SGFA 105th Annual Exhibition + scope for a VERY BIG exhibition about Drawing at the Mall Galleries

It's interesting to see how many of the national art societies who are not members of the Federation of British Artists are now holding their annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries.

To date we have:

• SBA - Society of Botanical Artists - regular exhibitor in the whole gallery on a biennial basis (next exhibition in 2027)
• SGFA - Society of Graphic Fine Art - regular exhibitor West and North Gallery (exhibition on at present - until 14 March
• SWA - Society of Women Artists - long term regular exhibitor on annual basis - next exhibition 23-27 June 2026
• UKCPS - UK Colour Pencil Society (for their 25th anniversary show only - next week 17 -25 March 2026

One wonders whether - at some point - some might become additional members of the Federation of British Artists. 

The Society of Graphic Fine Art - currently exhibiting this week - are a case in point.

The Society of Graphic Fine Art

It's other colloquial name is "The Drawing Society"although I think its lost sight of its drawing purpose in the narrative at the beginning of the current exhibition page on the Mall Galleries website (i.e. the word drawing is absent)

The Society of Graphic Fine Art ...exists to promote and exhibit original works of high quality in colour or black or white. This includes both traditional and contemporary media, which includes pencil, pen, watercolour, oils, charcoal, pastel and any of the forms of original printmaking.

I suggest the second paragraph needs to come first

A national society based in the UK, the Society of Graphic Fine Art is the only society dedicated to excellence in drawing and draughtsmanship, demonstrated by hand.

This art society was founded over 100 years ago in 1919 and now has 160 elected members who are professional standard artists from all areas of the art world who work in all drawing and printmaking media.  (I used to be one of them until I decided to not belong to any society while writing reviews of exhibitions.)

The Society was formed by students and teachers in the etching class at the London Central School of Arts. They wanted to establish a society that would

‘uphold and maintain the interests of all those forms of art that do not use colour as a form of expression’

which was another way of saying that drawing counts and, in one form or another, always will.

Their first exhibition in 1921 was supported by the RA and their first President was Sir Frank Brangwyn RA RE, the renowned muralist, painter, architect, illustrator and designer,

Current focus

Drawing excellence and draughtsmanship is still the focus of the society and its exhibition

The main criterion of membership, regardless of media discipline, is drawing excellence.

Nowadays, in addition to black and white work and traditional drawing skills, the society encourages the use of colour and non-figurative art.

105th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Graphic Fine Art

The entrance to the exhibition at the Mall Galleries

I visited the annual exhibition on Monday.

SGFA Exhibition: West and North Galleries of the Mall Galleries

Dates: 9 Mar 2026 - 14 Mar 2026 
Hours: 

Admission: FREE

I've uploaded my photographs of the artwork I saw to Facebook Albums

LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES: Jackson's Art Prize 2026

The deadline for entries for Jackson's Art Prize 2026 is 2nd March 2020 (5pm).

This post looks at Jackson’s Painting Prize 2026 and, in summary

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

Call for Entries: Jackson's Art Prize 2026

The intentions behind the Jackson's Art Prize are:

• to bring together a global community of creatives and
• showcase the work of artists of all ages and abilities.

The annual award welcomes 

• entries in all two-dimensional media including painting, drawing, and original printmaking 
• from amateur to professional artists.

There are lots of prizes - which are mainly art materials, although there is a £6,000 cash first prize.

Who can enter

• Open internationally to artists of all ages and abilities

What type of artwork can you enter?

• Artworks created in two-dimensional mediums eg painting, drawing, printmaking
• About any theme or subject matter
• Artworks for the competition must be submitted by the artist who created it. 
• All work must be your own intellectual property. 

This is what the competition does not accept

• Three-dimensional or sculptural work
• Digital, computer manipulated, or AI art
• Pure photography
• Digital prints e.g. giclée
• Artworks of an inappropriate or offensive subject matter will be removed from the competition.
• artworks that directly copy other people’s work (this does not include artistic interpretations) or works that are made from a tutorial.

There will, of course, be some silly idiot who will think it's OK to try and smuggle some AI artwork in. Personally I'd award a "Great Big Wally" Award to anybody who did so and name and shame on social media.

You can see past entries and winners on the Jackson's Art Prize Instagram account 

The quality of the photograph of the artwork

Norman Ackroyd CBE RA (1938-2024)

I was very sad to hear that the eminent master printmaker Norman Ackroyd passed away last week - in the  afternoon of a fine warm day (Monday 16th September) at his home in Bermondsey. He was 86

Norman Ackroyd (1938-2024)

Such a contrast to his lithographs and prints of the windswept, rainy isles and vaporous clouds in the North of Scotland and other rugged Atlantic seascapes and landscapes in the UK and Ireland. He was a complete master of portraying the coasts on the Atlantic seaboard.

