Virtual tour – Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul

Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch - The Loneliness of the Soul was due to run 15 November 2020 — 28 February 2021 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

She’s been a major figure in contemporary art for over 25 years; he pioneered a radical new style known as Expressionism. In this landmark exhibition, Tracey Emin selects masterpieces by Edvard Munch to show alongside her most recent paintings.

Tracy Emin / Edvard Munch at the Royal Academy of Arts

It got caught by the second lockdown, then by the Tier 4 rules and then by the third lockdown. Bookings to see it have now been suspended given there is no obvious prospect of it opening before it is due to close.

It's also apparent that the RA is having to review its programme of exhibitions for 2021.

Following the announcement of a third lockdown, we have made the difficult decision to suspend ticket bookings for Tracey Emin: The Loneliness of the Soul. We are currently reviewing our programme of exhibitions for 2021 and will share more information as soon as we can.

I'm not sure but I think the Royal Academy of Arts may have changed its approach to Virtual Tours of its exhibitions. I've got a vague recollection of an online tour being available - but subject to a charge

Now you can see a video of the hung exhibition - for free - but you are invited to make a donation of £15 to the cost of the exhibition.

I like Munch and I know some people love Tracy Emin - but she's never been one of those artists I'd go out of my way to see. Nevertheless: 

• here is how to see the VIDEO - Virtual tour – Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul
• plus the VIDEO Conversations on Contemporary Art | Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch

• plus the YouTube VIDEO - with narration by Tracy Emin 
• below is more information about the exhibition.

RA Website

• Exhibition website: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/tracey-emin-edvard-munch
• Article: Inside the exhibition: 'Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul'. By Tiffany Greenoak. Published 3 December 2020.
• Press Release

Reviews:

• The Art Newspaper: The Big Review—Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul - The British artist rekindles her love affair with the work of her favourite artist at the Royal Academy—and it is Emin whose voice emerges strongest
• Apollo Magazine: Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul - While some museums are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibitions will include shows at institutions that are currently open as well as digital projects providing virtual access to art and culture.
  
  
  
  27 Nov 2020
  
  28 Dec 2020

NEW £20,000 Portrait Prize + Last Call for Entries for Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2021

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters TODAY announced a BRAND NEW £20,000 PRIZE for Portraiture - BUT - and this is a big BUT - the deadline for entries is Monday 25th January 2021.

Portrait Artists Opportunities with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

NEW William Lock Portrait Prize

The NEW William Lock Portrait Prize awards £20,000 to the artist who submits 

the most timeless portrait with a real feeling for paint and its aesthetic potential

This pleases me enormously as it's rewarding people who can really PAINT - but is in no way prescriptive as to the type of paint to be used. I'm very sure it will be much appreciated by any number of other portrait painters.

This is a VERY new prize - it wasn't even listed in the prizes available by the Mall Galleries as of last Sunday!

In the absence of the BP Portrait Award it's also the best award available for a portrait selected from an exhibition in the UK in 2021.

As a result of the new prize the deadline for entries has been extended by a week to 25th January 2021.

The Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters at the Mall Galleries

Call for Entries - Annual Exhibition 2021 of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters welcomes 

• portrait paintings, drawings and original prints from artists over 18, 
• from the UK and internationally 
• to be shown alongside members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters at their Annual Exhibition 
• at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1Y 5BD 
• 6 -15 May 2021 (COVID-allowing)

The DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES is 12 noon on Friday 25th January 2021.

Criteria for entries are summarised below:

• ARTISTS: 
• Any artist over 18 may submit.
• Note that artists accepted for exhibition will be invited to advertise portrait commissions through our Commissions department on which a commission will be payable.
• MEDIUMS: All mediums aside from sculpture and photography are acceptable.
• DATES AND EXHIBITIONS
• must have been completed in the last three years and 
• not been exhibited in London previously.
• PRICING: 
• Works must have a minimum sale price of £300. 
• Works may be listed as not for sale – if your work is not for sale, please input the price as ‘NFS’ when prompted.
• The price of works for sale must include 45% + VAT commission.
• NUMBER: A maximum of three works can submitted for selected. It is possible for all three entries to be selected
• SIZE: Works should not be larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension.
• ENTRY FEES: The submission fee is 
• £20 per work for standard entries and 
• £14 per work for artists aged 35 or under. 
• This includes free admission to the exhibition (normally £4).

