Looking back at what worked in the art world in 2020

This has to have been one of the most stressful years for artists ever - and yet within that we have seen some remarkable achievements by artists.

In this post I'm going to try and highlight some of what I saw and heard about in 2020 which helped artists keep going....

• Artists Support Pledge
• Portraits for NHS Heroes
• The Art Teachers who learned fast how to deliver art lessons online
• Art Marketing and Website Makeovers
• The Virtual Online Art Exhibitions and Tours
• The Virtual / Online Conferences for Artists
• Online Resources
• My Contribution

Let's all remember going forward that we are not at the end - even with approved vaccines - and it's going to be a long time before things get back to normal. 

So we need even more innovation and endeavour and hard work in 2021 - but if what I've seen in 2020 is anything to go by, there's lots of artists who are up for that!

Artist Support Pledge #artistsupportpledge

Artist Support Pledge - the gifted keep giving

Matthew Burrows started the Artist Support Pledge on on the 16th March 2020 in response to the COVID19 pandemic.

I wrote about it in The Artist Support Pledge in May 2020.  Some artists have been regularly selling small works online all through the pandemic. More than a few professional artists have told me they've had more sales and generated more income this year than in some 'normal' years in the past.

Matthew Burrows was awarded with 

• an MBE in the Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours List - for services to the arts during the Covid-19 response

• Personality of the Year in the Apollo Awards 2020

The online selling platform helping artists make a living now has more than 69,000 followers, has produced 447,000 posts and generated around £70m in sales. Burrows, Apollo’s Personality of the Year, was subsequently made an MBE in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours – and his no-frills initiative has been hailed as a lifeline for artists struggling in the wake of Covid-19. Personality of the Year | Apollo Magazine (19 November 2020)

In 2021 I'm going to pledge to do one post a week which will highlight the artwork of at least five artists whose work is posted for sale for £200 or less with the #artistsupportpledge.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all used other platforms to highlight the works of art that we liked - and continue to help those whose incomes have been decimated due to the lack of exhibitions.

Portraits for NHS Heroes #portraitsfornhsheroes

VIDEO: Royal Academy Winter / Summer Exhibition 2020

If you are NOT optimistic about:

• the Summer Exhibition 2020 (in the Winter) Exhibition (6 October 2020 — 3 January 2021) at the Royal Academy of Arts reopening before it closes (given the new variant constraints / Tier 4 etc)
• and/or getting to London even if it does - given what's happening where you are
• and/or you're sticking to a policy of an abundance of caution (that's me)
• AND have got the odd 55 minutes to spare.....

why not view the exhibition via this Virtual Tour Video made by the Royal Academy of Arts

For the first time in history, the Summer Exhibition will fall in winter. But at the RA, summer is a state of mind, not a time of year. Discover a myriad of works by household names and emerging artists inside our joyous festival of art.

#SummerNotSummer

How to view individual works and buy art

These are links to:

• individual artworks in the Summer / Winter Exhibition 2020
• portraits
• animals
• nature
• prints
• photography
• monochrome
• you can also browse and buy online
• under £250
• under £500

Previous posts about the RA Summer Exhibitions

PAOTY Commission: Curtis Holder draws Carlos Acosta

I thought the Commission programme at the end of the latest series of Portrait Artist of the Year (Episode 11) was one of the most interesting I've ever seen in terms of:

• watching the process used by the artist in developing material to work from for the Commission
• the level of engagement between the subject (the dancer Carlos Acosta) and the artist (Curtis Holder)  and 
• the developing understanding by both of how the other creates.
• the nature of the artwork generated by the process

It was a delight to watch - and it led to a very sensitive drawing of the celebrated ballet dancer. 

I thought personally thought that it was a brilliant drawing - and I say that speaking as somebody who has used coloured pencils a lot for artwork and also overlaid drawings from life to suggest movement in the past - but my efforts are nowhere near as impressive as those of Curtis Holder! 

