Review of the Society of Graphic Fine Art Annual Exhibition 2024

This morning I visited the Annual Exhibition 2024 of the The Society of Graphic Fine Art (aka The Drawing Society) at the Mall Galleries.

The SGFA have taken over the large West Gallery with 181 artworks demonstrating a wide range of artworks covering diverse subject matter and different media. 

You can see the artwork exhibited ONLINE - with links from both the Mall Galleries website and the SGFA website (although you need to wait awhile before the images appear - and only if you accept cookies, which I normally always object too as per GDPR i.e. it shouldn't need cookies to work)

The default position is you can view the artwork as thumbnails

Alternatively you can view by name of the artist 

Or view a large image of each artwork - which provides details about the art and the artist

HOWEVER this only applies to artwork by SGFA members and associates.

I'm also going to be uploading my photos to a Facebook Album - more or less in the order they are hung in the Gallery - and will insert a link here when this has been done

You can also follow the SGFA on https://www.instagram.com/drawingsocietyuk/

NOTE: There is no catalogue.

About the Society of Graphic Fine Art SGFA

What's different about the intended focus of this exhibition is the raison d'etre of the SGFA.

The purpose and objectives of the SGFA

As it states on their explanatory panel which can be found posted around the gallery (see above), the SGFA is all about drawing and draughtsmanship.

Established in 1919, the Society of Graphic Fine Arts is the only national Society which is based in the UK which is dedicated exclusively to drawing. It exists to promote and exhibit original works of high quality in colour or black and white. This includes traditional and contemporary media. The emphasis is on excellence in drawing and draughtsmanship, demonstrated by hand.

I'll come back to that later - as I think a divergence from the intended scope of the exhibition appears to have occurred this year.

Work which is eligible for exhibition is

• Drawings in any medium, monochrome or colour - pencil, coloured pens and pencils, pen and ink, pastels and oil pastels, charcoal, conté, etc. 
• Any original artwork which demonstrates evidence of drawing by hand: - original printmaking, watercolours, acrylics, oils and 3-Dimensional work.
• Any work based on a photograph must have the photographer's permission.

Work which is NOT eligible for exhibition includes

• Digital imagery generated by computer.
• Giclee prints and all other reproductions and facsimiles.
• Work shown previously at the Mall Galleries or hung in an SGFA London exhibition.
• Work that is more than three years old.
• Any work that might infringe on copyright law 
  
  

The Exhibition

In general, the exhibition has a lot of excellent artwork by artists who are clearly accomplished in their design and execution of artwork with an emphasis on drawing skills.

It's not all of a very high standard - but that's the same in most exhibitions.

The exhibition comprises 181 artworks - all of which are for sale - covering 

• drawings, fine art prints (engravings, etchings, linocuts,woodcuts) and paintings
• in a wide range of media: graphite, charcoal, pastels, coloured pencils, metalpoint, ink, watercolour, acrylic, paper collage, stitched media and the ever present "mixed media"

The styles on show for any one medium are diverse. In that sense this is a good exhibition to view what's possible with different media.

Dry media such as pastels and charcoals are used by exhibiting artists in various styles from the very precise to the very painterly. Coloured pencil use is more related to precise drawings.

Graphite and pen and ink are very much favoured by those who like to be very precise.

Speaking personally I'd like to see a lot more fine art prints and rather fewer paintings.

The view of the exhibition at the entrance to the West Gallery

The Artists exhibiting include:

Simon Tolhurst - the man who draws cancer patients

It was a pleasure last night to see an item on BBC's The One Show about an artist, called Simon Tolhurst, who goes into hospitals treating cancer patients to draw the patients.

Uplifting and inspiring! @vicderbyshire sheds some light on the unsung heroes providing a much-needed distraction from cancer treatment ❤️ #TheOneShow 👉 https://t.co/Y4PS4GQPcL pic.twitter.com/Ou7GtTj1z7

— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) June 13, 2023

Below are a couple of screenshots from the programme of his drawing done while the patient was receiving treatment and then the patient looking at her portrait - and for me - her face says it all!

I gather this isn't the first time he's received a profile on the media - but it was certainly the first time I'd come across him. 

His official title is the HCC UCLH Portrait Artist in Residence at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - and he's been working in this way since 2013.

It's all part of the a a project run by Haematology Cancer Care (HCC) at the University College London Hospital (UCLH) Charity to make portraits of people at the UCLH Macmillan Cancer Centre. 

• He visits the centre on a weekly basis and makes pencil drawing portraits of patients and their relatives. 
• The project is free
• All sitters receive signed prints of their drawing. 
• More importantly, many of the sitters get a very real benefit in terms 
• I'm proposing to exhibit all the drawings together at a later date and prints of selected drawings are displayed in the hospital. 

