The Mall Galleries has a NEW website

Lewis McNaught, the Director of the Mall Galleries has been promising me that a new website for the Mall Galleries was on the horizon for a wee while.  The new website 'landed' in virtual terms last week - just in time for Christmas.

Regular readers will know that I regularly review the annual exhibitions of the UK national art societies which make up the Federation of British Artists which have a home at the Mall Galleries - so this is a big deal for me!

the "who we are" section of the new website

...and here's my review of the new website!

The new website is designed for new technology. This is very welcome given that half the visits to websites now take place via mobile devices.

I looked at the website on my 27" iMac, my iPad Mini and my iPhone 6+ (let's just say I'm wedded to Apple!) to see what the website looked like in different formats. It works fine in all of them.  I spotted a few areas where there is some finishing off to do - notably the artists' galleries - but other than that it's a huge improvement.

Lots to like

It's got a very clean look - a bit like the Apple website went to an art gallery.

I love the fact that we at last have:

• a mobile friendly website - yay! 
• On my iPhone 6+ I've got a bigger screen than most so maybe not the best test - however the website clearly shows up as a mobile version with different methods adopted for navigation. 
• On my iPad Mini it's a mini version of the full size website - so text just becomes a lot smaller. However the nice clean fonts and the sizing used means it's still clear to read ie it's not impossible to read without magnification.
• lots more BIG images which give a much better sense of the type of art on display. I very much like the big banner image near the top of a lot of the pages. That should provide some incentive for artists to submit excellent digital images of their art!
• images on the FBA artists's pages have a much better display with one being big and thumbnails underneath - and I like the facility to search by medium and artist's name. If there was one improvement I'd like to suggest it's a third "slice and dice" ie by art society since a number are members of more than one.  This would enable those wanting to apply for membership of a society a better chance to take a look at the art of existing members.

One of the menu pages for the alphabetical list of artists

• a News section operating in blog mode which means we can see more words and pics about events - and link to the item.  
• an excellent section providing much better information about the focus of Learning - for adults and children - and the new Learning Centre within the Mall Galleries. There's also  a new page for Artists' Professional Development with this intriguing comment

We are currently introducing new professional development schemes in order to help artists and creative practitioners to further their skills and individual practice by networking and working alongside established artists and industry professionals.

• a "who's who"of who works at the gallery - coupled with an opportunity via a form to send them a message or ask a question. That's a nice innovation!
• Within the Call for Entries:
• there's a new page spelling out the benefits of entering an open exhibition 
• the terms and conditions are now much easier to read
• there's a great new page for all the opportunities for award, bursaries and scholarships for emerging artists
• the list of couriers now has a page to itself and better information
• it's now much easier to find information about the galleries as a venue:
• for events - and exhibitions organised by third parties and artists
• plus it's now possible to download a nice new exhibition hire pack and check out the weekly rates!

Room to improve

• the spacing below the banner and above the first item on the page looks odd on some pages. I'm assuming there's space for text introducing the page which is not being used on some pages -hence the odd look of lots of white space
• not all the 'table of content' links are working. It's a common bug with all new websites.  One thing I would suggest is an email link somewhere to the webmaster or whoever will sort out all the "found" bugs in terms of links not working etc.
• the artists' pages are obviously not yet complete - but the improvement in display means there's lots of incentives for the artists to get their images sorted for inclusion and/or provide more their mini-galleries!
• the media categories on the artist pages have not yet got links to all the artists

I think a review of sizing and how much actually appears on a screen is something that might usefully be reviewed. It's BIG on the 27" screen - the strapline image stretches to the full width of the screen - but I'm also getting a lot of white empty space between the image and the next item. I think scrolling might start a lot sooner if the gap between the banner/top item and the next one down were to be reduced.