You can find out how to enter the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters on 

• the official call for entries website
• the RP website - Exhibit with us
• Notifications of selections will be advised as from Friday 29 January 2021, 12pm

I was convinced I'd done the Call for Entries post for this year' annual exhibition - but apparently not! 

• Maybe I was confused by the number of blog posts I did last September for the delayed annual exhibition!  
• Then I thought maybe I didn't get a dedicated email about it and found that the only thing I received was a generic Mall Galleries update on 10th December......... 
• so I'm now left wondering whether other painters are in the same boat??

In terms of my thoughts on the benefits of entering this open exhibition in the interests of a fast blog post I can only point you in the direction of LAST YEAR'S call for entries by me 

• see LAST CALL - Annual Open Exhibition 2020 of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (but note all the dates relate to 2020 (NOT 2021)
• This blog post Annual Exhibition 2020 of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters provides details of the number of entries and the numbers selected last year who were not members of the RP 
• This is my Review: Annual Exhibition 2020 of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters - which provides you with views of the portraits selected for exhibition by members and artists selected from the open entry.
• You can also see some of my PHOTOS of the exhibition in the album Royal Society of Portrait Painters: Annual Exhibition 2020 on my Facebook Page
• Below are details of the other significant cash awards offered by this open exhibition.

Awards by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

This open exhibition also offers other significant cash prizes 

• The Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture: £10,000 plus the Society’s Gold Medal awarded for the most distinguished portrait in the Society’s annual exhibition
• The de Laszlo Foundation Award: £3,000 plus a Silver Medal for the most outstanding portrait by an artist aged 35 years or under
• The Prince of Wales's Award for Portrait Drawing: £2,000 and framed certificate for a portrait in any recognised drawing medium
• The RP Award: £2,000 will be awarded to the artist whose work best represents the year's chosen theme - which for 2021 is 'Childhood'. The judges will be looking for the most interesting and engaging interpretation of the idea of 'childhood' within the parameters of portraiture.
• The RP Prize for the Best Small Portrait: A prize of £2,000 for the best small portrait in the exhibition, measuring not more than 38 x 30.5 cm (15 x 12 inches) unframed
• The Burke’s Peerage Foundation Award for Classically Inspired Portraiture: The Burke’s Peerage Foundation Award, established by its founders William Bortrick and Mark Ayre in 2015, is presented for Classically Inspired Portraiture in the RP Annual Exhibition. It is presented each year with a certificate and a cheque for £2,000.
• The Smallwood Architects Prize: £1,000 for a portrait in which architectural or interior features play an important part

Young Artists Summer Show at the Royal Academy of Arts

Did you know that the Royal Academy of Arts has a Summer Show for young people?

No? Neither did I! 

Find out more about the show below and on the RA website https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk/

What's the purpose of the Young Artists' Summer Show?

Taking inspiration from the annual Summer Exhibition, the Young Artists’ Summer Show is an opportunity for young artists aged 5 - 19 years to exhibit their work online and on-site at the Royal Academy.

The project is generously supported by Robin Hambro, a passionate advocate for the importance of access to art, and the benefits of encouraging the arts, for children and young people.

Are there any prizes?

There are prizes each year (Take a look at the 2020 prize winning artworks)

• for two inspiring artworks 
• from each key stage

Award winners are chosen by the President of the Royal Academy.

The public can also vote for their favourite artwork in our annual People’s Choice Award. 

some of the artwork in the RA Young Artists Summer Show 2020

How to enter

Who can enter?

• children and young people aged 5 - 19 studying in the UK and British schools overseas.
• collaborative artwork entries are welcome - and and there is no limit to the number of students involved.

What can I enter?

• Each student can submit up to three artworks of any type e.g. a painting, sculpture, photograph, installation or video piece. 
• Your artwork can be made of any materials. 
• There is no theme so artworks can be of any subject.

What does it cost to enter?

• The competition is completely free.

How do I enter?

The entry process works as follows:

• entry is online - you cannot submit artwork by post.
• a teacher first needs to register your school
• once that is done, artwork can be submitted 
• by a teacher or parent/guardian if you are under 12
• by the student if you are aged 13 or over

What do I need to submit?

You need to upload images of your artwork - with some text.

