However should any pencil artist be thinking of going to see the UKCPS Annual Exhibition, I thought I'd show you the top of the range box of goodies which is on display at the show. If I said the price even after the special exhibition discount is over £1k you'll know just how much is in this big wooden Jubilee Case. (For once I also got the Magic Extractor to work properly on PS elements!)
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| Faber Castell Jubilee Cabinet |
- 120 Polychromos artist's colour pencils
- 120 Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils
- 120 Polychromos artist's pastels
- 60 Pitt pastel pencils
- and 15 Castell 9000 black-lead pencils in all grades from 8B to 6H
- plus accessories for use with the art media.
We're currently trying to squeeze as many outings into the last warm T shirt days before Autumn kicks in. Not that I don't like Autumn with all its glorious colours - but I do like warm days and we've not had a lot this year. Which means I was out all day today and will also be out for the day on Tuesday (and maybe Wednesday, Thursday and Friday judging by the forecast)! At least I get time for sketching.......
Art and Artists
Artists
- My post last Monday attracted a lot of comment this week How do you earn the title of "artist?
- Now who knew that the current Archbishop of Canterbury was the brother in law of Celia Paul, a former lover of Lucian Freud and mother of his son Frank, baptised both Freud and his son and then spoke at his funeral at Highgate Cemetery at the end of July? See this article The philanderer, the Archbishop and a secret funeral in last week's Independent on Sunday.
- James Gurney (Gurney Journey) has a brand new website - his main website has been completely rebuilt - see for yourself at JamesGurney.com
- Gayle Mason (Fur in the Paint) has had an article published in the UKCPS magazine Talking Point. (You can read the article by clicking the image in her blog post). More importantly it's also appearing in The Secret Ingredient which is a new book compiled with contributions from a number of different artists to raise funds for people with cancer.
- Laura Frankstone (Laurelines) left for France at the end of the week and has posted a Flickr slideshow recapping past sketches of France on her blog
- I was sketching in the Herb Garden at Sissinghurst on Friday - but managed to forget my roll of green pencils so this is still a work in progress
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| The Herb Garden at Sissinghurst - a sketch in progress |
- I was very impressed with the embroidery work produced by BJ Adams which can be seen on her blog BJ Adams Small Art Work
- James Gurney (Gurney Journey) has an article about painting trees and foliage in International Artist magazine (October/November edition). Read all about it on his blog
- I like the landscapes of Caroline Simmill (To Regions Solitary) very much. She's not somebody who posts frequently - but she posts good stuff when she does
- The Brush Paper Water blog came to an end this summer - but has been left up as a resource and way of locating all the wonderful transparent watercolour artists featured on the blog - see also this slideshow
- Instead Chris Beck, the artist who initiated it is posting to his own blog more - see Chris Beck studio. I liked a couple of the artists he had previously highlighted
- I like the blog and paintings of Frank Eber (Frank Eber: Watercolour Landscapes)
- It's good to see a new art society blog which understands that one of the advantages of having a blog is being able to feature members' paintings - this is the Caboose Watercolor Society blog
- Congratulations to Thomas Schaller (Thomas W Schaller)whose painting of Paris has been used for the front cover of the October/November edition of International Artist. His work also featured in an article written for the magazine by Nita Leland last year.
I introduced my blog again makingamark - a daily photo. In order to provide some structure and discipline for the blog, I adopted a routine of posting a photograph each day guided by a letter of the alphabet. Tomorrow I will have completed two complete cycles of the alphabet and will be embarking on the third - and I've only missed one day so far! More or less all have a commented related to some artistic aspect of making pictures.
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| Images from makingamark - a daily photo |
- Artist's Statement
- I updated How to write an artist's statement this week - to include a very funny video plus a couple of useful blog posts - summarised here in Translating and Updating an Artist's Statement
- Plus Alyson Stanfield (artbizblog) has also been focusing this week on licking your artist statement into shape - with Rework Your Artist Statement with 3 Answers. Plus she writes in Words to help you sell your art about her ebook on this topic
- Mariana Ashley writes about the perennial topic of the pros and cons of using a digital watermark for your art to protect your copyright in Marketing Your Digital Art: To Watermark or Not? on Lori McNee's Fine Art and tips blog
- Chris Beck identifies QR codes - the next big thing... and highlights places where you make your own codes for free.
- The story about Damien Hirst's business practices continues to reverberate - see Is Damien Hirst trying to manipulate the market? I am only amazed by newspapers which seem to think that people active in the art marketplace will never try to manipulate the market!
- I saw an amusing story on ArtInfo where it's reported that an art school exercise was mistaken for a classic Chinese Painting - and then sold for $11.4 million at auction.
