Monday, November 25, 2013

25th November 2013 - Who's made a mark this week?

Turner and the Sea is a major exhibition of marine paintings by Joseph William Mallord Turner which opened last week at the National Maritime Museum.  The exhibition continues until 21 April 2014.

I've not yet seen it as yet but have received a wonderful packet of images from the nice people at the Museum - and it looks stunning!  The one below I see on a regular basis in its normal home at the National Gallery - however it often succeeds in making me feel slightly sea-sick in empathy for those waiting on Calais Pier to get into the boats!


Calais Pier, with French Poissards Preparing for Sea: An English Packet arriving
by J.M.W. Turner, oil on canvas, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1803
© The National Gallery, London

Here are the reviews to date:

Artists and Art Blogs

Artists

The 'national treasure' label may suit our more cuddly public figures, but Perry is a powerful, discomfiting artist

Botanical Art


Drawing and sketching

Remember though, that even the greatest talent and drawing skills will only take you so far. In the end, it's the creativity, innovation, and ideas that matter. Artists need to think, make choices, and express opinions in their work. This critical thinking process is what distinguishes an artist from someone who is simply technically adept in drawing.
  • Liz Steel (Sketching architecture) has been continuing with her workshops on sketching architecture - this week she's been doing Sketching Perspective with her class - and brings a fresh and invigorating approach to the topic. 
Getting too technical, getting caught up in positioning all the lines perfectly, doing too much measuring and/or using a ruler kills the JOY of sketching for me.

Art Societies

  • The President of the Royal West of England Academy has a blog which I've not come across before - see RWA President. 
    • On the upside it's great to see photos of a selection process
    • On the downside - words and links are also good! The blog is missing out on a big opportunity to send traffic to the website and the exhibition! A few links to the RWA website and their exhibition - in both blog posts and the side column - certainly wouldn't go amiss!

    Painting

    Who painted this?

    • Again we had only one person who got the correct answer for Who painted this #52?.  Nor surprise - it was Bernadette Madden. I think I need to pick some less obscure paintings!.  You can find this week's challenge in Who Painted This #53 - there's a clue - which David has figured out.....

    Art Business & Marketing

    Licensing Art

    Marketing

    Time management

    • One thing is an interesting rumination by Lisa Call on how to live in the moment and plan one's time. Plus she gives early notice of some online classes she's planning for 2014. (Don't miss the last photo - I guarantee you won't have seen this before!)

    Art Collectors and the Art Economy

    Auctions

    River scene at dusk by Sir Alfred Munnings PRA, RWS (1878 - 1959)
    Sold for £21,250 inc. premium

    Collecting Art

    Go to private views, meet artists and, above all, talk to them. The conversations you have with artists are the key to finding out about their motivations, influences, ambitions and working methods. And once you have that knowledge at your fingertips, you’re well on the way to acquiring a frame of reference that will inform your judgements about what to buy.

    Exporting Art

    Forgery

    What Sells Art

    • What REALLY determines the value of paintings and what they sell for at auction?  In The Guardian's What sells art? auctioneer Philip Hook reveals what really sells in the world of fine art. Is it the artist as a 'brand', the availability/rarity or condition of an artwork, or maybe its romantic baggage or "pulling power"? Plus is it actually a better painting because it costs more?

    Art Competition

    • The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2014 is converting to totally digital entry. There's also a cap of 12,000 entries on a "first come, first served basis". Bottom line - be ready to enter when the submission website opens on 6th January because digital entry means there will be a lot more than usual. My post RA Summer Exhibition 2014 goes totally digital! reviews the process - but starts with some tips for entering open exhibitions/ art competitions and this competition in particular.

    Art Exhibitions

    Art Exhibitions in London

    Art Exhibitions in the USA

    Art Museums

    The Grand Saloon, a large room under the museum’s portico, has been closed to the public since the flood of January 1928, when the river broke through at Millbank and water swept into the Tate. The room with a view is no longer subdivided into offices. It has been restored and rechristened the River Room and will host seminars and events.
    Art History


    Art Materials

    Colour

    Colour mixes by Sue J Williams
    • Robert Genn talking About True Colours
    • I love the big pictures of pastels which Unison Colour keep serving up on their Facebook Page
    • Kremer Pigmente now has an Instagram account which they keep filling with images about colour
    • More about red - and information from Winsor & Newton. Madder root is a natural substance used to make a deep red pigment used in paint. Known for its capacity to create a wide range of rich purples and browns, Alizarin Crimson is a deep red pigment with a blue undertone.
    • For the colour junkies - colour mixes for painting darks and blacks - as seen in "Black and White in Colour" at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery in Kew Gardens (with permission of the artist Sue Williams). Click the image to read the mixes.

    Oil Paint

    Techies

    • Websites: When was the last time you thought about whether or not your website was keeping up with the amount of technological change we've seen in the last few years. If you have thought, have you acted on it?  The Making A Mark Poll this month is about looking at the last time your updated your website to take account of the big changes in operating systems, devices used, browers used etc. POLL: When was the last time you updated your website? Read my summary of the technological change which has been affecting our websites. Plus a request for some help from you.
    • How to transfer files securely? The National Maritime Museum use Big Filebox to transfer files for press purposes.  I can confirm it's very fast and very simple however pricing makes it more appropriate for small business and corporate organisations which need to transfer files on a regular basis to a number of clients.  However it could be
    • The Google Search widget on Blogger has stopped working on my blogs. I use it all the time which makes this really irritating.  Has anybody else had the same experience?
    • I've implemented the AddThis Smart Layers code which generates the buttons you can see on the left and top right. If anybody wants to do the same and wants to know how pipe up and I'll do a blog post when I've got a spare minute (which might not be right away!). Or you could try clicking the link above! :)

    and finally......

    Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, November 25, 2013
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