Expressions in Blue: Monumental Porcelain by Felicity Aylieff

Last night I was at the PV for two NEW exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens:

• Expressions in Blue: Monumental Porcelain by Felicity Aylieff - reviewed below;
• Botanical Blues - a selection of botanical paintings from The Shirley Sherwood Collection in Gallery 6 - which will be reviewed shortly on my Botanical Art and Artist News Blog. This showcases works from botanical artists including Susannah Blaxhill, Jinyong Feng and Ursula Romero, depicting many remarkable plant species which can be found in Kew’s Living Collections.

About the Exhibition

This is the largest solo exhibition to date of monumental ceramics in made by Felicity Aylieff. 

It's certainly a "must see" for anybody interested un unusual approaches to creating porcelain, enamelled posts and BIG pots.

 

I gather the exhibition - which opened at the weekend has attracted large numbers very keen to see the monumental porcelain. 

It's certainly an exhibition quite unlike any other exhibition I've ever seen of ceramics.

Felicity Aylieff with her monumental Qing Hua porcelain pots

I'm somewhat surprised to see it at Kew Gardens - as opposed to the shrine of ceramic treasures which can be found in the Ceramics Collection on the sixth floor and other main galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

I gather the reason it's at Kew is because 

• the gardens allow some of the monumental pots to be located outside - and there are two huge ones right outside the museum (which I couldn't see last night in the dark) but you can see in my friend Laurence Hill's photosgraphs of the exhibits
• some of the pots have been decorated with patterns derived from plants and specifically paintings included in the Shirley Sherwood Collection of Botanical Art

I think overall I'd have preferred to see an emphasis by Kew in its marketing on the particular aspects of the exhibition which relate to plants - given that this is a Gallery of BOTANICAL Art - rather than being enticed by the huge monumental blue and white pots (see publicity image above) - nice as they are.

In other words, given the exhibition is at Kew and not the V&A, what's special about the ceramics in relation to plants?

Monumental 'Qing Hua' pots decorated with cobalt blue chloride
The people at the Private View give an indication of the size of the pots

It includes:

How Portrait Artist of the Year actually works in practice

I was looking back at my previous posts and noticed how much of the Episode 1 post I've done for every series of Portrait Artist of the Year I've reviewed was taken up with explaining how this competitions works - so this year I've decided to do a preliminary post!

This looks at how it all works - in principle and what it's really like in practice! Those inspired by the programme to apply for the series next year 

Plus this is your countdown reminder that the programme starts in a few hours at 8pm on Wednesday 13th October!

Bottom line - it's classic cold dark evening in Autumn viewing!

How this competition works - in principle

Major fans can skip this but - but for the new to the programme - this is how it works.

The programme / series

• The Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year competition is now one of the most important art competitions in the UK since the demise of a number of the other art competitions with significant prizes
• It has been running for several years and this is the eighth series
• The winner gets a major prize - a commission worth £10,000 - to paint the portrait of a major celebrity.
• There are three well known sitters for each heat. Sitters are young and older "celebrities" of varying degrees of recognition - as in I don't recognise a number of the names this year. You'll do better than me if you've caught up with all the series on Sky and Netflix!
• The series is very popular with lots of aspiring portrait artists of various ages - not least because it offers the opportunity for an enhanced profile i.e. it helps marketing if nothing else - so long as you acquit yourself well!
• It also attracts artists who already have an established careers as artists and in some cases are well known and collectable portrait artists. Interestingly a number of more established artists shy away from it because they can't cope with the constraints - see below......

Portrait Artist of the Year is 

• commissioned by Sky TV UK 
• made by Storyvault Films an independent production company.
• broadcast every Autumn - generally starting in October - by Sky Arts Channel on digital television (now also on Freeview) and via the NOW TV app.

