More Wayne Thibaud: "This for you is my world to look at"

Where to see more about Wayne Thiebaud

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For me this is a bit of a click and salivate post!  In all honesty written entirely for me - for looking at from time to time - rather than sharing with any of you - but you can look too! ;)

• In an An Eye for Art produced by the National Gallery in Washington - you can read online (or download the pdf file and read later) about he produced his artwork
• The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has a nice collection of works of art by Thiebaud
• Christies provides a nice video of a Studio visit: Wayne Thiebaud - in which he 

discusses drawings versus prints, the audacity of the artist’s vocation — and why he doesn’t believe in ‘the idea of success’

"my work is not showing off, not grandiose, - human things..."

"This for you is my world to look at" - Wayne Thiebaud

• On ArtNet - you can see lots if different works by him - from drawings and paintings to fine art prints (etchings, linocuts and lithographs)
• There are even more on Wayne Thiebaud on Artsy where you can apparently see 291 works of prints, paintings, drawings and works on paper 

Thumbnails of Cakes by Wayne Thiebaud

• Many thanks to Artsy for doing their categorisation of his art. These are 
• the Thiebaud Cakes 
• the Thiebaud Ice Cream - so many different ways to draw a cone!
• The Thiebaud Lollipops
• the Thiebaud Cityscapes - I keep getting echoes of Charles Rennie MackIntosh and the way he drew landscapes with an emphasis on line and quite stylised colour. This one - of "Valley Streets" - is in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• I'd buy one - but I can't afford him - although doubtless my investment would increase in value! 

Though Thiebaud is most often grouped with the Pop art movement for his subject matter, the artist considers himself “just an old fashioned painter,” and “not a card carrying Pop artist.” He remains best known for his still lifes of confections—sometimes painted from his own memories—which he considers interpretations of “Americanness.” In his works, objects and their shadows are characteristically outlined in multiple colors, creating a visual effect Thiebaud calls akin to vibration.

• Wikipedia as per usual provides a useful overview of his life and work. According to one line - 

he apprenticed at Walt Disney Studios drawing "in-betweens" of Goofy, Pinocchio, and Jiminy Cricket at a rate of $14 a week

• but Wikipedia while not deleting this would like a citation! 
• According to the Smithsonian Wayne Thiebaud Is Not a Pop Artist - which is worth a read

In a contemporary art world enthralled with such stunts as Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted skull, Thiebaud is wonderfully ungimmicky.

I think I like him because 

• he's both ordinary and original, 
• of the optical mixing he does (which I also do), 
• of his strong emphasis on line - which I like a lot, 
• his ability to be figurative and abstract at the same time
• and the fact that when he paints his paint is LUSH! His lush cream pies also sold for $4 million!

There are other affinities? Did I mention I have been known to go round sketching food (and people eating and drinking) - a lot?!

and finally......

Did you know Wayne Thiebaud is 98 years old? (he was born on 15 November 1920!)

Two new art fairs in London plus goodbye to a popular old one

There have been some major changes in independent art fairs in London in 2019. 

There are two new fairs:

• Connect – The Independent Art Fair is a brand new art fair - run by art dealers - being held at the Mall Galleries next week 
• The Draw Art Fair London will be held at the Saatchi Art Gallery in Chelsea, in May.

Both NEW Art Fairs suggest a rethinking of the approach to dealing art and making sales.

Sadly the Works on Paper Art Fair which I used to go to every February - and recommended is sadly no more.

Connect – The Independent Art Fair

Home Page of the The Connect Independent Art Fair

This is a NEW art fair at the Mall Galleries organised by an art dealer led co-operative - and it opens on Tuesday 29th January.

I've been saying for ages - to anybody who will listen to me - that the Mall Galleries provides an excellent venue for anybody wanting to host a small niche art fair in London - and such activities seem a very appropriate related income stream for the FBA Trust and the Galleries.

Seems like somebody else has had the same idea as me!

Apparently it's being run by a co-operative of art dealers (i.e. typically people without B&M galleries) who aim to cut out the event organiser as a cost of the fair.

An opportunity to view and purchase from the genuine #notonthehighstreet#galleries offering outstanding quality art at affordable prices.

Very oddly, the website does NOT actually says what it's about its USP (i.e what makes it different) and why it's worth visiting! 