The project has been featured by both television and print media

• Cancer centre's artist Simon Tolhurst calls portraits uplifting | BBC
• Portrait artist in residence at cancer centre describes ‘unique, uplifting’ work at UCLH | ITV

Thank you to the Press Association and journalist @LilyFord for their article about the Portrait Project for @HCC_UCLH at UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, here is the article on the @BBCNews website.https://t.co/ZZHeTjBfVR#portrait #drawing @uclh

— Simon Tolhurst (@SimonTolhurst) April 3, 2023

You can see more of his drawings of patients and exhibition on his 

• blog/website
• Twitter account
• Instagram account

During the pandemic, when obviously he could not visit the hospital, he also drew NHS staff - via the Wellcome Institute and a video link. This was part of the Arts & Heritage team’s Creative Comfort initiative to support staff wellbeing. see UCLH Staff Drawings Update and Exhibition News!

I'm now left wondering how many artists have attached themselves to other Cancer Centres or places where patients receive long term treatment for potentially life threatening illnesses. 

It would be nice to think this project is not just a "one off". There's been projects to bring Paintings in Hospitals for a long time. 

Maybe this should be broadened out to include "Artists in Hospitals" as well?

How a Court Artist works

Court artists - not one but THREE - have been all over the news media in the last two weeks as the Vardy vs Rooney Farce has played out at the High Court. But 

• do you know how a Court Artist works?
• did you know there are only four court artists in the UK?

Court artist Julia Quenzler drawing the picture that covers the first 20 seconds of our piece on 6 and 10 news tonight. (If u missed it!) pic.twitter.com/1y4dF4Tn4d

— Danny Savage (@dannysavage) November 10, 2016

The Court Artists

Here's some facts about court artists working in the UK

• There are only four Court Artists in the UK - and they are all women!
• They exist because cameras are not allowed in UK Courts. 
• Typically they are only employed to draw key players in the high profile / celebrity / sensational cases
• Court Artists are typically hired by the news media and commissioned to produce visuals for major news stories involving court cases
• To gain access to the the courtroom for high-profile trials, the courtroom artists must be sponsored by an accredited news agency.
• Their major skill needs to be in memorising what the scene looks like as NOBODY is allowed to make a drawing in court. However court artists can make written notes about manner and clothing. 
• Once they get outside court they have to work quickly to download the memory AND meet the deadline to produce the visual for the client. 
• Typically most use charcoal pencils and pastels for speed and saturation of colour.
• Each has a distinctive style - and some are better at accuracy and catching features than others.
• Court artists can also merchandise their sketches via the picture agencies such as Alamy.

Their names are as follows and you can find links to their websites embedded in their names below (if they have one)

• Priscilla Coleman 'The Courtroom Artist' - who uses GRN as her agent
• Julia Quenzler - no website or social media site
• Elizabeth Cook - no website but is featured on Alamy
• Siân Frances - has worked for The Times and Channel 4 News. She now describes herself as a "former court artist".

All the Court Artists seem to have been around for some time - and at least one seems to have retired herself. What I'm very surprised about is that:

• they don't make more use of photographs of the key players when drawing them outside the court - given some of the drawings are HIGHLY exaggerated and stylised and sometimes bear little resemblance to the individual in question.
• they don't have more competition from younger artists wielding marker pens which are so very often the medium of choice for those drawing fast for illustration today.

I'm impressed by the ensemble drawings of Priscilla Coleman - which you can see on her website. I assume most of these are drawn after the court risen for the day given the number of individuals she manages to cram in. It rather looks like she has a nice business in commission based artworks from some of those involved!

There's a really good way of checking whether you'd be any good as a court artist. Spend some time watching court cases on public enquiries on television and then move to another room and recreate a drawing of what you saw!

Back in January 2020 - before the Pandemic hit - The Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020 was published as draft legislation. The intention was that sentencing remarks in profile cases could be televised. However that's not the same as covering a civil court case such as Vardy vs Rooney - and I'm sure there will be a continued demand for courtroom sketches - done outside the court!

Articles about court artists

• Drawn in the dock: the story of courtroom illustration | It's Nice That
• Courtroom artists on their toughest cases: 'It's a compelling, sometimes upsetting job' | The Guardian - in which Elizabeth Cook describers her job
• Court artists: Quick on the draw | The Independent
• A day in the life of a court artist | BBC
• EXCLUSIVE: Secrets of the courtroom artists sketching the rich and famous in the dock | Daily Mirror
• Court Sketcher | Granta

Review: Portraiture - Big Painting Challenge 2018

Portraiture was the third genre to be tackled by The Big Painting Challenge (last night on BBC1 6pm). The setting - in the RAF's Centenary Year - was the RAF Museum at what used to be Hendon Aerodrome and the models were air cadets for the first challenge and RAF and WAAF Veterans for the Big Challenge.

I took a look online and there were a fair few (generally unfavourable) comparisons with the Portrait Artist of the Year programme broadcast by Sky Arts - which I guess is inevitable given the discrepancy in knowledge, experience and skills.