The Judges

The judges include leading figures in the art world - who are the same as for previous series:

• award-winning portrait painter Tai Shan Schierenberg. He studied at St. Martin's School of Art and at The Slade. He lives and works in London, Norfolk and the Black Forest in Germany and has artwork in a number of important national and regional public collections
• independent curator, art historian and arts broadcaster Kathleen Soriano worked in museums and galleries for over 30 years. Currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Liverpool Biennial, Trustee of Art UK and was previously Director of Exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts and Head of Exhibitions & Collections at the National Portrait Gallery.
• Her book Madam & Eve: Women portraying Women (2018) - looks at how over 200 women artists have depicted women in art over the last 50 years. 
• arts broadcaster, curator, mentor and writer Kate Bryan is also currently Head of Collections for Soho House. In 2020 she started to present a new series for Sky Arts exploring exhibitions across the U.K called 'Inside Arts'. She is also the author of:
• The Art of Love: The Romantic and Explosive Stories Behind Art's Greatest Couples (2019) which profiles 34 artist couple throughout art history. 
• Bright Stars (September 2021) which examines the lives of 30 great artists that died too young.

#AD NOTE: I am an Amazon affiliate and links to the above books include link to my personal affiliate account. This means that if you buy a book as a result of clicking on one of these links I earn a very small sum. (Income earned in this way helps me finance this blog).

How each episode works

Each episode has three sitters and nine artists (three per sitter), three judges and two presenters.

The interior of Battersea Arts Centre - with one of the segments and easels and kit set-up

• Heats are now held at Battersea Arts Centre - and, in normal times, you can view the programmes being made - as I have done.
• Each of the three artists is seated in one of three sections of a rotunda type frame (think three segments of a pie or cake). There's no choice as to who paints which sitter - and no choice as to what angle you get on the sitter
• Artists have - in theory - four hours to complete a portrait working from a live model - with a break in the middle of the day.
• None of the artists know who their sitter will is until they arrive in the room. (TADAAA!)
• Filming generally takes place in April.

What it's really like in practice

Reality is never quite what it looks like on screen, so I've made a point over the years I've been reviewing this series (I was a latecomer!) of:

• searching for blog posts by those taking part and 
• asking people I met who participated what it was really like.  

Plus when I could be present I've photographed the reality - which, of course, is very different to what it looks like on screen.

For example, this is my album of photos of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2019 FINAL

This is what the Final actually looks like in the room where it is filmed - and this is what the artists have to contend with on top of painting a portrait live in four hours!

I've been writing about how the programme works in reality and relaying tips and insight from participants in previous posts. (You can read through them all below!)

Here are some of the more important ones

PAOTY Commission: Curtis Holder draws Carlos Acosta

I thought the Commission programme at the end of the latest series of Portrait Artist of the Year (Episode 11) was one of the most interesting I've ever seen in terms of:

• watching the process used by the artist in developing material to work from for the Commission
• the level of engagement between the subject (the dancer Carlos Acosta) and the artist (Curtis Holder)  and 
• the developing understanding by both of how the other creates.
• the nature of the artwork generated by the process

It was a delight to watch - and it led to a very sensitive drawing of the celebrated ballet dancer. 

I thought personally thought that it was a brilliant drawing - and I say that speaking as somebody who has used coloured pencils a lot for artwork and also overlaid drawings from life to suggest movement in the past - but my efforts are nowhere near as impressive as those of Curtis Holder! 

Carlos Acosta by Curtis Holder
(courtesy of Curis Holder)

Born in Havana, the youngest of 11 children in an impoverished family, Acosta went on to train at the National Ballet School of Cuba, winning the prestigious Prix de Lausanne at the age of 16, before enjoying a celebrated 30-year career in dance with many of the world’s leading ballet companies. He was a Principal with the Royal Ballet for 17 years and danced all the major classical, and many contemporary roles. He is considered by many to be the greatest male dancer of his generation and, indeed, one of the greatest dancers of all time.

The Commission was for the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery - because Carlos Acosta took up his new appointment as Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January 2020.

Kathleen Soriano, one of the Judges, explains below that the briar rose references (flowers, petals, leaves and winding stems) in the lower half of the drawing relate to:

• Pre Raphaelite drawings in BMAG’s collection 
• Carlos’s performance in Sleeping Beauty.

Birmingham Museums Trust holds the most important collection of Pre-Raphaelite art anywhere in the world. Birmingham's collection has over 3000 paintings, drawings, prints and examples of decorative art and design. The Pre Raphaelites | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kathleen Soriano (@kathleen.soriano)

Of course the prize for winning the series is a £10,000 Commission - see Curtis Holder wins Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 7 Autumn 2020) - but to my mind the real prize, if that commission is successful, is the profile it gives the artist in the world of portrait commissions and the scope to do many, many more in future.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: I recommend anybody who has not yet seen the programme to try and view it as it is highly educational in terms of Curtis's particular approach to developing the commission. This focuses very much on 

• a psychological understanding of the subject 
• the exploration of different ways of portraying him.
• rapid drawings which are just amazing to watch
• longer drawings - also from life - which were excellent
• exploration of movement - essential to any portrait of a dancer - and also of associated motifs which might be appropriate.
• finally the process back home in his studio of using all the material collected and selecting and editing to create a coherent whole.

