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Sunday, August 31, 2014

Florum Exhibition 2014

Below is a list of the artists who have been invited to show their artwork at the Florum exhibition which opens on Saturday after a private view next Friday night. I'm one of them!

Florum website - my drawing is top right

The aims of the exhibition are:


Florum invites some of the UK's most celebrated botanical artists, as well as artists working in freestyle, mixed media, printmaking and jewellery.

List of Invited Artists



Each artist's name contains a link to their website or a site related to the artist
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Saturday, August 30, 2014

BBC Four Goes Abstract in September

This autumn there's going to be a series of programmes about abstract art on BBC4.  The programmes are:

The Rules Of Abstraction with Matthew Collings, BBC Four 


(90 minutes) Mon 8 Sep 2014 22:00 BBC Four
The programme examines the development and rise of abstract art and how it became prominent in the art world. The primary argument put forward by Collings is that abstraction is the key artistic story of the 20th century.
Matthew Collings is a painter and critic. 
Documentary in which painter and critic Matthew Collings charts the rise of abstract art over the last 100 years, whilst trying to answer a set of basic questions that many people have about this often-baffling art form. How do we respond to abstract art when we see it? Is it supposed to be hard or easy? When abstract artists chuck paint about with abandon, what does it mean? Does abstract art stand for something or is it supposed to be understood as just itself?
Matthew Collings

The Russian Revolutionary: Zaha Hadid on Kazimir Malevich, BBC Four


Zaha Hadid - a leading architect of global renown - first became interested in the works of Russian abstract artist Kazimir Malevich in the 1970s and has subsequently identified him as an inspiration. The film looks at how his art has influenced her architecture.

Zaha Hadid RA on the influence of Malevich in her work, Plane sailing By Zaha Hadid Published 22 July 2014 (Royal Academy of Arts Magazine

Malevich is at the Tate Modern, London until 26 October 2014.

Abstract Artists In Their Own Words, BBC Four

The focus is on artists speaking about their art - complemented by contributions from both experts and admirers of abstract art. This is a film which includes archive footage of:
  • a landmark 1961 BBC film profiling Barbara Hepworth
  • an episode of Arena in which the painter John Hoyland works on an entire painting over the course of six days.
  • a Nationwide film in which Anthony Caro discusses his work with a group of students who have been mistakenly using a sculpture as a bike rack.
  • Plus new interviews with leading contemporary abstract painters - Howard Hodgkin, Gillian Ayres and Fiona Rae.
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Thursday, August 28, 2014

My frames have arrived - I'm waxing tonight!

Sitting on my floor, in masses of bubble wrap and cling film, are seven bespoke tulip wood frames and mounts for the drawing for my upcoming exhibition. Yesterday they left Picture Frames of Shaftesbury and this morning they arrived, via ParcelForce, at my home at 11.30am.  Thanks to both companies for getting the delivery to me quickly!

Which means I'll be having a quiet wax this evening as the wood is unfinished and I like to wax my own frames. I was going to put a wash on them but I really like the tulip wood colour so I think I'll leave them "as is"

Two of the seven tulip wood bespoke frames with hayseed mounts by Pictureframes.co.uk

I went for the tulip wood because it was the most neutral colour and also because that then makes it most receptive to a thin paint finish if that's what I decided to go for. I'm quite partial to a thin paint being rubbed into wood to provide a hint of colour. I'm also very partial to very neutral tones of paint with names like "bone" and "corset"!

I chose to use the Hayseed mount which again is a very neutral colour - neither stark white nor cream, more along the lines of an understated ivory with laid finish (like Ingres paper).

Renaissance wax tubI'll be writing more about the frames once they're unpacked, the images have been inserted and the D rings attached!

You can find out more about the wax I'll be using on the wood frames this evening on Making A Mark Reviews - see Product Review - Renaissance micro-crystalline wax polish.
Summary: A refined wax polish designed and formulated by the British Museum for the long term conservation and protection of museum exhibits. This product is now a universally respected standard conservation material because of its high quality and wide scope for use.

Other posts about frames and framing

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Angie Lewin and the making of 'Nature Table' (video)

Angie Lewin's website
As many people know I'm besotted with the portrayal of trees, plants and flowers in art - and I'm also eclectic in my tastes as to the way in which they are portrayed.

One artist whose drawings and paintings of plants has been catching my eye on a very regular basis in the past few years is Angie Lewin. 