This series is such a disappointment. The quality of the painters is really poor. Might have been spoilt by seeing the high standard of Sky’s Portrait Artist of the Year which is so good in comparison. #BigPaintingChallenge

— Nicky (@nickycash) April 15, 2018

This week's blog post is going to include posts by the general public on Twitter as I detect a sea change in views about this programme which I think the BBC commissioners should pay serious attention to.

Leading up to the final judgement for somebody - at the RAF Museum

You can view the episode on iPlayer in Episode 3 of The Big Painting Challenge - and below is my digest/review of what happened in this week's episode

It follows on from my earlier posts:

• The Big Painting Challenge (2018) - The Issues which highlighted my niggles about this BBC programme
• Review: Still Life - Big Painting Challenge 2018 - which highlighted the contestants and the scope of the challenge in the context of car crash set-ups and an enormous complex interior - which was not a still life!
• Review: Nature - Big Painting Challenge 2018 - which saw them two teams painting dogs and trees.

These are the participants in their two teams for this week's episode. This year they seem to be switching people between the two mentors on a regular basis - although I don't remember that happening last year. It looks as if they swop one person with each episode. I guess that's to avoid a situation where one team gets left with too few painters.

Diana Ali's Team - Jane. Chris, Susan and Callum

Pascal Anson's Team - Oliver, Anil, Ray and Tilly

There were a fair few tensions within the teams

• Oliver wanted to make sure he did himself justice as he normally paints portraits
• Chris was really anxious as he had never ever painted a portrait before - on top of the fact that he has ocular albinism. I looked up the term this week - and now understand much better the problems it presents. (How do you judge somebody who can't see detail very well against those who can?)
• Callum had also never painted anybody from life - having spent his time to date painting sweetie packets from photos.

The First Challenge

The First Challenge involved that most difficult of portraits - a young person - in this case two young air cadets - with very young faces.

The artists had to all use the same size of support, media of their own choice and they could bring their own art supplies from home.

I found some of the "soundbite" comments from the Mentors to be absolutely farcical.

Drawing people

Given I've been commenting on other people painting portraits in my reviews of the Portrait Artist of the Year series, it occurred to me that maybe those who aren't aware of my background might think I had some nerve!

So I thought I'd better establish some credentials! 

I don't paint (I'm a "dry media" person) but I do draw.

I've also been drawing people for years.

Over the years I've also studied very many old master drawings - which is how come I like to hatch when I'm drawing in pen and ink and coloured pencil.

Plus I've commented on very many drawings and paintings of people by contemporary artists over the last 12 years as part of my reviews of exhibitions of portraiture eg the BP Portrait Award. 

A drawing in pen and ink in 45 minutes
no contour lines and no underdrawing
all hatching and eyeballing the model

Before my tenosynovitis in my drawing hand got bad (Don't EVER interview all day for two weeks non-stop!) I used to go to a weekly "Drawing a Head" class at the Princes Drawing School (now Royal Drawing School) - not so much for the tuition as having models to draw.

There I used to "eyeball" the models and in TWO HOURS used to progress through a series of personal challenges which went a little way beyond drawing the head

Draw two people, full size, in graphite on a large sheet of paper

The interesting thing about drawing two models is getting the perspective right
and making them look as if they are actually sat in the chair (or on a cushion)

I always drew in the backgrounds as it gave me a scaffolding matrix
against which to measure off parts of the body!

Draw the models and the other artists

Then there was two models and the artists on the other side of the room......

I spent many weeks doing this until I decided I now needed the challenge of pen and ink.....

Drawings of Holocaust Survivors

In the latter half of 2013, a young man and art student called Gideon Summerfield developed a project to draw Holocaust Survivors called "From Generation to Generation (L’Dor V’Dor)". Gideon's pen and ink drawings in of the men and women pen and ink from Jewish Care's Shalvata centre are included in an exhibition which opens on Friday (details below).

I think they demonstrate an amazing level of sensitivity both in terms of his project and the actual drawings - even more so when you consider they were completed by a 17 year old.

Portrait of Holocaust Survivor Freddie Knoller
From Generation to Generation
© Gideon Summerfield 

You can see his drawings on YouTube (below) and also macro crops on Facebook where they are accompanied by a narrative about the life of the individual portrayed and the object of their choice which is important to them.

Read more about his project in a couple of articles:

• Huffington Post - Drawing Inspiration - an article by Gideon Summerfield
• Youth Arts Online - Remembering With Gideon Summerfield - an interview with Gideon

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to learn from people now in their 80s and 90s about their experiences as children and teenagers, how they survived the death camps and the Holocaust. For me as an 18 year old, it has been a formative, and at times traumatic, learning experience.”
Gideon Summerfield

More about the exhibition and more Holocaust Art at the end.

Prior to this Gideon had completed a project called 'Sketch a Day' in which he drew somebody who was in the news every day for 366 days.  Age 17 years old, he drew his final drawing sat in the BBC Morning News Studio - where he was also interviewed. Click the 'Sketch a Day' link to visit the relevant page on his website - then click a link in the grid to see a larger image of each portrait of the person for that day.

