The Andrew Wyeth Movie

Here's the extended trailer for the new documentary film about Andrew Wyeth. It was originally planned for a 2012 release - but it's now going to be next month!


WYETH - Extended Trailer from FreshFly on Vimeo.


This is what I can find out:

WYETH is a documentary film telling the story of one of America’s most popular, but least understood, artists. While his exhibitions routinely broke attendance records, art world critics continually assaulted his work. Through unprecedented access to Wyeth family members, archival materials, and his work, WYETH presents the most complete portrait of the artist ever - bearing witness to a legacy just at the moment it is evolving.

The film:

• tells the story of one of America’s most popular, but least understood, artists
• examines the mastery of technique in Wyeth's work (drawings, watercolors, tempera, drybrush)
• reviews the sources of the emotional undercurrents and exposes the influences on his creativity.
• includes hundreds of Wyeth's paintings in the film - you can see a complete list of all the artwork here

It has its own website https://www.andrewwyethmovie.com/ and it also has the support of the Andrew Wyeth Office and Wyeth knew it was planned before he died.

This is the review of the film by Hollywood Reporter - which is very complimentary....

this is an expertly made, exhaustively researched documentary with a suitably painterly feel in its widescreen visuals. There is compositional beauty in cinematographer Phil Bradshaw's textured images, but also the harshness and darkness that were quintessential elements of Wyeth's art. Given the ongoing rediscovery and deeper appreciation of his work that has continued since his death in 2009, the film should find a receptive audience at festivals and art forums.

Image of Wyeth's Studio, © Phil Bradshaw, FreshFly

Another perspective on his studio -  © Phil Bradshaw, FreshFly

The Andrew Wyeth Prints website - a site authorised by the family to deal in prints of his paintings - comments as follows

The Andrew Wyeth MovieCurrently titled “Wyeth”, the movie line was written in 2008 and personally approved by Andrew Wyeth himself, who cited a desire for the screenwriter “not to take it easy on him at all.” The project not only has Andrew’s personal blessing, but also the approval of the Wyeth family, who have confirmed that the events in the screenplay are based on facts and actual events. Unfortunately, ninety-five year-old Andrew passed away in late 2009, before the film could be completed.

Andrew Wyeth, © Christian C. Sanderson

This is how you can see it

• PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE - WYETH will screen at the Kimmel Center on September 5, 2018. Click here for tickets.
• WYETH will be broadcast during PBS' American Masters on September 7, 2018. Check your local listings.
• WYETH is available for pre-order on DVD at Amazon and ShopPBS.

No news yet of how it can be seen outside the USA. 

I do hope it's going to Netflix!

BP Portrait Award 2018 - The Shortlist

Four artists - three women and a man - have been shortlisted for the First Prize in the 39th BP Portrait Award. They are:

• An Angel At My Table - Miriam Escofet’s portrait of her mother, 
• Time Traveller, Matthew Napping - Felicia Forte painting of her partner Matthew DeJong asleep in bed (Instagram)
• A Portrait Of two Female Painters - Ania Hobson's painting includes a self-portrait and a portrait of her sister in law, Stevie Dix, and 
• Simone - Zhu Tongyao’s portrait of his Italian neighbour.

An Angel At My Table by Miriam Escofet © Miriam Escofet; Time Traveller, Matthew Napping by Felicia Forte © Felicia Forte; A Portrait of two Female Painters by Ania Hobson © Ania Hobson; Simone by Zhu Tongyao © Zhu Tongyao

The BP Portrait Award 2018

The winner of the £35,000 BP Portrait Award will be announced on 11th June 2018 at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

It must be nice to go to an awards ceremony as a shortlisted artist knowing the worst that can happen is you're coming away with a cheque for a considerable sum of money - somewhere between £9,000 and £35,000.

The prizes for this competition, which attracts entries from all over the world, are as follows

• First Prize: £35,000 plus a commission worth £7,000 to paint a portrait for the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection, to be agreed between the Gallery and the artist. 
• Second Prize: £12,000 
• Third Prize: £10,000.
• The BP Young Artist Award: £9,000 - to one selected artist aged between 18 and 30 (i.e. born 1988 and after - which means you can work out which shortlisted artists are NOT eligible for this award)

That's a prize post of £66,000 - this is a serious prestigious exhibition from an international perspective.

In terms of the competition as a whole:

• Purpose: This highly prestigious competition aims to encourage international artists over the age of eighteen to focus upon, and develop, the theme of portraiture in their work.
• The Entry: The shortlist of four was selected from 2,667 (+ 87) portraits by artists from 88 (+1) countries 2,580 87 countries (the entry is limited to one portrait per artist). 
• Selected Artists: I shall also be publishing a blog post about the 47 artists whose portraits were also got selected for the exhibition. I'll be doing a brief synopsis of the artist and their work and highlighting their websites. (Why would the Judges choose c.6-8 fewer artists than usual is the question we'll all be pondering over in the next few days!)

Later this week I will start my post profiling the 44 other artists also selected for the exhibition. This year the total number of portraits/artists selected for the exhibition is 48 - which is significantly fewer than usual - even when the exhibition has included enormous portraits.

The BP Portrait Award Exhibition will be on display at the following venues:

• National Portrait Gallery, London - 14 June to 23 September 2018
• Wolverhampton Art Gallery - 13 October – 2 December 2018 and 
• Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh - 15 Dec 2018 - 10 March 2019.

