Portraiture and Portrait Painting: Reflections on a Discussion by three Expert Portrait Artists

On Saturday afternoon, I went along to the Mall Galleries to hear Miriam Escofet RP, Antony Williams RP, NEAC PS and Frances Bell RP ROI CBPP participating in the Expert Artist Panel Discussion.

The subject was Portraiture. 

The Expert Panel
(left to rght: Frances Bell; Antony Williams, Dr Alison Smith and Miriam Escofet)

I know all three artists well having seen their work in various exhibitions and award competitions in the last few years - at least a decade and maybe nearer two! I have lots of photos of them with their work! You'll see some of the pics I took below.

It was interesting to hear their take on questions posed by the host who was Dr Alison Smith, who was formerly the Chief Curator at the National Portrait Gallery (2017-2024) and is curently the Director of Collections and Research at the Wallace Collection.

Below are some notes and some quotes. 

I'm not going to attribute them to individuals as, for the most part, they were all in agreement. Plus while I've got notes for some, I've not got notes for all!

You can see examples of their portraits on their websites - but they've completed very many more portraits than are typically included on a website.

(Left to right) Miriam Escofet, Frances Bell, Antony Williams

What is a portrait?

Which comes first, the person or the painting?

"Portraits are first and foremost a likeness"

The audience for a portrait expect a good likeness.

However:

• a portrait is also a painting
• there is also the issue of the difference between personal work and a commissioned artwork
• artists are always fascinated about the possibilities of their media and what they can do
• there's a tension between getting the likeness and creating a satisfactory painting

If there's no likeness a portrait isn't working BUT it's not a good painting just because it is a good likeness.

To this end

• portrait artists also like to paint personal work which allows them to explore the possibilities of their media and what they can do

What's different about Portrait Painting?

Pastel Society Events Programme

I don't normally do a post about the events programme for a national art society exhibition. However this is the BIGGEST events programme from the Pastel Society that I've ever seen - and so.....

The Annual Exhibition 2026 of The Pastel Society opened today at the Mall Galleries and continues until 7th February

The Pastel Society Studio is in the East Gallery at the Mall Galleries

There is an Events Programme 

• all events are FREE with admission and no booking is required.
• Unless otherwise stated, the events will take place in The Studio (East Gallery)

Here's your options - with dates and who is doing what.  Note there are lots of opportunities to try out different media and work on your own to see whether or you like dry media.

To see more of the artwork by the person giving the demonstration/talk/whatever click the link in their name (only applied to the first listing).

Events Programme | Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2026

Simon Hodges & Richard Rees

Thursday 22 January, 11am and 2pm

• 11am Simon Hodges PS; Use it or lose it A short illustrated talk and Q&A about Vice President Simon's thoughts on the creative process.
• 2pm Richard Rees PPS will take you through the amazing qualities of Caran d’Ache pastel varieties and show you how they can open up a world of creativity.

Curtis Holder

Friday 23 January, 11am and 2pm

• 11am Curtis Holder PS SGFA CBPP Demonstration Curtis will talk and draw through a pencil portrait in his own unique way. A seated model may be requested from the audience.
• 2pm Curtis Holder; Demonstration Curtis will talk and draw through a pencil portrait in his own unique way. A seated model may be requested from the audience.

Simon Hodges

Saturday 24 January, 11am and 2pm

• 11am Simon Hodges; Pastel & the painting process A short illustrated talk, demonstration and Q&A about his thoughts on the painting process using pastel.
• 2pm Enjoy uninterrupted time to use pastels and dry media in the studio. A Pastel Society member will be on hand to informally demonstrate, give advice and answer questions.

An Abundance of Botanical Art over the next few weeks

This last few weeks, last weekend in particular and the next few weeks from the end of May through June are - for me - dominated by BOTANICAL ART.  

This post is about a very busy time for botanical art and artists - and me - with three major exhibitions (two in London) involving international botanical artists and illustrators during May, June and July.