Her delightful graphic artwork and designs are probably familiar to many given that her designs for greetings cards can be found in many retailers across the UK
Inspired by both the cliff tops and salt marshes of the North Norfolk coast and the Scottish Highlands, I depict these contrasting environments and their native flora in wood engraving, linocut, silkscreen, lithograph and collage. These landscapes are often glimpsed through intricately detailed plant forms.
Angie Lewin - about my work
She's an elected member of:
To me she's a really excellent example of an artist who has managed to combine her fine art painting and printmaking with commission work for clients and a commercial process for monetising her art - via printmaking for wallpaper, fabrics, cushion covers, greeting cards, notecards and notebooks.

Angie Lewin is also a hard worker as is evident from her website links to her prodigious output in terms of:

Fine Art

Commercial applications

Below is a video by St Jude's Prints (founded by Simon and Angie Lewin in 2005) of the process Angie Lewin uses to:
  • collect objects for her artwork - with tough boots, a backpack and a very big sketchbook being important parts of her toolkit when working plein air
  • create arrangements in her "to die for" studio (want, want want!)
  • the process of cutting and creating a lino print



Current and upcoming exhibitions 

  • Until 31st August 2014 - Towner - Eastbourne - as part of 'Designing The Everyday' Find out more
  • Until 31st August 2014 - Scampston Hall - Yorkshire - with Mark Hearld and Emily Sutton
  • October 2014 - Cambridge Contemporary Arts - Cambridge
  • May 2015 - The Scottish Gallery - Edinburgh - a solo exhibition of my watercolours
  • Summer 2015 - Sarah Wiseman Gallery - Oxford
You can also see her prints at the following galleries
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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

POLL: Photography in Art Galleries and Museums

There's been a lot of discussion about the photography of art in art galleries of late. However today you've got an opportunity to express your views.

Tourists photographing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, in Paris
This is a POLL to identify what people think about photography in art galleries.
  • You can vote up to three times to express your views (but be sure to choose all three options at the same time as you can only press the vote button once)
  • the poll closes at midday in a week's time
  • please also leave a comment about what you think
I'm also going to write a longer piece about this at some stage as the issue is quite complex. Your views will inform that post.

[NOTE: Some people have commented that they are unable to click the Vote button - although it's obviously working for other people as votes are accumulating. This may be because they voted once - and pressed the button - and can't vote again for their other two choices because of the IP and cookie block on repeat voting]


on 9 comments:

Monday, August 25, 2014

'Making A Mark' passes 6 million pageviews - and resource move begins

On Saturday, Making A Mark notched up 6 million pageviews, since Blogger started counting in 2008.

What's even more amazing to me is that the last million pageviews have been achieved in just over seven months.

six million pageviews - spotted in the middle of Saturday afternoon
the redline marks the Blogger statistics
I little realised with I started this blog at the end of 2005, prior to going public in January 2006, that it would generate quite so much traffic!

My art and artists resources websites are on the move


Saturday was special in another way. At 1pm the editing function on Squidoo was switched off for the last time as the site begins to close down and those sites which have not been deleted begin their transfer to HubPages.

This is the URL of my account and subdomain http://makingamark.hubpages.com if you want ONE bookmark for access to all my art sites in future.

I now have to wait for my sites to start moving over - and this move may well start at some point this week as my account should be part of the early transfers.  However that assumes they iron out all the niggles and bugs associated with the transfer quickly.  It may well be that they won't start transferring until next week.

A redirect will be put in place so if you have of them bookmarked then you'll find you are automatically taken to the new site - on my Hub Pages subdomain (see above for the URL).  I'm not too clear how long this redirect works for so probably best to change the bookmark on your first visit.


This week

This week I am focusing on getting three drawings finished for Florum - a botanical art exhibition by leading botanical artists in Kent next month.

For that reason I'm going to be posting quickie posts this week which will feature collections of some of the resource websites which are moving.

Mainly because I think many of the new readers won't be aware of them! :)


on 1 comment:

Saturday, August 23, 2014

How pencils are made

This is a very informative video about how pencils are made today made by Derwent Pencils. It tells the story of how pencils came to be made in the Lake District - in Cumbria - where Derwent (also known as the Cumberland Pencil Company) and the Cumberberland Pencil Museum are located.



This is a link to the history of pencil making in Cumbria on the museum website.

Note the reference to "Lakeland". My very first set of coloured pencils were Lakeland Pencils by the Cumberland Pencil Company - and I've still got them!

You can follow Derwent and the Pencil Museum on Facebook where they often have good information about pencils

  • Derwent Pencils - https://www.facebook.com/welovepencils
  • The Pencil Museum https://www.facebook.com/pencilmuseum


[PS For those wondering what's happened to Making A Mark - I'm sorting out 150+ websites prior to a major transfer to a new site and the edit button on the dashboard is turned off by the host at 1pm this afternoon.  Just a bit busy right now!]
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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

ING Discerning Eye 2014 - Call for Entries

The call has gone out for the 2014 ING Discerning Eye art competition. 