Curtis is also very obviously somebody who is very attuned to other creative people - which was very evident during the series in the way in which he would get down on the floor near the sitter and talk to them as he worked his way through his preliminary drawings.

Below are some of the comments I received when I posted a link to the above instagram post on my Facebook Page

What a fantastic programme it was of Curtis’s journey carrying out his winning commission! Felcity Flutter

Was fascinating seeing the sketches and interactions that led up to this amazing drawing! Rona McLean

There are more on Kathleen Soriano's Instagram post which are equally complimentary about the process, programme and commission. One commented 

What a beautiful connection between artist and sitter. Love the fact that drawing skills aren’t overshadowed and are recognised as the fundamental basis for all painting

I also received a delightful email from Curtis after I wrote to him - plus a copy of the image at the top of this post.  It included a comment about the whole process.

The whole Portrait Artist of the Year experience has been a bit of a whirlwind – but a very welcome one. I still can’t quite believe it’s all happened, but I’m trying my best to go with the flow. Drawing Carlos was a once in lifetime opportunity – he was such a lovely, thoughtful guy and of course an amazing artist. I think I was very lucky that he was the subject of the commission.

 I also now have an endorsement! :) 

"I regularly read and enjoy your blog, including your analysis of this series which has been so insightful and draws a helpful picture for your readers".

Plus I've put him in contact with Derwent (he was using Derwent Procolour Pencils in the Final - which are excellent pencils that I also like a lot), so hopefully we may continue to see some more of him and his coloured pencil drawings.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

I was also blown away by the quality of the collection of artwork to be found at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery which includes some very impressive works. 

It's definitely going on my "must visit" list of art galleries for after the ankle has been fused and I can do longer trips again.

Interested in participating next year?

This is my post about the Call for Entries: Portrait Artist of the Year 2020 (Season 8)

• Entries close at at midday on Friday 29th January 2021.
• So now you know how to spend your spare time at Christmas....... 
• READ ON if interested.....

More Learning Points re. Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year

Home Is Where The Art Is (Series 2)

This week the second series of Home is Where the Art is started up in the afternoons on BBC1.

Nick Knowles returns with this inspiring series that challenges talented artists to make something amazing for the homes of people they've never met.

Three artists must turn detective and try to work out the buyer’s taste by snooping around their house - but when the two sides finally do meet, who will deliver best on the brief and win the coveted commission?

I was VERY critical of a number of aspects of the last series. So much so that my very post about it was titled Home Is Where the Art Is - needs a makeover!

So when I realised that the second series was being broadcast I was intrigued to see if they'd tackled any of the issues I'd raised in my blog posts (which they could hardly miss since there on the front page of Google just under the listing for the programme!

Episode Guide in the Radio Times online - today, tomorrow, Friday and Monday

What's changed

A number of aspects of the programme have changed - and I'll highlight them in the order I noticed them

• They've gone from urban industrial warehouse to urban chic gallery setting!  But the presenter and format has very much stayed the same!
• The locations for the clients seem to be more diverse. This is on the basis of three programmes which have had homes in Shropshire, Whitstable in Kent and the Wirral (across the Mersey from Liverpool). Last time it was VERY much oriented to northern locations - presumably because the company making the programme were working with commissioning executives based at the BBC Media City in Salford. (Amazing what moving the base of a company does for a wider perspective on the UK!)
• The location of the homes of the artists are also more diverse. Last time they were typically around and about the area where the client lived. I think we're going to get the length and breadth of the UK this time around
• The artists are very much professionals not amateurs - although, for a number, art is a second career.  Last time the call for entries for Series 1 was asking for amateurs - and a lot of amateurs applied - with some in the distinctly "hobby artist" category.  However a lot of professional artists who saw the call for entries realised what a great opportunity it was to market who they are, what they do and what their art looks like - and so they applied too! This time around the marketing asked 

Are you a talented passionate artist?