Images need to be 

• files are 5MB or less
• one of the following formats: JPG, PNG, GIF.
• If you want to submit a file that is not a JPG, PNG or GIF, you can use a file converter website to change your file so it will upload.

You need to describe your artwork as follows:

• title of the artwork
• a description of what the work is about and why you made it

How selection works

Each artwork will be seen by a panel of judges - made up of panel of artists and art professionals. 

Everyone who submits artworks will hear from the RA by the end of May.

There are two sets of judges

• one for artworks made by primary students and 
• one for artworks made by secondary school students. 

When the judges make their selections, they choose where the artwork will be seen i.e.

• which artworks will be shown online and 
• which will be shown at the Royal Academy. 

Review: Episode 1 of Landscape Artist of the Year 2021 at Chartwell

This is the first of my reviews of the new Landscape Artist of the Year programme in 2021.

Pods in front of the house at Chartwell

Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 6 - filmed in 2020)

This is the sixth series of this programme which is produced for Sky Arts by Storyvault Films.

The "Artist of the Year" programmes are some of the most popular programmes produced by Sky Arts. The audience for the Landscape artist of the year programme seems to grow with every series.

LAOTY boasts the titles of “best-performing, non-scripted series of all time” and second-biggest series ever for Sky Arts, with viewing figures growing over the course of the series.

You can view it

• on Wednesday evening at 8pm on Sky Arts (on Sky / Now TV / Freeview)
• on demand on Sky TV and Now TV anytime you like 
• you need the Sky TV or NOW TV app to watch on a mobile device or your own TV - if you have a relevant subscription (which is what I do - see my blog post about how to do this)

The Judges are the same as always - and - because filming took place outside - we also saw the return of Joan Bakewell which was excellent news.

We saw lots of suitably socially distanced discussions!

The Judges: Kate Bryan. Tai-Shan Schierenberg Kathleen Soriano - with Joan Bakewell

Episode 1 at Chartwell

The first episode was at Chartwell - and this is the link to Episode 1

The Location

Chartwell is the former home of Sir Winston Churchill and is now a National Trust property. The large course stands in manicured country gardens on top of a large grass slope leading down to a lake and several acres of woodland and farmland.

It's a garden I have visited often over the years and last summer we paid it a lot of visits once it was open again.

The view they had is actually very difficult because:

• they are looking up - which is a situation most artists don't normally encounter when working plein air
• it involves a lot of different levels
• getting the size, shape and perspective of the house correct is a challenge on its own.  One I have tried and come a cropper on in the past - when drawing with a view from just to the left of there they were positioned.  (I'm going to see if I can remember where that artwork is)

The weather

As you might expect - given last year's weather - the weather was dry, sunny with a bit of cloud from time to time.

So no challenges there then - apart from how the sun was going to move across the subject

The Artists

This year 36 artists (12 less than usual) took part in six heats which were filmed last summer. This means that there are six artists (rather than eight) in each of the six heats

Artists in their Pods at the start

You can find out how to enter for the series being filmed this summer for next year at the end of this blog post.

Artists are listed by status and then alphabetically. You can see their profiles on the Sky website . Interestingly they all have surnames in the first half of the alphabet.

Professional Artists

There were two professional artists in this heat

• Gail Davis (Facebook | Instagram) - artist based in Berkshire, mainly painting in oil on canvas. Studied at Berkshire College of Art and Design. Worked as an exhibition design manager. Has been a professional artist for 12 years. Selected for the 2020 Exhibitions of the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal institute of Oil Painters. Appeared in Episode 8 of Portrait Artist of the Year in March 2020 
• Paul Gadenne (Facebook | Instagram) - a Canterbury-based artist who has been a Chartered Designer and has a background in commercial Interior Architecture and Exhibition Design. He is an SAA Professional Art Teacher and currently teaches "Art for Everyone" - art lessons for adults of all abilities at venues in Dunkirk and Sandwich, Kent. He writes for 'the Artist' magazine and is the founder member of Urban Sketchers Canterbury. He has previously been filmed for this series in 2015 at Waddesdon Manor. His Facebook Page has some good photos of the day. 

Amateur Artists

There were four Amateur Artists - although I think I dispute 'amateur' status for one of them - on the basis that you need to know rather a lot about art in order to be employed teach it!