Unfortunately it came out in July round about the time I was rushed off to hospital followed by enforced break and the last stages of my involvement with final proofs of my book. So there hasn't been a post on this blog until now!  This post seeks to remedy this - especially given the fact the deadline for entries fast approaches - 6th September 2014


Image from the Entry leaflet for the ING Discerning Eye 2014
Below you can find:
  • information about the exhibition - and the percentage of works which come from the open entry
  • a note about the judges - with links to websites
  • a summary of information about prizes
  • a summary of the information for artists e.g.  who can enter what etc.
  • information about the deadlines and dates and where to find information about regional collection points
  • links to websites and my blog posts showing images of the art selected and hung in past exhibitions for those unfamiliar with this art competition.

The competition is sponsored by ING Commercial Banking.

ING Discerning Eye 2014 - selection, exhibition and prizes


The first thing to say is that this competition generally enjoys a good reputation. It's getting better at providing relevant information for artists.

The percentage of the works exhibited which came from the open entry has been opaque in the past but this seems to have been addressed this year. I've been campaigning for some time for the percentage of works which come from the open exhibition to be made more explicit. This year the website states
Last year about 40% of the nearly 500 works exhibited were from the open submission.
This equates to c. 200 works from the open entry.

The exhibition is unusual due to the nature of the competition.
  • The focus is on small works. 
  • There are six selectors, each of which curates a small exhibition of a collection of work they like. This then creates a large exhibition made up of six smaller exhibitions which reflect the interests and tastes of the individual selectors.

Sometimes the exhibition is very eclectic. Sometimes it is really interesting - it all depends on who the selectors are, what their tastes are and how enthusiastic they are about putting on an exhibition.
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Monday, August 18, 2014

BP Portrait Award 2015 entry goes digital

It could only be a matter of time before the BP Portrait Award switched to digital entries - and so it has come to pass. Next year, in 2015, the entry process for this very prestigious and world renowned portrait competition will be digital.

Main Entrance to the National Portrait Gallery
Banners for the BP Portrait Award either side of entrance

I applaud the move. It makes such a huge contribution to cutting the expense of entry for artists living outside London - both in the UK and overseas.

In all the art competitions where I have seen this happen, I've subsequently seen many more selected artists coming from places at some distance from London - notably from Scotland.

It also tends to increase the number of entries so competition becomes even more fierce!

The RA's Summer Exhibition switched to digital entry last year and I haven't heard any squeaks or rumbles following on from that change so there's every reason to expect that the switch to digital for the BP Portrait will work as well - so long as you get your photography sorted of which more below in
  • the importance of an excellent digital image; and 
  • how to produce a digital image for an open art competition.

Notification of the change


This is the letter which Sandy Nairne, the Director of the National Portrait Gallery has mailed today to all those signed up to the mailing list for information about the competition in 2015.

Dear Artist,

I wanted to update you on some recent changes that are taking place to the BP Portrait Award. Next year’s competition will have a new entry procedure which will mean that artists should submit a digital image of their work for the first stage of judging. The entrants who are successful in this round will then be invited to hand-deliver or courier their work to a judging venue in London for the final selection.

This is an exciting time for the BP Portrait Award and we hope that by making this change we will ease the entry process for everyone. We are so grateful for the commitment that past entrants have shown towards the prize but we are aware that the process of delivering your portrait can be lengthy and often very expensive. We have listened to your comments over the last few years and we are keen to bring the competition up to date so that we can make it as accessible as possible.

More details will be announced about the actual process of submitting your digital image when the Call For Entries goes live in November later this year. I urge you to look at these details carefully. We will ensure that they are as user friendly as possible in order to make the transition to digital submissions as smooth as possible.

If you do enter I wish you the best of luck for next year’s competition.

Yours sincerely,
Sandy Nairne
Director
National Portrait Gallery

The importance of an excellent digital image


What the letter doesn't highlight - but I will - is the importance of the quality of the digital image.
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Saturday, August 16, 2014

Making A Mark on Art - and the end of Squidoo

Over the last seven years I've created some 160 websites about art (Making A Mark on Art) and artists (About Artists) on Squidoo. Yesterday I had news that Squidoo is closing down. Seth Godin has arranged for my featured sites to be merged with HubPages and the current links to them will become redirects after October.


I don't know if I'm surprised or not - I've been predicting the demise of Squidoo for some considerable time and if anything I'm only surprised it's survived for so long.

I now need to decide how and where I host my content in the future.