So far we've been 

• celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society (CPGFS) - of which I'm the Treasurer - and holding the AGM (Accounts and Treasurer's Report)
• getting ready for the a display by CPGFS at the exhibition for the 40th anniversary of the Society of Botanical Artists (see below)

Botanical Art Worldwide 2025

Last weekend was The Worldwide Day of Botanical Art - with lots going on around the world. I was at Kew Gardens. (see Over 1,000 attend Worldwide Day of Botanical Art 2025 at Kew Gardens)

View of the part of the activities in the Nash Conservatory at Kew Gardens last Sunday

 

These three are multiple RHS Gold Medal winners

and renowned botanical artists and teachers

About to give the final talk of the day at Kew last Sunday

(L to R) Lucy T Smith, Scientific Botanical Illustrator at Kew Gardens and author of Botanical Sketchbooks: An Artist's Guide to Plant Studies

Ann Swan, a legend in botanical art in coloured pencils, so many people have been taught by her

Julia Trickey who developed a completely novel response during Covid and Julia Trickey Talks just seems to get bigger and better!

This week I've been putting a new page together for my Botanical Art and Artists website covering The Second World Wide Exhibition of Botanical Art 2025. 

• 31 countries around the world - in North and South America, East and West Europe, Africa, Australasia and Asia - all got together and coordinated a celebration of botanical art at the same time
• all celebrating with events and activities on The Worldwide Day of Botanical Art on Sunday 18th May 2025
• organised by a number of botanical art societies and other groups - led and managed predominantly by women (Yay!)
• see Botanical Art Worldwide 2025 - Exhibitions and Events in the UK
• SUMMARISED by me on ONE PAGE of my website!! (See link above. It took 3 days!)

All the Countries participating in Botanical Art Worldwide 2025
- with new countries this year highlighted

Plantae 2025 - Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists

Next week sees the opening of Plantae 2025 - the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists - in all three galleries of the Mall Galleries. 

It opens to the public on 28th May and continues daily until 7th June 2025. (10am - 5pm)

TALK: Introduction to Retirement and Pensions for Artists

If you are a creative living in the Greater Manchester area and want to grow inbusiness confidence, you may be interested in a Zoom Talk I'm giving for the Islington Mill WEAVE Summer School

 

Islington Mill WEAVE Summer School

Islington Mill has an ongoing commitment to artist education and development. 

 

WEAVE is a free business support programme for Greater Manchester based artists, creatives and SMEs. I'm afraid you can't enroll if you're not based in the Greater Manchester area

 

The Summer School has been produced with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Summer School is a 4-day series of workshops and masterclasses, that are free to attend for participants of Islington Mill’s WEAVE programme. New participants are welcome to sign up at the event for free to enjoy our full programme across the week.

The modules have been chosen and developed through conversations with the Islington Mill community and are designed to support creative individuals and organisations. Whether you are a freelance performer yet to fill in your first tax return, a mid-career artist, or maker with an established business, we have classes to support your development and help you grow in confidence.

TALK: Introduction to Retirement and Pensions for Artists

My talk is going to be about one of the aspects most people don't think too seriously about when younger and some sadly don't at all until it's too late.

A career as an artist does not come with a pension plan - you need to think about how you will cope financially when you need to retire. Katherine Tyrrell will talk you through the basics of pensions for artists including why it's absolutely essential to think about later life and pensions from the beginning of a career, paying NI and some of the myths about how to fund yourself in later life and why these can be very risky.

This workshop aims to:

• Get you thinking about planning for your retirement and pension planning
• Point you in the direction of relevant reading material
• Help you find places where you can get more advice
• Provide a starting point for discussions with expert advisers

 

Zoom Talks for Summer Schools

I've started getting back to normal post sugery and clearance to start walking again - but it's slow going. 

However one thing that's been very odd is that I've had lots of requests for Zoom Talks and help for individuals in the last few weeks. I was giving a talk last night and this one next week and then another one for a prominent arts organisation in August as part of another summer school.

If you're interested in a Zoom Talk on a variety of art busines topics, read this page on my Art Business Info for Artists website first and then contact me via the form at the bottom of the page.

If you have a Summer School focused on business matters for artists and would like some wider exposure you can always try messaging via my Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/artbusinessforartists

 

Art Talks Online & Webinars for Artists

I find I'm signing up for more and more ONLINE TALKS about art and artists. I've just signed up for two more! 

