How can we have two bank holiday weekends in a row with wonderful weather - I thought this was against the weather lore of Britain? Anyway, that's my excuse for all my posts now being a day behind. I was out yesterday basking in the sun and enjoying the Spring flowers at
Wisley - flagship garden of the Royal Horticultural Society - in Surrey. I started but didn't finish a sketch inside the tropical zone of the glasshouse which is why you're getting photographs of spring having sprung instead.
May Day Flowers at Wisley (1st May 2011)
photos copyright Katherine Tyrrell
I'm now besotted with hosta leaves and rhubard sprouting which should generate some new artwork. Plus I was reminded that I need to continue my allium series. I need to find a format which works for drawings of the different stages
I wasn't overly impressed with the springtime
Craft and Design Fair there and wondered where the botanical artists were - on the basis that if the Nel Whatmore lookalikes (this is Nel's blog
Nel Whatmore) were out in force surely there could have been a bit more botanical art. Or maybe the RHS view is that's this is best reserved for their botanical art shows? Mind you I didn't get to go round it all as my other half kept muttering!
However
does anybody know why there are never any botanical art shows at RHS Wisley?
Places where you should be able to see high quality botanical art in coming weeks include:
Art Blogs and Artists
RECOMMENDED READ One of those very rare things - an in-depth interview with a living artist who is a NAME. This is a link to the
Financial Times interview with
Jasper Johns -
Meaning in the Making. Johns is perhaps best known for painting
Flag which is one of those works which is a lot more complicated than it looks in a small image.
“So much of the meaning to me is in the making. While that’s going on, there’s shifts of thought and associations and paths of development you want to follow and you want to avoid."
Drawing and Sketching
The 1st May 2011 marked the start of
Everyday in May -
the EDM flickr group for EDM and
the explanation on Wendy Shortland's site - which explains the list below.
101 - Draw a bar of soap
102 - Draw a power plug
103 - Draw some exercise equipment - what you use to stay fit.
104 - Draw some salt and pepper shakers
105 - Draw some scissors
106 - Draw something tart or sour
107 - Draw how you get your news - at a newsstand, vending box or on your porch
108 - Draw a light bulb109 - Draw a clock you have around your house
110 - Draw something with a flame or flames
111 - Draw a bowl
112 - Draw something fresh
113 - Draw or paint a fence
114 - Draw something ugly you love and keep for sentimental reasons. Journal about it, too.
115 - Draw a shopping cart or basket
116 - Draw something green
117 - Draw something round
118 - Draw some hair
119 - Draw some rocks
120 - Draw a flashlight
121 - Draw a coin or some coins and journal about memories about coins from your
childhood.
122 - Draw something where shade is a prominent part of the subject
123 - Draw a bell
124 - Draw something yellow
125 - Draw a bird
126 - Draw a sponge
127 - Draw a skyscape
128 - Draw a view through a doorway from one interior room to another.
129 - Draw people doing something.
130 - Draw some school supplies.
131 - Draw a spray bottle
- Thanks to Jeanne Grant (Jeanne Grant) who reminded me about the The Sketchbook Project World Tour. The only time people have ever got my sketchbooks off me is when they go straight into a locked display cabinet! No travelling courtesy of the vagaries of Royal Mail involved at all!
Each participant receives a blank sketchbook that will be exhibited on the 2012 tour and cataloged permanently in the Brooklyn Art Library.
- Sketches by me have included:
Coloured Pencils and Pastels
Painting
- RECOMMENDED READ Duane Keiser has been using his On painting blog to ruminate on the topic of On Painting and Algorithms which considers the technical processes - from computer algorithms to "step by step' to Chinese factory painters - which can be used to develop work and what makes individual artists different. There's a lovely metaphor for artistic development at the end.
The human algorithms I am referring to are those decision matrices we use by choice in course of a painting-- processes, techniques and methods that we learned in our training and practice.