It's the 39th year of the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery and the 29th year of sponsorship by BP. 

Artists shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award 2018

BELOW you can find PROFILES for each of the shortlisted artists

BP Portrait Award 2017 - The Shortlist

The three artists shortlisted for the First Prize in the 38th BP Portrait Award are:

• Thomas Ehretsmann (France) for Double Portrait
• Benjamin Sullivan (UK) for Breech! 
• Antony Williams (UK) for Emma

All the shortlisted portraits feature female sitters and are painted in three different media - egg tempera, oil and acrylic.  All the painters have previously had works selected for the BP exhibition. Each of them is guaranteed a prize - but only one has previously won a prize in this very prestigious art competition.

Below is a summary about each artist. The names of the first, second and third prizewinners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony, which will be on the evening of Tuesday 20th June. It must be nice to go to it as a shortlisted artist knowing the worst that can happen is you're coming away with a cheque for a considerable sum of money - somewhere between £8,000 and £30,000.

Tomorrow's blog post will be about the artists selected for the exhibition.  (Artists can start emailing me images of their portraits if they'd like to see them featured in the post)

The BP Portrait Award Exhibition will be on display at the following venues:

• National Portrait Gallery, London all summer. It opens to the public on 22 June and continues until 24 September 2017 (Admission Free)
• Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery Exeter (4 October – 3 December 2017); 
• Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh (December 2017 – March 2018); 
• Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens (March – June 2018.)

Artists shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award 2017

This highly successful annual event is aimed at encouraging artists over the age of eighteen to focus upon, and develop, the theme of portraiture in their work.

The prizes for this competition, which attracts entries from all over the world, are as follows

• First Prize: £30,000 plus a commission worth £5,000 to paint a portrait for the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection, to be agreed between the Gallery and the artist. 
• Second Prize: £10,000 
• Third Prize: £8,000.

In terms of the competition as a whole:

• The Entry: The shortlist of three was selected from 2,580 portraits by artists from 87 countries (the entry is limited to one portrait per artist). 
• Selected Artists: Tomorrow's blog post will be about who got selected for the exhibition. I'll be linking their websites to the names of the artists and doing a brief synopsis of the artist and their work.
• The Best of the Rest: the closing date for How to enter my BP Portrait "Best of the Rest" 2017- of those not selected - is Friday.

Thomas Ehretsmann

Double Portrait by Thomas Ehretsmann
(300 x 400mm, Acrylic on board)

Age: 42 (Born in Mulhouse France in 06.07.1974)

Nationality: French
Occupation: artist and illustrator. His illustration work has been featured in the New Yorker, Rolling Stone and Elle Magazine.
Current home:
Art education: a degree in illustration from the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, Strasbourg

Previous appearances in this award: Vacuum 2 was selected for the BP Portrait Award 2016 exhibition
Website: http://www.thomas-ehretsmann.com/en/
Title / Media: Double Portrait (300 x 400mm, Acrylic on board)

Subject: Double Portrait captures a moment when the artist was walking in the park with his wife, Caroline. The title, Double Portrait, suggest the passage from one state of being to another as Caroline was eight months pregnant at the time.

Ehretsmann was struck by the light on Caroline’s face which he said reminded him of the work of naturalist painters Jules Bastien-Lepage and Emile Friant. 

I met Thomas last year - see BP Portrait Award 2016 - Artists with their paintings - so this is the first year for me that I've met all three artists prior to the announcement!

This year, as last, his paintings comprises multiple layers of semi-transparent acrylic paint - painted in very small hatching marks. He's also a master of tone control in muted and darker passages of the painting.

I met Thomas last year at the preview

Benjamin Sullivan

I've had Ben Sullivan 'tagged' as a future BP Portrait First Prizewinner for as long as I've been writing this blog and covering this competition!

He paints absolutely beautifully and also captures extremely good likenesses of everybody he paints.

He's exhibited in every BP Portrait Exhibition every year since 2006. I love the fact that in addition to his regular commissions, he also paints his family. It was wonderful to finally meet up with Ginnie and Edith, their new baby, at last year's Awards Ceremony when Ben won 3rd Prize. She was such a big hit with everybody, I'm not in the least bit surprised in the choice for this year's portrait!

Noli me tangere

"Noli me tangere" is a phrase which has generated paintings across the centuries.

It's particularly relevant to Easter Sunday as the phrase is the Latin version of what Jesus Christ is supposed to have said to Mary Magdalene when she saw him after his resurrection (John 20: 14-18) - which is, of course, what Easter Sunday is supposed to be all about.

(This post is to counterbalance the Easter Bunny festival we seem to have these days!)

Scenes from the Passion of Christ by Hans Memling by Hans Memling
oil on panel
Galleria Sabauda, Turin
click the link to see the entire picture

'Noli me tangere' variously translates - depending on whether you are looking at

• the Greek source - "cease holding on to me" or "stop clinging to me"
• or Latin derivation "don't tread on me" or "don't touch me."

Below are images of the various paintings titled Noli me tangere - in chronological order, with details of who painted them. Paintings are sourced from Wikimedia Commons (link in the title). The location cited in the caption often links to the information page about the painting at the gallery, museum or church where it is now.

I find it fascinating how one single theme - and a phrase - can generate so many different interpretations by different artists over time - especially since the artists are like a roll call of the greats!