Carlos Acosta by Curtis Holder
(courtesy of Curis Holder)

Born in Havana, the youngest of 11 children in an impoverished family, Acosta went on to train at the National Ballet School of Cuba, winning the prestigious Prix de Lausanne at the age of 16, before enjoying a celebrated 30-year career in dance with many of the world’s leading ballet companies. He was a Principal with the Royal Ballet for 17 years and danced all the major classical, and many contemporary roles. He is considered by many to be the greatest male dancer of his generation and, indeed, one of the greatest dancers of all time.

The Commission was for the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery - because Carlos Acosta took up his new appointment as Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January 2020.

Kathleen Soriano, one of the Judges, explains below that the briar rose references (flowers, petals, leaves and winding stems) in the lower half of the drawing relate to:

• Pre Raphaelite drawings in BMAG’s collection 
• Carlos’s performance in Sleeping Beauty.

Birmingham Museums Trust holds the most important collection of Pre-Raphaelite art anywhere in the world. Birmingham's collection has over 3000 paintings, drawings, prints and examples of decorative art and design. The Pre Raphaelites | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kathleen Soriano (@kathleen.soriano)

Of course the prize for winning the series is a £10,000 Commission - see Curtis Holder wins Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 7 Autumn 2020) - but to my mind the real prize, if that commission is successful, is the profile it gives the artist in the world of portrait commissions and the scope to do many, many more in future.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: I recommend anybody who has not yet seen the programme to try and view it as it is highly educational in terms of Curtis's particular approach to developing the commission. This focuses very much on 

• a psychological understanding of the subject 
• the exploration of different ways of portraying him.
• rapid drawings which are just amazing to watch
• longer drawings - also from life - which were excellent
• exploration of movement - essential to any portrait of a dancer - and also of associated motifs which might be appropriate.
• finally the process back home in his studio of using all the material collected and selecting and editing to create a coherent whole.

Curtis is also very obviously somebody who is very attuned to other creative people - which was very evident during the series in the way in which he would get down on the floor near the sitter and talk to them as he worked his way through his preliminary drawings.

Below are some of the comments I received when I posted a link to the above instagram post on my Facebook Page

What a fantastic programme it was of Curtis’s journey carrying out his winning commission! Felcity Flutter

Was fascinating seeing the sketches and interactions that led up to this amazing drawing! Rona McLean

There are more on Kathleen Soriano's Instagram post which are equally complimentary about the process, programme and commission. One commented 

What a beautiful connection between artist and sitter. Love the fact that drawing skills aren’t overshadowed and are recognised as the fundamental basis for all painting

I also received a delightful email from Curtis after I wrote to him - plus a copy of the image at the top of this post.  It included a comment about the whole process.

The whole Portrait Artist of the Year experience has been a bit of a whirlwind – but a very welcome one. I still can’t quite believe it’s all happened, but I’m trying my best to go with the flow. Drawing Carlos was a once in lifetime opportunity – he was such a lovely, thoughtful guy and of course an amazing artist. I think I was very lucky that he was the subject of the commission.

 I also now have an endorsement! :) 

"I regularly read and enjoy your blog, including your analysis of this series which has been so insightful and draws a helpful picture for your readers".

Plus I've put him in contact with Derwent (he was using Derwent Procolour Pencils in the Final - which are excellent pencils that I also like a lot), so hopefully we may continue to see some more of him and his coloured pencil drawings.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

I was also blown away by the quality of the collection of artwork to be found at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery which includes some very impressive works. 

It's definitely going on my "must visit" list of art galleries for after the ankle has been fused and I can do longer trips again.

Interested in participating next year?

This is my post about the Call for Entries: Portrait Artist of the Year 2020 (Season 8)

• Entries close at at midday on Friday 29th January 2021.
• So now you know how to spend your spare time at Christmas....... 
• READ ON if interested.....

More Learning Points re. Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year

A List of Virtual Art Galleries & Museums #1 - in the UK

If you've been clicking your way through Google Trends (I aced it on the quizzes!) you'll have seen this.....