These were:

• Julia Burley (Instagram) - no information online. 
• Shelagh Casebourne (Instagram) - Following a London-based career in publishing, in 2010 she gained a Fine Art degree from The University of Reading and a PGCE in Secondary Art and Design. She has a studio in Berkshire. Her Instagram indicates she was painting along with Portrait Artist of the Week. She made a last minute application with the hope of getting a wildcard place.
• Gabriella Fernandes - First class degree (2015) in History from Durham University - which involved History of Art. Recently worked as cabin crew with British Airways
• Stuart Jarvis (Instagram) - He's an experienced teacher and currently Director of Art at Uppingham School (a boarding school). In recent years he has enjoyed commissions by Drax power station, North Yorkshire; Bradwell decommissioned power station, Essex; and Ketton Cement Works, Lincolnshire. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Julia Burley (@juliarocciaart)

Wildcard Artists

Wildcard artists at Chartwell

I hear that the number of Wildcard Artists are reduced from last year. They had 50 last year but I think it's just 25 artists in each heat this year.  

They set up on the grass which slopes down from the house to the lake in the valley bottom. It's actually a better view of the house - and I've certainly seen artists and art groups painting the house from this vantage point on my visits to Chartwell. 

(I'm not telling you what my favourite vantage point is - but I've done many sketches from there!)

Wildcard artists on the grass slope below the house at Chartwell

I think maybe this lady missed the big sign near the entrance warning about the black swans and their "assertive" behaviour! (For which read "aggressive" - my other half howls about the time I was chased away by them when settling down to sketch!)

The infamous Chartwell Black Swans taking an interest

Themes and Learning Points

As with all my other blog 'Artist of the Year' posts, I tried to detect some learning points within this episode - read on for more of these.

Today, these are:

• Artist profiles 
• Composition and completion
• Simplification and what to leave in and what to leave out
• The importance of shadows
• Highly Coloured Grounds

Grayson Perry's Art Club (Series 2) back in February

Just what we need. Grayson to the rescue with more lockdown art! Series 2 of Grayson Perry's Art Club is back on Channel 4 in February 2021.

"Grayson Perry, one of Britain's leading artists, brings the nation together through art, making new works and hosting masterclasses set to unleash our collective creativity during lockdown" Channel 4

This time there's been a bit more planning! This post is about

• the themes for Series 2 of Art Club
• how to enter

These are my blog posts about his extremely successful and very popular first series which started at the end of April during the first lockdown in 2020. 

• Grayson's Art Club : The Exhibition (and the television programme and the book of the exhibition!) 
• Grayson Perry Returns - on TV, at the British Museum and with a new exhibition! (September 2020)  - in which I announce details of the exhibition and the second series
• Grayson Perry's Studio (May 2020) - all about his studio which started in Walthamstow before moving to Islington
• Art On Demand during the Pandemic #1 - British TV (May 2020) - the contenders
• Grayson Perry's Art Club on Channel 4 (April 2020) - kicking off the first series

Grayson’s Art Club was the best performing series from Channel 4’s #StayAtHome Academy programming

Grayson/Claire and Philippa Perry - with exhibits in the Series 1 exhibition

Themes for Grayson Perry's Art Club - Series 2

“Art is good for you, whoever you are" 

Grayson Perry

Below is a video by Grayson and his co-star/wife, psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry telling you about the themes.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!#GraysonsArtClub returns in February!
Website https://t.co/ZbGqOynYwA is open for your submissions.
Here is @Philippa_Perry and me telling you the weekly themes.
We are so looking forward to seein what you have made. pic.twitter.com/mRFLTq3wnW

— Grayson Perry (@Alan_Measles) January 8, 2021

The themes - with deadlines for entries are as follows.
Note that when it says "end of (date)" it means 11.59pm or 23.59 on that date.

• FAMILY submissions close end of 10th February 2021
• NATURE submissions close end of 17th February 2021
• FOOD submissions close end of 24th February 2021
• DREAMS submissions close end of 3rd March 2021
• WORK submissions close end of 10th March 2021
• TRAVEL submissions close end of 17th March 2021

How to submit your artwork entry

Grayson Perry will send out messages via social media asking for members of the public to participate in the Series by uploading a 3-minute video message of themselves (the “Video”) filmed on their mobile phone together with three photos of their artwork (the “Artwork”). We will then select the Artworks and Videos he wants to consider for inclusion in the Series. If your Video or Artwork is selected one of the producers may then call you to discuss potentially appearing in the Series as a Contributor via video call on your device (the “Contributor”). If you are selected to be included they will send you a separate contract for your appearance.
Swan Films - the makers of the programme

The main difference with Series 2 is you're getting a LOT MORE NOTICE about the Themes of the six programmes in the series.