Who Painted This? #47

Who painted this? #47

This week there are two changes to the normal challenge.

1. This is another crop of a painting. Remember the rules - you can only use WORDS to identify this painting via a database of paintings.  
2. You need to tell me - as a comment on this blog - who this is, which painting she features in and who painted her.  Tell me also what you can find out about this artist. 

This week the winner will be the person with the BEST answer rather than the first to respond - so you don't have to rush and have got time to do some research.

For those who've not risen to the challenge before please take a minute to read the rules - see below.  The questions which need answering don't stop at "Who painted this?"

How to participate in "Who painted this? #47"

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

Review: Laura Knight Portraits

Yesterday I went to see Laura Knight Portraits - the first major exhibition ever dedicated to portraits by Dame Laura Knight at the National Portrait Gallery in London. It opened to the public today and runs until 13th October 2013.

Dame Laura Knight - War Artist
(left to right) The Dock at Nuremberg, charcoal study of the British prosecutor David Maxwell Fyfe
Ruby Loftus screwing a breech ring and Switch Works© The Estate of Dame Laura Knight DBE RA, 2013

The exhibition includes over 40 paintings and drawings and is ordered in a chronological sequence across her artistic career.  I'm going to include photographs taken in the exhibition in this review - but will also refer you to specific paintings on the Laura Knight section of the BBC Your Paintings website where you can see much bigger reproductions online.  So click the links if you'd like a better look and they'll open in a new window!

It's also a perspective on life in her chosen corners of Britain in the first half of the 20th century.

I was interested in Dame Laura Knight before this exhibition. However having seen the exhibition and listened to the Curator's Introduction to her story of these paintings within the context of her life I'm now a lot more interested.

About Laura Knight

Dame Laura Knight (1877 - 1970) was the first woman artist to be made a Dame of the British Empire, in 1929 in her mid 50s.  She was also only the second woman artist (after Anne Surymerton) to be admitted as a full member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1936 having been admitted as an Associate Member in 1927.  It has to be said that this was an era when the avant garde artists were not queuing up to become members!  It was said at the time that the RA needed Laura Knight as much as Laura Knight needed the RA!

Her art education involved her enrolment at the Nottingham School of Art at the age of 13 (in 1890). She was probably the youngest pupil they ever enrolled.  She was a student there until 1895 when her other died and Laura had to start earning - by taking on her mother's pupils.

Which are the best books about Portraiture?

This is a post for all portrait artists and those who aspire to become one.

The idea is to crowdsource a perspective on which are the best art instruction books which cover portraiture:

• drawing and/or painting portraits 
• and/or portrait artists 
• and/or portraiture in general

In recent years round about this time I ask you about your views on your best art books

• 2009 - Your favourite art books - what you like
• 2010 - Which are the best art books about watercolour painting?
• 2011 - Which are the best books about oil painting?Last year I was going to ask you about portrait painting and for some reason forgot to publish the post!

I decided the next crowd sourcing enquiry one should be about drawing and painting people - and portraiture.  However ran into one or two problems.....

I personally arrived at portraiture via drawing people with no clothes on! I got back into art via a life class at Central St. Martins School of Art.  A lot of the first art books I bought were about drawing people - here's part of my portraiture (art instruction) shelf - except I look at it and can spot the ones which are missing!

Some of my books about drawing and painting figures and portraits

From there I then later did a class about Drawing the Head at the Princes Drawing School - and you can see my efforts on my website - Drawing A Head and Drawing Artists
The thing is when I first came to tackle the topic of portraiture for this Enquiry I got well and truly entangled.

There are just so many sub-topics and so many books!  So I started trying to sort them out and ended up creating two websites (which I've almost finished)

The first one I decided should be about art instruction relating to:

• drawing the figure / anatomy for artists
• drawing key features - the head, face and hands
• painting portraits (in different media)

My second website is about the history of portraiture and individual portrait artists.  It focuses more on books which show you the artwork produced by individual portrait artists and those who liked drawing figures.

This is my Lucian Freud stash!

Which books about portraiture do you recommend?

Who painted this? #27

Apologies for the lack of a Who Painted this? last week - but last Friday was the day after my eye surgery and I needed a break (see Normal vision will be resumed as soon as possible) because it wasn't very to look at the screen.  This post takes quite a long time to set up as I seem to look at an awful lot of images before settling on one - so I decided to skip a week - and a few days of posting!

Anyway, I have a very nice image for you this week.  Not your usual sort of painting - but then you wouldn't expect anything too easy would you?

I suspect this will be either a "get it straight away" or "lots of searches and blind allies - and lots of learning about art history" - which is of course why I do this!  You might also learn a bit about dogs on the way! ;)

Who painted this? #27

How to participate in "Who painted this? #27"

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

Who painted this? #26

Six months completed of this challenge and it continues to bring new people on board each week!

Who is this handsome chap and which artist drew him?