His capacity for creating vaporous clouds filled with sea birds - with amorphous giant shapes representing the coastline which has stood up the beating of winds and rain from west was simply amazing - and his prints had very many fans.

Norman Ackroyd's map of all the locations (with a pin) where he been
to create etchings of that landscape in his studio in Bermondsey

There's a couple of excellent Videos of him talking about his artwork and his processes on YouTube based on the BBC series "What do Artists do all day?" which reviewed him and his work. These are they....

I remember him very well from when he led the tour on the Press Preview for the RA Summer Exhibition in 2013 - which was the best I'd ever been to. It's always stayed in my memory. He struck me then as a complete "one-off" and a really interesting man who could speak about art in plain English. Probably something to do with the northerner in me responding positively to the fact he was born in Leeds in Yorkshire!

Norman Ackroyd CBE RA
talking about hanging Gallery III at Burlington House (RA Summer Exhibition 2013)
which included works hung in honour of the late Mary Fedden RA
who had recently passed away.

This is a video of Norman Ackroyd talking about the process of selecting and then hanging a Summer Exhibition.

Life and career of Norman Ackroyd

His website summarises his life, art education and the career of Norman Ackroyd. He graduated from the Royal College of Art 60 years ago this summer.

• 1938: Born Leeds
• 1956-61: Leeds College of Art
• 1961-64: Royal College of Art, London
• 1988: Elected Royal Academician
• 1994: Appointed Professor of Etching, University of the Arts
• 1999 - 2000: Professor of Printmaking
• 2000: Elected Senior Fellow, Royal College of Art
• 2007: Awarded a C.B.E. for Services to Engraving and printing
• 2013: Elected Senior RA: 1 October 2013

He has produced work for many significant commissions and has work in prestigious collections all over the world. It also sells pretty fast at the RA Summer Exhibition

He called his medium “painting with acid”, and he was on friendly terms with a vast array of the chemicals, from the violent hydrochloric to the lively nitric, which “bites in all directions”. Daily Telegraph obituary

His work in Art Collections

His work is in the collections of very many prominent art galleries and organisations.

Selected Public Collections

Albertina Museum, Vienna

• Art Institute of Chicago
• Arts Council of Great Britain
• British Council
• British Museum, London 
• Cleveland Museum of Art
• Fogg Art Museum, Harvard
• Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Museum of Modern Art, New York
• National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
• National Gallery of Canada
• National Gallery of Norway
• National Gallery of Scotland
• National Gallery of South Africa
• Queensland Art Gallery
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
• The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle
• Stedelijk, Amsterdam
• Tate Gallery, London Norman Ackroyd born 1938 - Tate". Tate Britain. 
• Utah Museum of Fine Art

and numerous museums and art galleries in the United Kingdom

Ackroyd also received several public mural commissions, produced in etched stainless steel or bronze. Recent commissions included Lloyds Bank, London; British Airways, Birmingham Airport; Freshfields, London; Tetrapack, Stockley Park, Heathrow; a bronze mural for the Main Hall of the British Embassy, Moscow; and Lazards Bank, Stratton Street, London W1. RA Obituary

 

Obituaries

Other posts about his life include:

How to apply to become an associate member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers

For all those printmakers who think they might be ready to move up a stage - and want to add RE after their names.

This post covers

• a very brief history of the Society
• how to apply to become an associate member (ARE) of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers - which is the first step on the pathway to becoming a full member (RE).
• what happens if you are elected an Associate Member 

A brief history of The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers

The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers is a very old art society.

• formed in 1880 - as a reaction to the Royal Academy of Arts' reluctance to exhibit etchings and engravings (ironic considering the contemporary popularity of printmaking at the RA Summer Exhibition!)
• 1888: received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria and became and became the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers
• 1911: full members began using RE after their names
• 1991 changed its name - having formerly been known as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers - hence the RE acronym.
• It is the foremost society for all printmakers
• Printmaking methods included within the scope of the society:
• 1897: Engraving
• 1920: wood engraving
• 1987: lithography
• 1990: all forms of creative and forward-thinking original printmaking
• eminent past members have included Graham Sutherland, Stanley William Hayter, Edward Bawden, Julian Trevelyan and Michael Rothenstein.

Since its inception, every member has had one piece of work selected, providing a snapshot of the artist's portfolio at the moment of his or her election.

If elected as a full member, your name and the title of your chosen ‘RE Diploma Print’ are entered in a Roll-Book whose entries arch back to 1880.

The Society shares its home at Bankside Gallery, in London, with the Royal Watercolour Society in an association that has lasted more than a hundred years.  Each year there are various opportunities to exhibit:

• RE Members are invited to submit two works for inclusion in the Society’s major annual exhibition at Bankside Gallery 
• there are a number of opportunities to show in joint exhibitions at Bankside Gallery and elsewhere.

Demonstrations and lectures are held as part of the education programme accompanying exhibitions, fulfilling the Society’s status as an educational charity. The RE is run by its Members, all of whom are expected to take an active role in furthering the interests of the Society.