Below you can see the development of art by Giotto, Duccio, Fra Angelico, Memling, Botticelli, Dürer, Titian, Holbein, Poussin, Lorrain

No. 37 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 21. Resurrection (Noli me tangere) (1304-06) by Giotto di Bondone (1266/7 – 1337)
Fresco, 200 x 185 cm
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Giotto completed a fresco cycle in The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. The frescoes narrate events in the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ and cover all the walls.

There are various online images of the Giotto fresco relating to the resurrection (Noli me tangere) because of a recent full-scale restoration of all the frescos in the chapel (hence 'before' and 'after').

This 2015 blog post is worth a read The Scrovegni Chapel: My Moment with Giotto’s Masterpiece

Noli me tangere (Maestà de Sienne) (c.1308-11)
- by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319) 
Tempera and gold on wood, 51 x 57 cm
Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana del Duomo, Siena

I'll never ever forget when I was introduced for the first time to The Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna in Sienna.  Several individual paintings make up an incredible impressive altarpiece which was installed in Siena Cathedral on 9 June 1311. The reverse comprises a combined cycle of the Life of the Virgin and the Life of Christ in a total of forty-three small scenes. This is one of those.

In this painting, the landscape plays a major part in emphasising the posture of Mary Magdalene.

Noli me tangere (c.1440-1442) by Fra Angelico (1395-1455)
Fresco, Height: 166 cm (65.4 in). Width: 125 cm (49.2 in)
San Marco, Florence

This fresco by Fra Angelico is in the former Dominican Friary of San Marco in Florence - now the Museo Nazionale di San Marco. The Museums of Florence website tells you more about it and the art it contains


One of the things which struck me while reviewing the painting is what a major part vegetation plays in many of the paintings - and the variations as to whether it was local to the painter or more associated with the Middle East.

Advent and Triumph of Christ (detail) 1480
by Hans Memling (1433-1494)
oil on oak, 31.89 inch wide x 74.41 inch high
Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

I'm a big fan of Hans Memling (in terms of paintings I've personally seen) but am not very well acquainted with all his works. I had no idea he had painted the 'Passion of Christ' as a complete painting (see the painting at the top). In that the meeting between Christ and Mary Magdalene is tiny.

Michael Gaskell (2nd Prize BP Portrait 2015) - a video interview

Apologies to those who sat and waited last night for this video interview with Michael Gaskell who this week won the second prize of £10,000 in the BP Portrait Award 2015.

I've finally found a work round for the appalling broadband problems I've been having while enormous holes are dug in the road next to the BT Street box!

Michael Gaskell BP Portrait Award 2015 - 2nd prizewinner

Michael has now won the second prize FOUR TIMES!  He last won 2nd prize in 2010 didn't submit work for five years, submitted a new portrait this year and won 2nd prize again - with his very first portrait painting in acrylic!

He is "Mr Consistent". He's also one of the artists I'd want to shortlist the person I'd want painting any children I had....

The video was filmed in the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Apologies for my "shouty" voice - there was a considerable din from artists chatting to artists in the preview! :)

In the video you can hear him talking about:

• how many times he has been selected for the BP Portrait Award, shortlisted and won prizes. You can read my previous blog posts featuring him:
• BP Portrait Award: Michael Gaskell's unparalled record
• BP Portrait Award 2010 - Shortlist announced
• BP Portrait Award 2009 - the shortlist
• how he changed his media from egg tempera to acrylic for this painting
• his approach to painting - in acrylic and egg tempera - and how long it takes to produce one of his paintings
• which are his favourite brushes and what sizes he uses!

I have to confess, I think a lot of people are secretly pleased that Michael did not win first prize as it means he gets to submit work again in future! :)

By way of contrast, consider the experience of this year's winner Matan Ben Cnaan, (like Thomas Ganter last year and Aleah Chapin in 2012) who enter once - and win - and never ever return! That's because because all artists winning the prize cannot enter again.

I've got a number of other videos to share with you about the BP Portrait Award. These are:

• a quick trot around the exhibition for those of you who can't get to London
• an interview with Matan Ben Cnaan who won first prize
• an interview with Lee Myles Simmonds, age 18 who has yet to start art school but has a very good portrait in the exhibition
• an interview with Edward Sutcliffe and Katie Haber about his BP Travel Award project about the Compton Cricket Club in south Los Angeles.

I have my fingers crossed the current solution that the videos will upload and publish without a problem.

The Last of the Tide: Portraits of D-Day Veterans

HRH Prince of Wales has commissioned twelve portraits of D-Day veterans which can be seen in an exhibition called The Last of the Tide at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace until 17 June 2015.

The idea behind the exhibition is to pay tribute to those extraordinary men who played a role in the Allied Invasion of Normandy in June 1944.  The title of the exhibition comes from a message to the troops.

On the eve of D-Day General Eisenhower sent a message to all troops in which he declared, 'The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!'.

Twelve leading portrait painters were selected for the commission - one for each portrait. They include:

• four past winners of the BP Portrait Award First Prize - Catherine Goodman, James Lloyd, Ishbel Myerscough and Stuart Pearson Wright
• one winner of the BP Travel Award - Carl Randall
• winner of the BP Portrait Award Public Choice Award (twice) - Paul Benney
• Ondaatje prizewinner 1995, 2012 - Antony Williams RP PS NEAC
• Professor in Fine Art in the Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon art schools Graduate School, University of the Arts London - Eileen Hogan

Other artists are: Clara Drummond, Peter Kuhfeld (painter of "The Last Tommy"), Jonathan Yeo and Martin Yeoman

The exhibition opened on 6th June - the 71st anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. The D-Day Landings involved  some 7,700 ships and 12,000 aircraft  and began the slow process of liberatingGerman-occupied France. It was and still is the largest amphibious invasion in history.