Virtual Museum was the top trending search in relation to virtual activity

"Virtual Museum" hurtled up the search query rankings to become a TOP TREND in 2020 for virtual activities

So I thought I'd make a list of Virtual Museums - for your delectation over the Covid / Christmas Break (take your pick - says woman sat in a 'Deep Purple' zone in Tier 4 London - who's going absolutely nowhere in the foreseeable future).

Here's some of the things I've learned through this process:

• some art galleries and museums are using the word "virtual" to rechristen their existing offering on the website. Doubtless after they realise that "virtual museum" was a search query which was hitting new heights during Covid. 
• I'm looking for either:
• pre-existing and genuine virtual tours (i.e. you get to decide where you go and what you look at)
• new initiatives aimed at making art galleries and museums more accessible via virtual tours.
• The process also told me which art galleries and museum 
• really think hard about "virtual" from the perspective of the viewer i.e. we want to decide where we go and what we do - just as we do when we visit for real
• have an online marketing team which does NOT look at trends in search queries - and 
• which have not used the downtime associated with museums being closed to get virtual tours started properly!

Initially I'm going to divide the listing into three posts covering museums and art galleries in different geographical area i.e. 

1. the United Kingdom
2. Europe
• France
• Italy
• Spain
3. the USA

However if you like these posts, I'll do more!  Plus these are posts I can come back to and add in more art galleries and museums with virtual tours - and I'll do an update post to tell you what's been added when I do.

Finally - this is very much a work in progress - broken off initially today because I need to make dinner - but I will return!

A List of Virtual Museums

This list of art galleries and museums is ordered on the basis of which museums I found had invested and produced the best results. 

• I'm starting today with London - but will add in more museums from elsewhere in the UK later - within a regional context
• Suggestions of Virtual Tours you know about elsewhere in the UK to me on my Facebook Page
  
  

LONDON

British Museum

The British Museum has some unusual ways of viewing its collection online.

Art and Brexit #4 - all change as from 1 January 2021

There's 11 days left.....

• Have you prepared for Brexit? Or just put your head in the sand and hoped it would go away?
• Do you know what changes will happen? Or are you just hoping most of it stays the same?
• Have you read the official guidance? Or do you not like grappling with officialese and are waiting for somebody else to tell you what to do?

Frankly, I'm assuming most artists - including those who buy goods made in the EU and those who export permanently or temporarily to the EU - have not quite got their heads around Brexit yet....

This is a bit of a memory jogger about where we've come from and  a prompt re. what the future looks like from an art business perspective. 

Brexit Guidance for Art and Artists
- web page on my Art Business Info for Artists website

Frankly - who knows what's going to happen on 1 January 2021!!

it would appear at the moment that on the 1 January there will still be a "no deal" situation. However there is also thinking that there might be a deal in the New Year.
My bet is they will extend the time for negotiations because of all the hassle and distractions associated with Covid-19.

Whatever.....

Brexit on Making A Mark

Here's a list of my Brexit posts to date:

• What does it mean for UK and EU Art Students and Schools? (2016)
• Brexit #1: Do or Die? (September 2019) - includes some thoughts and reflections about what makes a difference when the going gets tough
• Brexit #2: The Pre-Election Update (November 2019) - especially relevant to
• all those who trade outside the UK
• all those who are not living in their country of birth.
• (Brexit #3) Artists and the Brexit Transition (July 2020) - highlighting my new webpage and the blog post below

Brexit on "Art Business Info for Artists"

• Brexit Transition Info. for Artists (July 2020) - highlighting my new webpage.....
• Brexit Guidance for Art and Artists This webpage covers what we know to date about:

• Likely areas of impact
• Official Government Guidance
• Trade, Customs, Tariff Codes, Tax and documentation for import / export / shipping
• Changes to VAT Rules
• Import and export of art - sales
• Import and export of art - for exhibition only
• Travel
• Settlement - for both UK and EU citizens
• Official Guidance for Art Organisations
• Copyright and intellectual property rights

Do let me know if there is anything specific you want to know which you can't find on my page. I might well develop an FAQs page for artists - but only if there is demand.