• The artists get PROPERLY NAMED 
• in the credits at the end of the programme
• in the credits on the BBC website page for their episode

I claim a BIG victory!

I made a VERY big thing about the lack of credits in the last series for some very good reasons which I explained in the Call for Entries for this series

For all those saying that the names are said in the programme so why do they need the credits? 

Well a number of reasons:

• to respect the work of professionals - just as the credits at the end of the programme respect the work of the people behind the scenes who make the programme

• two of the three are unpaid - and providing a named credit is fair exchange for the many hours given for free to make content for the BBC. Otherwise it's the equivalent of working for free for the exposure - but without the exposure in terms of a name to enable people to find you!

• the names might be said - but nobody spells them out. In the first week there are THREE artists where I had to keep replaying the segment to listen to the names again and again - and even then finally identified them using information from elsewhere in the programme (eg "Gallery Windermere paintings cattle" got one of them).

• the BBC is hypocritical and ignores its own rules when it suits it - such as making sure it gets great guests on the Graham Norton show - because they are only there to promote their latest whatever - and always do!

So just as those in The Arts and Crafts House got named after I blogged about the disgusting lack of named credits (ditto Portrait/Landscape Artist of the Year) - this time the artists in Series 2 of Home is where the Art is are also getting their proper name credits.

Which is how I know that the artists in the three episodes I've watched so far are as listed below. I found their websites - they're not listed on the BBC! That would be asking too much!

LINKS TO WEBSITES are embedded in their names

To be honest, the calibre of the artist's website says a lot about the calibre of the artist - which is as it should be. (With the notable exception of the artist for whom I'm guessing websites present a major challenge)  Those pondering on whether there might be a call for entries for a third series might want to have a think about that.

Home Is Where the Art Is - needs a makeover!

Yet another programme from the BBC about art and crafts - this one is called (groan!) Home Is Where the Art Is.

The Title Image for the Programme

This one's a bit different - because it's being broadcast every day for a fortnight - so I thought I'd give you

• the idea behind the programme
• a rundown of the basics of how each episode works 
• the synopsis for each episode.
• what's wrong with the process and programme - after watching two episodes

However...

YET AGAIN - the BBC is NOT providing credits that include the names of the artists participating/working in the show.  Every other professional - but not the artists!

So I'm including the names of the artists in Episodes 1 and 2 under the synopses for those episodes below

Home Is Where The Art Is

The programme was commissioned by Dan McGolpin, Controller of BBC Programming and Daytime (salary £203,000) AS part of the factual and factual entertainment shows for BBC One Daytime. I shall be focusing some more on the word "FACTUAL" later.

You can tweet him your thoughts about the show on @dnmcg!  Can I suggest something like

"Why do you get paid £200,000 of taxpayer's cash to do your job and yet you won't give a named credit to artists appearing in 'Home Is Where the Art Is'"

Here's the one paragraph synopsis

In Home Is Where the Art Is, presented by Nick Knowles, amateur artists compete to win a special new commission for one paying homeowner. Three artists, whose skills range from everything from painting, metal work and embroidery to woodcarving and ceramics will get to snoop around a Mystery Buyers’ home before pitching their ideas. But which one will hit the brief and bag the commission?

Interestingly the emphasis in the synopsis is on AMATEUR artists. I don't remember that being in the brief when they were seeing artists for the programme - see my blog post TWO NEW BBC Art Shows

This was the advert for artists - no mention of amateur artists!

This was the advert for those commissioning. Note the artists are now NOT "amateurs" - but rather...

some of the UK's finest artists, from painters to potters, carvers to crafters, screen printers to street artists

Seems to me we might be in the realms of the Advertising Standards Authority's Non-Broadcast Code for adverts in newspapers or journals.

I'm just wondering how they validated their claims to the effect that these are "some of the finest"?  Would their defence be that this was an obvious piece of "puffery" I wonder?  No offence to the artists - I'm not disputing many are professional and produce excellent work - it's just I'm wondering why they should be described as finest. It just occurs that somebody thought this a logical extension of 'fine art'!

To me, it's very clear from the advert and research for this blog post (eg I talked to artists who had talked to the BBC about participating in the programme) that

• the BBC had no professional advice about commissioning art
• the BBC have a gameshow mindset.  A number of people were very interested in how competitive the artists were and those who said 'not in the slightest' did not get on the show.
• at the outset had done inadequate research into the process of commissioning artwork and typical budgets.  