Prior to this in 2010 HRH The Prince of Wales commissioned 15 portraits of surviving servicemen by alumni and faculty of The Royal Drawing School (previously known as The Prince’s Drawing School), to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Admission to the exhibition is free.

Below you can see the portraits and hear something of what the men were involved in.

My thanks to the Press Office of the Royal Collection for the images you see in this post. Obviously not everybody is going to be able to get to see the exhibition - however this important series needs highlighting - hence this post.

The portraits - the men and the artists

'I am delighted to introduce this exhibition of portraits of veterans of the D-Day landings and very much hope that all who see it will share my belief that this wonderful collection of paintings captures the spirit, resolve, warmth and humanity of these remarkable men. It seemed to me a tragedy that there were no portraits of D-Day veterans, hence this collection of remarkable old soldiers from the regiments of which my wife and I are Colonel or Colonel-in-Chief.'HRH The Prince of Wales 

The 12 veterans all served in regiments with which HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall have a formal association.

They are all shown wearing their medals win during WW2.

Thomas ‘David’ Burke (b. 1924) - Sergeant with Royal Signals and later the Cheshire Yeomanry
Artist: © James Lloyd | Photograph: © Royal Collection Trust

Mr Burke landed with Canadian forces as a signals sergeant and served through France and Germany until the Nazi surrender. He subsequently worked with the Allied Joint Signals Unit at the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal, and became part of the Cheshire Yeomanry after the war.

An egg tempera day

I did a workshop about egg tempera with Ruth Stage today.  This is a bit of a picture post with random jottings of things I learned today

Egg Tempera paintings by Ruth Stage
New England Art Club Exhibition 2014, Mall Galleries

The day came in four parts

1. instruction by Ruth on materials and how to make egg tempera and the supports to paint on
2. a review of her work
3. we all had a go at painting on the gesso boards she brought for us
4. a review of the egg tempera paintings in the National Gallery

Things I learned about egg tempera today

Ruth has been painting in egg tempera since her studies at the Royal Academy Schools. In 2013, one of her egg tempera paintings won the Lynn Painter Stainer Prize (see Lynn Painter Stainer Exhibition 2013: Review)

Ruth prefers to paint with egg tempera because it doesn't smell (ie good for those who have problems with solvents), has a good finish, dries quickly and looks different. It also has the advantage of getting more robust with age.

Ruth uses:

• Kremer Pigments from AP Fitzpatricks in Bethnal Green Road
• a 50:50 mix of egg and water for her egg base. I found this made for much easier mixing with the pigment and much easier application to the gesso board.
• a fabulous brush by German Brushmaker Da Vinci which has a very long handle and a very long filbert belly which holds a lot of paint. Jackson's Art import them from Germany but they're not listed on their online website. I found it online and it is described as an Ox Hair Rigger, long length with sharp needle point | Series 1287 - for oil and egg tempera paintings. This pdf file gives you the measurements for the different sizes for series 1287 - Ruth typically uses a size 12.  You can get some sense of size from the brushes in my photograph alongside egg cartons!

She recommends:

• breaking the egg under a tap as this helps to remove the white of the egg
• prick the egg yolk with a pin or squeeze the yolk out through your fingers leaving the egg sac behind
• using a different plastic spoon for each jar of pigment to avoid contamination
• only mix a tiny bit of paint as it dries quickly on a palette
• wiping a gesso board with a damp cloth before you start to remove any film, dust or contamination
• using like watercolour ie she would not recommend building light paint on top of dark
• only using a couple of layers of thin paint - and waiting for the first layer to dry before adding the second. 
• thinking about where to put the paint before applying it as it cannot be moved around in the same way other paints can - there is now working 'wet in wet' with egg tempera
• scratching out to create texture or to add in a new colour
• choosing subject matter which will work the need fore a different approach to painting with egg tempera. If you click the link in Ruth's name (at the top of this post) you can see a gallery catalogue of her work for a solo exhibition and how she uses calligraphic mark-making over a flat wash.
• working upright most of the time

Here we are painting after lunch

NEAC Egg Tempera workshop in the Mall Galleries
Mine's the large one in the foreground - I'm painting from a sketch of Chartwell under the table!

Did you know that the Wilton Diptych is painted in egg tempera?

"Richard II presented to the Virgin and Child
by his Patron Saint John the Baptist and Saints Edward and Edmund" ('The Wilton Diptych') c. 1395-9
Egg on oak, 53 x 37 cm

Niccolò Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano (c.1438-40) by Paolo Uccello
Egg tempera with walnut oil and linseed oil on poplar; 182 x 320 cm

Or that Uccello's painting of the Battle of St. Romano is a painting in egg tempera?  Or that it's possible to use oil with egg tempera - in this instance walnut oil is mixed in for the green paint of the foliage.

The support was made from about eight planks, was modified in the 15th century, and has a very thick priming of two layers of anhydrite in glue with a thin layer of gypsum in egg tempera on top. Drawing, both freehand and with a straight edge, and incising were observed and, unusually, some incised lines were applied into the paint, while graphic lines of paint were used to reinforce the image.