Official Government publications

• The art market sector from January 2021 (published 4 November 2020) by Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. Its contents cover:
• Your employees
• Your data
• Visiting Europe
• Your organisation and services
• Movement of goods

• EU Exit: Transition Period Guide published by the Arts Council (last updated in September 2020) 
• Guidance: Exporting or importing objects of cultural interest from 1 January 2021 | Gov UK - What you need to know and do to export or import objects of cultural interest from 1 January 2021.

Recent articles about art and Brexit

There's been quite a few articles in the last couple of weeks as the art press remember it's all change come the end of the year!

• The art trade benefits from the UK's low import duty. What will happen to it after Brexit? | The Art Newspaper - As talks with the EU resume to reach a last-ditch trade deal, the lawyer Louise Williamson looks at what UK import rules might look like after 1 January
• How can UK art businesses prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period? | Apollo - written by a lawyer

Michael Gove said on 1 December that ‘A lot of what businesses need to do is the same whether or not we get a free trade agreement or not. There’s no harm in doing these things because they’ll be necessary come what may.’

......and finally

PS Have all of you who use art materials made in Europe stocked up?

Curtis Holder wins Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 7 Autumn 2020)

Last night. Curtis Holder won the FINAL of Portrait Artist of the Year (Autumn 2020)

The title of this art competition is Portrait ARTIST of the Year - not Portrait Painter - and there's a reason for that. It allows those who are great at drawing to also win.

Portfolio of portrait drawings produced by Custis Holder for
Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2020 (Autumn)

This post contains

• Profile of the Artists and Sitter
• Observations on the Finals Process
• Decision Making
• Where to read more if you're interested in applying in future years
• Call for Entries for PAOTY 2021
• Learning Points re. Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year

I'll post my post about the Commission in the next few days. The Prize for winning the competition is a £10,000 commission. This year the commission was to paint Carlos d'Acosta for the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. So a not insignificant prize and a not insignificant sitter to paint for posterity.

The Three Finalists - and the sitter

The three Finalists were 

• Curtis Holder Website | Instagram (Episode 7) 
• Sally Ward Website | Instagram (Episode 3) 
• Alvin 'Kofi' Ferris Website | Facebook | Instagram (Episode 5)

You can read mini profiles of each artist in the link to my review of the Episode which they won - plus a little bit more below.

Sally, Curtis and Kofi

Judges comments on the artists in the final - and what they wanted to see

"any of these artists would be a really worthy winner"

"three very different personalities but their personalities are so counter to (competing/winning) that it's going to be very interesting"

"they need to raise their game and use us something new and fresh" 

Review: Semi-Final of Portrait Artist of the Year - Autumn 2020

Tonight is the Final of Portrait Artist of the Year and this is my review of last week's Semi Final (Autumn 2020) and a prediction of who I think will win.

The first Semi Final of Portrait Artist of the Year in 2020 actually took place on 30th April 2019 (I was there and took lots of photos).

By way of contrast, the Semi Final for Series 7  Portrait Artist of the Year took place this summer - in pandemic approved circumstances with no audience - and was broadcast last Wednesday. 

Arriving at the semi-final

So here's the review. It covers:

• Some preliminary conclusions - which inform the result
• The competition intensifies
• The set up does NOT HELP!
• The Semi-finalists
• The Sitter
• Observations about the Semi-Final (the reality and the programme)
• anyone's day
• painting as a product of experience
• Making A Decision
• What Bernardine Evaristo liked
• What the judges liked and disliked
• The Finalists
• What I liked

Some preliminary conclusions - which inform the result

Before I start, I'll tell you my some of my main conclusions from all the Semi Finals I've watched so far.