Who painted this? #26

How to participate in "Who painted this? #26"

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
• if correct it will not be published until the next post - which provides the answer
• if wrong it will be published
• do not leave the answer on Facebook!
• the winner - who gets a mention and a link on/from this blog - is the first person to give me a completely correct answer for ALL the things I want to know

Who Painted This #25 - The Answer

Portrait Nominations for Best Artwork | MAM Awards 2012

The 2012 Making a Mark Prize for Best Artwork - People aims to celebrate and highlight excellence in portraiture and/or artwork predominantly involving figures seen on an art blog in 2012.

Listed below you will find the nominations for the Best Picture (portrait/figure) on an art blog in 2012. The details of the nomination process and criteria for submissions can be found in Nominate the Best Picture of People on an Art Blog in 2012

• Three works will be shortlisted (including the nomination I've yet to make)
• Larger images of the three shortlisted works will be included in the invitation to vote for the winner which will be posted on Wednesday 26th December
• voting for the best picture continues until a minute after midnight on 30th December

This is a link to the

• Landscape Nominations for Best Artwork | MAM Awards 2012
• Still Life Nominations for Best Artwork | MAM Awards 2012
• Nature Nominations for Best Artwork | MAM Awards 2012

Red Bow by Arto Isotalo
Oil on canvas board
40.7 x 30.5 cm
© Arto Isotalo

Nominations for Best Picture of a Person or People on an Art Blog 2012

Nominated Artwork: Red Bow 
Nominated Artist: Arto Isotalo (Arto's Art) - Espoo, Finland
Post: Red bow
Nominated by: Roger Brown (Art Of The Wild by Roger Brown) - Botswana

This is one portrait painting that has stood out in my memory from this year. The reasons I like this painting is the way he used quick fresh strokes of the brush to complete it.  I love the contrasts, of color and texture, a dark brown background done with a thin wash, and then the thick impasto white of the little girls bonnet. Although its entitled the Red Bow, the bow is just a small splash of red ,almost insignificant and yet it stills captures the viewers attention.  Certainly a painting I would have on my wall.

Figure Study by Michael Whynot
red chalk,
11" x 8"
©  Michael Whynot

Nominated Artwork: Figure Study 
Nominated Artist: Michael Whynot (And the splendour is without end) - Nova Scotia, Canada
Post: The Rhythm of Life
Nominated by: Self

I like this particular work because in this torso study I have finally begun to achieve a real sense of volume. All the pieces finally came together: line weight, tone, gesture; the figure seems as though it is preparing to move at any moment.

Nominated Artwork: Anger
Nominated Artist: Sudakshina Ghosh (Pages from my journal) - Singapore
Post:  Year 2012 offering stimulation for more practice
Nominated by:  Self

Anger by Sudakshina Ghosh©  

I have done the portrait only with coffee mixed with water on water colour paper. The face is a random face from the crowd in India but the expression is entirely my own imagination.

Quarter Self Portrait
by Paul Hutchinson

Oil on Ceramic Tile

24x24mm

©  Pail Hutchinson

Nominated Artwork: Quarter Self Portrait
Nominated Artist: Paul Hutchinson (Postcard From Puniho) - Taranaki, New Zealand
Post: Quarter Self Portrait
Nominated by: Maria Avila (Artista 24 Horas)

Well... you don't get the whole thing for this price. I hate it when people visit my studio unannounced and demand to see The Paintings. When I point out that they are surrounded by paintings they crack jokes about them being small etc... and "have you got any bigger ones"? My reaction is to want to paint even smaller paintings. One day they may well disappear entirely. I also wanted to try out painting on these little ceramic tiles. I primed it with the clear GAC medium and it seemed to work quite well. I spent two sessions on this one. The smaller ones don't necessarily take less time, you just use smaller brushes.  Paul Hutchinson

Nominated Artwork: Conclusions
Unfortunately this artwork was not created in 2012 and is not eligible 
Nominated Artist: Dale Copeland
Nominated by: Maria Avila (Artista 24 Horas)

UPS Delivers at Night by Jana Bouc

Oil on stretched canvas

20 h x16 w"

© Jana Bouc

Nominated Artwork:  UPS Delivers at Night
Nominated Artist: Jana Bouc (Janas Journal) - San Francisco Bay area
Post: Brown Delivers…in the Dark (portrait in oil with steps in the process)
Nominated by: Self