• Maybe they've been focused on using press releases and social media - which is where the above comes from. 
• However, they're reposting Instagram to Twitter and losing the images in the process - so maybe they're not too social media savvy! (Shortcuts never pay off - do it properly and get images in a feed and it always pays off!)
• My take on it is that this reflects inexperience. The company that runs it is very new, was only incorporated last year and is months old (see details). I think it lacks social media marketing savvy. I'm almost inclined to send a note to my art business website page which stipulates what traders need on a website page when marketing online!

However, the Mall Galleries website is rather more experienced and a bit more forthcoming about what this inaugural art fair is about

Welcome to the inaugural staging of Connect - The Independent Art Fair. Our friendly dealers and well-known gallerists are bringing together a wide range of early, modern and contemporary work from London and well beyond, and will showcase a dazzling array of schools and styles, media and type. The accent will be on quality and accessibility; organised by a new co-operative of dealers, this Fair will ensure that there is every opportunity for the average collector to indulge their collecting whims, with something to suit most pockets.

Interestingly a couple of articles in the Antique Trades Gazette are a little more forthcoming (see below for links)

the independent event cuts out the ‘middleman’ of an external organiser – aiming at competitive prices for exhibitors and their buyers in turn – and focuses on works ranging in price from the low hundreds to five figures at the top end.

I'll be going. Probably not on Tuesday as I hate crowded events where you can't see the artwork. Probably on Wednesday - and I'll let you know what it's like.

Note that it's open late on Thursday, opens to 7 on Friday and is open all day on Saturday (remembering that "all day" in art fairs starts at 11am!)

You can find details of the fair and its various webs and social media accounts below.

Evening openings at the Mall Galleries for the Connect Art Fair

Venue: Mall Galleries

Admission: £10 (£25 for Tuesday 29 January). Free Entry to Friends of Mall Galleries and those booking in advance at connectartfair.co.uk
Dates: 29 January - 2 February 2019

• Tuesday 29 January 3.30pm -9pm Opening Preview
• Wednesday 30 January 11am – 7pm Fair open
• Thursday 31 January 11am – 9pm Fair open (late night)
• Friday 1 February 11am –7pm Fair open
• Saturday 2 February 11am –5pm Fair open

Website: https://connectartfair.co.uk/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/connectartfair/ (Nothing much happening do far - which is unsurprising given the other marketing deficits)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/connectartfair
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectartfair/
Venue: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/connect-independent-art-fair
Articles: 

• Dealer-led art fair to launch at Mall Galleries  | Antiques Trade Gazette (July 2018) - ‘Affordable mid-point fair’ will open in January to encourage face-to-face trade
• New independent art fair in London targets younger customers with competitive prices | Antiques Trade Gazette (January 2019) - New independent art fair targets younger and fresh customers with competitive prices

Draw Art Fair London 

Draw Art Fair website

This NEW art fair for modern and contemporary drawing will be held at the Saatchi Gallery in May 2019.

This is what is about according to the website. It sounds as if it offers a comprehensive approach to drawing and at the same time is VERY BIG!

Derwent Art Prize 2018: Prizewinners and Exhibition

The Derwent Art Prize 2018 prizewinners are listed below together with views of the exhibition currently on display in the Threadneedle Space at the Mall Galleries in London - until 5pm on Sunday 23rd September 2018.

View of part of the Derwent Art Prize exhibition 2018

The Derwent Art Prize 2018 exhibition will tour to venues across the UK including

• Trowbridge Arts (29 September – 10 November 2018) and 
• Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria (until January 2018).

Derwent Art Prize 2018 - Prizewinners

The nationalities of those receiving prizes (and the catalogue) underline that this has become a truly international exhibition. 

The Prizewinners were announced after the exhibition opened.  I saw the exhibition before the prizewinners were announced (last night) and it was difficult to tell who would win the prizes. There's certainly a lot of good calibre work within the exhibition.

First Prize (£6,000): France Bizot (France) - Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary
colour pencil on book 22cm x 19cm
copyright France Bizot

French artist France Bizot’s intricate hand-drawn books illustrate one way in which drawing can be realised in three dimensions Derwent is proud to announce the finalists and exhibitors of the 2018 Derwent Art Prize

France Bizot is an artist who draws in printed books. She also has a second work selected for the exhibition - of two graphite drawings also within a book. Both are contained within the display boxes on plinths.