The competition intensifies

It's very nerve-wracking for some of the artists. 

• Whereas in Heats it was obvious there was a range of experience and skills - in the semi-final the theory is that they are all "on a par" - which means it's even more competitive and some people do not perform their best under pressure
• Those who are relaxed and keep their cool seem to do better than those who allow the process to impact on them
• Those who are more experienced should do better - but this is not always the case. 
• Sometimes those with least to lose do very well.

The set-up does NOT HELP!

In the Heats, there are three artists for every sitter and while they are further away than they would be if painting a sitter in their own studio it's not dissimilar to the distances seen in life class between sitter and artists.

When it comes to the semi-final, this all changes. 

Just look at the distance between the easels and the chair for the sitter!!!

• It's one sitter and eight artists arranged in a flattish semicircle around the sitter.  It's very much the case that some have better views than others i.e. profile only.
• Plus there is a HUGE distance between sitter and artists 
• AND it's much easier to see what other artists are producing when entering and exiting at breaks - which can be quite unsettling!
• AND there is a designed background - of hanging books and fairy lights - which the Judges make clear to the cameras they'd like to see in the paintings. (Meanwhile most of the artists are just hoping to create a good portrait and never mind the background!)

Personally, having seen the results, I really don't think the Semi-Final context is conducive to good painting. I've seen far more people who have disappointed the Judges and/or me than those who have excelled - which is really disappointing when you know the semi-final includes really good artists who could do better.

@StephenMangan just starting the semi of #paoty and my little boy wants to know how you chose which painter stands where? Do they draw lots?

— Darren Fordham (@fordie_28) December 11, 2020

I looked back at what I wrote in April - near the beginning of first lockdown - about the Series 6 Semi-Final - and there's not a lot I'd revise

Bottom line - Sky Arts and Storyvault Films (who make the programme) and the Judges have got to get to grips with reality.

In four hours - less all the time artists are deprived of a good view of the sitter due to interviews and the production crew getting in between artist and sitter - the most you can expect is a good portrait of the upper torso including the hands. If you start asking for a background as well then people will come a cropper - as happened in the semi-finals.

All this - and Bernardine Evaristo - to paint!

Semi Final Artists - Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 7: Autumn 2020)

The eight painters were the winners of their respective heats.  There were four professional artists and four amateur artists. 

Links in the Episode are to my review of that episode where you can see 

• their submission portrait 
• portrait produced during the heat
• their mini bio and background.

Call for Entries: 6th Triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022

A call for entries for the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022 was published a little while ago. This is the 6th time this triennial competition and exhibition has been run.

In brief:

• This is a very prestigious portrait competition - which happens every three years
• The intention of the competition is that it should reflect American Portraiture today.
• Consequently entries are limited to one only from adult portrait painters living and working in the United States and associated territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
• the timeline is somewhat drawn out
• the deadline for entries is January 29, 2021

Note: The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition is made possible by the Virginia Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Endowment, established by Virginia Outwin Boochever and continued by her children.

Call for Entries

In limiting entries to Americans, it also seeks to provide a pointer as to intent.

What I very much like about this competition is its aim of engaging contemporary portraiture with the social and political landscape of the United States - and making it relevant to current times. Which should make for an interesting batch of entries given recent events and upcoming changes. contemporary 

Artists are invited to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. As with past editions, the competition seeks to broaden the definition of portraiture and highlight the genre’s relevance in society and contemporary art.

There are two important points to note. The last competition changed the rules - presumably to open up scope for contemporary portraiture which provides social commentary with a historical perspective

Artworks may originate from direct encounters between the artist and the sitter or draw upon existing imagery or archival research in response to history.

Next a clear intent as to the scope of the competition - and hence the entries

Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture's potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time.

Prizes

The awards on offer total $42,000 (£31,250) and are as follows:

• First Prize: $25,000 and a commission to portray a remarkable living American for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. (Here are the last four commissions - one of which has become very famous i.e. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama by Amy Sherald)
• Second Prize: $7,500
• Third Prize: $5,000. 
• People's Choice Award: $500
• Commendations: Up to four additional artists will be commended for their work and will receive $1,000 each. 