• Hokusai's late works: the block-ready drawings | British Museum (Friday 5th November 6pm) 
• Lucy Smith | Waterlilies, Waders and Watercolour: The Journey of a Botanical Artist | Kew Mutual Improvement Society (who use Eventbrite for ticket bookings) (Monday 8th November 6pm)

This post is about:

• What is a webinar
• Webinars for Artists
• Webinars by Art Societies - and Artists
• TIPS for signing up for an event - or hosting your own

What's in a Webinar?

Webinar is short for Web Seminar - and they started within the context of educational institutions and teaching / training / engaging with target audiences.

A webinar is

“a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments.”

It takes place at a set time on a specific date and they usually last an hour. Those speaking generally are experts in their field and/or the topic of the talk

Some are free and some require a small fee.

Some are recorded and those who have signed up for them - particularly if they have paid - can sometimes view online via another link for a short period of time. Which helps enormously if you want to hear the talk but have a commitment clash with the date and time.

Some pre-recorded webinars which are kept accessible can generate a lot of traffic for those host.
 

Webinars for Artists 

There are more and more webinars relevant to artists

• either in terms of art from a practical perspective
• or learning more about art history - popular with major art galleries and museums

The great thing is it really doesn't matter where you live - you can access from anywhere!

Here are some of the places which do live talks / webinars - typically via Zoom.

• Online Talks and Conversations | National Gallery
• Online Events | Tate - which include online courses
• Virtual Events | Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Online Events/Experiences | Art Fund
• Performing and Visual Arts Seminars Online | Eventbrite - Shame that they lump performing arts in with Visual Arts. However Eventbrite does have the advantage of also having location filters.
• Visual Artists Ireland - Online Events - used for professional development. They have a model "how Zoom works" page!

Interestingly there is no way of picking up on Online Events at the British Museum besides following via Facebook and keeping an eye out!

By and large, you can tell how much webinars have permeated the thinking of art galleries and museums by whether or their Events Menu has an "Online" option

• if you can filter events using "Online" they've been doing it for a while and probably have quite a good range of online events on offer
• If you search on their website for "online talks" and nothing comes up, then they are now switched on to the latest method of communicating with their target audiences - which means they have a learning curve to climb too....

They're also used for Virtual Open Days for various art educational courses

An upcoming example is the Courtauld's Graduate Diploma in the History of Art Virtual Open Day

Webinars by Art Societies - and Artists

Why don't more art societies do webinars?

Good question - why don't they? 

Are you Business Savvy about your art career?

Do you know what Business Savvy means?

Are you Business Savvy about your art career?

What's the difference between:

• A good artist who sells their work from time to time - but needs to have a 'proper job" too? and....
• Somebody who has a professional career as an artist and generates enough turnover/income/profit to pay their bills, and their tax bill and contribute to a pension fund?

What are the attributes of those artists who have coped best with all the change experienced in the last 12-15 months?

What changed in the art world in the last year - and is if ever going to be the same again?

These and more questions will be addressed in the Zoom Webinar I'm doing on 24th June (a week tomorrow) about How to be a Business Savvy Botanical Artist

It's targeted at botanical artists, but a lot of the messages are universal and apply to many artists.

This is the latest in the series of BOTANICAL ART TALKS which Julia Trickey has been organising this year. They've been attracting botanical artists from all continents!

• You can find a summary of what it's about on Julia's website - under Talks. 
• Date: the webinar is on Thursday 24th June 2021
• Time: 7pm BST, 2pm EDT and 11am PDT
• Fee: £12.
• Talks are recorded and made available to registrants 24 hours after the live session. They will then be available for 48 hours, making them accessible whatever your time zone!
• BOOK HERE
  

 

COVID-19 & ART #9: NEW initiative - The Arts Society Connected

At 11am today there will be a lecture as part of a new initiative for those isolated at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Arts Society Connected

The Arts Society Connected is a brand NEW initiative orgnised by The Arts Society.

We want to enrich lives through the arts: even if we cannot leave our homes.
During the the current situation many people will feel isolated and lonely.
On this site we want to connect people through a shared love for the arts.

