Who painted this? #11

This week's is going to be a bit of a reward for people who like visiting art museums! I was absolutely stunned by this painting when I saw it for the first time - and if you've seen it too, you won't have any difficulty remembering where!

The quality of both draughtsmanship, painting and the very obvious love for the animals themselves is so self evident.

Who painted this? #11
Photo: Katherine Tyrrell

The reason you're getting a little bit of frame as well is because this is my photograph!

How to participate in "Who painted this? #11"

PLEASE make sure you read the rules before posting a comment - and ONLY POST ON THIS BLOG what you think is the answer.

Click this link to read THE RULES for participating in this challenge (this saves having to copy them out for each post!).

In short:

• use your brains not software to find the answer (use of functionality via a browser or image search software to find "similar images" is not allowed)
• search using words only on a database of images
• leave your answer as a comment on this blog
• if correct it will not be published until the next post - which provides the answer
• if wrong it will be published
• do not leave the answer on Facebook!
• the winner - who gets a mention and a link on/from this blog - is the first person to give me a completely correct answer for ALL the things I want to know

Who Painted This #10 - The Answer

Art Society Exhibitions in the UK 2013 - Key Dates

This post summarises key dates for all the Annual Open Art Exhibitions by the major national Art Societies in the UK in 2013 - namely:

• Deadline dates for submitting entries 
• Receiving days for the submission of artwork 
• the dates of Annual Exhibitions 

It also provides links to websites and details of exhibitions and entry requirements.

The Mall Galleries in the Mall - 17 December 2012
(with the sun setting behind Buckingham Palace in the distance)

The listing (see below) EXCLUDES:

• the Major Art Competitions in the UK in 2013 (click link for details) and 
• Annual Exhibitions by Local Art Societies (see Art Societies in the UK - Resources for Artists and Art Society Exhibitions (UK) - Resources for Artists)
• Members Only exhibitions.

Key Dates for Annual Art Society Exhibitions 2013

The Art of the London Underground

The Google Doodle commemorating
150 years of the London Underground
You can just make out the letters in the stops
(Mine's in the 'e')

150 years ago today, the London Underground started.  Today it gets its very own Google Doodle 

However the Art on the London Underground is one of the very best parts of "the tube" for me.

My small contribution to the birthday party is below.  It covers:

• events for the 150th anniversary
• The Art on the Underground - website, mission and project for the 150th
• The Poster Art 150 Exhibition
• poster art from the past

Your NEW Favourite Art Books

What are your favourite art books from the last three years?  

Are they better or worse than previous favourite art books and, if so, why?  

PLUS Do you now read ebooks about art?

Popular art books according to Good Reads

Three years ago, in January 2009, I started the year by writing on this blog about what was happening to art books and the publishing industry.

At the time it was very apparent that a shift was happening within the book industry:

• the impact of digital technology would mean that books in the future would be very different
• that in turn meant there were major implications for the cost structures within publishing and distribution channels for selling books

It also seemed as if there was never a better time for artists to take more control over content and production - if they were so minded.  (Since then I've instituted the Making A Mark Award at the end of each tyear for The Best Book by an Art Blogger Blue Ribbon)

This led to asking people about art books and we all had a major discussion  on this blog about what was happening with art instruction books and the woeful way the content of some art instruction books had been downsized and downgraded.

Out of this came a post Your favourite art books - what you like.

It summarised your views into three categories

• your favourite art books - ones which you've found very helpful
• why you buy and read art books
• your views as to the characteristics of a good art book

I also listed all those books which you liked and found valuable.

Out of this I built a website.  I guess I was wanting to make sure that the good art books didn't get buried!   However I shouldn't have worried as Artists' Favourite Art Books has remained perennially popular with readers of this blog and visitors to my 'resources for artists' websites for the last three years.

I'm now thinking it's time to do an update and identify what are our favourite art books of the last three years.  However. this time around I'd like to suggest some categories as a prompt.  I's also like to ask you about ebooks for art.