Who can enter

• You must be a resident of the UK.
• There's no limit on age BUT If you are under 18 you will need a parent/guardian to submit your artwork on your behalf, and hey must provide their phone number and email address.

What can you enter

We will accept any type of art including paintings, sculpture, drawings and collages, from amateurs and professionals alike.

How to enter

You can enter ONE artwork for EACH theme. Enter them one at a time (i.e. you can only choose the theme once per form)

You should submit 

• up to three photos of the artwork you are submitting for the theme (don't forget to choose the theme!)
• a video (max. 3 minutes long) of yourself talking about your art.

It's not clear if you must make a video or can just write up to 600 words about your art on the form.

Make sure that 

• your photos and video are in landscape format and NOT PORTRAIT FORMAT
• you label ALL your photos and video with your name and name of the artwork. (e.g. Philippa Perry sculpture of a cat #1 (and #2 and #3 and video)

Here's a little memory jogger re. landscape and portrait formats. It's not about whether it's a landscape or portrait - it about whether the picture is biased towards horizontal or vertical.

An image from my book Sketching 365 - about landscape and portrait formats
(and placement of horizons and crops)

What's the competition going to be like?

You need to be realistic. Millions watched the first series and c.10,000 people submitted their artwork - which means not a lot of time to view your entry. However Grayson's an expert in reviewing artwork given he chaired the Panel of Selectors for the 250th Summer Exhibition by the Royal Academy of Arts and had to sit through thousands and thousands of entries over quite a few days!

Mall Galleries Exhibitions: changes to deadlines for entries and exhibition dates

The Annual Exhibitions of Art Societies at the Mall Galleries have changed dates.

Mall Galleries in the Mall - in monochrome

The Mall Glleries and associated societies (members of the Federation of British Artists) have made changes to

• deadlines for the call for entries and 
• dates of exhibitions.

This is a result of the ongoing very high of covid infection in London and the ongoing Lockdown. These mean there is no certainty about when exhibitions will start again. 

I've listed what I know below.

Mall Galleries:
Art Society Exhibitions

The Pastel Society (PS)

Despite entries having been received and a selection made of artwork to be included in the Annual Exhibition, the current lockdown means that The Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society has had to be postponed. 

There's no information as yet as to likely dates for the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition, My guess would be later in the year.

However 

• the full Pastel Society Annual Exhibition is now available to view online, and it even includes paintings and drawings of the inside of galleries and museums!
• there are a range of Pastel Society ONLINE EVENTS (ee below for some of them) - which started today. 

Online events by the Pastel Society

Royal Society of British Artists (RBA)

The Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists is usually early in the year and in 2020, this exhibition escaped unscathed from the impact of Covid-19 on art exhibitions in 2020.

Nevertheless, in 2021, it's one of the first affected.

• Call for Entries (digital only): 
• moved back a month to 12 noon on Friday 5th February
• I thought I'd done a Call for Entries blog post for the Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2021 - but apparently not so I'll remedy that this week.
• Delivery dates: Saturday 27 March and Sunday 28 March, 10am to 5pm
• Annual Exhibition: 15h - 24th April 2021

This is my Review: Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2020 

This is an exhibition well worth entering - not least for the very long list of prizes awarded!

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI)

Below is an announcement by Rosa Sepple, President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.

• Call for Entries: 
• moved back a month to 12 noon on Friday 5th March 2021
• You can read about the Call for Entries in my blog post Call for Entries: Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour 209th Exhibition in 2021
• Delivery dates: Saturday 8th or Sunday 9th May 2021
• Annual Exhibition: 20th - 29th May 2021 (moved back from beginning of April).

The RI is now quite adept at coping with moving dates - their exhibition only opened after a third attempt in 2020. See my review of the 2020 exhibition (moved from April to September 2020) Review: 208th Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours

Website - http://royalinstituteofpaintersinwatercolours.org/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RIwatercolours/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/royal_institute_watercolours/

How to Ship Art - for online art sellers / post Brexit

How best to pack, mail and ship art art has been a VERY popular topic since lockdown as more and more people make sales online. 