Her work belongs to the great tradition of those who produce art in published books. Not artists books as such - as these are artists who produce books of their drawings - so much as artists who use books as their support and their medium for their artwork (eg see 10 Visual Artists Who Use Books as Their Medium for more not quite the same)

France Bizot was born in 1959 and lives in Paris France. She is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. Prior to becoming an artist she had a a successful career as an artistic director in the advertising industry. In 2002 she became an artist and has in the past created drawings based on images appropriated from social media. Her work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions, including Fondation EDF, Paris, BACKSLASH, Paris, Galerie François Giraudeau, Paris, Galerie Privée EBC, Paris, Espace Beaurepaire, Paris, and Young Gallery, Brussels.

Her works are contained in display boxes placed on plinths

Second Prize (£3,000): Jovanka Stanojevic (Serbia) - Hair

Hair 2
Graphite pencil on paper 33 x 33cm
copyright Jovanka Stanojevic

Jovanka Stanojevic is a Serbian artist living and working in Belgrade.

She has been awarded a BA in Painting (2005) and an MFA in drawing (2009) from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. She is currently completing her PHD dissertation. Since 2008, she has worked as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Art and Design Megatrend University, Belgrade.

Her professional art work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Serbia, Germany, England, Italy, Greece, Spain and Switzerland and she has received a number of painting awards.
Her drawings and paintings are a part of public and private collections in Serbia, Germany, USA, Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Denmark.

This is a video about her work which I found online

How to get | print | use Pascal Anson's lined papers for a still life collage

If you want to download those tonal lined papers used by Pascal Anson for the Big "Cut Out a Still Life" challenge this is the blog post to go to - DRAWING IS DIFFICULT! Perspective, Still Life, Lids and Bananas - they're at the bottom and available to download.

Lined sheets of paper by Pascal Anson - for constructing still life collages

You can then print on plain or coloured paper

RECOMMENDED: Plus he has a video showing you how to use them - definitely worth watching

Tonal paper. Photocopied lines in different density to help you identify light and dark tone. Not colour. Draw with scissors, not with a pencil. Use the direction of the lines to think about paint strokes. See my YouTube for a still life demo. #art #painting #bigpaintingchallenge

A post shared by Pascal Anson (@iampascalanson) on Apr 1, 2018 at 3:17am PDT

You're asking for the tonal paper in the #bigpaintingchallenge masterclass. Tutorial and paper download is here https://t.co/Jw49F0AQ9s pic.twitter.com/PmmhVYYdV2

— Pascal Anson (@iampascalanson) April 3, 2018

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Works on Paper Art Fair 2018 - review

The Works on Paper Fair continues at the Royal Geographical Society at the Albert Memorial end of Exhibition Road until 6pm on Sunday 4th February.

RECOMMENDED: I visited yesterday slightly later than I intended to (it's been one of those weeks!) I've already written one blog post about it for the botanical art fans - see Works in Paper Art Fair features botanical art. This one is for everybody else who enjoys works on paper like I do.

don't take a panoramic pic when somebody is walking left to right....

The Fair comprises covers anything done on paper - which essentially means watercolour paintings, drawings in a variety of media and a range of prints. It's busy without being silly - although I guess that can depend on when you go. I like going towards the end of the day when it quietens down and often try and go on the Thursday night when it opens until 9pm.

Features of the Fair is that, as with most Art Fairs, it's organised in a series of stands. These are in different rooms and it's a bit of a maze and very easy to overlook parts of the Fair if you don't go round in  a systematic way. I always lose track of where I am which for me is most unusual - I have an inbuilt compass!

The stands are hosted by

• conventional art galleries who sell works on paper by contemporary artists 
• other art galleries whose stock covers 18th - 20th century artwork
• art dealers who may well operate without the benefit of permanent premises - as many dealers operate these days.  It keeps the costs down and allows them to move around the various art fairs without having to shut up shop!

You can see the exhibitor list here. Some of them have online catalogues of work they took to the fair.

Sheppard and Welbourne Fine Art

This is the stand of Sheppard and ​Welbourne Fine Art​ who are

independent dealers based in Sussex specialising in 18th,19th and Early 20th Century Watercolours and Prints.

(left) Karen Taylor Fine Art (right)Michael Parkin Fine Art 

Karen Taylor Fine Art is owned by the lady who used to run auctions of Topographical Paintings and British Watercolours. for Sothebys for 10 years. She provides advice on buying and selling.