What are your NEW favourite art books - published in the last three years?

Have a think about NEW art books (published in 2010, 2011 or 2012) 

Which art books have you most enjoyed reading and/or learning from?

Which have become NEW favourite art books?  

Are they better or worse than your favourite art books from the past? Why do you think that is?

Here's some prompts to get you started.  You don't have to stick to these but you may find them helpful in reminding you about those books which have become your NEW FAVOURITES.

Please share your NEW FAVOURITES with us all via the comments to this blog post

DRAWING

Which is your FAVOURITE BOOK about:

• sketching
• drawing
• how to draw for beginners
• how to draw for advanced artists
• how to draw people
• how to draw landscapes and buildings
• how to draw (whatever)

PAINTING

Which is your FAVOURITE BOOK about:

• painting
• oil painting
• acrylic painting
• watercolour painting
• painting realism
• painting with imagination
• how to paint (whatever)

ART BASICS

• colour
• composition and design
• artistic practice (whatever)

ARTISTS & ART HISTORY

Which is your favourite book about

• an artist
• an art movement
• specific subject matter (whatever)
• an exhibition

ART EBOOKS

• Which is your favourite art ebook?

I'm also particularly interested to hear whether or not you're a convert to ebooks and, if so, which sort of books work best as ebooks.

At the end of the month I'll do a round up and we can see which of the books published in the last three years have had the most impact.

MAM POLL (January 2013) - Do you read art ebooks?

I've also set up the Making A Mark Poll for January with a question which is a bit easier to answer - the question is Do you read art ebooks?

I'd love to know which books work best on the Kindle, Nook or iPad.

The possible answers - and you can click more than one are:

• Yes - I read art instruction ebooks
• Yes - I read art history ebooks
• Yes - I read art business ebooks
• No - I don't have an ebook reader
• No - there are none I want to buy
• No - I prefer real art books
• I don't read any sort of art book

The poll is in the right hand column - just below the subscription section - and closes on 31st January.  There'll be a post later that day to say what the results are

Subscribe to Making a Mark by Email

Please note subscriptions only become live after you have verified the link in the email you will receive

Major Art Competitions in the UK in 2013

My first post of the New Year is my annual post which lists all the Major Art Competitions in the UK in 2013.

Below you will find ALL major art competitions in the UK plus:

• an overview of what each competition is about
• links to more information
• key dates - including the deadline for entry where known.

This year I have created a standard listing for summarising all basic data including that to the Making A Mark post providing an overview of the competition.  The advantage of this post is that it systematically represents all the "need to know" information which can be scattered about on different pages of Competition websites and systematically highlights the deadlines and links to forms

I will also be updating information - as it becomes available - on Major UK Art Competitions in 2013 Page (a static page at the top of this blog - just under the title).  Future information will include links to:

• Call for Entries
• Announcement of selected artists 
• Names and websites of artists shortlisted for Prizes
• Exhibition reviews 

In my website Art Competitions in the UK I will also continue to provide an archive of information about past art competitions and reviews of works selected for precious competition exhibitions.

It also includes:

• Tips about entering Juried Art Competitions
• Art competitions - challenges and complications
• Art Competitions - The Artist's Statement

If you want to be kept informed about updates on major art competitions in the UK:

• you can subscribe to this blog (see right hand column).  Note that a subscription means you will either get an email or notification in your feed reader about every post I publish - and they're not all about art competitions, although you may well find them interesting!  
• you can also bookmark one or the other (or both) of the two sites listed above

Please note that this post EXCLUDES Art Society Open Exhibitions: 

• art competitions based in the UK which have a first prize of less than £10,000 (unless they are the major award for that type of art eg Jerwood Drawing Prize)
• the major open exhibitions organised by national art societies which I will cover in  a future post Key Dates for UK National Art Society Exhibitions in 2013 

The listing is organised by the month of the deadline for initial entries......