Egg tempera was the main medium, with walnut oil added for green paint to give some gloss.

You can find out more about Egg Tempera on the website I constructed following my first egg tempera workshop at the V&A back in 2006 - see Egg Tempera - Resources for Artists . Plus the links below are to my previous blogs posts about the V&A workshop

• Class at the V&A: The support and the drawing 27 Nov 2006 Introduction to painting with egg tempera on a gesso panel.
• Class at the V&A: the pigments and the grinding 28 Nov 2006 ... at the V&A: the pigments and the grinding.
• Egg tempera class at the V&A: painting with egg tempera 29 Nov 2006 So far I've looked at what I learned about the support and the drawing, the pigments and the grinding to create the egg tempera paint - now we get to the actual painting!

Note: The workshop was organised by the NEAC Drawing School and held in the Mall Galleries during the Annual Exhibition of the New English Art Club. It was one of the activities in the Galleries this week

Review: NEAC Annual Exhibition 2013

I've been trying to work out how to word this review of the 2013 Annual Exhibition of the New English Art Club 2013.  It might more accurately be described as a post mortem.

I've come to the conclusion that it's best just to highlight a salutary tale which is relevant to all art societies.  They all have their ups and downs - and this is a tale of a big dip.

Cover of the catalogue for the New English Art Club's Annual Exhibition 2013
painting by Michael Whittlesea

This year I've been preoccupied with the book I've been commissioned to write and hence visited the Annual Exhibition of the New England Art Club on the last day rather than nearer the beginning.

Normally I'm walking into an exhibition which already has lots of red dots.

This year as I started to go round, I began to realise that something very odd had happened.

I started in the Threadneedle Space. It's a space in which more contemporary styles do particularly well but is hard on work which is not strong. I wasn't particularly enamoured with what I saw (although it included some very good paintings) - but that happens in many exhibitions. You come across a room where the work has been selected and hung by somebody who has a very different eye for what he or she likes compared to you. That's OK - it's just a different way of looking at art. I don't expect everybody to like what I like either!

Threadneedle Space - included some very dark paintings and two prizewinners
BUT no work sold
I think very dark artwork has to be hung with a lot of space around it
otherwise it has a tendency to 'kill' other work.
(compare this to the same view in the 2012 Annual Exhibition
- see Review: New English Art Club Annual Exhibition 2012 )

I kept looking and then started up the stairs - and that's when it struck me. I went back down the stairs and slowly went round the room.

There wasn't a single red dot.

Absolutely no sales - on the very last day of the exhibition.

So, that's when I pulled out my pen and started to tour the exhibition slowly, looking for all the sales to see if I could see a pattern.

View of the West Gallery

NEAC 2013 - West Gallery, South Wall

By the time I got to the end I had my answer.  Below are the factors I identified.

Andrea Mantegna's 'Triumphs of Caeser' at Hampton Court Palace

Today I saw one of the undoubted top art treasures in the Royal Collection and the UK.  What I viewed in the former Orangery at Hampton Court Palace, were the nine panels of the Triumphs of Caeser by Andrea Mantegna.  This has been variously described as:

• the largest and most important area of Italian Renaissance pageant painting in the world - outside Italy, 
• what's been called the first truly historical painting of events which took place in Rome around 45BC and 
• the best artwork Andrea Mantegna ever painted - according to Georgio Vasari. 

Eight of the Nine Panels of the Triumphs of Caeser (1484-1492) by Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)
photo by Katherine Tyrrell

It's an absolutely splendid work and I highly recommend it to anybody with an interest in Italian Renaissance painting - or contemplating a grand series of paintings.

It's particularly strong on perspective and the development of a very complex narrative of figures, animals and objects in one continuous painting.

Some facts about the Triumphs of Caeser

There are nine panels in total painted in egg tempera and glue tempera on canvas.  Each panel is 2.66m x 2.78m - meaning the whole artwork measures more than 70 metres square.

The paint has deteriorated and they no longer have the impact they would have done in the cinquecento however as Anthony Blunt, who as Keeper of the Queen's Pictures, supervised their restoration has said

"The Triumphs may be a ruin but it is a noble one, one as noble as those of ancient Rome which Mantegna so deeply admired."
Anthony Blunt

The series of paintings represent excerpts from one of the Triumphs of Julius Caeser or a composite representation of all of Caeser's Triumphs.  Gaius Julius Caesar lived between 100BC and 44BC.

A Triumph was the greatest award which could be given to a Roman General.   It's very clear that the series of paintings represent the edited highlights version and that the real Triumphal procession would be a great deal longer - and lasted three days!

Below are photographs of the individual panels.

Lynn Painter Stainer Exhibition 2013: Review

Ruth Stage NEAC's egg tempera painting  The Isabella Plantation has won this year's Lynn Painter Stainer Prize (2013).  Ruth won the £15,000 cash prize and an engraved gold medal. This also makes it a win for egg tempera two years on the trot! (see Antony Williams wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012)

Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize 2013
The Isabella Plantation by Ruth Stage NEAC
100x120, Egg Tempera £7,000

You'd think the BBC would have grown up by now, become educated in painting media and no longer felt the need to identify her by the descriptive term of "egg artist" - but alas it hasn't happened!

Ruth studied at Cleveland, Newcasle and the Royal Academy Schools and has been a professional artist for nearly 20 years. You can see more of Ruth Stage's work on the website of her gallery and in the NEAC website store.  I've been salivating over her work for years and am particularly fond of her treatment of light and water.