It's also very clear they had to change their mind about budgets as they progressed (see Episode synopsis below as to the fact they crept upto £1,000 from the £500 mentioned in the advert)

It reminds me very much of crafts on the cheap i.e. the era of BBC when crafts were what you could make from two toilet rolls and some 'sticky back plastic'!

Basic Principles of how it works

At the end of this blog post is an extract from the official BBC letter and description to artists of how the show works.

In summary

• 'Somebody" responded to the commission adverts and has let the BBC know they want to commission an artwork - and have a set budget (it would appear this is non-negotiable)
• BBC select three artists (painters, illustrators, pet portrait artists, textile artists, ceramicists, wood sculptors, metal sculptors) to come up with ideas for a pitch
• Three artists then get to do a 'free' pitch for work
• first they're allowed to snoop around the empty home to pick up on their tastes and preferences
• then go away and work out what might work
• present their pitch at their first meeting with the clients
• Two artists are chosen to create a final artwork.
• The Clients choose one artist - who gets paid the commission sum for the work (as opposed to what they'd normally charge for that amount of time, effort, expertise and materials)
• The other artist is refunded the cost of materials.

So basically "Through the Keyhole" meets "DIY SOS" (remember the instant artwork for people who get a makeover for their homes after a tragedy in their lives) to provide competition for "Money for Nothing"!

I'm going to watch it - but I'm not overly optimistic I'll like it.  

• The idea behind it - of revealing the scope for commissioning local artists to produce bespoke art is an excellent one. Unfortunately the game show tendency then takes over.
• This is emphatically art for entertainment NOT education. I like the creativity aspects. I hate the game show elements.
• After two episodes it's clear that on the whole it's also very far from factual - in terms of pricing.
• Or as one artist who applied - and then rejected their programme format put it

Watch this for entertainment, sure, but please honour and respect the skill, training, and talent that genuine artists and makers put into their work - and value it accordingly

BELOW are the synopses for each episode re the commission and those making art in each episode.  The episodes are being broadcast in the afternoon at 3.45pm on BBC and then repeated the next day on BBC2 at 7.15pm

Sketching slideshow - iPhoto to slideshow to Quicktime Movie

Today I learned how to create a slideshow of a sketch I did yesterday when we visited the wonderful garden at Great Dixter in Kent.  I've already written about the visit on my Travels with a Sketchbook blog (see A step by step sketch of the Long Border at Great Dixter).

However I wanted to see if I could create a slideshow for this blog and Facebook of the step by step photos I took of the sketch as it was progressing.

First here's the slideshow, then I'll tell you how I got it!  I personally think it looks best in HD format on Facebook.  Apologies to those who saw this post early and got the wrong size version!



Those who know me well will realise I'm writing down the instructions of how to do it next time otherwise I'll try to do it again and won't be able to remember a thing about what I did.

How to produce a slideshow for your blog

I saved my six photos as 1000 pixels wide @72 dpi figuring that should be about right for Facebook!

Then came the search for the bit of software which would put them together in a slideshow which I could put on this blog.

It didn't start well!

First I reviewed both PS Elements 11 and iMovie to see if either would allow me to produce a short slideshow from six slides and concluded this wasn't going to be easy - and I couldn't see how it was possible!

Next I tried out searching for "how to" and came up with virtually nothing other than dodgy chaps who wanted me to try their app.  I'm "app averse" unless it has a good reputation and lots of people have already adopted it so that closed off that avenue.

Finally I took a look at iPhoto - and it transpired this has a "create a slideshow" option.

Here's what you have to do to create a slideshow of an art process or paintings or whatever you want it to be about