Richard Bawden RWS NEAC (1936 - )
House and Garden
Watercolour, pen & ink
£950

Michael Parkin Fine Art specialises in the Bawdens of Bardfield and had a rather nice painting by Richard Bawden of his home in Suffolk. I'm a fan and was tempted....

Harry Moore-Gwyn

Harry Moore-Gwyn was founded in 2000. It has become one of the leading British dealers in 18th and early 19th Century drawings and British art of the period 1900-1950, with a particular focus on neglected artists of the time.

Japan Print Gallery

The Japan Print Gallery was established in Notting Hill Gate, London in 1976 and specialises exclusively in fine Japanese woodblock prints from the 18th to the 20th Century.

The reasons I go are:

• the sheer variety of work on display - you discover new painters you didn't know you liked!
• you get to see original work by past masters.  Yesterday I viewed watercolour paintings by a very wide range of artists from the past and present.
• there always seems to be a strong representation by the Japanese Print dealers.
• one stand has an art book dealer - who always seems to have something I have to have. I came away yesterday with catalogues from past exhibitions by David Hockney (@ Pace, New York 2015) and Lucian Freud (@ Hayward Gallery 1974)

It's still on tomorrow 11am - 6pm and is well worth a visit.

Works on Paper Fair

It's very nearly time for the Works on Paper Fair again. I went last year and will be going up Exhibition Road to the RGS again this year. (Do any of you have artwork in display?)

It's a really great fair for all those who like drawings, fine art prints and paintings on paper. There's lots to see in terms of artists from the past and present and a variety of art dealers attend the Fair.

You can see the list of exhibitors on the website

some of the exhibitors

There are a number of talks over the course of the fair as well. Grayson Perry is doing the Art Fund talk this year - which should be interesting - but it's sold out!

If you're interested....

Venue: Royal Geographical Society, Exhibition Road, SW7 (north of the Science Museum)

Dates: 31 January (preview) then 1st-4th February 2018
Hours:

• 3 pm - 9 pm - Wednesday (Opening Preview)
• 11 am - 9 pm - Thursday 1
• 11 am - 6 pm - Friday, Saturday and Sunday

This is how to get tickets. The site uses Eventbrite for ticketing and so last year I had my electronic ticket on my iPhone.

Works on Paper Art Fair 2017 - review

The Works on Paper Fair is at the Royal Geographical Society at the top end of Exhibition Road until Sunday 12th February.

RECOMMENDED: I visited yesterday and enjoyed seeing a range of watercolours, drawings and prints - on paper. In fact the best bit of the show is the sheer variety of works on display.  It makes a change from some of the other exhibitions I cover!

The Fair is organised in a series of rooms with each exhibitor having a decent sized stand. It's busy without being silly - although whether it's probable it will get busier at the weekend. There were a lot of people arriving after work last night to take advantage of the fact it went through to 9pm!

The Long Gallery had a diverse bunch of exhibitors

The Pavilion  provides a taster - some of the stands provide a sample artwork

The Hall - where a number of more traditional works can be found

The works on show range from

• very traditional - and old - watercolours by past masters who include David Cox, Alexander and John Robert Cozens, Gainsborough, Samuel Palmer, Francis Towne, Thomas Girtin, J.M.W. Turner and Edward Lear in the display of a number of fine watercolours which form part of the collection of Eton College 
• traditional watercolours by a variety of watercolour artists on various stands. I spotted some watercolours by the famous Lakeland painter Alfred Heaton Cooper including one impressive one of a view in Norway.
• contemporary prints by Japanese artists using a variety of methods
• it was a joy to see a painting by the late Leslie Worth Past President of the RWS who died in 2009. I'd be ecstatic of I saw works like this in their exhibitions now. The thing is when you rate an artist and then they die is you can never ever be certain when you will see their paintings again - so it was wonderful to see this one

Early morning at Budleigh Salterton by Leslie Worth (£1,500)
Exhibited by Charles Nugent

• Ilaria Rosselli del Turco is exhibiting a monotype of a seated figure on the Fine Art Consultancy stand - alongside prints by Frink and William Scott

Ilaria Rosselli del Turco and Seated Figure (monotype)

• There were a number of pencil drawings by artists in the show. Examples included (see photos below)
• Alan Woollett on the Francis Iles Gallery stand - Alan is a very popular bird artist who also teaches 
• Georgia Jennings Moor on the Coombe Gallery - Georgia is a recent graduate of Chelsea College of Art who likes working with graphite and has produced an amazing drawing of artichokes.