- Gary Lawrence won the Jerwood Drawing Prize for 2011 - which I'm going to feature in its own post just as soon as I get it organised! It looks as if it's an amazing piece. Sadly, he doesn't appear to have a website. The exhibition continues at the Jerwood Space until 30th october when it goes on tour.
- Here are the winners of the PleinAir Salon (July/August) run by OutdoorPainter Magazine
Exhibitions
- The Threadneedle Prize Exhibition has opened
- see my post about the exhibition Review: Threadneedle Prize Exhibition 2011.
- Somehow or other I missed that art blogger Ilaria Rosselli del Turco (Ilaria Rosselli del Turco - News) had a work in the show so we also missed each other at the combined Threadneedle/Artists preview!
- Ilaria's post about the exhibition Queen of the back room nailed the comment I had been struggling to come up with when I wrote my review. It's very near the mark in more ways than one! (see below) I gather from the other comments coming in on my review that some of you are of like mind.
- Even more interesting is the story of the work she submitted and the work that was chosen! (see Threadneedle Prize 2011 Show- My inclusion)
Seeing the show, I have to say I could hardly relate to the works included; apart from a few exceptions, I felt like I think a classical musician might feel when walking into a rock concert.Call for Entries and Deadlines
- The deadline for entries for the Discerning Eye Bursary is 3rd October 2011. All artists resident in the UK are eligible to enter the annual Discerning Eye Drawing Bursary. Up to 5 artists are short listed for the Bursary and the prizes are £1000 to the winner and £100 to each of the runners-up. This is the link for the entry details and it's free to enter.
- The deadline for the Focus on Nature competition is 1st October 2011. There is an on-line entry form for FON XII. You may submit up to 2 entries per subject. No more than 4 images in total. Images must JPG (.jpg or .jpeg). 10 mb total upload size for all images
- The Receving Day for Entries to the Scottish Drawing Competition 2011 is 13th October 2011. The top prize is £1k. Each exhibitor may enter up to two works. Max size: 1 metre in any direction. Drawing in any medium is acceptable.
London Exhibitions
- The Telegraph reviewed the Mark Rothko exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery and also provided a timeline for Rothko in Britain
- Drawings from the ill-fated expedition to get to the South Pole first - led by Captain Scott - are to appear in an exhibition at the Queens Gallery
- You've not got long to see the Surrey Sculpture Society at RHS Wisley - where their works can be seen all around the gardens during September.
- This is a map of the Sculptures on display at Chatsworth. The Chatsworth blog tells you more about it in Outdoor sculpture exhibition is now open.
Art Societies
- The results are in for the 91st Annual Exhibition of the National Watercolour Society! This is the NWS Facebook page for this show! Congratulations to the exhibitors! You can also download the Summer 2011 newsletter.
- Tyler Green (Modern Art Notes) commented on the deaccessions at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston in order to effect a trade for a Gustave Caillebotte - which I have been looking at in the National Gallery for some years. I'm just wondering where the former MFA works will hang.
- The Museums which score best on Klout can be seen in this post on the Klout blog
- It's nice to see an art society which has negotiated a discount for its members from the regular price of supplies which help artists exhibit with the society. The National Watercolour Society has got a 20% discount from
Airfloat/Strongbox containers are ideally suited for the shipment of your artwork. Mention that you are a member of the National Watercolor Society and receive a 20% discount.
- You know you've made it when you have your very own personal dot cards by Daniel Smith - these are Frank Eber's (Frank Eber: Watercolour Landscapes) very own Daniel Smith dot cards. I can think of some artists who would love to have their very own - but first they'll have to decide which colours to settle on forever! ;)
- This is Maggie Latham's plein air kit - which you can see on her blog Maggie Latham Art.
- Two artists have been exploring alternatives to black and neutral tint
- In Maggie Latham's (Maggie Latham Art) Colourtalk 4 she looked at Neutral Tint and Payne's Grey
- Lisa Le Quelenec (Seaside Studios) who is a full time artist living on the Dorset coast has two posts on this topic
Opinion Poll
- POLL: Coloured Pencils - colour or brand? asks which factor is more important when acquiring new pencils.
- I've written reviews this week (on Making A Mark Reviews) of:
- Ruth Phillip's new book which narrates the background to Postcard from Provence - and a life lived in Provence - see Book Review: Cherries from Chauvet's Orchard
- a new tool which I've been trying to research Product review #1: Wacom Inkling
I'm taking a very long weekend next weekend - so there won't be a "who's made a mark this week?" post next Sunday
Many thanks for mentioning the embroidery on my blog. I am imressed with all you are able to do and still write your daily blogs that are so full of useful information.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
B. J. Adams
Thank you very much for linking to my black/grey experiments. Have a lovely long weekend, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that the good weather continues for you.
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