Jurors

The Jurors are as follows

The Jurors of Outwin 2022

Who can submit a portrait?

Don't even think about entering this competition unless you are an artist who is 

• at least 18 years old (by the time of entry) 
• lives and works in one of: the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What can you submit?

The constraints on entries are as follows:

New English Art Club - Annual Exhibition 2020 (Part 2)

 This is the second half of my post about the the Annual Exhibition 2020 of the New English Art Club which continues at the Mall Galleries - theoretically until 16th December (except London goes into Tier 3 from Wednesday 16th December which means you have one day left to this exhibition in person - see this article by the Museums Association) 

Part 1 of this post can be found here - New English Art Club - Annual Exhibition 2020 (Part 1) - which highlights the links where you can see ALL the drawings, paintings and prints in the exhibition.

This post focuses on 

• prizewinners
• the exhibition overall
• the catalogue
• pics I particularly liked

Small works in the West Gallery

Prizewinners

The prizewinners are as follows. You can also 

• view this year's prize-winning works on the Mall Galleries website - but I'm not sure how long that page stays up after the exhibition finishes.  
• view prizewinners on the NEAC website - and I checked and you can still see their 2019 prizewinners on their website

Very oddly there's no link to the individual page for the artwork on either site.

Below you can see all the winning artworks - plus other work I liked - which included other paintings by prizewinners.

Two websites to resurrect - the question is where

What to do when your website host pulls the rug out from under your website

Today I discovered that my first two websites - Pastels and Pencils and my "hub" Making A Mark website - are no more. My Statcounter stats seem to suggest they disappeared sometime earlier this week.

On the plus side

I've had 15 years of free hosting from SiteKreator due to the fact that back when I was originally building these websites I recommended the web host - at the time - to very many artists who then adopted the host for their website and, as a result, I got upgraded to being a VIP customer. What I think they now call an "influencer".

Plus the websites worked well for many years.....

The page referencing my Portfolio website on my makingamark.co.uk website

On the down side

Sadly in recent times SiteKreator has been a platform which was 

• VERY SLOW to gets its act together in relation to various online developments
• had some very suspect developments - in terms of odd pages which would appear on my domain - which really got me wound up.

Plus SiteKreator sent me precisely ONE NOTIFICATION EMAIL back in June indicating that my site would go offline unless I upgraded and moved to their offering - and PAID!!

No reminders - nothing more.

I'm NOT impressed.

an extract from my "website Options" page on my artbusinessinfo.com website

How and where to move a website #1

Consequently I'm faced with either paying for new websites or letting the content go.

While neither website has been updated for some time (i.e. osteoarthritis makes making art difficult and I've still got a mega sort out job to do re. my resources info) I'm somewhat reluctant to let them go altogether 

What I'm doing in the short term

Here's what I'm doing

• checking my own checklist (!) on Options for developing an Artist's website
• keeping both domain names going with my registrar ( Namecheap - recommended )
• archiving pages from the websites - using the Internet Archive / Wayback Machine - into Evernote (very easy and good practice for anyone with a website - and I find Evernote indispensable!)
• identifying options for potential future sites - which might include 
• Weebly - currently used for Botanical Art and Artists and Art Business Info for Artists
• Wix - which lots of friends use
• SquareSpace - which I've lusted after forever - but is more expensive
• Google Sites - which have just reinvented themselves as from 1 November 2020 
• SiteKreator - except I'm thinking they would have to pull out all the stops to interest me
• trying the free trials with any new host I'm interested in
• comparing KEY FACTORS for choosing a host (see OPTIONS above)
• storage
• bandwidth
• technical sophistication
• pricing
• (I'll do a blog post about this!)
• thinking about how to 
• prune and edit existing content
• split the content between 
• any new site(s) and 
• existing new websites already in draft (on Weebly re techniques / genres / art materials)

Making decisions and building at least one new website

I think what's very likely is that between now and the New Year - which is always pretty quiet traffic wise - I'll start moving content and setting up one (maybe two) new websites.