Overall - a welcome and very significant improvement on the old website. I look forward to hearing more about future developments

Christmas e-cards 2014 by art galleries, museums and artists

Want to send a fine art ecard for Christmas to artist friends both near and far? Have you wondered about whether seasonal ecards are available from art galleries or museums - or artists?

This is my periodical update of the situation this year.

Museums and Galleries

I've listed the art galleries and museums alphabetically - because it doesn't actually matter where you live or where you are sending an ecard too - they will all do the job for you!

However for those who like to know a bit more about the individual sources I've also indicated where they are situated

Geffrye Museum of the Home (London)

The Geffrey Museum in Shoreditch (or is it Hoxton) does a neat line in Christmas ecards of the British Home at Christmas in the past and traditional Christmas cards from the past.

The Guggenheim Museum (New York and various)

The Guggenheim has an extensive collection of ecards - very much focused on the art and not so much on Christmas per se.

However the set up is sophisticated. You get to choose the colour of the background to the card, you fill in your name and the recipient's name and your respective email addresses - and then add a message. You have the option to find out when the recipient opens the ecard.  The other nice bit is that your email is included at the end of the text message which makes it really easy for the recipient to reciprocate.

Museum of Fine Art (Boston)

The ecard facility seems to have been withdrawn.

However the MFA allows you to email items in its collection.  It's not at all sophisticated - you click the email icon, MFA then inserts a link in an email, you complete the address box and then send it. The recipient clicks the link - and gets to see the image in a new screen - but the accompanying message remains in the email.  If you search for "Christmas" you'll find images like CHRISTMAS by Robin Tanner (English, 1904–1988)

Museum of Modern Art (New York)

MOMA has a really extensive collection of ecards with a number of different categories.  For example, there are 48 pages for ecards of paintings and sculpture in its collection alone! However although it has categories for special occasions it doesn't have one for Christmas.

National Museums Liverpool (Liverpool - surprise surprise!)

Two collections are available and each has a wide selection to choose from as well as a range of styles. The ecard allows you to add your own message and to send the same card to up to 10 people if you don't want to personalise by name.  Once sent the next screen gives you the option to send another ecard.  The email arrives as a "you have been sent an ecard" and inviting you to click a link - and they, of course, manage to insert a nice display advert for finding out their activities at Christmas!  When clicked you get a nice large image plus the message underneath.

• Fine Art Christmas cards - features paintings and sculpture from the Walker Art Gallery, Lady Lever Art Gallery and Sudley House, plus works exhibited in John Moores Painting Prize exhibitions

A selection of fine art ecards from the National Museums Liverpool

• Vintage Christmas cards - includes Christmas cards from two different collections:
• the late 19th and early 20th century in the decorative art collection at the Walker Art Gallery and 
• the social history collection at the Museum of Liverpool.

The Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove

The Royal Pavilion Museums have a collection of old-fashioned Christmas cards.  They include an option to send as an ecard.

The Tate (various)

The Tate has the Tate Kids ecard collection.   None are particularly Christmassy.

Worcester Historical Museum

They have a collection of historical Christmas cards available to send as Christmas ecards - some of which are very suitable for children


Alternatively if you'd like to study the design and decorative appeal of Christmas cards sent in the past, you should go to the Victoria & Albert Museum's Study Room Resource: Christmas

Membership ecard sites

Two ecard sites which provide seasonal greetings - for a fee - are:

• Jacquie Lawson - an English artist who has been providing ecards for a long time and comes up with new cards for every seasonal event.  I find them a tad "folksy". This is the link to her Christmas/Advent cards
• olie is a husband and wife team producing online greetings cards. She's the artist. These are their Christmas / Hanukkah cards and they have a wide variety of designs. They look more digital somehow compared to Jacquie Lawsons. 

Do please tell me if you've found any other sites - particularly any created by individual artists

How an artist's brush is made

One thing leads to another - and after hearing about the Da Vinci 1287 yesterday I had a jolly good look around their website. Which is how I came to find this fascinating video by Da Vinci Artist Brushes about how they make their brushes.