1. Identify the photos you want to use.
2. rename them with the titles you want to use as captions if you want captions to show
• If you review the slideshow you'll see I gave mine a narrative description of the stage of the sketch eg add coloured pencils
3. Import photos to iPhoto and identify their location
4. You need to add any information to the image at this stage
• click the little "i" bottom right hand corner of the photo to add information
• locate photo on a map to show where it was taken if appropriate
• provide a description of what is happening in photo if appropriate
• provide a title for the photo/slide
• repeat for each photo in the slideshow if you want there to be a commentary on what's happening
5. Click the + sign at the bottom left of the screen in iPhoto
6. Choose slideshow from the drop down menu
7. Save the slideshow with a title - these are the words which will appear on the first image as the title for the slideshow.  There's no scope to add copyright info so I started the title with the copyright symbol and my name
8. Review how long each slide should appear for -  I used 7 seconds
9. Review themes, music and the rest of settings - all fairly self-explanatory
10. Bottom right of screen - click Export and this exports the slideshow to a move format which was Quicktime in this instance.
11. Choose the size based on where the movie will be viewed.  I chose 960 x 540 pixels which gave 30fps and an 8.8MB filesize
12. Upload to Facebook and YouTube and/or video host of your choice and make sure you've chosen the right size file!

That's about it.  I bet I've forgotten something! ;)

Let me know what you think about the video.

Please also share with us how you create slideshows as videos.

The Next Generation - Portraiture for Teenagers

One of the interesting aspects of art museums and galleries which doesn't often get a high profile is the work they do in relation to education generally - and the education of younger people in particular.

The Next Generation is a project run by the National Portrait Gallery which is all about inspiring 14­-19-year-olds (aka "The Next Generation") about portraiture.  It provides different opportunities for teenagers to meet with and gain insights from past BP Portrait Award artists and to share their own artwork.

There's a display about the Next Generation  Project in the NPG -  in the Room 36 Lobby (as you make your way towards the BP Portrait Award 2012 exhibition).   This tells the story of Next Generation through a short film and a selection of painted works from past Summer Schools.

On Sunday I'm going to be observing the last session of one of the initiatives -The Next Generation Taster Session. Below here's what I found when I investigated the nature of the different opportunities on offer

If you know young people interested in portraiture
I suggest you bookmark this post and send them a link to it.

BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Taster Sessions

Try your hand at portrait drawing and meet practising artists in one of five short Taster Sessions, kicking off on the first weekend of BP Portrait Award 2012. Bookings essential on a first-come, first-served basis. Please book for only one session. All materials provided. Please supply your full name and contact details, mobile number, age and preferred session date.

On Sunday, 24 young people will work in three groups within the Galleries hosting the BP Portrait Award exhibition.  It provides them with an opportunity to meet other young people interested in art, to try new techniques for drawing and to meet with some of the artists who have won the BP Portrait Award.

You can see some of the ativities which occur in photos in the National Portrait Gallery BP Next Generation's photostream.

This is a link to the slideshow view of those photos.

A number use the Taster Sessions as a launch pad to their application to and involvement with the Summer Schools

BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Summer Schools for 14-19 year olds

After a more intensive experience? Apply for a place at one of our three-day Summer Schools in August to work with past BP Portrait Award-winning artists and experiment with painting, life drawing and other portraiture techniques. Applications are encouraged from these boroughs: Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Newham and Greenwich.

The Summer Schools are free and materials and refreshments are provided. You can download Summer Schools information and application forms from this link to the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Summer Schools

Who can apply
If you are interested in portraiture, are studying art in a secondary school, live in London and the Home Counties and are aged between 14-19 years old you can apply.  Applications are particularly encouraged from the young people who live in the London 2012 Host Boroughs – Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Newham

How to apply

• Entry is by application. This is a link to the application form (Word doc). Note the Artist Statement of the application is particularly important.
• There are only 18 places in each of the two summer schools
• There is still time to apply for the Summer Schools.
• Applications close onTuesday 24 July at 5.00pm

Dates and times

• Summer School 1: Wednesday 15 – Friday 17 August 2012 11.30 – 16.30
• Summer School 2: Monday 20 – Wednesday 22 August 2011 11.30 – 16.30

BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Flickr Group

I'm very impressed with the quality of the painting I've seen posted to the Next Generation Flickr Group.

• This is a link to the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation  Flickr Group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/bpnextgeneration) where young people share their paintings
• you can also view the painted portraits which young people have shared in the Online Flickr Gallery with other young people in the NPG's online gallery

Some of the portraits by young people in the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation Flickr Group 

BP Next Generation on Twitter

The twitter feed for the project is https://twitter.com/bpnextgen

Meet the Artist

Tomorrow (Wednesday 18th July) a one day event is being held for secondary school art students and their teachers called Meet the Artist. You can read about previous Meet the Artist events and the processes and approaches for portraiture used by different artists.

The artists involved are photographers or painters and have typically been involved with the two major competitions run by the NPG.