Applications for the Election of Associate Members in 2024

The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) was formed in 1880 to seek recognition for and to promote the value of printmaking as an art in its own right. Membership is open to artist-printmakers of the highest order. To this day it continues to promote original printmaking in all its forms, widen the knowledge and understanding of printmaking as a process, whilst also providing its members with artistic opportunities.

This is the Applications Page on the RE website

This is the ONLINE FORM you need to submit to apply for election as an Associate Member

You can Download the 2024 application guidelines (PDF). Links to online guidance pages are included below 

Timeline for applications and selection:

• Deadline for receipt of applications: Monday 27 November 2023 12 noon
• Notification of Shortlisted Artists: Friday 22 December 2023
• Deadline for submission of actual prints by shortlisted artists: Saturday 3 February 2024, 11am - 6pm (see Information for Shortlisted Candidates - which also outlines the provisions for all Overseas Artists)
• Collection of prints: (see details about collection)
• Sunday 4 February, 4 - 6pm & 
• Monday 5 February 11am – 1pm 
• Results are sent by email by end of Monday 5 February.

TIP Read the Terms of Election and Guidance very carefully and always aim to create a good first impression. THINK CAREFULLY about 

• whether you are ready to apply this year 
• or whether it might be better to spend the next year gathering together all you need for a good quality application which reflects your suitability for election in 2025.

Who is eligible to apply

Call for Entries: International Original Print Exhibition 2023

The International Original Print Exhibition, established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), is an international open submission exhibition celebrating the best of contemporary printmaking. 

The exhibition is:

• organised by the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers (RE)
• sponsored by Jacksons Art
• held at the Bankside Gallery (next to Tate Modern) in the Autumn 2023.

The deadline for entry is 3rd July 2023

As an art organisation run by artists, the RE is constantly working to create long-term opportunities for artists and promote printmaking to a wider audience.

There are a number of prizes awarded to some of those whose work is selected for exhibition

Education / Studio Time Award

• Thames-Side Print Studio Prize - Annual membership of studio, 50 open access sessions & a place on a print course of choice worth circa £650
• Hole Editions Publishing Award, (Newcastle) - An invitation to collaborate on a lithographic project for three days. Accommodation included, but not travel
• Hot Bed Press Award - One year’s membership at Hot Bed Press, Induction and exclusive time with their technician, 100 hours workshop usage and £50 worth of materials to use at Hot Bed Press

Profile : Exhibition / Publishing Award

• Woolwich Contemporary Print Prize - work exhibited as part of Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair 2024
• GreatArt Award - Solo exhibition in Hoxton Store
• Printmaking Today Award - An editorial feature in the magazine

Art Supplies Award

• Jackson’s Art Supplies Award £250 Jackson’s voucher
• Hawthorn Printmaker Supplies Award - Materials to the value of £150
• Ironbridge Fine Arts Printmaker Prize - A spindle roller to the value of £180
• Intaglio Printmaker Prize - Materials prize of £100
• John Purcell Paper Award - Materials to the value of £150
• St Cuthberts Mill Award - 20 sheets of Somerset 250gsm paper 56 x 76cm

Membership Award

• Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers Prize - One year’s guest RE membership for an outstanding work
• Society of Wood Engravers Prize £100 plus a one-year subscription and free entry for selection process to SWE Annual Exhibition
• East London Printmakers Prize - One year's associate membership

Works from the International Original Print Exhibition 2022

Call for Entries

All the information that you need to know regarding preparing your works for the exhibition and sale of your work is available in 

• the application guidelines which are available as a PDF
• the detailed list of FAQs

Who can enter

• Artists must be 18 or over on 6 March 2023
• Artists from any country may enter - provided they are willing and able to get their work to and from the designated drop off and collection venues at their own cost 

What you can enter

• Any form of original printmaking is eligible. 
• Reproduction prints are not accepted. 
• All artwork must have been made in the past 3 years, dating from 6 March 2020 
• There are no limitations on style or subject matter 
• The work must have been made by the entrant 
• All work must be for sale 

Do you accept digital prints?
We do absolutely accept digital prints, as long as they are limited edition prints created using digital processes, not digital reproductions of another work. (FAQs)

Number of entries

• Artists may submit up to 6 recent prints - for a non-refundable fee of £16 per picture. 
• Students in full-time education (ID required) can submit up to 6 recent prints - for £10 per picture. 