That's going to take a bit of time which means I think I need to take a break from blogging to make sure I've got all my content backed up and accessible if I need to move it to a new site within my control.  As you can imagine the notion of putting it on another website where somebody else determines what happens to it has little appeal right now!

I had already started planning what I'd do next. However that planning extended to one topic and I've now got lots to sort in an extremely short space of time.  However the good news is that at least I'm not on holiday unlike some poor souls who will come back to find their options very limited indeed!

My presence on Squidoo started off because I wanted a place to organise and host my bookmarks after a computer crashed and took them all with it!

My main reason for hosting on Squidoo was that it was free and it was very easy to add in new information to modules within my compendiums as time passed.  It was also an excellent way of grouping and clustering different sites on a topic and generally there were lots of good things about it. I often said I wished I could have the software for delivering the site - and use it on my own websites.

I now need to find a new way of delivering my content and this time I'm looking more closely at options for economical and easy ways of doing this on my own sites. Some may well migrate to HubPages but I think it's more than likely that some content will find another space to inhabit.

Any suggestions for good ways of hosting INFORMATION websites which are heavy on content are welcome.  These are ones which have
  • content structured in an orderly way - all on one page
  • plus links to lots of information and advice on other websites.
In the meantime here are links to some of the most popular of my websites - soon to be reinvented in another guise!

1. The Best Books about Drawing and Sketching

Do you want to learn how to draw? Want to find out which are the best books about drawing and sketching? This is a big site designed to help those who want to * LEARN TO DRAW * DEVELOP YOUR DRAWING SKILLS and learn about drawing at an advanced level



2. The Best Watercolour Paint for Artists

Do you want to know about: * which is the best brand of professional grade watercolour paints for artists? * the colour range and characteristics of different brand of artist-quality watercolour paint? Or maybe you want to know what other artists think about different brands of paint


3. Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

Find out about coloured pencils and coloured pencil art and artists. This leading resource has information on every aspect of coloured pencils for everybody - from experienced artists to improvers and beginners wanting to learn all they can about how to work with coloured pencils.


4. How to pack, post and ship art - Resources for Artists [transferred to How to pack, post and ship art]

How do you pack art? How do you post art? How should you send a painting by post? How do you get artwork to an exhibition - and back again? What are the best packing materials? What are the best methods for different types of art? How do you ship art internationally? How should you pack a painting?


5. Pastels - Resources for Artists

For both new and experienced pastel artists - useful information and advice about: artist grade pastel brands | which are the best pastels | how to use pastels - including tips and techniques | pastel artists | pastels in art history




6. Top 10 Art Galleries and Museums in the World

Find out which are the top ten art galleries and museums in the world - based on visitor numbers in 2013 - and how to visit them in person or virtual reality. Find out the answers to: * Which is the top museum in the world - and year after year? * Which is top art gallery in the USA? *


7. How to write an Artist's Statement - Resources for Artists [transferred to the NEW How to write an Artist's Statement]

An Artist's Statement is essential - but lots of artists dread writing a statement about their art! DO YOU NEED HELP? Do you need a statement for an art competition, an exhibition catalogue, a grant proposal or a website - but not know how to express your art in words?



8. The Best Watercolour Painting Instruction Books

Do you need an instruction book about how to paint in watercolour? Do you want to develop your skills in painting with watercolour? Do you want to find out more about watercolour art and artists who use watercolour?



9. How to sign a painting, drawing or fine art print

What's the best way for an artist to sign a painting? Should you date as well as sign a painting? How should you sign a fine art print? How can you identify the genuine signature of an artist? Where can I see artists signatures?



10. Composition and Design for Artists

Do you want to know more about "the rules" of Composition? Or an explanation of the Principles and Elements of Composition and Design? Have you ever tried to make your artwork more pleasing to the eye? Or wanted to know what makes some paintings draw you in?

11. Online Art Galleries and Stores for Artists

Online galleries offer to help you sell your ORIGINAL ART - but do they actually work? Which is the best and which gets the most traffic? This site provides you with lots of information. So - if you're trying to find out more about online art galleries - this is the site for you!



12. How to Price Your Art - Resources for Artists [transferred to the NEW How to Price your Art]

Check out different approaches to "how to price art". Identify costs that need to be recovered, review different pricing models and factors that influence the setting of prices Many artists ask the question "How should I price my art?" - especially emerging artists getting to grips with the art business



13. How to write an Artist's Resume or CV [transferred to the NEW How to write an Artist's Resume or CV]

How do you summarise your life as an artist in a CV or resume for galleries, exhibitions and potential employment? Do you understand the difference between an artist's CV, artist resume and a bio - and how to write them?