Plus maybe blogging about choices and decisions.....

But blogging a lot less about art.....

Review: Episode 8 of Portrait Artist of the Year Series 7 (Autumn 2020)

Episode 8 was actually Heat 4 - but was the last programme before the semi-final - so just one more semi-finalist to identify out of those going forward to compete to get into the Final of Portrait Artist of the Year 

After the painting and drawing

Episode 8: The Artists, Self-portraits and Sitters

Artists in Episode 8

There were five professional and four amateur artists in the Heat. These are their profiles, self portraits although something seems to have gone badly wrong with the links to the overhead recordings. 

Professional artists

• Gulja Holland ( Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter ) Born in 1990 in Malta; working and living in London. Graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Ar from Leeds College of Art in 2015. Currently studying for an MA at the Royal College of Art.  I divined from her Instagram that Episode 8 was actually Heat 4. 
• Geoff Harrison ( Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter ) - Samaritan Centre Manager. His self portrait took 40 hours, Made the (infamous) semi-final in 2019.
• Jill Iliffe ( Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter ) lived and worked in South London before moving to Surrey in 2018. Studied at Wimbledon School of Art, achieving a BA in Fine Art and an award by the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation for excellence in drawing, which then funded her subsequent MA in Drawing in 2009. Has been widely exhibited in both public and commercial galleries and is a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art. 
• Kelvin Okafor ( Website | Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter |  Linktr.ee) - b.1985 . Award winning London based pencil artist Kelvin Okafor is renowned for his freehand hyper-realism drawings in graphite and charcoal. Graduated from Middlesex University with a B.A. (Hon)s in Fine Art. Launched a new online Academy in July 2020 - having gone online as many other artists have done in these curious times.
• Gabriel Zubillaga ( Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter ) - Spanish/Basque artist living in London with his wife and two children. He needs to sort his website out.

Amateur Artists

• Morag Caister ( Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter ) - b. 1994 in London but grew up between London and Brighton. Graduated in Fine Art (Painting) from the University of Brighton in 2019. Working as a pizza waitress at the time of the heat. She has had her work selected for the 2020 ING Discerning Eye Exhibition and is currently exhibiting at Gallery 94, @artatglyndebourne

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kitty Cameron (@kitc_artsick)

• Kittie Cameron (Instagram) - From Huddersfield. Studying Fine Art at Goldsmiths College. Uses charcoal and soft pastels
• Annie Cavanagh - ( Instagram ) - Law Student at Peterborough. Uses coloured pencils but made a couple of comments about them which aren't strictly correct (says CP artist who spent many years optically overlaying colours and then selectively erasing them!)
• Lynda Lorraine ( Website slow to load | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter ) - Anglo Filipina Artist, based in London, UK. Trained at the Slade School of Art. Works as a Media Technician at the Royal College of Art.

The Self Portraits

Self Portrait Wall

This is a summary of the size, format and content of the self portraits in this heat

New English Art Club - Annual Exhibition 2020 (Part 1)

I went to see the Annual Exhibition 2020 of the New English Art Club today at the Mall Galleries.
Third time lucky as it got caught twice by both the first and second lockdown - and very nearly wasn't going to be seen until the New Year. I'm guessing somebody said "no way is it being cancelled three times!".

Cover of the Catalogue for the NEAC Annual Exhibition 2020

I'm finding the pain from my "due an ankle fusion" right ankle means I'm exhausted by the time I get home.....

So what I've done is uploaded three albums of photos of the drawings and paintings exhibition to my Making A Mark Facebook Page - which are available to view by the public - so that all those who cannot attend can actually see the exhibition - and their painting if hung. I know this has been much appreciated by many people around the country who don't have a hope of getting to London.