(Note: Students will be required to show student ID when delivering the work to the drop-off location)

How to enter

• Take a good quality digital photograph or scan of each print. The judges will make their decision based on this photograph. 
• The print should be photographed unglazed and evenly lit, and cropped to the edge of the work. 
• View the photograph on a computer to make sure you are happy with the picture quality on a larger screen. 
• As a guide, the file size should be minimum 1MB and not exceed 3MB
• Go to https://www.re-printmakers.com/competitions/ and follow the onscreen instructions to make your entry. You will be asked to provide:
• An image of each artwork 
• Artist’s name (exactly as you wish to be known on the works list and labels)
• Contact email address for the artist (please be sure to spell this correctly!) 
• Title of the work 
• Framed dimensions in centimetres 
• Medium 
• Framed and unframed price for each print (latter only if applicable) 
• re. Pricing - Remember to take into account 
• framing and transport costs, 
• Bankside Gallery’s commission of 45% should the work sell. 
• If you are registered for VAT, please also include this in your price. 
• No changes to your price(s) will be possible after the competition deadline so please ensure they are correct. 
• Unframed price for each print (only if applicable ie. Do not fill in this field if further prints in the edition are not available or if it is a monoprint / monotype) 
• Availability of further unframed prints in the edition (if applicable)
• When submitting student work online, please also 
• scan your student ID and 
• email a copy to info@re-printmakers.com. 
• Any works found to be falsely submitted as student work will not be hung. 
• Pay the non-refundable entry fee using the secure online payment service. 
• Make sure you click the blue ‘Submit entries’ button. 
• Your entry is not complete until you complete this step. 
• Acknowledgement of your entry and payment will be sent to you

You won't be able to access your entry after the deadline has passed do be sure to make a record of the complete entry (I always print off the entry and then also save it as a pdf file in the folder for the competition on my computer)

Incomplete entries or those made without payment received by the competition deadline, will not be shown to the judges. If you encounter difficulties, you can get in touch at info@re-printmakers.com.

Works from the International Original Print Exhibition 2022

Important Dates

Call for Entries

• Monday 6 March, 12 midday | Competition opens for entries
• Monday 3 July, 11.59 PM | Entry deadline
• Thursday 27 July by 6pm | Results posted on www.re-printmakers.com/competitions and successful artists contacted via email

Delivery

• Friday 15 or Saturday 16 September, 11am-5pm | Delivery of successful entries to 23 Blue Anchor Lane, SE16 3UL

Exhibition

• Wednesday 20 September 6-8pm | Private View & Prizegiving
• Thursday 21 September – Sunday 1 October, 11am-6pm daily | Exhibition of successful entries at Bankside Gallery
• Sunday 1 October, 6 – 8pm, or Monday 2 October 11am – 6pm from Bankside Gallery | Collection of unsold work

Selection & Panel

These digital submissions are assessed by a panel of judges who can select up to a maximum of 3 artworks for any one artist. The judges’ decision is final.

The 2023 Selection Panel comprises:

• Rob Ryan (artist) 
• Dr Mark Golder (collector & academic)
• Sharon Lloyd (co-founder of FACE)
• David Ferry (RE President)
• Michelle Griffiths (RE Vice President)

A list of prints selected for the exhibition will be published on www.reprintmakers.com/competitions by 6pm on Thursday 27 July. 

Artists whose work has been selected will be sent an email confirming arrangements for the exhibition.

Preparing work for delivery and exhibition

There are detailed instructions for those who need to know in the guidelines about presentation, framing, mirror plates, labels and insurance.

Note that poorly presented prints or works that differ significantly from the photograph that was entered will not be accepted. 

Exhibition 

The exhibition of works selected will take place at the Bankside Gallery from 21st September to 1st October 2023.

Works from the International Original Print Exhibition 2022

Society of Wood Engravers Annual Exhibition

On Friday I visited the Bankside Gallery in London and viewed the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Wood Engravers

The exhibition opened on 7th February and continues to 26th February and I'd very much recommend this exhibition to anybody interested in fine art printmaking. 

• There are a lot of high quality artworks in this exhibition. 
• More importantly many of them are very affordable (i.e. less than £500 - with some less than £100)

The Society of Wood Engravers was founded in 1920 by artists including Eric Gill, Gwen Raverat, Robert Gibblings, Philip Hagreen and Lucien Pissarro. A break during the war years and then again in the 1970s meant that their annual exhibition ceased for a time; since their revival in 1984, they have built a reputation for excellence, attracting exhibitors and collectors from around the world

View of one corner of the exhibition

I've included an album of my photos from the exhibition in a folder - Society of Wood Engravers Annual Exhibition 2023 - on my Facebook Page.

It starts with images of the prizewinners followed by gallery views of the wood engravings in the exhibition.

View of some of the artworks in the exhibition - indicating the variation in size

I'm somewhat puzzled by where I can find a list of the prizewinners on what appears to be the two websites of the Society of Wood Engravers

• https://www.woodengravers.co.uk/
• https://www.societyofwoodengravers.co.uk/

Images from this annual exhibition can also be found on the https://www.societyofwoodengravers.co.uk/shop or the Bankside Gallery's exhibition page https://www.banksidegallery.com/exhibitions/92-the-society-of-wood-engravers/works 

SWA Feature Artist 2023: Angie Lewin

The feature artist in the exhibition is Angie Lewin

In 2006 I was elected to The Royal Society of Painter Printmakers and in 2008 to The Society of Wood Engravers. In 2010 I was elected to The Art Workers Guild. In 2016 I was elected to The Royal Watercolour Society.