It's got even more popular since 1st January in terms of making sense of Brexit. EORI numbers and export commodity codes anybody? Do you know about the Rules of Origin?

HOW TO PACK, MAIL & SHIP ART: A Compendium of Information & Advice about Packing & Transporting Art provides access to the many pages of information I provide in the Shipping Art section on my Art Business Info. for Artists website

It's currently the most popular page on my Art Business Info for Artists website - I guess because

• most sales of art are now taking place online
• artists running an art business - where they export art internationally - are puzzling out the changes 

Below is a screenshot of its contents

contents of how to pack, mail and ship art

I've just begun to realise I need to write a new section about "Rules of Origin" given some of what is happening at the ports.

The reality is that if you are trading - and particularly if you are exporting - there is a LOT of law and regulations that you need to know about - as well as which are the best ways to pack, post and ship art!

However I also have to emphasise what this page is NOT! I answer questions when I'm satisfied that people have read what is available on these pages and are not just using me as a sidestep to doing the reading. 

The Great Pottery Throwdown starts tonight

The Great Pottery Throw Down returns tonight - at 7.45pm on Channel 4. 

Essentially it's a a competition to find the best amateur potter in the country. Tonight it's "Throwing Week"

I know a LOT of people will be really pleased that tonight we see the return of a programme which some of us thought might be gone for good at one point when the BBC shut it down - only for it to be resurrected last year by Channel 4. (I wonder when the BBC is going to realise that people really like shows where ordinary members of the public make things).

Here are the 12 potters hoping to throw, glaze and wedge their way to victory.

The Great Pottery Throw Down starts Sunday 10th January at 7.45pm on @Channel4. With host @Siobhni and judges @KBJWhitstable and @RichMillerPots. #potterythrowdown pic.twitter.com/RiSGA0r9bC

— The Great Pottery Throw Down (@PotteryThrow) January 5, 2021

You can view the video above to see who's who among the contestants and/or review each of the potters on the show's Twitter account.

Potters are set a number of tasks testing their skills (and patience) at the wheel and with different techniques. Each week they have to create the Main Make, which sees the potters produce a piece from slab of clay to glazed glory with every episode culminating in the reveal of the Main Make which the potters present straight from their kiln for judging.
But anything can go wrong in the kiln. The potters who fail to impress with their clay will leave the pottery studio until the final when one person proves themselves to be master of the wheel.

The Host and two Judges

This year's changes are:

• The Judges have changed - they are:
• Keith Brymer Jones of Whitstable - the only person to stay the same across all the series to date. With any luck he's be writing something about the series on his blog
• Richard Miller - Potter, owner at Froyle Tiles is the new Judge. He's previously worked as the technician on previous series of 'The Great Pottery Throwdown'
• The Host has changed and is now Siobhán McSweeney (Sister Michael of Derry Girls) - after Sara Cox and then Melanie Sykes.
• UPDATE: They've moved from Middleport to more spacious accommodation at The Gladstone Pottery Museum 

What's stayed the same

• there are still 12 potters - called Adam, Hannah, Susan, Alon, Sally, Ara, Peter, Irina, Shenyue, Henry, Jodie and Lee - and they come from very diverse backgrounds but are all keen amateur potters.

Previous posts about The Great Pottery Throwdown

my previous posts about this show - and why I like it

• Third series of The Great Pottery Throw Down on Channel 4 (Jan 2020)
• The Great Pottery Throwdown - Series 2 starts tonight (February 2017)
• Book Review - The Great Pottery Throw Down (March 2017)

Plus my previous post about The Ceramics Gallery at the V&A.

I'm fond of ceramics and pots - they often get a mention in my exhibition reviews and are one of the things I collect (on the "when you can't make it collect it" principle).

Other Information

You can also find out about Middleport Pottery where the show is filmed

• website https://re-form.org/middleportpottery/information
• twitter https://twitter.com/Middleport_Pot
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MiddleportPottery/

Plus review the Ceramics Groups on Facebook

• Ceramics
• Ceramic Artists
• Ceramic & Raku Art

Landscape Artist of the Year returns - next Wednesday

Good news! Series 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year (2021) returns to Wednesday evenings in the gloomy days of Winter to brighten our perspectives and remind us what drawing and painting from life outside is all about.