I loved seeing what their hair looks like when it arrives and how they process it before they then start making it into brushes. Who knew it was gum arabic which creates that coating on the brush to preserve its shape until it reaches its owner?

More facts

• Da Vinci's very civilised website is very accessible - it's available in four languages - German, English, French and Italian
• They also have a page about the brush production process and a leaflet about the brush factory
• This a glossary of the technical terms used in brush-making
• This is their very comprehensive artists brush guide - and a page which takes you to the guide for individual types of brushes. 
• They also have a page where you can find a dealer close to you

In case you think it odd I'm highlighting Da Vinci, after viewing the video I went looking on the websites of other brushmakers for similar videos about they made their brushes and more information about brushmaking but didn't find anything as comprehensive as this website.

• The new Winsor and Newton website seems to be dumbed down compared to its predecessor which I liked a lot.  
• Rosemary Brushes are brilliant in their descriptions in relation to individual brushes but say nothing about the process.

An egg tempera day

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

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

The day came in four parts

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

Things I learned about egg tempera today

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

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

Ruth uses:

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

She recommends:

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

Here we are painting after lunch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review: New England Art Club Annual Exhibition 2014

There are 414 artworks plus some ex-catalogue works in the 2014 Annual Exhibition of the New England Art Club which is currently showing at the Mall Galleries in London until 1pm on Sunday 7th December.

Below you can find out more about the exhibition, the events, the prizewinners, some of the artists, the art I liked and the change in arrangements for the 2015 exhibition.

Cover of the catalogue of the New England Art Club Annual Exhibition 2014

The first thing to say is that, after seeming to lose its identity last year, this exhibition "looks" like a NEAC exhibition again.

However, the same cannot be said for the prizewinners which to my mind are not representative of the exhibition as a whole - with a couple of exceptions.

Exhibition Catalogue

The exhibition catalogue is available via Issuu enabling you to:

• see/read members samples of members artwork in the exhibition and 
• see the complete listing of works - which includes the title, medium, framed size and price. This is invaluable for anybody thinking of submitting work to next year's exhibition.

I have to say the catalogue this year does seem to be missing quite a bit of work, including a couple of major names, although I'm sure there is a very good reason.
You can also see works in the exhibition:

• in this post 
• plus you can see them and buy them online via the NEAC Online Shop.

NEAC Events

Tom Coates doing a Portrait painting demonstration yesterday.
People were invited to bring a sketchbook and drawing materials

Teasels on a cliff edge by Ruth Stage
egg tempera 25 x 28 £2,100

There are a number of NEAC Drawing School FREE Events being held during the 2014 Exhibition - the link gives you the listing.

I'm going to be attending the Egg Tempera workshop with Ruth Stage on Wednesday.

I'm absolutely intrigued by her technique - and a demo is involved!

Overall impressions

This year's exhibition is much better than last year's and I'm assuming action was taken over the selection process because I'm certainly seeing a lot more colour this year - although one key wall is murkier than most.

I was very pleased to see that NEAC asked each of its members to paint a smaller and more affordable painting - and that the display of these paintings surrounded the 'cafe' area of the west gallery. They not only looked great on the grey walls - I also noticed that quite a few of them were sporting a red dot.

One of the small works walls

I think this is a strategy for exhibition and displaying that a lot of the other FBA societies could usefully follow.

I'm still very much NOT a fan of a strategy which puts members only in the large West Gallery and relegates a lot of the open entry to the North Gallery. If all the members were producing top notch work that would be fine as a strategy - but the fact of the matter is that artists from the open entry are producing works which SHOULD be in the big West Gallery.  Knowing that there is no guarantee that their work will be exhibited in the best gallery would, in my opinion, up the ante for the members and make sure that they submit their best work!  I'm all for an open exhibition being competitive for everybody! :)

NEAC Exhibition in 2015

ATTENTION ALL ARTISTS!