Coloured pencil drawings of birds by Alan Woollett
on the Francis Iles Gallery stand

Hall Garden Artichoke (July 2015 to July 2016)
graphite and charcoal on paper 59x42cm

I liked the mini exhibition of Luke Elwes paintings being shown by Karen Taylor Fine Art

Luke Elwes - an oasis of a small collection of art by the same artist

Two of my favourite artists who paint plants are also exhibiting at the show

Rosie Sanders has a stunning and luminous watercolour painting on a full sheet of paper on the Coombe Gallery stand.  I tried but couldn't find a way to eliminate the lights!  Rosie had a book published of her paintings last year - which I got as one of my Christmas Presents and it's a great dose of colour for the middle of winter!

Emerging
Watercolour and charcoal, 77 x 102 cm
£8,800

and finally, I came across a taster of a solo show which is coming up at the Abbott and Holder Gallery opposite the British Museum later this month. My friend Jess Shepherd has been painting leaves for a long time and has created more than enough for her first solo exhibition - called Leafscape. Suffice to say there's enough interest in her work that those who have expressed interest in buying at the Private View - where selling starts at 6pm - are now being given tickets and forming an orderly queue!  Always good to hear!

Indian Bean Tree (Catalpa bignonioides). Belicena, Granada, Spain by Jess Shepherd 
Watercolour on 100% cotton rag paper, ​76 x 56cm
2016

UPDATE #2: Fabriano Paper - a meeting and conclusions

We have progress in matters related to Fabriano Paper! This will come as good news to all the botanical artists around the world who favour their watercolour paper as being the absolute best for their very precise and highly controlled botanical paintings in watercolour or coloured pencils.

This post summarises the key points from the meeting yesterday to discuss recent changes to Fabriano watercolour paper between a number of leading (and disappointed) botanical artists and representatives of Fabriano at the offices of the paper wholesaler and distributor RK Burt & Co. My role was joint organiser and recorder of what happened.

Overall the meeting was very positive and productive. While it didn't provide any immediate answers it has provided good quality information for making progress to resolve the issues relating to the recent changes that artists have identified and reported.

Blind testing watercolour paper at yesterday's meeting between artists and Fabriano at RK Burt

Note: Those who have been following matters related to the changes in specific Fabriano Watercolour Papers will have read my previous posts:

• Fabriano, R K Burt and St Cuthberts Mill - and fine art watercolour paper for precision painting
• UPDATE: Fabriano Paper

The meeting with Fabriano 

The purpose of the meeting yesterday was to try and understand better why so many artists have been experiencing problems with the hot press papers (Artistico and Classico) produced by Fabriano Artistico.

After pursuing the issue earlier in the year (see above), the Marketing Manager offered to meet up with artists who have been having problems.

Clifford Burt, Manager of RK Burt and I organised the meeting so that both artists and Fabriano could explore the different perspectives on papermaking and the issues encountered by artists. We would all like to thank RK Burt and Company for hosting the meeting at their offices at RK Burt at 57-61 Union St, London SE1 1SG

Those attending the meeting were:

• Giuseppe Prezioso - Head of Marketing for Fabriano (School products, Art and Paper)
• Chiara Mediolo - Marketing Director, Fabriano
• Clifford Burt, Manager, R.K. Burt and Company (UK wholesale distributor for Fabriano)
• Professional Botanical Artists:
• Sandra Armitage - President of the Society of Botanical Artists
• Gael Sellwood GM - Tutor and Vice President of the Society of Botanical Artists
• Billy Showell - Author, Tutor and Council Member, Society of Botanical Artists
• Dianne Sutherland - Tutor and Council Member, Society of Botanical Artists 
• Ann Swan GM - Author, Tutor and SBA member
• Sandrine Maugy - Author, Tutor and SBA member
• Polly O'Leary - SBA member
• Elaine Searle - Tutor and Course Director, Diploma Course, Chelsea School of Botanical Art; member of ASBA
• Coloured Pencil Artists
• Morryce Maddams - UKCPS member
• Katherine Tyrrell - author and writer of this blog!