Exhibition

The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013 is a competition designed to encourage creative representational painting and promote the skill of draughtsmanship. The exhibition features the very best in British figurative painting, showcasing the work of both established and young contemporary artists from across the UK.

83 works by 71 artists were chosen from over 1000 entries.  The catalogue has a complete listing and thumbnails of all the selected works.

Lynn Painter Stainer Prize - 2013 Exhibition
The West Wall of the West Gallery, Mall Galleries

I'm only sorry that due to my dreadful flu bug/coughing fits etc I missed the Preview and Awards Ceremony and only finally got to see the Annual Exhibition of artwork selected for display yesterday.    The exhibition for the Lynn Painter Stainer Prize 2013 continues at the Mall Galleries in central London until Saturday 2 March 2013, 10am to 5pm and is well worth seeing.

You can also see all the artwork online on the website.  Unfortunately these images do not have any dimensions and hence it's not possible to get a sense of relative size.

However this is a wall of some of the smaller artworks.

Lynn Painter Stainer Prize - 2013 Exhibition
Small Paintings, East Wall of the West Gallery, Mall Galleries

Other Prizewinners

Antony Williams wins Ondaatje Prize 2012

Winner of the £10,000 Ondaatje Prize and Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
Rt. Hon Margaret Beckett MP by Antony Williams RP PS NEAC
egg tempera, 137 x 111cm (54 x 43 inches)

© Antony Williams

The Ondaatje Prize

Today, at the 121st Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Antony Williams's marvellous egg tempera painting of Margaret Beckett won the £10,000 Ondaatje Prize and another gold medal - for the most distinguished portrait in the exhibition.

Just over a month ago I wrote Antony Williams wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 on this blog.  That won a £15,000 prize and a gold medal.

So I declare Antony Williams an Olympian painter in this Olympics year - two gold medals under his belt in just over a month is some feat in the painting world.  I'm sure the £25,000 ($40,000+) will also come in handy!

Rt. Hon Margaret Beckett MP (crop)
by Antony Williams RP PS NEAC
egg tempera

© Antony Williams

To my mind the prize is amply justified - the painting is stunning and his skills in observation and painting in egg tempera are exemplary.  It's a fabulous painting - huge attention to detail but also to humanity and character.

For those not familiar with egg tempera this painting is created from a huge number of individual brush marks which are all individually delineated in the painting.  You can see precisely how it builds up to the whole.

I was able to have a brief interview with Antony and asked him about his recent successes, his approach to painting and whether he had any tips for success for those portrait painters who are starting out.

Tips for aspiring portrait painters

Antony works in egg tempera in natural light.  He buys his pigments from L Cornelissen & Son and then mixes it with egg yolk to create his egg tempera paint.

In terms of tips for aspiring portrait painters

• Antony finds that working on about 4-5 paintings at any one time suits him best.  Each gets about a day a week.  That way he remains engaged with the work and doesn't get bored.  Sometimes he has to work to a deadline and then it can get quite bit intense as he works more on just one painting - as he had to do with the portrait of Margaret Beckett.
• He recommends checking out who is on this year's panel of judges of an art competition this year and whether they seem likely to be sympathetic to your work
• It's not his practice to paint for a competition although he knows some artists do.  He enters whatever is available at the time - and then it's down to the selectors.  Interestingly he regards his recent win of the Lynn Painter Stainer Prize as entirely accidental! He only entered because one of his models was entering.
• Perseverance as a quality and and intense observation as a skill are both attributes that portrait painters need to develop.  Portrait painting is hard work and you need to keep going!

I'll be writing about the Annual Exhibition tomorrow.  Suffice to say for now that competition for a place on the wall was intense and I highly recommend visiting the exhibition.

The exhibition runs until 18th May at the Mall Galleries just off Trafalgar Square.

The winners of other prizes at the exhibition are detailed below.

Antony Williams wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012

Antony Williams RP PS NEAC has been awarded the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 for his egg tempera painting Still life with electric fan. He receives £15,000 and an engraved gold medal.

"Still life with electric fan" by Antony Williams
egg tempera, 74 x 120cm
£38000

The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 is a competition designed to encourage creative representational painting and promote the skill of draughtsmanship. 

An exhibition of 98 selected works is on display at the Mall Galleries, London until 5 April.  The exhibition will then tour to W.H. Patterson Gallery, London W1 from 23 - 27 April 2012.

I'm planning to go and see it on Friday (which is my Drawing Group day) and will post a review either Friday or Saturday.  [Update:  See also Review: Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 Exhibition]

Other prizes were as follows

• The Young Artist Award of £2,500 - Naomi Grant for Self Portrait
• Runner-Up Prizes of £1,500 were presented to 
• Peter Brown
• Peter Clossick
• Christopher Green
• Rachel Ross and 
• Melissa Scott-Miller. 

As I indicated in my earlier post, in 2012, the selectors seem to have rather more artists than I recall having in the past. They are:

• Andrew Wilton, Visiting Research Fellow at Tate Britain (past selector)
• Ken Howard RA NEAC, Artist - winner of numerous prizes and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painter Stainers
• Chris Orr RA, Artist - used to be Professor and Head of Department of the Printmaking Department at the Royal College of Art London
• James Hart Dyke, Artist - paints MI6 and the Himalayas
• William Packer, Art critic and artist

Sponsors

The Lynn Painter-Stainers Competition is sponsored by The Painter-Stainer's Company, The Lynn Foundation, Minerva, Linklaters LLP and Champagne Bollinger.