(PS. My pics look to me much more like they do in 'real life' and less "over exposed / bleached / disneyfied" than some of the existing pics online and the virtual view of the exhibition online). 

I walked around the Galleries and took photos of all the pics and have arranged them in order in albums on my Facebook Page. Pics which won a prize and/or I particularly liked get a pic on their own. So if you follow the Galleries in the order they're posted below it will be as if you'd come round the Galleries with me at midday today.

View of East Gallery

These are the links to where you can see 

• all the paintings in alphabetical order of the artist's surname (scroll down the page to see - and then work your way through the pages)
• all the artwork in the East Gallery
• all the artwork in the North Gallery - look for the stunning drawing in charcoal which won the Bowyer Prize
• all the artwork in the West Gallery - this is by far the biggest gallery with the most artwork hung. 

view of West Gallery

I'll come back to this post later this week and update it - after a long sleep - with my thoughts on:

• prizewinners
• the exhibition overall
• the catalogue
• pics I particularly liked
• plus maybe some stats too.....

For those wanting to see the exhibition, you will need to book a slot in advance as there is control on numbers in the exhibition. It seemed rather quieter at midday - but then got busy again at around 2pm. I think the cold weather as well as Covid-19 is making it less likely that people are travelling. 

Call for Entries: Jackson's Painting Prize 2021

This post looks at Jackson’s Painting Prize 2021 and

• who can enter
• what sort of artwork you can enter
• why enter
• how to enter (registration / timeline / digital images etc) 

The deadline for entries is 2nd March 2020 (5pm).

Jackson’s Painting Prize exists to recognise and appreciate original, 2-dimensional fine art works in any painting or drawing media.

So that's a painting prize in any drawing media? How about calling it an art prize?

 

Call for Entries for Jackson's Painting Prize

Who can enter

Any artist can enter this competition who is 

• any age 
• all abilities
• any experience / educational qualifications 
• who lives anywhere in the world

(but you or an immediate family member cannot be an employee of Jackson’s Art Supplies)

Jackson’s Painting Prize is open internationally to all artists of all abilities and at all ages.

What sort of artwork can you enter

Bear in mind this competition calls itself a PAINTING PRIZE but also allows drawing media!

You can submit up to 5 paintings.

You can submit a collaborative artwork - but MUST make this clear on the entry form

Artworks for the competition MUST be:

• submitted by the artist who created it (i.e. no entries by your gallery, your best friend or your mother who thinks your painting is wonderful!)
• like the digital photo submission
• your own intellectual property. i.e. do NOT submit any artwork that
• either directly copies other people’s work (this does not include artistic interpretations)
• or works that are made from a tutorial.

We take each submission and the information regarding it in good faith. We will not conduct any background checks unless we believe there are grounds for disqualification or we have been alerted by an additional party. Disclaimer

TIP: Don't be silly. I've alerted competitions before now when I know an artwork has copied the work of other people - and I know others have done so too.  Being selected is not the same as being hung - if your artwork does not meet the rules. I've known prizewinners lose prizes - and nobody needs public humiliation - so just stick to the rules and you'll be OK.

What's NOT eligible for entry to the competition

The following are not eligible for selection - even if you enter them

• Media: Printmaking, pure photography, computer generated or manipulated artwork and 3D sculptural works 
• Content: Drawings or paintings of an inappropriate or offensive subject matter will be removed from the competition.
• Prizewinners: artwork that has previously won a major competition
• Exhibited work: artwork that has been extensively exhibited in any established galleries.
• Sold: artwork that has been sold i.e. you must have access to the original / it must be in your possession

Jackson’s Art Supplies may ask for 

• artworks to be sent for further inspection and consideration before or outside of longlist / shortlist / prize winning selection. 
• a physical viewing of the winning work to be available for viewing which MUST be like the digital photo submission.
• a photograph of you standing next to your painting.

If you want to gauge whether or not your artwork is suitable for this painting competition......