I have been studying oil painting, mostly on my own, for the past three years after painting in watercolor for 25 years. I struggled on so many levels--it was a difficult transition. But I was persistent and tried to turn every roadblock into an opportunity to learn (after getting over the despair of yet another failure!)
Finally, with this painting, everything came together. I found an oil painting process that works for me, from the critical initial drawing and value study through each of the steps and layers of the painting. This also includes allowing initial strokes to live as is when they say what they need to say. This was especially true in the hand which was painted quickly as a first layer but upon stepping back and looking, I saw it "just worked" as is and I left it alone.
I was so pleased at the comments on the post which mentioned the kindness and sweetness of this gentleman because I saw that not only had I captured his likeness but also his warm heart (despite the cold, dark setting of the painting).
When I shared the post of the painting with the UPS driver he was thrilled and wants to buy it to hang in his home as a family heirloom for his kids (the best possible measure of success of a portrait!) He has worked for UPS for 11 years and has 4 children. He shared it with his UPS colleagues and now when UPS delivers they know me as the one who painted Larry. And UPS Corporate wants to feature a story about it in January!
As background to how I happened to paint him: I started a series of paintings of people working...from photos I took in my local shops (butcher, barista, librarian, etc.). One night in December this UPS man delivered the flooring for my studio renovation and I asked if I could take his photo. He was sweet, posed quickly (it was late) and we exchanged business cards. The other paintings are still awaiting final finishing details but when Larry called me a couple months ago to check on the painting it spurred me to finish his.

Independence Day by Suzanne Lago Arthur
oil on canvas
18″ x 32″
© Suzanne Lago Arthur

Nominated Artwork: Independence Day
Nominated Artist: Suzanne Lago Arthur (lagoarthurstudio) - Washington(?)
Post: “Independence Day”
Nominated by: eLIZabeth Floyd (eLIZabeth Floyd Studio) - Alexandria, Virginia

I would like to nominate Suzanne Lago Arthur's portrait of her son.

I am particularly fond of this portrait because of how it combines a highly finished rendering of a young boy holding a sparkler while also abstracting the background. This could be anyone’s son, in any yard in America on the 4th of July. A universal theme that reaches out and speaks to my heart. And it is also a capital likeness of her son!

Private Palm House
by szabó klára petra
watercolor on paper
17 x 27,5 cm
© szabó klára petra

Nominated Artwork: Private palm house
Nominated Artist: szabó klára petra (szabó klára petra)
Post: Private palm house
Nominated by: Self

I would like to nominate a work of my own. This is a self portrait. Very personal. I painted to someone.

The Hesketh Hubbard Art Society - Annual Show

The Hesketh Hubbard Art Society is based in the Mall Galleries and this week it's been exhibiting its annual show.

See Hesketh Hubbard Setting Up (March 2011)
16.5 x 11", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

About the Hesketh Hubbard Society

The Hesketh Hubbard Art Society offers both amateur and professional artists the opportunity to work from live models in untutored sessions. Membership is £215 a year, for which there are 48 drawing sessions and no cover charge. Prospective members are invited to attend one session free before deciding if they wish to apply for membership.Read more about the Hesketh Hubbard Society

Its key features are:

• founded in 1930 by the Royal Society of British Artists as a drawing club
• has about 150 members and is London's largest life drawing club
• provides opportunities for life drawing from live models in untutored sessions
• weekly session at Mall Galleries - on Monday or Friday
• four models available: three ‘life’ providing 15 minute poses, 30 minute poses or a ‘long’ 2 hour pose and one clothed portrait.
• annual fee: £215 a year, for which there are 48 drawing sessions and no cover charge.
• no juried entry

The thing which deters me from joining this society is the fee which is steep if you don't go every week.

An alternative option are the various places which provide drop-in life drawing sessions for free (eg  Princes Drawing School - first Thursday of the month) or sessions which can be booked and paid for on a more ad hoc basis (eg at museums and art galleries) or on at least a termly basis (art schools).

Annual Exhibition

The Annual Exhibition can be found in the North Gallery.

This is not a Society which has juried entry for either the Society or its annual exhibition.   Artwork on display is by participating members and from what I can see this is not an open exhibition and hence there is no work by non-members.  Due to this way of operating, I found it unsurprising that the works on display reminded me very much of an ordinary art society.  The calibre of work on show is very definitely NOT the same calibre as artwork seen in exhibitions by the other FBA art societies based at the Mall Galleries.

However what did surprise me a lot was that very little of the artwork in the exhibition appeared to be life drawings or paintings done in one of the untutored live sessions of the Society.  Whenever I've seen an exhibition by a Life Drawing Club before it's always been of work done in one of the sessions.

I may of course have got this entirely wrong as I've never attended one of the sessions and hence have not seen the quality of the work produced.  However I have regularly attended life drawing classes over the years and am very familiar with the type and calibre of the work produced in such sessions.

I would have really enjoyed seeing more 'live' life drawings - it was certainly one of the reasons I visited - and I wish there were more.

What would have been good is if all exhibits were clearly marked as to whether they were live session work or studio work.

Links:

• Hesketh Hubbard - about the society
• Hesketh Hubbard Events - includes list of dates and times of sessions

The Next Generation - Portraiture for Teenagers

One of the interesting aspects of art museums and galleries which doesn't often get a high profile is the work they do in relation to education generally - and the education of younger people in particular.

The Next Generation is a project run by the National Portrait Gallery which is all about inspiring 14­-19-year-olds (aka "The Next Generation") about portraiture.  It provides different opportunities for teenagers to meet with and gain insights from past BP Portrait Award artists and to share their own artwork.