Links to previous Making A Mark posts about the Lynn Painter Stainer Prize and Exhibition

• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 - Selected artists & artwork
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012: Call For Entries
• Rachel Levitas wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 16 November 2010
• 65 Artists selected for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 28th Oct 2010
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 - Call for Entries 03 Aug 2010
• Exhibition review: Toby Wiggins wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize17 Nov 2009
• Shortlist for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2009 04 Nov 2009
• 82 works selected for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 16 Oct 2009
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize - selected artists 18 Sep 2008
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2008 and Exhibition 19 Nov 2008

BP Portrait Award: Michael Gaskell's unparalled record

In the last 11 years, Michael Gaskell has entered the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery five times and his record is as follows:

• 2010 - 2nd prize
• 2009 - 2nd prize
• 2003 - 2nd prize
• 2001 - commended
• 1999 - commended

That means every time he's entered he's achieved some form of recognition.  That's a record unparalled to my knowledge in the history of the competition.  I also can't think of anybody else who has won 2nd prize three times.  Normally, with that sort of track record, if any artist is shortlisted for a third time then they normally win.

 2nd prize winner (for the 3rd time) - Michael Gaskell (b.1963)

Harry

Egg tempera on wooden board, 290 x 205 x 11 mm

photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell

(he) only got to know his sitter, Harry, when he agreed to sit for him. Having seen the sitter whilst he was out shopping with his family, Michael was persuaded to approach him by his wife.

We talked about the art materials he uses and what sort of portrait he aims to produce.

Michael started painting in egg tempera in the mid 90s for very practical reasons.  He had his studio in the house and needed a paint which was clean and relatively odorless (compared to the alternatives).

He's taught himself how to paint with egg tempera and used to read every manual he could find about how to create and use the approprate sort of gesso for egg tempera.  He recollected that it took him about 3-4 years to get the hang of how egg tempera works best and how to get the best out of it.  He loves the fact that he can paint in layers and paint over anything

His paintings are meticulous (like large miniatures), very smooth and remind me very much of the golden age of Dutch painting.  He also maintains an amazingly consistent high quality in his painting.  Below is his portrait from the BP Portrait Award 2009 exhibition

Second prize - Michael Gaskell (b.1963) for Tom (egg tempera on board, 270 x 210 mm)

Egg tempera requires a rigid surface so I wondered what sort of what sort of support and preperation he uses.  It turns out that his boards are made of mdf (but he makes sure that it's the type of mdf without the formaldehyde).  He then applies the gesso himself and he makes his paints from pigment from Cornelissen,  However he joked that the shop would never count him as a great customer as apparently he has still got a lot left from his first ever purchases!  He also uses very small brushes - sizes 0000 and 00000 - which are ones typically used by miniaturists.

His paintings take him about three months to produce - however the elapsed time will often be longer as he often allows the paint to rest to allow the paint to settle on the board.

In my view, his paintings glow and demonstrate that he truly has mastered the unique properties of egg tempera which makes it a medium which can look as fresh today and in hundreds of years time.

I like them a lot and I'm very sure that he will one day win the BP Portrait Award.

Michael Gaskell comes from Sheffield but now lives in Leicester.  His website is http://www.michaelgaskell.net/.  His work is represented in private collections in the UK, Europe, Asia and the USA.

If you'd like to know more egg tempera, can I suggest you take a look at my information site Egg Tempera - Resources for Artists - which includes a link to Michael's website.

See the exhibition:  The exhibition of portraits by the winners and selected entries will be at the National Portrait Gallery, London until 19 September 2010 after which it goes on tour to:

• the Usher Gallery, Lincoln (1 October - 14 November 2010) and 
• Aberdeen Art Gallery (27 November 2010 - 22 January 2011). 

You can also see a video of the entire exhibition

Making A Mark Archive of BP Portrait Award posts

BP Portrait Award 2010

• BP Portrait Award 2010 - Call For Entries 1 December 2009
• BP Portrait Award 2010 - Shortlist announced 28 Apr 2010  
• Daphne Todd wins BP Portrait Award 2010
• Video - BP Portrait Exhibition 2010 opens today 
• BP Portrait Award: Michael Gaskell's unparalled record
• Two American Artists win BP Portrait Prizes

BP Portrait Award 2009 

• BP Portrait Award 2009 - Call for Entries 15 December 2009
• BP Portrait Award 2009 - the shortlist 27 May 2009
• BP portrait award - who enters and who gets selected 28 May 2009 
• Peter Monkman wins first prize in BP Portrait Award 17 June 2009
• Exhibition review: BP Portrait Award 18 June 2009 
• BP Portrait Tour & Portrait of the Nation 24 September 2009 

BP Portrait Award 2008   

• BP Portrait Award 2008 (call for entries) 6 December 2007 
• BP Portrait Award shortlist announced - a woman will win!  25 April 2008
• BP Portrait Prize 2008 - exhibition opens 12 June 2008 
• Craig Wylie wins BP Portrait Award 2008 17 June 2008

BP Portrait Award 2007    

• BP Portrait Award 7 February 2007 (concerning the rule change)
• View the BP Portrait Award 2007
• Paul Emsley wins BP Portrait Award 22 June 2007

 Links:  Resources for Artists - Portrait Competitions

• Portraiture - Resources for Artists (maintains an archive of links to BP Portrait Awards in past years)
• Art Competitions in the UK - Resources for Artists

Egg Tempera in three steps

Olika's Eggs
coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Here's the first of my 'recap' posts this week - and this one focuses on egg tempera.