This is about:

• the return of Landscape Artist of the Year - on Sky Arts Wednesday 13th January 2021 at 8pm (SERIES 6 on Sky Arts on Sky or Now TV or Channel 11 of Freeview) 
• the venues - in Kent and Buckinghamshire - for the first two episodes
• REMINDER: call for entries for Series 7 of Landscape Artist of the Year 
• PROMPT: the repeat of Portrait Artist of the Year 2019 - on Sky Arts on Wednesday at 7pm

Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 3 | 2021)

SERIES 6 of Landscape Artist of the Year is being broadcast every Wednesday evening at 8pm on Sky Arts (starting Wednesday 13th January 2021) - which is available on Freeview. For those with access to Sky or NowTV you can also watch it on catchup. 

Eight artists will be battling it out with the subject and the weather / wind / etc for the next six weeks - followed by the Semi Finals and then Final - plus the Commission episode.  

That means in Landscape Series terms we've skipped 2020 altogether - although filming took place. 

• Certainly the plans were that they would take place in June & July 2021 but were subject to government restrictions.
• My understanding was that Series 6 (2021) was filmed last summer in and around London because of all the travel constraints re. Covid-19.  

Also back is Joan Bakewell - since outdoors is much safer for ladies of a certain age. 

As always the team are:

• Hosts: Joan Bakewell and Stephen Mangan
• Judges: award-winning artist Tai Shan Schierenberg, independent curator Kathleen Soriano, and art historian Kate Bryan.

Venues: I know what the first two venues are (thank you Radio Times!)

Episode 1 (13th January 2021): Chartwell in Kent

Chartwell is the former home of Sir Winston Churchill and now belongs to the National Trust.  

• It contains his Artist's Studio which is doubtless going to generate comment if not a visit.  
• I'm just wondering how on earth they got the platforms to stay stable on the very considerable slope at the rear between the house and the lake 
• ....and whether the black swans behaved themselves! Those who know Chartwell well will know what i mean!

Drawing at Chartwell

I'm spitting about this venue because I visited Chartwell a lot last summer! However I don't envy them trying to portray the house. It's an absolute pig in terms of size and complexity - and the fact you can't see it properly at all unless you're on a completely different level - at which point the perspective gets interesting - and difficult!

I tried doing the house once (not a success!) and ever since I've always sketched the views of the garden and the landscape instead - it has stunning views of the Weald of Kent. Here's my coloured pencil sketch of Churchill's Chair on the island in the lake at Chartwell 

Episode 2 (20th January 2021) : West Wycombe Lake in Buckinghamshire

This is the view of the Lake at West Wycombe Park - also a National Trust property. Interestingly there is a painting in the National Collection of a view of A View of the Lake at West Wycombe Park and the Temple of Daphne by William Hannan (Scotland 1725 - West Wycombe 1772)

West Wycombe House has been home of the Dashwood family for over 300 years. Set in 45 acres of landscaped park, the house as we see it today is the 18th-century creation of Sir Francis Dashwood, the 2nd baronet, founder of the Dillettanti Society and the Hell-Fire Club.

Landscape Artist of the Year - Series 5 - CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Call for Entries for Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 7) opened last year.

The deadline for entries is currently NOON on 30th April 2021 - although this deadline has sometimes been extended in the past.

In my blog post - Call for Entries: Landscape Artist of the Year (Series 7) - I provide

• my overview of the call for entries - plus tips
• links to my reviews of past episodes - which also contain quite a few tips

It includes:

• Key Features of the competition
• So you want to paint landscapes on television?
• Who can enter
• Eligible Landscape paintings - for submission
• Your digital entry (and what will disqualify you)
• What are the Judges looking for?
• My Reviews of Previous Heats in 2018 and 2019

Portrait Artist of the Year 2019

This series is being broadcast for the first time on Freeview - in the hour before the new series of Landscape Artist of the Year.

So if you want to watch both, get your dinner arrangements sorted for Wednesday evenings sorted and be sat comfortably 

• by 7pm for Portrait Artist of the Year 2019 
• plus Landscape Artist of the Year 2021 at 8pm. 

Note that this series was previously broadcast on Channel 4 in the summer of 2019 - see Portrait Artist of the Year comes to Channel 4

You can see my reviews of previous episodes of this series on this blog - and there are links to all of them in the above blog post.

Before the start - at the Final of Portrait Artist of the Year 2019 at the National Portrait Gallery

LOCKDOWN ART #2: 12 good reasons for artists to work in a series

This is an introduction to various reasons why artists work in series

• Do you work in a series when you produce art?
• Do you want know more about working in a series?