What's rather odd is that the artworks are not all wood engravings.

2nd International Original Print Exhibition (2022)

I went to see the International Original Print Exhibition 2022 at the Bankside Gallery on the South Bank on Tuesday. It finishes on Sunday 2nd October.

I can certainly highly recommend it as a diverse collection of original fine art prints which demonstrate the diversity in different approaches to print-making

The prints also varied between the very colourful and monochrome.

All the works exhibited are the result of an open submission exhibition established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. The aim of the exhibition is to celebrate the best in all forms of contemporary printmaking.

These include

• aquatint etching
• chine collé
• copperplate engraving
• digital 
• drypoint
• etching
• giclee
• hand stencilled screenprint
• high relief carborundum
• intaglio gravure
• laser engraved woodcut
• linocut
• lithograph
• mezzotint
• mokuhanga (water-based woodblock)
• monotype
• photolithography
• photopolymer etching
• risograph
• screenprint
• silkscreen and woodcut
• soft ground
• solar etching
• stone lithography
• woodcut and stencil
• woodblock

and variations on the above.

It's also an exhibition with a wide variety of sponsors of both the exhibition and/or individual awards.

The overall bias of subject matter is either abstracted or landscape oriented with fewer images of people than you might expect. 

Trump increased the trade tariff for Prints by 25%

I had an interesting enquiry on my art business news blog - which struck me as potentially relevant to a lot of people. Or at least those producing prints.....

Here's the question

can I please ask whether you are currently aware of the latest situation regarding the recently imposed 25% US import tax on printed works from the EC, including on lithographs and photographs?

I work with the photographer [name] and we have contacted several sources regarding this, including our own government, and none have been able to confirm whether this tax still applies now that the UK has left the EC.

We would therefore very much appreciate your understanding of the situation.

Bottom line it appears that prints and postcards will now attract 25% import tax when imported into the USA.  Making them 25% more expensive.

I won't go into the whys and wherefores bit it appears that this is a retaliatory trade tariff strike by Trump who is annoyed that the EU subsidised the airbus and undermined the competition from whatever aircraft the US was producing. Which is ironic given that airlines have grounded so many planes recently and many people are completely rethinking the wisdom of air travel in relation to the planet.

Anyway....

I started to look into this and found various articles with some alarming headlines and content

• 'A giant wall': art world feels the pinch of Trump’s 25% import duty on printed works | The Art Newspaper
• New U.S. Tariffs Could Hit Some Prints, Photographs from Germany, United Kingdom | Art News

A decision in a 15-year trade dispute between the United States and the European Union about the manufacturing of airplanes could result in a price hike for American buyers of certain types of photographs and prints.

Starting October 18, the U.S. will impose a 25 percent import duty on all of the following coming in from the U.K. and Germany: printed books, brochures, leaflets, printed matter in single sheets, lithographs on paper or paperboard created in the last 20 years, and pictures, designs, and photographs printed in the last 20 years. Such import costs could potentially be passed along to buyers. (Art News)

Now the trade tariff applies to the EU (as I understand it) but the UK has left the EU - so does it apply to UK prints, photos?

Moreover should it apply to UK prints and photos made in the last 20 years?

I wasn't entirely certain about this - primarily because the website of the US Office of the United States Trade Representative is opaque beyond a joke and how anybody makes any sense of anything is beyond me. Any official publications seem to delight in saying what they mean in plain English as opposed to tortuous legalese (which has its place - but as the only explanation is a complete nonsense!)

However I'm an ex-government bod used to inspecting, auditing and digging around in official documents to work out what's going on and it would appear that there is indeed a very real issue of substance.....

....and maybe a way out!

I'm reproducing below extracts from the documents I finally tracked down. (Thank goodness for press releases! 2019-10-02 U.S. Wins $7.5 Billion Award in Airbus Subsidies Case)

The penalty paragraph relating to lithographs and prints

This identifies very clearly that the UK is in the frame for penalties relating to certain products including various printed items.

extract of Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 9, 2019 / Notices 54249 
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. USTR–2019–0003]
Notice of Determination and Action Pursuant to Section 301:
Enforcement of U.S. WTO Rights in Large Civil Aircraft Dispute

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2020) Revision 15 re. trade tariff 4911

This is the document which explains the additional penalty being imposed by the US in relation to the enforcement of WTO right relating to the large Civil Aircraft Dispute.

Basically they are seeking a VERY long list of PENALTY trade tariffs to make-up for the damages they have been awarded amounting to $7.5 billion.