- Mat Barber Kennedy (Mat Barber Kennedy) writes about the process of creating a portrait of a house in Maine. he chose to do it as seen through the window from the grandfather's workbench
- Weekend in Maine this is the visit and the set-up
- Wilson's Cove, Maine and this is the painting. It's a portrait of the person as well as a house although there is no person in the painting.
- I've seen some heroic plein air painting in my time but check out Suncage (Suncage Blog) up halfway up a cliff in a cove with the tide coming in Wey Ya Boys a Hetton
Printmaking
Art Business and Marketing
Art Economy and Art Collectors
Art Auctions and Collectors
- The Financial Papers have been commenting on what's been happening at the major auction houses - see
Art Fairs
I can't find the link where I read this but it's a message I've seen in a few places. If this is you give a shout and I'll give you the credit.
it's almost impossible to find an art show or art fair scheduled, locally. Two years ago, I had to choose which to participate in; now, they're virtually non-existent, except for some very 'niche-themed' shows.
Art Competitions
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Margaret Olley by Ben Quilty
Archibald Prizewinner 2011 |
- My post about the Threadneedle Prize 2011 - a new selection process highlights that this year the first round is all digital and selection will be done on the basis of images to reduce the number down to a second stage where people will be invited to submit their work
- I loved writing the post about Australia's Archibald Prize 2011 - see Ben Quilty's portrait of Margaret Olley wins 2011 Archibald Prize - and LOVED the painting too!
- There's been lots of interest in the BP Portrait Award 2011 Shortlist. I have to confess it's the first time I've felt it necessary to do a graphic to show people how the work compares. I've since remembered that one of the shortlisted artists was shortlisted for the Threadneedle last year so I have seen his work before. I still feel Ian Cumberland's portrait has the edge for me.
- On Thursday I published a post about the Jerwood Drawing Prize 2011 - Call for Entries
- I'll be doing a post next week about Artes Mundi - now how many of you have heard of that?
Art Exhibitions
International Exhibitions
After having received 410 applications from 67 schools of 22 countries, the jury has selected the 90 exhibitors that represent 40 schools of 14 countries Belgium Croatia Finland France Germany Great Britain Italy Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Serbia Spain Switzerland
The exhibition is the first big show of Australian art of any kind in London for over a decade, and it is the first exhibition of Australian works on paper of this scale and ambition to be held outside Australia.
Art Societies
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| Monochromatic works in the Pastel Society exhibition |
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| Marseille St-Charles, France II by Keiko Tanabe |
Art Galleries and Museums
- I watched an excellent programme fronted by Ian McKellen about LS Lowry. Bridgeman Art tweeted Reclaiming LS Lowry - the Guardian comment about The Tate being under fire for its neglect of the northern artist
- The Pencil Museum seems to have got itself a new website!
Art History
Art Education, workshops, tips and techniques
Creativity
How to be creative - or maybe how to make time to be more creative?
- 99% is a blog/website which has three suggestions relevant to artists:
Copyright
- Here's two perspectives on the decision of the Chicago Federal Appeals court which has refused to rehear a case in which Chapman Kelley claimed rights for damage to an artwork made of living wildflowers. The case revolves around the notion that all artwork must satisfy basic copyright requirements and this was not possible in this case. It's seen as an adverse decision by those using organic material in their artwork,
Opinion Poll
Websites and Blogging
- Microsoft's Office Web Apps enables people work using Office anywhere on the web anywhere in the world - however it's a subscription service and I think they've pitched the subscription a tad too high for most people
- If you like trying to get very wide panoramas try gigapan. Especially useful if you want to get all your piggies in a row
- I've only just come across Joanne Mattera's Marketing Mondays You've been spammed - it's a recommended read for anybody who has ever had a problem with getting themselves unhooked from a mailing list and/or abusive spam
- Taking Your Blog Off Topic
and finally......
I use a postrank extension in Google Reader to help me get though all the sites I have bookmarked and this blog now seems to rate a 10! :D I don't think it'll last!