14. The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books [transferring to the NEW The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books]

Learn about botanical art and botanical illustration from the best botanical art instruction books, covering every aspect you need to know about. Read reviews about which are the best botanical art instruction books



15. The Best Art Books - Colour

Read the best books for artists and painters about understanding colour, mixing colours and using colour in paintings. * Find out which are the leading art books about colour. * Read associated art book reviews.



16. The Best Art Books - Composition and Design

Find out which are the best art books about composition and design for art students, leisure painters, improving and advanced artists and art teachers. This site is for those who to learn more about: * composition and design in art * how to draw the eye and lead it around your painting.


17. Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists

Check out the suppliers of print on demand ( POD ) services for Art Prints / Art Books & Catalogues. Review what artists think of them & traffic to their sites. Find out about: - what is print on demand / publish on demand? - suppliers of print on demand services for art - and reviews


18. The Best Books about Oil Painting

Do you need an instruction book about how to paint in oils? Want to develop your skills in painting with oils? Are you interested in knowing more about oil painting and oil painters? Find out about art instruction books and books about artists painting in oils



19. Art Supplies Around The World - Resources for Artists

Where are the best art shops? If you're an artist and want art supplies while travelling - where should you go? If you want to know the answers to those questions, bookmark this site as I've started an inventory of links to websites and address and contact details for art suppliers recommended by me


20. The Art Business for Artists [see the NEW website Art Business Info. for Artists]

Do you want to know more about the business side of being an artist? Or maybe you're looking for a particular piece of business information for artists? Whether you are an emerging or experienced artist, this site provides you with a link to information and advice about professional development


on 11 comments:

Friday, August 15, 2014

Who painted this? #61

"Who painted this?" returns following the break while I wrote my book!   

This week we'll start with a painting which is both seasonal and is a painting I've never seen before. However I could tell who the painter was straight away due to a particular attribute of the painting. I'm thinking a fair few will also make the connection - identify the artist - and go hunting for the title.

Who painted this? #61
Don't forget - there are rules to how "Who painted this?" works - and these are detailed in THE RULES for participating in this challenge.

Briefly, in your comment you must tell me ALL of the following:
  1. the title of the artwork
  2. the name of the artist who created this artwork
  3. the date it was created
  4. the media used
  5. where it lives now
  6. how you know all this eg how did you do your search
  7. anything else you can find out about the artwork and/or artist
The Winner is the first identifiable person (i.e. no anonymous guesses) who, in my judgement, is the first person to get to the answer by fair means AND provides the best quality answer in terms of added details about the artwork and artist

Remember also I don't publish the comments until next week's post.

How to participate in "Who painted this? #60"


PLEASE make sure you read the rules before posting a comment - and ONLY POST ON THIS BLOG what you think is the answer.

Click this link to read THE RULES for participating in this challenge (this saves having to copy them out for each post!).

In short:
  • use your brains not software to find the answer - search using words only on a database of images
  • leave your answer as a comment on this blog - do not leave the answer on Facebook!
  • if correct it will not be published until the next post - which provides the answer
  • if wrong it will be published
  • the winner - who gets a mention and a link on/from this blog - is NOT THIS WEEK the first person to give me a completely correct answer for ALL the things I want to know. It's the person who does all this AND provides the BEST answer (see above)

Who Painted This #59 - The Answer


on 10 comments:

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Sophie Ploeg and The Lace Trail - BP Travel Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

Sophie Ploeg's BP Travel Award exhibition 'The Lace Trail" can currently be seen at the National Portrait Gallery in London - until 21 September 2014.  It then tours to Sunderland and Edinburgh in 2014-15.

Sophie Ploeg with part of The Lace Trail
the exhibition for the BP Travel Award 2013
at the National Portrait Gallery - 26 June - 21 September 2014

The exhibition follows on from Sophie winning the BP Travel Award in 2013.  Her exhibition is about Fabric and Lace in Early 17th Century Portraiture - An Interpretation in Paint. To my mind it's a bit of a masterclass in how to portray complex fabrics in portraits - in the past and the present - as well as an academic exercise in understanding something about the art history of the portrayal of lace and how paintings from the past can inspire those of today.

What follows is:
  • a video interview with Sophie Ploeg
  • photographs of Sophie and her models - with their portraits
  • photographs of the exhibition
  • a review of her book - produced as a result of her project.
I'm afraid this post got bumped by the proofing and final stages of my book and then my unexpected admission to hospital. However the book is on its way to the printers and I'm now getting back to blogging more normally, so.......