London Original Print Fair and A Buyer's Guide to Prints

Yesterday I went to the 34th London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy of Arts. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all those who like fine art prints. I've been in previous years and enjoy:

• the fact I can see fine art prints by leading artists past and present
• view a lot of work by people I've never seen before - and I always come away with new 'names of artists to follow'

This is an annual event around about this time of year at the RA - who have got a massive space for the exhibition and a lot of printmakers among their members.

Tickets are £12 (on the website0 and concessions are available.

• Half-price tickets for National Art Pass.
• RA Friends receive free entry.

The fair is on 25-28th April 2019 i.e. started on Thursday and is also on today and tomorrow (10am – 6pm). 

I took "himself" (free entry on my Friends card!) who declared he was very pleasantly surprised - and interested - and would have stayed much longer if he didn't have to go and catch a train for a prior commitment.

I came away with A Buyer's Guide to Prints by Helen Rosslyn (a prints and drawings specialist and a Director and the Organiser of the London Original Print Fair) which was published by the Royal Academy of Arts last September. It's got good explanations of all the various types of prints and technical terms plus useful notes on what to expect from a printmaker, how to frame them and answers to a number of frequently asked questions by actual and potential collectors of fine art prints.

All for £9.99 which makes it affordable as well as useful and accessible!

What does it look like

I've uploaded a bunch of photos to my Facebook Page - see London Original Print Fair 2019 - if you want to see the scale and nature of this art fair for printmakers and fine art print lovers. Below are a few of the pics I took.

Which artists can you see 

The printmaking artists being exhibited by the various stands at the fair include Brueghel, Cranach, Hogarth, Monet, Whistler, Picasso, Matisse, Francis Bacon, Barbara Hepworth, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucien Freud, Louise Bourgeois, Victor Pasmore - and more from the past.

Contemporary artists include: David Hockney, Grayson Perry, Peter Blake, Norman Ackroyd (everywhere!), Chris Orr, Paula Rego, Mick Rooney, David Shrigley, Anita Klein, Adam Dant et al.

Which galleries are exhibiting

This page on their website provide links to the explanations of each stand at the 2019 Fair.

The galleries which impressed me include:

Awards - Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition 2018

This is about

• the awards made at "The Discerning Eye" -  the 2018 annual exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists. 
• the artists you can meet next week at the exhibition

The exhibition is on at the Mall Galleries until 4th November 10am to 5pm (closes at 1pm on final day)

I'm visiting two hospitals tomorrow(!) so my review of the exhibition may also be a little late in the day.

Society of Wildlife Artists - The Awards 2018

NEW The Terravesta Prize: £2,000 for the best work exhibited

The "Hyrdrothermal Vent", measuring in excess of 6 feer high, made by Jill Moger is a quite extraordinary work - I've never ever seen anything quite like it. It's explained in the catalogue for the exhibition.

A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in the earth's surface which typically form underwater along the ridges of tectonic plates which are diverging. Geothermally heated water issues from the vent. The assortment of animals surrounding them are referred to as hydrothermal vent communities.

Winner of the Terravesta Prize
Jill Moger SWLA, Hydrothermal vent
Mixed media: stoneware & ceramic183 x 102 cm
NFS

Although reptiles and amphibians predominate as Jill Moger's subject matter, she has created sculptures of many other wild animals. She is particularly drawn to the variety of life on and around the world's coral reefs and has been creating a series of work on this theme. Coral reefs are seriously endangered due to global warming and pollution and Jill believes that artists can help to highlight this impending disaster through their work.

Jill Moger is a self taught artist. She was a Vice President for Sculpture of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers from 2009 to 2013. She exhibits annually with the Society of Wildlife Artists and the Royal Miniature Society and at galleries specialising in wildlife art around the UK.

Website: http://www.jillmogersculptures.co.uk/
Sponsor: https://www.terravesta.com

Birdwatch Artist of the Year Award (£1,000 plus Swarovski equipment)

The BirdGuides.com Birdwatch Artist of the Year Award
Andrew Haslen SWLA
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Linocut (edition of 75, 9 available)

One of my favourite artists won one of the top awards.

Andrew Haslen was born in Essex in 1953. He lives in Suffolk, has a life-long love of nature and is totally self-taught. He was elected member of the Society of Wildlife Artists in 1988. He has been selected six times to exhibit at Birds in Art exhibition, Leigh Yawkey Art Museum, Wisconsin, USA.

Website: https://andrewhaslen.com/
Sponsor: https://www.birdguides.com/

Mascot Media 'Nature in Print' Award

Mascot Media Ltd 'Nature' in Print' Award
Julia Manning, Artist, Returning Tide (Shetland)
Wood cut | 60x70cm image size |Edition of 25

This is the first time that Mascot Media have sponsored a prize.

For the first time, we made an award at a show we've been attending for almost 30 years. The Mascot Media 'Nature in Print' award was for 'the most original, unusual or effective interpretation of the natural world using traditional printmaking techniques'. We chose a large woodcut by Somerset-based artist Julia Manning entitled 'Returning Tide', which features curlew over Shetland. We hope to feature this image and other of Julia's prints in the forthcoming 'Wings Over Water' book, due next May. 