There is

• a Forum - A friendly and informative place where Members and our wider community can connect and share.
• a Blog - do read their first post about the new initiative “ENRICHING LIVES THROUGH THE ARTS” - a 4 minute read with news of an arts quiz!
• A fortnightly schedule of lectures - see below. The first one is today at 11am!

This is who the Arts Society is

Lecture about Velaquez Las Meninas

You can actually watch the first lecture now! ( see below)

This is the link to the Arts Society's YouTube Channel. Do follow them because once they get a 1,000 followers they get to do more things with their videos!

For some reason the video is NOT LISTED on the YouTube Channel and I assume this is an oversight. (It seems very odd if it was deliberate!)  The link is https://youtu.be/i_ZaNuKgPIg

(I'm a bit surprised they haven't done this before - I've got more followers on Making A Mark Videos than they have!)

Enjoy the arts at home with a series of films by Arts Society Accredited Lecturers, published every fortnight. We begin with an insight into Las Meninas by Velazquez from lecturer Dr. Jacqueline Cockburn - filmed at home.

According to this morning's 'The Guardian' article  Arts Society to launch online lectures for over-70s

The first lecture being broadcast at 11am on Tuesday is by the art historian Jacqueline Cockburn and was recorded in her home by her son. She had been due to lecture on Picasso at the society’s now-cancelled annual general meeting and suggested Las Meninas, which hangs in the Prado in Madrid, as a shorter alternative for the new project.

I'm not sure what "broadcast" means in this context given the video is already online.....

There will be more lectures as follows - although no clue as yet as to what they will be about

• Sarah Dunant: 21 April - a British novelist, journalist, broadcaster, and critic.
• Mark Hill: 5 May TV presenter and dealer who specialises in producing ground-breaking & innovative books on new areas in 20thC design and decorative arts.
• Nicola Moorby: 19 May - An independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I'm wondering whether she will do a rerun of 
• either Turner vs Constable: The Great British Paint Off
• or An Introduction to J. M. W. Turner: Theory and Practice
• or ‘As if by Magic: The Secrets of Turner’s Watercolour Techniques 
• Marc Allum: 2 June - a freelance art and antiques journalist, writer and broadcaster based in Wiltshire. He has been a miscellaneous specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow since 1998
• Rebecca Hossack: 16 June - a great champion of Non-Western artistic traditions, who has been exhibiting Western and Aboriginal art in her own gallery in London and New York since 1988
• Sandy Burnett: 30 June - a leading broadcaster, conductor, bassist, lecturer and evangelist for music

Each talk will be followed by a Q&A with the Lecturer on our dedicated Talks & Lectures Forum.

Please do join us in visiting our Lecturers in their homes from your home. 

I'm hoping they'll give us all a bit more notice next time.....

How to make money from your art

Most artists when they start out are fixated with getting representation by an art gallery.

The questions they ask vary between

• How to get your work in an art gallery?
• How to get into an art gallery?
• How do I go about getting an art gallery?
• How to submit art to a gallery?
• How to get art gallery representation?
• How to approach an art gallery with your paintings?
• How do galleries find artists?

However art galleries are NOT the only way to generate an income from your art.

Plus some galleries have very naughty habits when it comes to the income they make from artist's work.  Then there's the whole question of just how well they sell art and stay in business....

Consequently - rather than putting all their eggs in one basket - any self-respecting artist who wants to make a career out of their art needs to take a long hard look at some of the alternative options for making money from their art.

I'll be giving a talk called How to Make Money from your Art at Heatherley School of Art in Lots Road, Chelsea on Monday 21st May 2018 (4.30pm - 5.30pm)

Admission is FREE and all are welcome - although there is a limit on seating....

If you're interested in finding out more 

- especially about the notion of risk management 

in relation to generating income from your art - 

why not come along!

Heatherley School of Art, 75 Lots Road, London SW10 0RN

How to make money from your art

This talk looks at the world ​of selling art ​ and why it's essential to look beyond the art gallery and expand your opportunities to make money from your art

Why relying ​on ​ an art gallery ​for sales and income ​ is risky

• how to reduce your exposure to risk
• why an income portfolio is essential

​How to create an income portfolio

• art galleries and art dealers
• open exhibitions and art competitions
• selling from home and open studios
• selling online and eCommerce
• commissions (contracts and business regulations)
• commercial art (eg book, product development, interiors)
• licensing and illustration (eg newspapers and magazines)
• commissions
• teaching

The Do's and Don'ts of writing an Artist Statement and CV

I'm a Visiting Lecturer at The Heatherley School of Art and in two weeks time I'm going to be giving a talk there about the Do's and Don'ts When Writing an Artists Statement and C.V.