I'd personally like to thank all the people who travelled a long distance and for very many hours to get to the meeting. The effort I think was very worthwhile.

The agenda for the day was as follows.

Introduction to papermaking

In the morning Clifford Burt provided an introduction to:

• how watercolour paper is made and why/how problems can arise (I'll be doing a separate blog post about this) 
• why 90% of problems are generally found to be self-inflicted by painters due to how they handle/soak etc.

As a result the artists attending had a much better understanding of:

• cylinder mould paper production and 
• why no two paper production runs will ever be the same 
• plus how to avoid damaging paper  (see my past blog post How to avoid contamination of watercolour paper).
• how to spot damage invisible to the naked eye.

The changes at Fabriano

Giuseppe Prezioso then explained the Fabriano perspective and

• the place of the art papers within the total portfolio of the company 
• the recent changes at Fabriano and the quality tests they run

The company has a very wide portfolio of products and clients in terms of production and merchandising. There are vast differences between the tonnage of art paper they produce and the tonnage of other types of paper. This makes for a more robust firm which isn't going to disappear if problems occur in terms of supplies or the marketplace!

The key issue that artists need to understand - in terms of how long it will take to address the problem - is that productivity and profitability is affected by how long a paper run is.  For art papers which only produce a small tonnage in relative terms a paper run might only be done once a year.

Key points:

• Fabriano want to try and identify the specific factors which are making a difference to the paper and the smoothness and quality of the surface and causing the issues identified by artists. 
• They also need to know which factors in terms of paper characteristics are most important to artists (see below)
• There are three cylinder mould machines which can make the fine art watercolour paper and the money paper they produce. However the differences in tonnage produced for the different types of paper is immense. The cost of changing over from one to another are significant in terms of downtime and efficiency and means that the paper runs for art paper are basically done once every 12-18 months.
• Consequently it may take up to 18 months or so to get new paper into the retailers - assuming that Fabriano can test and identify what factors have changed the surface and performance of the paper.
• They are doing a major test at the end of July.  In effect they will now reverse engineer and work out how to reproduce the previous surface with a view to creating a new paper run. This test run will now be informed by:
• the samples brought and shown to Fabriano with respect to the problems.
• the blind testing samples (left with Fabriano to take away)

Other information about the paper:

• the change made in the machines for the new contract for money paper and its requirements are very small and should NOT make a difference to the art papers produced ( more will be explained in the post about papermaking )
• Artistico paper is made from cotton lintners.  These are fine, silky, very short fibres which cling to the seeds of the cotton plant after ginning. They are needed to help create a smooth paper with strength, durability and permanence. 
• problems with supplies of cotton linters influence papermaking in a major way (eg the 2010 flooding in Pakistan and the drought in the southern states of the USA). Fabriano decided to limit the colours they produce on the basis of the supplies which are most consistent.
• the paper in the pads is exactly the same as the paper in sheets (the pads are made up by R.K.Burt)

Samples review and blind testing

After lunch we started to look at issues to do with different types of paper.

Fabriano, R K Burt and St Cuthberts Mill - and fine art watercolour paper for precision painting

The HP surfaces of Fabriano Artistico and Fabriano 5 have changed. (The latter being the paper which is used in the RKB FatPad) .

A number of botanical watercolour artists have recently reported that they have noticed changes to the robustness and performance of the surface of their Hot Press paper from Fabriano. This was also reported by Jacksons in its recent blog post Fabriano 5 Paper Texture Change.

The explanation seems to be mechanical. Fabriano Paper Mills have won a contract to produce a new paper. This means they've changed the settings on the machine which produces the new paper AND the fine art watercolour papers

While such a change in machine settings is very unlikely to be noticed by those using Rough or Not surfaces - this is not the case for those using Hot Press paper. When you are an artist who's looking for the smoothest watercolour paper known to Botanical Artists, there's more than a few who can easily detect any difference in quality very quickly!

However I am beginning to wonder if it is solely the change in the machine setting that is behind the problems being experienced....

About Fabriano Watercolour Paper 

Below are some examples of comments that botanical artists have been making. I'm not going to identify the artists other than to say these are people:

• who care hugely about the HP surfaces they use as it makes a massive difference to the very precise paintings they produce
• who are very experienced watercolour painters, who have been painting in the exact same way for some time. When using their own particular techniques they spot very quickly when a paper has changed.
• who do not make things up!  
• who return paper or stop buying it when it does not perform as per usual!

