a group and the larger gallery does make that rather easier.
The scanning exercise is about seeing which works jump out at me on initially and then again after I've toured the whole exhibition.
The most impressive work was the two very large pictures by Mathew Draper. I must confess I've been missing the very large works that Mark Leach always used to submit. This is a big gallery and it NEEDS some large works. These two are extremely well done - and have the weight to carry across the whole gallery.


Other prizewinners that I noted were:
- Arts Club Prize - Jeanette Hays
- Bill Patterson Memorial Award - Felicity House (Glasshouse Tomatoes)
- Daler Rowney Prize - Patricia Cain (Inscape II)
- John Purcell Paper Prize - Jenny Halstead
- The Ranelagh Press Award - Roger Dellar
- Unison Pastels Materials Prize - Glenys Ambrus
I noticed smaller works tended to be selling. However I'm now inclining towards a view that artists need to start creating larger works again. They have impact. They draw the eye and they make people come over and loo at your work.
As the lady, who had just bought a painting, said she was leaving the gallery just before me
"I really want to buy the big one of the sea - I just need a bigger house to put it in!"Below you can see other groups which had impact.



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