Secondary art students and teachers can meet three past BP Portrait Award-winning artists through the BP Portrait Award: Next Generation project. This full-day session includes presentations by artists, an artist-led portrait drawing activity followed by Q&A. A viewing of BP Portrait Award 2012 and a feedback session with artists on hand to support and encourage students’ sketchbook work concludes an exciting day.

National Portrait Gallery Youth Forum

The Youth Forum meets on the first Thursday evening of the month and is an opportunity for young people to have a voice at the National Portrait Gallery.

Facebook
This is the Facebook Page for The National Portrait Gallery Youth Forum

Podcast
The National Portrait Gallery’s Youth Forum has developed their first podcast, ‘Tune In’, responding to key works and key themes in this year’s BP Portrait Award 2012.

• It's aimed at other young people and general visitors
• it's FREE and downloadable from the NPG website and from iTunes.
• It can also be listened to within the Digital Space at the National Portrait Gallery.

The NPG and its projects are also part of The English National Youth Arts Network (ENYAN)

Poll Results - Size Matters!

June 2012 Making A Mark Poll: What's the main reason for the size of your artwork?

This month I asked you what was the primary reason for the size of your artwork and 125 people responded to the Making A Mark Poll for June.

In POLL: How do you decide the size of your artwork? I highlighted a number of reasons for making choices about different sizes of artwork.  These focused on:

• Art Practice
• Art Collectors
• Art Exhibitions

In reviewing the results of this month's poll, I'll use the same headings to highlight what the data tells me and the key points made in the comments received on the post announcing the poll.

You may have a different view.  Please do not hesitate to comment telling me what that is.

Poll Results

125 people responded to the poll during June - and the poll results will be typical of the people who responded.  These are the results in tabular form - and are the same as the ones represented by a pie chart at the top of this post.

What's the main reason for the size of your artwork?

whatever subject demands & hang the cost	36%
standard sizes: minimise framing costs	21%
latest purchase of paper/support	12%
standard sizes: for exhibitions (swop frames)	10%
small size for enthusiastic collectors	7%
small size for impulse purchases	5%
small size for ease of postage	5%
something else	5%
big for competitions/ to get noticed	0%
big for collectors with space & money	0%

Size is important!  Artists do think about the size of their artwork and for the most part appear to have developed a perspective on what size suits them best.

In summary, of the 125 artists who responded, there is a clear split between an 'art is all' aesthetic perspective and those who want their art to make financial sense as well as being aesthetically pleasing.

• Just over a third are persuaded that the aesthetic of their design and composition is the overriding factor in determining the size of their art.
• Just under a third are mindful of pragmatic and financial considerations with respect to framing for exhibitions and sales.
• One fifth paint small for three main reasons - all of which primarily relate to sales and despatch to customers and/or exhibitions
• 5% of artists have other reasons for painting the size they do

Read my analysis and commentary to find out more about determines the size of artwork.

How you can generate a title for your art

On Wednesday I looked at Why you should give a title to your artwork. Today the topic is HOW to generate a title for art.

Before or after?

QUESTION: Are you an artist who creates a title before or after creating your art?

Before creation

Some people create a title for the painting as soon as they've seen what they want to paint or have an idea for a painting. This can help keep the brain focused on what the art is about.

While working something happens

It seems as if a lot of people get an inkling of what to call their artwork while working on it. They may not decide for certain until it's finished but a lot of pieces get a working title at the very least while they are works in progress.

After the art is finished

For most, the point at which people start to try and think about a title is the observation and reflection stage which comes when you think you may have finished.

Why you should give a title to your artwork

Two approaches to titling artwork and two posts this week about:

• WHY - Why you should give a title to your art
• HOW - Different ways of generating a title for your art

Have you ever scratched your head and had real difficulties finding a good title for art you have created?

I know I have.  It's very tempting at times like that to give up and just make it "untitled".  However I've personally always found art bloggers are very inventive when it comes to titles and have very often come up with something great when I've been leaning towards braindead!  So just post your piece and ask for suggestions - art bloggers love being asked to provide a title!

It's at times like that when I also try to remind myself of all the reasons why it's a really good idea to have a title for your art.

Why you should title your artwork

Here are some reasons why it's useful to title your artwork

An Interview with Lauren Archer

This is an interview with Lauren Archer, who won the Lynn Painter-Stainer Young Artist Award (£2,500) at the awards ceremony at Painters Hall on Monday night.