Sophie Ploeg in front of
She Becomes Her (2013)
oil on linen, 1010 x 660mm

The Lace Trail


As my video interview with Sophie makes clear, winning the BP Travel Award does not actually give you a year to deliver a project.

The paintings all need to be completed and ready to hand in well before the opening of the exhibition.

So a good deal of preparation and planning and being very organised helps enormously when it comes to producing a quality exhibition - in just 8 months!  It's very evident that Sophie was very organised and got all the trips, work and the paintings finished on time - at the same time as being a wife and mother of two young sons!  This was a woman on a mission!

The exhibition


The Lace Trail exhibition forms part of the BP Portrait Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery - if you go to one you will see the other. Sophie's exhibition is near the door and is the section hung on grey walls.

Background to the "The Lace Trail" - some facts


Sophie Ploeg was born and bred in the Netherlands. She came to the UK in 2000 and now lives in the West Country with her husband and two sons. She's a practising professional portrait artist working in oils and pastels (who also paints still life - very often of fabrics) and undertakes portrait and garment commissions.  Her work has been exhibited in the annual exhibitions of a number of national and major regional art societies - including the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Pastel Society.

Note: Having seen a lot of Sophie's work in prestigious exhibitions in recent years I'd highly recommend her for anybody who wants a permanent painted record of a particular fabric or clothing. She's definitely one of the best I know at portraying material and fabrics - which can be so important to the completion of a portrait or sometimes even be a record of a person or event in their own right.

She studied art and architectural history (MA, Ph.D) at Dutch universities. Consequently she came to her project very well versed in the art of research related to her interests!

Her winning proposal outlined a project to explore how fashion and lace was represented in 17th century art, as well as in modern applications.

The project has involved a lot of work besides painting! In pursuing her project she has:
  • visited famous lace-making centres such as Bruges in Belgium and Honiton in Devon
  • met modern lace makers and artists, 
  • viewed antique lace collections in Bruges, Honiton, Bath and Gloucestershire
  • visited 17th century art collections including, amongst others:
    • the National Portrait Gallery, The National Gallery, the Tate Gallery in England, and
    • the Rijksmuseum and the Frans Hals Museum in The Netherlands
  • spent 8 months reading around the subject and undertaking a significant amount of research about art history and the history of lace.
  • produced 10 paintings in total as a result of her project - of which seven are on display in the exhibition.
  • written a book - The Lace Trail

A lot of information about the project is also available on a sub-domain of her website - http://www.lacetrail.sophieploeg.com. For example you can:
  • read about her adventure in lace on her blog and her website (see research 1 and research 2)
  • see A Year in Pictures - a slideshow of photos taken during the course of her travels and work



Video interview with Sophie Ploeg

I interviewed Sophie prior to the opening of the exhibition to the public and she provided a splendid account of what it's like winning the award and the work involved to deliver the exhibition - and a book to accompany it.



The Four Ages of Women


 What I found very pleasing is that all of her portraits were of women. Sophie's portraits also provide a contemporary twist on the early 17th century portraiture she studied in museums across the UK and the Netherlands.  I found myself guessing which portrait paintings had inspired her!

Sophie and her models


Another layer to the portraits completed are the portraits which inspired Sophie's portraits.
I wanted to honour these women (in the 17th century paintings) and the lace in my portraits. Although the sitters were often rich and famous they were still just women, like me and perhaps you, with their own feelings and taste. Their beautiful portraits inspired me to create portraits of women today: 21st century women. I have created four portraits that each represents a phase in our life, four generations of women. he women are not related in any way, except they share many things with us and the women of 400 years ago.
Below you can see Sophie's portrait painting and her models for her series The Four Ages of Women.

The Four Ages of Woman - a series of four paintings
oil on linen, 50 x 60cm
This series portrays modern 21st century women at various stages of their lives
Their portraits portray them wearing an authentic piece of early 17th century lace, as often seen in 17th century portraits.
(top left) The Lacemaker
(Top right) A Fine Thread
(Bottom left) Repeating Patterns
(bottom right) The Pearl Necklace

The models were told to wear what they liked and then Sophie added an original piece of antique lace - acting as a remnant and echo of the past.  She took as inspiration one or more of the paintings she had identified during her research.