There's a display about the Next Generation  Project in the NPG -  in the Room 36 Lobby (as you make your way towards the BP Portrait Award 2012 exhibition).   This tells the story of Next Generation through a short film and a selection of painted works from past Summer Schools.

On Sunday I'm going to be observing the last session of one of the initiatives -The Next Generation Taster Session. Below here's what I found when I investigated the nature of the different opportunities on offer

If you know young people interested in portraiture
I suggest you bookmark this post and send them a link to it.

BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Taster Sessions

Try your hand at portrait drawing and meet practising artists in one of five short Taster Sessions, kicking off on the first weekend of BP Portrait Award 2012. Bookings essential on a first-come, first-served basis. Please book for only one session. All materials provided. Please supply your full name and contact details, mobile number, age and preferred session date.

On Sunday, 24 young people will work in three groups within the Galleries hosting the BP Portrait Award exhibition.  It provides them with an opportunity to meet other young people interested in art, to try new techniques for drawing and to meet with some of the artists who have won the BP Portrait Award.

You can see some of the ativities which occur in photos in the National Portrait Gallery BP Next Generation's photostream.

This is a link to the slideshow view of those photos.

A number use the Taster Sessions as a launch pad to their application to and involvement with the Summer Schools

BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Summer Schools for 14-19 year olds

After a more intensive experience? Apply for a place at one of our three-day Summer Schools in August to work with past BP Portrait Award-winning artists and experiment with painting, life drawing and other portraiture techniques. Applications are encouraged from these boroughs: Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Newham and Greenwich.

The Summer Schools are free and materials and refreshments are provided. You can download Summer Schools information and application forms from this link to the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Summer Schools

Who can apply
If you are interested in portraiture, are studying art in a secondary school, live in London and the Home Counties and are aged between 14-19 years old you can apply.  Applications are particularly encouraged from the young people who live in the London 2012 Host Boroughs – Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Newham

How to apply

• Entry is by application. This is a link to the application form (Word doc). Note the Artist Statement of the application is particularly important.
• There are only 18 places in each of the two summer schools
• There is still time to apply for the Summer Schools.
• Applications close onTuesday 24 July at 5.00pm

Dates and times

• Summer School 1: Wednesday 15 – Friday 17 August 2012 11.30 – 16.30
• Summer School 2: Monday 20 – Wednesday 22 August 2011 11.30 – 16.30

BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Flickr Group

I'm very impressed with the quality of the painting I've seen posted to the Next Generation Flickr Group.

• This is a link to the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation  Flickr Group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/bpnextgeneration) where young people share their paintings
• you can also view the painted portraits which young people have shared in the Online Flickr Gallery with other young people in the NPG's online gallery

Some of the portraits by young people in the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Flickr Group 

BP Next Generation on Twitter

The twitter feed for the project is https://twitter.com/bpnextgen

Meet the Artist

Tomorrow (Wednesday 18th July) a one day event is being held for secondary school art students and their teachers called Meet the Artist. You can read about previous Meet the Artist events and the processes and approaches for portraiture used by different artists.

The artists involved are photographers or painters and have typically been involved with the two major competitions run by the NPG.

Secondary art students and teachers can meet three past BP Portrait Award-winning artists through the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation project. This full-day session includes presentations by artists, an artist-led portrait drawing activity followed by Q&A. A viewing of BP Portrait Award 2012 and a feedback session with artists on hand to support and encourage students’ sketchbook work concludes an exciting day.

National Portrait Gallery Youth Forum

The Youth Forum meets on the first Thursday evening of the month and is an opportunity for young people to have a voice at the National Portrait Gallery.

Facebook
This is the Facebook Page for The National Portrait Gallery Youth Forum

Podcast
The National Portrait Gallery’s Youth Forum has developed their first podcast, ‘Tune In’, responding to key works and key themes in this year’s BP Portrait Award 2012.

• It's aimed at other young people and general visitors
• it's FREE and downloadable from the NPG website and from iTunes.
• It can also be listened to within the Digital Space at the National Portrait Gallery.

The NPG and its projects are also part of The English National Youth Arts Network (ENYAN)

Journal and sketchbook Illustrations by Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria's Journals have been published online as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee.  This is the latest project of a grand scheme to digitise the royal household and its collections and archives.

Queen Victoria was, of course, the only other monarch to date to have achieved a Diamond Jubilee.

Queen Victoria was the longest serving British monarch, reigning as Queen from 1837 to 1901 and as Empress of India from 1877. In total 141 volumes of her journal survive, numbering 43,765 pages.

