REVIEW: Royal Society of Marine Artists - 65th Annual Exhibition 2010

Paintings in the 65th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists
(left Paul Banning RI, RSMA, AROI; Top centre James Bartholomew RSMA)

Last week I visited the 2010 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists but it was great fun to visit the Mall Galleries and review it again yesterday with artist Sarah Wimperis and her husband "Big Dave" given that both are committed 'boaters'.

I must confess I saw the exhibition with completely fresh eyes when Dave pointed out to me that:

• he'd been in the safety boat following one of the boats in a very nice painting of a yacht race
• his own boat in Cornwall was actually in two of the paintings!

Dave's boat

• he knew a number of the buildings and boats in paintings of Porthleven (which is hardly surprising given he used to be the Mayor!)
• and there were some incongruities in other paintings which he explained to me - of which more later

This year's exhibition will once more feature the work of some of best marine artists working today.  Both members and non-members will have been out on the water, under it, alongside it and scouring coastlines for new subjects that result in an exhibition of quality and variety, whilst all the time relating to the sea and tidal waters.
Mall Galleries

There are some 312 drawings and paintings in the show in all media.

Paintings on the north wall of the West Gallery

Awards and Prizes

First the prizes and who won them.  Thanks to Amelia at the Mall Galleries for providing a list - I knew I'd missed some of them as I went round and I don't like to leave anybody out!

Clearing Mist - Woodbridge by Peter Wileman PROI FRSA
Winner of The Charles Pears Memorial Award for the most promising work by a non member
copyright the artist

[Note: I'm very puzzled.  It's very often the case when I'm listing award winners that most have their own website.  Not so apparently with the marine artists.  Only a minority of those listed below have their own website.  Most are third party sites. Maybe marine art is very focused towards certain galleries which don't like artists to have their own websites?]

• Charles Pears Memorial - Peter James Wileman PROI, FRSA (291 - Clearing Mist - Woodbridge)
• Classic Boat - Roger Davies (108 - Moonbeam takes on the big class )
• Russell & Chappell Award - Michel Brosseau (49 - New sail)
• St. Cuthberts Mill - Neil Faulkner (127 Freshly Laundered)
• Conway Maritime - Geoff Hunt (162 Jack Aubrey's Minorca: Port Mahon 1800)
• Young Marine Artists - Michael Sole (312  Mer et Ciel)
• YMA highly commended - Anthony Banks (308 )
• Ranelagh Press Award - Geoff Hunt PPRSMA  (160 - HMS Sutherland's last battle)
• Derek Gardner "deep seas" award  - David Hardstaff (13 - The Icelandic Two Step)
• The Arts Club Award - Chris Daynes (109 - Two Smacks, Essex Coast)
• Winsor & Newton Oil Prize - Keith Noble RSMA (225 - ) who is also on Twitter http://twitter.com/Keithnobleart 

Gondolas on the Grande Canal (oil) by Keith Noble
Winner of the Winsor & Newton Prize for the best oil painting in the show
copyright the artist

Artists whose work Sarah and I both very much liked included:

• James Bartholomew RSMA - who had produced large works with a watercolour underpainting and pastel on top.  I'd have happily contemplated hanging any of them on a wall.  I particularly liked Treen Cove II.  His other paintings were Treen Cove I and Off the point, Skye.  Here's a sample of what his work looks like up close.
• Keith Noble RSMA whose works in both oil and watercolour attracted the eye and was persuasive in terms of the atmospheric effects 
• Michel Brosseau - a Fench marine painter - of which more below

RSMA 2010: Paintings on the west wall of the West Gallery - including paintings by David Curtis on the right

As always it was delight to see paintings by artists like David Curtis RSMA, ROI

Now for the comments of a boater married to an artist! Dave's comments were as follows:

• an exhibition like this would be really loved down in Cornwall (or anywhere which has a strong marine heritage)
• he particularly enjoyed the paintings by people who understood and had properly observed the atmospherics of marine landscapes.  The weather was real - and not always sunny.
• he also liked proper boats and boatyards depicted properly.  They do not have to be in anyway photographic - just the right shape.  He could spot some boats which were the wrong shape from the other side of the room.
• he recognised all sorts of places which weren't in the least obvious to me.  People who know their harbours and coastlines will always spot the painting which is true to the place.  The corollary of this is that somebody who loves marine life will always spot the inaccuracies in a marine painting.  (Note:  The same could be said for all specialist genre - such as wildlife art and botanical art)
• When looking at paintings, he could also tell who knew the sea from experience and observation and those who did not.   His favourite paintings had both atmosphere and movement - but both had to be credible.
• He could always tell the difference between people who had painted from a photograph or 'created' paintings from various photographs and those who really knew the sea and had just used a photograph as one reference.
• In relation to the latter, he showed me ways in which a painting was "not true" - including one rather prominent painting which had two sets of boats boats sailing in opposite directions - as if the wind were blowing in two different ways in the same place.  The painting looked most attractive on first viewing - but once you saw it through Dave's eyes it lost impact.

I also very nuch liked

• Charles Hemming House Boat Afternoon top down painting of life on board four houseboats (although I must confess I did wonder about the tidal aspect of this one)
• the work of Paul Banning RI RSMA AROI - whose boatyard interiors are invariably fascinating.  Thanks to Sarah for pointing out how he does his highlights in watercolour!

All Furled Up - Oil painting by Michel Brosseau

The painter and paintings that we all found impressive - because of the nature of his paintings and his faithfulness to the world of the marine - was Michel Brosseau and his paintings of sails.  These were paintings of canvas on canvas and framing which used marine ply.

Michel graduated in painting from Wimbledown in 2008.  He appears to be having few problems selling his paintings of big sails for big boats.  Last year he was the Royal Society of Marine Artists ‘Young Artist of the Year’ 2009.

A corner of Michel Brosseau's "New Sail" (sold) 

with canvas left unpainted and a marine ply frame.

Over on The Art of the Landscape I have a post about Places to Paint - Marine Scenes which lists all the places I saw paintings of in the exhibition - plus it has more images from the exhibition.

Links:  

• Royal Society of Marine Artists - website http://www.rsma-web.co.uk/
• Marine Art - Resources for Artists  - This site provides information and advice from various websites for artists wanting to understand and draw and paint marine subjects, seascapes and waterscapes.