Julia Manning lives in Somerset and has been a painter/printmaker for 40 years. She is a member of The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Somerset Printmakers, The Society of Wildlife Artists and of The Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. She has work in a number of prestigious collections.

Website: http://www.juliamanning.co.uk
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Manning-Artist-185487711478339/
Sponsor: http://www.mascotmedia.co.uk

The RSPB 'Love Nature' Award

Kittie Jones Artist, Feeding Curlew
Winner of the RSPB 'Love Nature' Award

There are a huge number of paintings, prints and sculptures of birds at this exhibition every year.  This one came top this year!

Kittie Jones is a fine artist based in Edinburgh. She graduated from Edinburgh College of Art and Edinburgh University in 2008. She works from her studio at Coburg House Art Studios in Leith and regularly exhibits around the UK. Kittie was elected as a professional member of the Society of Wildlife Artists in 2016.
Website: http://kittiejones.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kittiejonesartist/
Sponsor: https://www.rspb.org.uk/

Dry Red Press Printmakers's Award

Dry Red Press Award
Carry Akroyd SWLA, Windhover

One of my favourite painter/printmakers who works in a variety of printmaking approaches.

Website: https://www.carryakroyd.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carry.akroyd
Sponsor: https://www.dryredpress.com/collections/art-society-ranges-dry-red-press-award

Birdscapes Gallery 'Conservation through Art' Award

Birdscapes Gallery 'Conservation through Art' Award
Esther Tyson RCA, Winter Sparrow
oil (Sold)

"For her masterful painting skill; her awareness that, in Nature, the ordinary is as important as the exotic; for her commitment to conservation-and-people projects around the world, and especially for painting sparrows!"Steve Harris, Birdscapes Gallery

Esther Tyson lives in Matlock, Derbyshire. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2003 and now combines a studio with observational outdoor practice. Esther has been involved in projects within the UK and Worldwide, working alongside organisations such as Birdlife International (Nepal, Vultures), BTO (Senegal/Norfolk, Migration), DKM (Turkey), Esther Benjamin Trust (Nepal), Free the Bears (Phnom Penh), FFI (Cambodia), Salford Council (Salford), Royal Parks (London), SWLA, Natural History Museum (the Big Draw).

Website:https://www.esthertyson.co.uk/index.html
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/Esther-Tyson-RCA-106998002656569/
Sponsor: http://www.birdscapesgallery.co.uk/

The Ian Langford Field Sketches Award

The Ian Langford Field Sketches Award
sketchbooks by John Steel

In 2005, John Steel retired after 23 years working for Northumberland National Park as a ranger in the Cheviot Hills and latterly as park species and habitats officer.

"During my work there was always the opportunity to observe and increase my knowledge and awareness of plants and animals. All my work is field-based. I like to get habitats correct and I spend a tremendous amount of time in the field. I never fail to find something of interest, even in the worst weather." The Journal

Website: none

Sponsor: Obituary https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/26/ian-langford-obituary

WildArt 2018 (competition for those aged under 19)

WildArt2018 Age group Winners (left to right)
under 8 category: Rosa Smith
2-12 category - Clara Thorp
13-18 category - Katie Bryan
Richard Richardson Award - Katie Bryan

The Artists at the Exhibition next week

The artists are

• Monday 29 October – Robert Greenhalf
• Wednesday 31 October – Chris Wallbank and Richard Allen
• Friday 2 November – Max Angus
• Sat 3 November – Peter Partington

You can get into the exhibition for free by mentioning "Making A Mark" at the front desk - see
Visit the Society of Wildlife Artists 55th Annual Exhibition for FREE

London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy of Arts until 6th May

I'd completely forgotten that it's the London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy of Arts this week.

London Print Fair at the Royal Academy of Arts 3-6 May 2018

The 33rd London Original Print Fair started yesterday. The Fair is held in the Main Galleries at the RA (the ones they use for the Summer Exhibition).

This is the Exhibition Guide
There are also several events during the course of the Fair.
So, for example, this is a Printing Demonstration: Hokusai's Great Wave

Printmaking Explained

It's worth noting that Helen Rosslyn a prints and drawings specialist and a Director and the Organiser of the London Original Print Fair is the author of new book called A Buyer's Guide to Prints published by the RA - new edition Sept. 2018
( I wonder why she didn't have it published in time for this Print Fair. )

Here for those who know rather less than they'd like to about original fine art prints (i.e. they're not made using the giclee process) is some information courtesy of their website - in a section called Printmaking explained. There's lots more on the website including some great examples of that particular type of print available at the Fair. plus videos about some of the processes.

If you click the links below you'll see I'm a big fan of dry point and engravings but tend to buy linoprints - and this is mainly because I can't possibly afford the prints I do want to buy!