Heatherley School of Art, 75 Lots Road, London SW10 0RN(almost opposite Burnaby Street)

How to Market Your Art #2:
Do's and Don'ts when writing an Artist’s Statement and CV

This is what I'll be covering

• Why people are afraid of the “artist statement”
• Why you need an artist statement
• Avoid confusion - the difference between an artist statement, bio and CV
• What to include – and what to leave out
• How to communicate with your target audience
• How to interest people in what you do – and why people stop reading!

Here are the details of where the talk is.

• Venue: The Heatherley School of Art. Consult this page to see where they are on a map and how to get there via public transport. 
• Date: Monday 13th November 2017
• Time: 4.30pm
• Admission: FREE 

You don't have to be a student at Heatherley's to attend the talk but you can't book a seat.

This event is free and open to the public but seating is limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

My first talk How to get on - online was very popular, so I'd recommend getting there in good time as this talk is a "by request from the students" topic and is also the topic which gets the most traffic on my website!

I'll be providing a synopsis of key points as a handout at the talk

For those who can't get there, I'll also upload the synopsis to my Art Business Info. for Artists website after the talk - and will let you know when I've done this.

Heatherley School of Art: Talks and Courses

Do also keep an eye on the events page at Heatherley School of Art - as they have a number of interesting speakers during the course of the academic year.

You can also find details of the various full-time and part-time (day and/or evening) courses on offer at the School on its website.

Learn about how to market you and your art online - at Heatherley's

"How to get on - online" is the title of my latest talk about websites and social media for artists. 

I've been asked by Heatherley's Art School in Chelsea to do a talk on 21st March about how artists can market both themselves and their art online using websites and social media

Click this link for more details

How to get on – online

Marketing you and your art online - using websites and social media

• Why an online presence is essential for artists
• Why websites and social media are different
• The pros and cons of websites and social media
• Options for getting your art online
• How to get your art online for FREE
• How to be mobile friendly
• How to spend your money wisely

The event is free and is open to people who don't attend the school. However there is a limit to the number of people who can be seated which is why seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Venue: Heatherley's Art School

Founded in 1845, The Heatherley School of Fine Art is the oldest independent art school in London, after the Royal Academy, and is among the few art colleges in Britain that focus on portraiture, figurative painting, printmaking, illustration and sculpture.

Address: 75 Lots Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0RN - The website provides both a map and clear instructions for how to get there
Tel: 020 7351 4190
Email: info@heatherleys.org

For your information

If your art school/society/group would like to have a similar talk for your students or members please contact me to discuss further details.

From Artist to Author - Ulster University Festival of Art & Design

This time tomorrow I'll be in Belfast. That's because I'm a speaker at two events in the Ulster University Festival of Art and Design.  This is the 8th year that the Festival has run and it covers all the creative disciplines in art, design and the built environment on the Belfast campus of Ulster University.

The focus of both my events is Drawing.

My first talk is 'From Artist to Author' a talk about the experience of producing my first book about drawing - with an opportunity to ask questions about the process.

That's tomorrow night at 6pm in the Lecture Theatre on the Ulster University Belfast Campus in York Road, Belfast.

The second is Drawing Together - a panel discussion on Thursday in Room F05 between 11am and 1pm

A panel of artists and designers including Michael John Angel, of the Angel Academy, Florence; PJ Lynch; theatre designer David Craig; Katherine Tyrrell and Julie Douglas join together to talk about how they use drawing and sketching in their practice, and its importance across different creative media. From a doodle in a notebook, to a scaled draught, how does drawing influence, shape or result in creative work?

Both are part of a much bigger programme of events taking place all this week - see the main website for more details of the various events happening each day across a full range of Art and Design activities. I'll be trying to get to some of them myself!

Thanks to Julie Douglas for organising the Drawing events and inviting me to be a speaker.