Back in 2006, I did an in-depth set of posts about a course I did with Professor Wallace at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

If you've ever wondered about what it's like to start painting with egg tempera from scratch try reading these posts which contain a lot of information.

• Egg Tempera Class at the V&A: The support and the drawing
• Egg Tempera Class at the V&A: the pigments and the grinding
• Egg tempera class at the V&A: painting with egg tempera

I learned a very great deal which I tried to record so I didn't forget it in my blog posts! (Don't you find that writing instructions down really helps you to remember what people have told you? I know I do!)

It certainly stimulated an interest in pigments and their behaviour which has continued. However I don't think egg tempera and I were made for one another and I haven't pursued it since - although I did put the learning to good use by creating an information site which has been well received by those who do want to paint in egg tempera. See Egg Tempera - Resources for Artists

However I still look at egg tempera paintings and think about giving it another go. I'm sure it was my brush technique which was the problem. That and the fact that I actually enjoyed drawing the Italian bowl rather more than I did painting it! :)

American artist Andrew Wyeth dies age 91

Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic
(Trodden Weed by Andrew Wyeth, 1951)

Andrew Wyeth died today at his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania - the place where was born 91 years ago. For many people - largely those who prefer realism to abstraction - he had been America's greatest living artist.

When in Maine in 2006, I made a point of travelling to Rockland, Maine in order to visit the Farnsworth Art Museum and the Wyeth Centre where I saw a number of Wyeth's work in Egg Tempera and watercolour - all of which were very impressive. I've always been entranced by his draughtsmanship. I recommend you try and see his work if you ever get a chance.

This is a note of the speech given at the presentation of the National Medal of Arts to Wyeth in 2007.

The paintings of Andrew Wyeth have been etched in the American national consciousness for more than a half a century. While many of Wyeth's landscapes and interior views of rural Pennsylvania and Maine are recognizable settings, his work portrays an inner life that is elusive and enigmatic.

The youngest of five children, Andrew Newell Wyeth was born on July 12, 1917 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in the Brandywine Valley near Philadelphia. He was educated at home with his father, noted illustrator N.C. Wyeth, providing art lessons. When he was only 20 years old, he had his first solo exhibition at Macbeth Gallery in New York City. The rapid and complete sale of the exhibition inventory was an indication of his enormous popularity with the American public in the years to come.

In 1939, Wyeth met Betsy James whose family had a summer place not far from the Wyeths in Cushing, Maine. She was 17 years old, Wyeth was 20, and after a week he proposed. They were married the following spring and have remained married for 68 years. Over those years, Betsy has been her husband's protector as well as artistic guide.

In October 1945, Wyeth's father and his three-year old nephew Newell were killed in a car accident. He has referred to this tragedy as not only of deep personal impact but also formative in the development of his artistic style. Shortly after the accident, his paintings became more serious and intense, characterized by a muted palette, highly realistic depictions, and emotionally charged subjects, often tinged with a sense of nostalgia and loss. He found nearly all of his subjects close to either Chadds Ford or Cushing.

In 1950, he was selected along with Jackson Pollock by Time magazine as one of the greatest American artists. That and other public attentions, made clear the battle lines drawn between supporters and practitioners of realism and abstraction as represented by Wyeth and Pollock. To add to the art world debates, in 1986, Wyeth made public a collection of 246 studies, drawings, and paintings, including many nudes, he had made of Helga Testorf, a neighbor in Chadds Ford.

Wyeth remains an enormously popular artist among the public and by museums. His work is in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, among many others. Exhibitions of his work have been mounted by the National Gallery of Art (the first to display the Helga works in 1987), the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston,) Metropolitan Museum of Art, and most recently the Philadelphia Museum of Art, amongst many others.

In 1963, Andrew Wyeth became the first painter to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was conferred by President John F. Kennedy. In 1977, he became the first American artist since John Singer Sargent elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. In 1978, he was asked to join the Soviet Academy of the Arts, and in 1980, he was the first living U.S. artist to be elected to Britain's Royal Academy. Wyeth received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1988, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States Congress.

Take a look at my resource site Andrew Wyeth - Resources for Art Lovers which I developed a while back if you'd like to find out more about Wyeth, take a look at where you can see his paintings online and see some of the books which were published about him in his lifetime.

Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic takes a fresh look at the work of one of America's most beloved artists. In examining his entire oeuvre, the book celebrates the artist's ongoing love affair with everyday life-domestic, natural, and architectural. Found throughout Wyeth's work, these objects form patterns that illuminate core themes and reveal the artist wrestling with issues of memory, temporality, embodiment, and the metaphysical. Organized chronologically and thematically, the book explores how the artist's approach to these subjects was formed in his early career, and has been revisited in new and surprising ways in recent years.

Here are some links to article about his death which I'll be adding into my resource site.

• New York Times - Andrew Wyeth, Famed and Infamous Artist, Dies at 91
• International Herald Tribune - Andrew Wyeth, famed and infamous artist, dies at 91 (same author as the NY Times - some variation)
• Boston Globe - Andrew Wyeth, painter of American landscapes, dies at 91
• BBC - US artist Andrew Wyeth dies at 91