• Monotype Explained

The image is drawn or painted onto a smooth, non-absorbent surface. Paper is pressed against the image, usually with a printing press, to create a one-off image. Most of the ink is removed during the process, so it cannot be repeated. Therefore, a monotype is always unique.

• Etching Explained

The plate is covered in an acid-resistant layer of wax called an etching ground. The image is then drawn into this surface with an etching needle. The plate is immersed in an acid bath until the acid has bitten into the drawn lines. The ground is removed and the plate is inked and printed as with an engraving.

Here's hoping your view today is on a par with David Hockney RA's 'Rue de Seine' in Paris. It will be one of the many original works by old and modern masters available to buy at @Londonprintfair, 3 - 6 May at the Royal Academy: https://t.co/uqCrCpT7EY pic.twitter.com/yRrC1iWX8J

— Royal Academy (@royalacademy) April 25, 2018

• Drypoint Explained

As in an engraving, the drypoint needle draws the image directly onto the plate. The residue copper is left on the side of the etched lines, which then collects the ink, creating a furry effect called burr.

• Everything you've ever wanted to know about lithography

Lithography is a chemical process based on the fact that water and grease repel each other. Traditionally the design is drawn with a greasy crayon onto a lithographic stone, hence the name, from the Greek ‘lithos’ meaning stone. The stone is dampened with water, which is repelled by the crayon. It is then inked with a grease-based ink, which is repelled by the water and adheres only to the areas covered by the greasy crayon. A sheet of paper is placed on top of it and the two are passed through the press together, so that the design transfers directly onto the paper.

• Everything you've ever wanted to know about screenprint

Screenprint, also known as silkscreen or serigraphy, is a stencil-based printmaking technique in which fabric, originally silk, is stretched across a wooden frame to create a screen. Areas around the image are blocked out as in a stencil and a tool called a squeegee is then used to press ink through the unblocked areas of the screen onto paper. The process is repeated for each different element of the image. Excerpt from Helen Rosslyn's A Buyer's Guide to Prints

• Engraving

The image is engraved directly onto a metal plate, usually made of copper, with a sharp tool called a burin. The plate is inked and wiped clean, before being passed through a printing press.

• Woodcut

Woodcut is a relief printing process in which the areas around the image to be printed are cut away from a wooden block, leaving the image in relief.

All about woodcut from London Original Print Fair on Vimeo.
LOPF goes behind the scenes at Paupers Press to show you how a woodcut is made. Paupers are printing Grayson Perry RA's 'Reclining Artist' published by Paragon in 2017.

• Linocut

Linocut is a relief printmaking process in which the areas around the image to be printed are cut away from a sheet of linoleum, leaving the image on linoleum in relief. The raised areas are then inked and the image transferred onto a second surface, usually paper. Linoleum is a malleable surface that is easier to cut into than wood or metal, allowing artists to create more subtle variations and effects.

‘I find linocut to be rewardingly straightforward and I love
the fact that it is so low tech – especially if printed by hand.’ Eileen Cooper RA quoted in A Buyer's Guide to Prints. Hear Eileen's artist's talk at #LOPF at 12noon Thursday @royalacademy https://t.co/7Sb7bQRfZ7 pic.twitter.com/y1go8ze0BN

— London Print Fair (@Londonprintfair) May 1, 2018

Exhibitors

The Fair hosts 50 of the world's top international specialist dealers, galleries and print publishers.  A number of exhibitors are new this year. Exhibitors include

• Advanced Graphics London
• arts, -tis, f., Germany
• Artchina Ltd
• Aspinwall Editions, New York Emanuel von Baeyer – London Gallery Boisserée Colgone/Germany Brook Gallery Ltd 
• CCA Galleries and Worton Hall Studios Gordon Cooke
• Dreipunkt Edition, Germany
• Durham Press, USA 
• Eames Fine Art Andrew Edmunds Enitharmon Editions Flowers Gallery 
• GBS Fine Art
• Gerrish Fine Art
• Gilden’s Arts Gallery
• Glasgow Print Studio
• Hanga Ten – Contemporary Japanese Prints Peter Harrington Gallery
• Elizabeth Harvey-Lee
• Gwen Hughes Fine Art
• Lyndsey Ingram 
• Bernard Jacobson
• Jealous
• Jennings Fine Art
• Galerie Lelong Editions, Paris Long & Ryle 
• Marlborough Graphics Martinez D., Paris Moritaka, Japan Osborne Samuel Julian Page 
• Paragon
• Paupers Press
• Polígrafa Obra Gràfica, Spain
• Pratt Contemporary | Pratt Editions Rabley Contemporary Gallery
• The Redfern Gallery
• Royal Academy of Arts
• Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers Sarah Sauvin, France
• Karsten Schubert
• Stoney Road Press, Ireland
• TAG Fine Arts
• Greville Worthington
• Zuleika Gallery