The four paintings are:

Other paintings


Three more paintings are in the exhibition. These are:
  • Pleating Time - I think this is one of my favourites, Sophie had to learn how to produce a ruff to paint this self-portrait
  • She Becomes Her - Another favourite - partly because of the face but also because of the spectacularly good painting of the fabric
  • The Handkerchief Girl - this is a play on the recurring motif of a handkerchief in 17th century portraits
Pleating Time by Sophie Ploeg (2013)
oil on linen, 400 x 600mm

The Tour


After the exhibition finishes in London it will then tour to
  • Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens - 4 October – 16 November 2014 - twmuseums.org.uk
  • The Scottish National Portrait Gallery - 28 November – 12 April 2015 - nationalgalleries.org

Prints and Book


Cover of 'The Lace Trail' book
The Book 'The Lace Trail contains details of Sophie's findings about
  • early 17th century portraiture in England and The Netherlands, 
  • the history of early lace, 
  • styles of painting lace
  • the background story to her paintings and 
  • a catalogue section with all 10 paintings.
It includes lots of interesting detail - including details of Sophie's assessment of how past artists such as Rembrandt, Franz Hals and William Larkin painted lace.

You can buy a signed copy of the book direct from Sophie

Alternatively you can order her book and/or prints of the portraits from the National Portrait Gallery online shop or buy them in the shops within the Gallery.

Follow Sophie Ploeg


If you'd like to follow Sophie here are the links to her website and various social media sites:

More about the BP Travel Award


The BP Travel Award 2013 was judged by:
  • Sarah Howgate, Contemporary Curator, National Portrait Gallery, 
  • Liz Rideal, Art Resource Developer, National Portrait Gallery, and 
  • Des Violaris, Director, UK Arts and Culture, BP.
My blog post year about Sophie winning the award contained Tips for Travel Award Applicants

See also my previous BP Travel Award posts on this blog
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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The Secret of Drawing

In 2005, the history of drawing was explored by Andrew Graham Dixon in a four part series called The Secret of Drawing.



That series of programmes are now on YouTube.  I'm not sure how they got there - but they're certainly worth taking a look at. It's just such a pity that the website for the series does not include links to the videos within its archive of the programmes - because it should!  There are far too few arts programmes on television and the archive is really important.

Do also take a look at the website for each programme as this makes suggestions for ways of following up on the topics covered by each video

Below are the videos of the four programmes in the series. The scope of the series reminds me a lot of 'Drawing towards Enquiry' - a series of lectures I attended at the National Gallery in 2006, given by Professor Deanna Petherbridge - in the run-up to the publication of her book The Primacy of Drawing: Histories & Theories of Practice. 

The Line of Enquiry

Andrew looks at artists who have chosen the natural world as their subject matter and explores how drawing has helped man to understand his place in the universe. The programme covers the Rennaissance, the Eastern way, Turner, Constable and contemporary artists Anthony Gormley and Richard Long.


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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Selected Artists - Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2014

93 works by 73 artists from across the UK have been selected for the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2014. The first prize is £10,000 and the exhibition opens at the Mall Galleries on 15th September 2014.

Below you can find a list of the names of the artists together with links to their websites where these could be found.  Any errors please let me know (see side column for how to contact me).
  • Bill Aldridge - founder of Drawing London
  • Delia Baillie - a watercolour artist based in Dundee
  • Alberta Bamonte - an Italian artist who has lived in the UK since 1984. An interesting website - I think her work might be printing with water-based inks
  • Guy Beggs - mostly works in oil on his website
  • Varsha Bhatia - a watercolour artist specialising in very precise architectural paintings. Previously selected for the STWC. The work selected for the exhibition is a painting of Westminster Abbey in ink.
  • Akash Bhatt - works in a variety of media; a previous prizewinner in this competition
  • Patricia Bray -  aScottish artist; I'm not sure if this is the correct website but it looks more likely than not
  • Isobel Brigham - an example of how you can have just one page and say quite a lot about your art just using images.
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Saturday, August 09, 2014

Scott Krohn wins CPSA's 22nd International Exhibition

This is an interview with American coloured pencil artist Scott Krohn who has won the top prize at the 22nd International Exhibition of the Colored Pencil Society of America. 

More details after the interview - which includes images of the work in progress - about
Winner of the CIPPY Award & CPSA Best of Show $5000
"Stone Faced; Self Portrait" by Scott Krohn
25 x 19 inches, Prismacolors on Mi Tientes paper
The exhibition can currently be seen at The Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens until 25th August 2014.

An Interview with Scott Krohn


Scott Krohn is a coloured pencil artist living in Minnesota.  I wanted to interview him because his artwork drew a spontaneous and vocalised expression of my appreciation as soon as I saw it online - and that doesn't happen a lot!

Fortunately Scott was very happen to answer my questions!  He's also provided me with some pics of this drawing as a work in progress and these intersperse the answers to my questions.
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Thursday, August 07, 2014

Companies who can resize your website for different screen sizes

Below you will find a list of companies that Google is highlighting as approved multi-screen vendors.