A series (in terms of art) usually means 

• the artwork produced is related and coherent 
• on the same theme or topic or about the same subject 
• after the artist has explored the subject of the series in depth.

Paintings of Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet
- photographed in the Musee d'Orsay in 2009

12 good reasons for artists to work in a series

Below I summarise 12 good reasons for working in a series. 

In future posts I'll explore each of these reasons in more detail and provide 

• links to examples 
• further information, images and resources about famous artists who produce work in a series related to the reason

The twelve reasons are:

1. Learn more about your subject / object of your attention
2. The series is about the subject you like the best - which is easy to understand why but for how long?
3. Develop an artistic identity - become known for being a painter of......
4. Work in a series to tell a story - in stages - over a series of images
5. Achieve artistic credentials - via an award or membership of an art organisation
6. Explore one motif and what happens when you repeat it - differently
7. Explore colour and colour variations
8. Explore design and composition - and the options available to artists
9. Explore an idea / a concept / an agenda - which may be political, cultural, gender oriented etc
10. Explore and feed your own personal obsession
11. Create an exhibition which displays unity of purpose and displays well in the gallery
12. Create a collectible - which also makes earning income that much easier

ART CHALLENGE

Your challenge is as follows:

Part ONE

For each reason - see if you can identify artists who have worked in a series in this way

• in the past - in art history
• as a contemporary artist and/or in more recent times.

Part TWO

Work out which reasons 

• appeal to you the most
• challenge you the most

Part THREE

• Start A Series during lockdown! - it's entirely up to you if you go for an iea which appeals or an idea which challenges you a lot.

Note: This post follows on from LOCKDOWN ART #1: Working in a Series #1

LOCKDOWN ART#1: Working in a Series #1

We are now in the third TOTAL LOCKDOWN in the UK - and it's winter - so I'm going to create some resources for artists wanting:

• to learn more about art and/or 
• some stimuli for making art - within the constraints of the lockdown limitations on where we can go and what we can do.

Initially I'll be looking at my past blog projects about

• working in a series 
• understanding colour
• understanding composition.

A Making A Mark Project - Working in a Series

Back in 2008, I developed a series of posts on my art blog "Making A Mark" about working in a series as an artist - and subsequently developed a site (now unpublished) about "working in series".

I'm resurrecting those posts - or links to them - on this blog in order to provide a resource for those who would like to have a go at developing a series.

These blog posts explored:

• reasons why artists work in a series
• reviewed Monet and his series paintings
• considered specific series by Monet - the stacks of wheat and the paintings of Rouen Cathdral

These are those blog posts. Bear in mind when you read a post that, while the general principles and points made are perennial, some of the details re links to individual artists may have changed since it was first published.

• A Making A Mark Project - Working in a series - This post starts my project about working in a series
• What are your reasons for working in a series? - I've come to the conclusion there are probably four main categories of reasons why artists work in a series. Within each category there are more specific reasons. 
• investigate and explore - subject 
• investigate and explore - technique 
• emotional

• Making A Mark Poll: What's the main reason why you work in a series? - The question is: What's your MAIN reason for working in a series? With the emphasis being on the word MAIN. Having recognised there's lots of reasons why we work in series I want to try and pin it down a bit more and see if you can work out which is usually the dominant reason for you.

• Why and how Monet developed his series paintings - This post looks at:
• why Monet painted series paintings
• when he painted his series paintings
• the various reasons leading to his choice of subject matter
• which paintings are regarded as part of his series paintings
• and finally, how he actually designed and painted the series paintings from a practice perspective.

Wheatstacks (end of summer) 1890-91 - Claud Monet
Oil on canvas, 60 x 100 cm (23 5/8 x 39 3/8 in);
The Art Institute of Chicago

• Monet's series paintings - stacks of wheat - About the motif, design and execution of the series of paintings of stacks of wheat
• Monet's series paintings - Rouen cathedral - An account of Monet's series paintings of Rouen Cathedral

La cathédrale dans le brouillard 

by Claude Monet

(included in the Sotheby's sale on 3rd November 2008)

12 good reasons to paint in a series

Tomorrow I'll be looking at 12 good reasons to paint in a series and thereafter will 

• explore each reason further
• with links to further information, images and resources about famous artists who produce work in a series.