About the Artistico

The paper is mould made with 100% cotton, chlorine and acid free and archival. It is sized both internally and externally. It comes in two colours Traditional White (an ivory shade) and Extra White (white with a very pale cream tint) which are both made without any optical bleaching. It has two deckle edges and is watermarked “FABRIANO+ARTISTICO” on the short side.

It's available as both sheets (56 x 76cm and 75 x 105cm)  and and as glued blocks.

My pad of Fabriano Artistico HP Extra White 140lb

Recent comments from artists have included:

I always use both the light (140lb) and heavy (300lb) and have had the same problem, in fact I have returned some of the heavy to the importer. I found an old batch and it was beautifully smooth but the latest purchase is fluffy and although I can work it ok it is not as nice and damages easily. I think they have made a huge dodgy batch and sent it out so I will be checking it thoroughly from now on. (December 2015 - user of both weights of Artistico)

I'm having terrible trouble with the 'new' Fabriano paper and looking for an alternative heavy weight paper that's as smooth as the old stuff. (March 2016 - user of 300lb / 640gsm2 paper)

About the Fabiano 5 (also used in the RKB FatPad)

RKB FatPad - Fabriano Classico 5

The paper is mould made, acid free and comprises 50% cotton and 50% other raw material.

I have always used Fabriano fat pad 140 lb and recently I have found that if I have to wash anything out I have to be so careful as the surface of the paper just breaks up .... I actually had to abandon 1 painting when just taking highlights out of leaves. It looked as though I'd been scrubbing at it for hours. It never used to be like that. (December 2015)

I've found" BITS "coming off the surface &! Only using the first layer of paint & not very wet either (February 2016)

About the complaints

Adverse comments and complaints are tending to come from those who have bought in new stock in the last few months. Obviously those artists who are still working off 'old stock' or buying from suppliers still holding 'old stock' will not yet have noticed a difference.

Review: The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016

The artwork selected for the Columbia Threadneedle Prize exhibition at the Mall Galleries is different from previous years - and I like it a lot better.

Threadneedle Prize Exhibition: A view of the Main Galleryprior to the Preview

Compared to previous years, the changes I noticed are that

• the art - to my mind - is a lot more accessible. This is an exhibition which will be enjoyed by more people.
• there's a huge diversity in interpretation of figurative and representational art. I'm guessing a lot of artists may well find it stimulates their own work. 
• more drawings and paintings of figures and people

Some very strong paintings of figures - both large....

...and small

• a lot of very good drawings and display of draughtsmanship
• more monochromatic artwork - with a great hang in the North Gallery

Some impressive monochromatic and near mono drawings and paintings in the Far North Gallery

• more works on paper 
• media is much more mixed
• a lot less sculpture

only one piece of sculpture that I spotted

• a much better fit with most people's understanding of figurative artwork

First Prize on the left; shortlisted on the right

This is also an exhibition which deserves to be seen by many of people who exhibit and who seek to exhibit artwork at the open exhibitions of the FBS Societies (and others) at the Mall Galleries because it stretches the boundaries of figurative while remaining accessible to all.

North Gallery - First room

North Gallery - second room

To my mind it sets a very good benchmark for contemporary figurative art.

It's also complemented by an extremely good exhibition in the Threadneedle Space.

I'm certainly thinking about going back for another look - and I've already seen it twice!

I'll be posting more pics from the exhibitions of artists with their paintings and purchasers with their new paintings on my Facebook Page over the next week.

More about the Threadneedle Prize 2016

• The Columbia Threadneedle Prize - Call for Entries (July 2015) - The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016: Overview of the Call For Entries and the changes since the last time this competition was run in 2014.
• Selected Artists - The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016 (Nov 2015) - Overview of the artists selected for The ColumbiaThreadneedle Prize 2016 - including images and links to artists' websites.
• The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016: Shortlisted Artists (Dec. 2015) - Images of the shortlisted paintings for the ThreadneedlePrize 2016 and profiles of their artists.
• Lewis Hazelwood-Horner wins £20000 Threadneedle Prize 2016 (February 2016) - Introducing the winner of the £20000 2016 Columbia ThreadneedleAward for contemporary figurative and representational art
• Threadneedle Exhibition 2016 - my favourites - this also includes links to the previous exhibitions and my previous posts about the Threadneedle Prize.