By dw capital GmbH [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0
or CC-BY-SA-3.0-de], via Wikimedia Commons
That means website hosts that can handle websites which need to resize to be seen across multiple and different sized screens. In other words - these are the screens found on all the devices people now use to view the internet!
a list of recommended vendors that can help you optimise your business’s website for seamless functionality across all devices.
Please note I've stripped out all the google code re. their promotion of these sites. The notice at the end comes from the page where I found this list.

The thing is - it's very difficult right now to tell which companies are good at helping people with developing websites (and images) which automatically resize depending on the screen they are viewed through - and companies who say they can but who are coming late to the party and still have some catching up to do!  I'm all in favour of any list of companies which reputable parties are prepared to recommend as 'approved'.

Your comments and/or reviews/recommendations on any of the companies listed below are most welcome whether you are a fan or not.
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Art Online: How tech savvy are you?

Do you need to be tech savvy as an artist?

I'm delivering a workshop tomorrow about how to get your art online. One of the first issues I'm addressing is how "tech savvy" people are - helped by OFCOM's new research report on how Techie teens are shaping communications

Critical issues relating to getting their art online for many artists include:
  • how familiar they are with technology and associated software
  • how confident they are that they can understand and use them properly
In other words a lot of the practical issues relate to how tech savvy they are!  My workshop will be looking at ways to improve how tech savvy you are.

Testing your digital quotient 

Did you know your digital quotient can be measured? This is a technical term for how tech savvy you are.

Did you know that:
  • 6-7 year olds have an average DQ (digital quotient) score of 98 (if exposed to new technology and its uses), 
  • 45 and 49 year olds score an average of 96. (Think about it and reread the first bullet point!)
  • Digital understanding peaks in those aged 14-15 years-old. On average their DQ is 113. 
  • Being tech savvy falls off with age after 15 and after age 45 it is below average.
  • more than 60% of people aged 55 and over have a below average 'DQ' score
However this is all to do with the amount of technology we are exposed to, how frequently we use it ("use it or lose it"), how hard we try to understand it and the amount of help we get with using it.

Which is how I explain my tech savvy score of 117 - see my score result below - and I'm having a major birthday later this year and am already drawing a pension!

You too can get your tech savvy score using an abbreviated version of the OFCOM Digital Quotient questionnaire

My Tech savvy score using an abbreviated version of the questionnaire
Being tech savvy and communicating effectively as an artist (e.g. having an effective website and presence on social media) doesn't "just happen" if you are no longer in your teens and twenties.  You can devise strategies to improve how tech savvy you are.

My personal view is that I only got a relatively high tech savvy score by working away at understanding new technology and what it can do - and using the resources made available by people (often online) which help me to learn.

So three questions:
  • How tech savvy are you?  (I dare you to share your score!)
  • Is your score better or worse than the average for your age?
  • What are YOUR effective strategies for improving how tech savvy you are?
More about this on this blog in the coming months..........

Incidentally I highly recommend a read of the OFCOM report if you want to see into the future in terms of how communication within the art market will change. I'll also come back to this in a future blog post.

Link: View Ofcom’s 2014 Communications Market Report
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Wednesday, August 06, 2014

Bruegel to Freud - Prints from the Courtauld Gallery

Dr Rachel Sloan, the Curator of the Bruegel to Freud - Prints from the Courtauld Gallery - the summer showcase exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery is giving a talk tonight which I'm not going to be able to attend. However here she is introducing the exhibition which spans 500 years of printmaking and including works by Mantegna, Bruegel, Canaletto, Picasso, Matisse and Freud.

I've got to put this on my list of exhibitions I've not yet got to see due to writing/proofing/finishing the book.  (Today was final, final proofs and it's now going to print)



Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
The Jockey, 1899
Lithograph, 51.6 x 36.3 cm
The Courtauld Gallery, London
The Courtauld Gallery houses one of the most significant collections of works on paper in Britain. It includes works from the Renaissance to the 21st century:
  • approximately 7,000 drawings and watercolours 
  • 20,000 prints.
For those who are interested in works on paper, the collection is also available to view in the Drawings & Prints Study Room - by appointment.
  • These are Drawing Highlights. The works cannot be on permanent exhibition due to their sensitivity to light. The narrative categorises them by century. Click each image to see it more clearly and find out more about it on its own individual web page 
  • These are the Print Highlights. The collection offers the opportunity to budding art historians and those interested in printmaking to study a wide range of printmaking processes. 
  • This link provides information about who The Collectors are
  • Visit the Study Room - between 1.30pm and 4pm on Wednesdays the Study Room is open on a drop-in basis and no appointment is needed
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