The illustrations are split between:

• journal illustrations She married Prince Albert in 1840 and she is most prolific between 1841 and 1860 - her child-bearing years.  The journals contain a number of pen and ink illustrations by the Queen - often of her children, relatives and people in her household - and the dogs!  In other words exactly the same sort of subject matter as that found in the journals of those who like illustrating their journals.  
• sketchbook illustrations These are mainly pencil and watercolour studies.  Prior to marriage she seems to have enjoyed sketching people.  Some of her drawings are more studied than others.  She carried on sketching people until the mid 1840s when she starts to develop landscape studies of the places she lived and the places she visited - such as this “View from the Walk near the Dee in Balmoral Grounds”. Watercolour, by Queen Victoria - and “Torquay”. Watercolour made on board the Royal Yacht, the Victoria and Albert, by Queen Victoria.  She's an accomplished amateur painter in watercolours.

An example of her landscapes can be seen below.  However it's obvious from her journals and sketchbooks that what she most enjoyed doing was sketching people.

Scottish Landscape Studies.  Page of watercolours by Queen Victoria
© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2012 © Bodleian Libraries © ProQuest

You can read an essay on Queen Victoria's sketchbook - which I personally found very interesting as an account not only of how young ladies were taught to paint but also in terms of the way her habits indicate the nature of her character.

The website www.queenvictoriasjournals.org is very well atttuned to accessibility issues and has tried very hard to make both navigation and viewing of the Journals and illustrations as easy as possible.

The project is a partnership between the Royal Archives, Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University and the online publisher, ProQuest who should be commended for their efforts in bringing these illustrations into public view.

Other Jubilee activities

In addition to the digitisation of Queen Victoria’s Journals, the Royal Archives has undertaken the following projects in Diamond Jubilee year:

• An online partnership project has been undertaken withwww.findmypast.co.uk so that the public may trace their ancestors who have worked for the Royal Household. Free access to the records, which range from the seventeenth century to 1920, will also be available in the National Archives’ Reading Rooms in Kew.
• A selection of Queen Victoria’s school copy books will be available for viewing at the National Archives at Kew for the first time.
• “Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Scrapbook”, a website focused on Queen Victoria’s life and reign, including her Diamond Jubilee in 1897, was launched by Buckingham Palace in April 2012. It contains documents from the Royal Archives, paintings and photographs from the Royal Collection, as well as audio and film clips. See www.queen-victorias-scrapbook.org.
• Over the Diamond Jubilee period, the Twitter account @QueenVictoriaRI will tweet selected excerpts from Queen Victoria’s Journals, illustrated by links to photographs, paintings and original documents. This account will run from 24th May until 7th June.

The Da Vinci Queue

The queue on the Opening Day of the Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition
at the Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery in London

Just in case any of you want to see the Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibition at the National Gallery - above and on the right are a couple of photos I took of what the queue to get in looked like late this afternoon.

Da Vinci Exhibition Queue
photographed from inside the Gallery

Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan is open until 5 February 2012.  It is unique - having 9 of the remaining 15 paintings by Leonardo da Vinci on display.

It's a bone fide blockbuster of an exhibition - with queues to match.  It will be very crowded inside even with timed entry if my experience of other National Gallery exhibitions is anything to go by.

Recommendation - buy ticket in advance

Advance ticket booking (via the website) is strongly recommended by the Gallery and by me.

[UPDATE:  ALL ADVANCE TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT

At present the National Gallery is saying to expect a three hour wait to buy tickets for the exhibition.

I will keep this post updated with the latest queue situation as and when I'm passing the National Gallery.  Feel free to send me your photos if you visit and take a snap]

Don't even think of coming to see it at the weekend or during the seasonal holidays without a ticket bought in advance! [no longer relevant - they're sold out.  Note that tickets bought from third parties will NOT be honoured by the National Gallery.  They're trying to stamp out ticket touts]

I very much recommend you order a ticket BEFORE you come to London to see it.

UPDATE:  just spotted this tweet by the National Gallery

just been confirmed that advance tickets available for dates in Jan&Feb only - this is now updated on our website.

You can order tickets via the National Gallery website.  Ticket Prices are as follows for Timed-ticket entry

• Gift Aid* adult £17.60
• Gift Aid* senior (60+) £15.40
• Full price £16.00
• Senior (60+)/concession £14.00
• National Art Pass (Art Fund) holders £8.00
• Students/Job seekers/12-18s £8.00

Opening times (for this exhibition ONLY) are as follows:

• Open daily 10am–6pm (last admission 5pm)
• Late nights including Fridays and Saturdays until 10pm (last admission 9pm)
• Sundays until 7pm (last admission 6pm)

Recommendation - download introduction to exhibition 

Here's:

• a slideshow of the works on display
• more about the artwork produced by Leonardo da Vinci on the Gallery website

You can also download an Introduction to the Exhibition as a pdf file from the National Gallery website


Download the exhibition guide [PDF 610kb – opens in a new window]

I took a look at the Da Vinci exhibition catalogue while in the Sainsbury Wing shop this afternoon and, as I expected, there's an awful lot of Da Vinci's drawings in the exhibition.  So good news for those of who enjoy drawing.

Now all I have to do is work out when is going to be the quietest bit of the week to get my ticket!