The Chase by Lauren Archer

What's your background and art education to date? 

I am a 21 year old student from Staffordshire studying in my final year of a BA Honours at Loughborough University in Fine Art

Tell me about your artwork. What's it about and how does it evolve?

In ‘The chase’ I aim to evoke the emotion’s one would have when being hunted by something or on the contrary the sensations you would experience when actually pursuing something with the intent to kill.

As a painter, photography is a part of my process.  The imagery has come from my own documentation of a local drag hunt which gave me an insider’s view to the thrill of a chase. The movement of the paint adds to a sense of unease.

Being an experienced rider, artworks such as Maurizio Cattelan's piece of a life size stuffed horse have influenced my work greatly, along with Hollywood blockbuster films such as ‘The hunted’. These simulate in the extreme, the basic instincts experienced when caught up in a situation where something or someone’s life is at risk. As a consequence my paintings attempt to question notions of beauty and what is natural.

Do you enter a lot of art competitions? Why did you enter LPS?

I was told to enter this competition by my brother Nicholas Archer who is also a painter so that I could start networking my work, but never even dreamed of getting into the exhibition.

I then received a letter saying my painting had been accepted into the exhibition and thought that it was a brilliant opportunity.

What does it feel like to hear you won a major prize?

I was completely blown away by winning this award.   To have won the Young Artist Prize is a massive bonus and a real honour. I can't stop smiling especially because its my very first competition.

Lauren Archer being presented with the Young Artist Award

What are you going to be doing when you graduate? 

I see this now as a great chance for my work to be publicised and that it will hopefully open more doors for me in the future.

I really would like to do an MA in painting next year at one of the London schools if I am lucky enough to be accepted, because I feel I would like to further my skills and that I need more experience within the industry of art. Hopefully someday soon I can be a successful working artist.

What are you going to spend the prize money on?

I am going to reinvest some of my money into my course to help with my BA degree show and then use the rest to help me next year if I am successful in getting a place at a London MA course.

The Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize Exhibition is at Painters Hall, 9 Little Trinity Lane, London EC4V 2AD between 15 November – 26 November 2010 (Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm; Admission free). There are a number of events - see Events - Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize Exhibition 2010. The exhibition will then tour to W. H. Patterson Gallery, 19 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BB (29 November – 3 December 2010)

Where do you start when making art? (MAM Poll RESULTS)

The February Making A Mark Poll looked at Where do you start when making art? The headline results show that:

• 57% are influenced by life and what they see around them
• 43% work from their own ideas and concepts
• 38% are stimulated by their own reference photos - rather than those taken by other people
  
• nobody seems to want to take account of current trends or whatever seems to sell!!!
  
• 134 respondents had an average of 2.42 options which influenced where they started when making art.

Commentary on the poll results

The results are ordered in the chart according to popularity as is this commentary.

Life and what I see around me: Since artists gave up creating paintings about history, myths and religion, the stimulus for a great deal of art in the last 130 years or so has been life and what we see around us on a day to day basis. Over a half (57%) of people who responded to the poll chose this as one of their main influences. 77 responses accounted for around a quarter of all responses.

My ideas and concepts: 43% of people chose their own ideas and concepts as major influences on their art. Normally we associate this notion with art which is trying to convey a message or comment of some kind. I had intended this to be what my shorthand meant to other people but now wonder whether this was the case. The reason I say this is I was quite surprised by the level of the response to this option as a lot of the representational art I see does not suggest to me that there is an idea or concept (ie a message) behind it. Of course there might be and I'm just being too literal and not getting the message that the art is trying to convey!

My reference photos: 38% said that their own reference photos generated artwork (compared to just 13% who used other people's reference photos). It was pleasing to see more emphasis placed on working from material that the artist had generated. The inherent problems associated with photosgraphs can be overcome more easily if they are used by the person who remembers what the original image looked like in real life.

My imagination: 35% said they used their imagination when creating art. It was good to see this more creative aspect coming to the fore. Obviously 'using your imagination' is quite a wide term and could in fact mean anything from a full blown fantasy artwork to changing the colours seen in reference material to moving objects around and/or omitting items like street signs because they don't look good in our artwork!

My sketches and my photos: It was interesting to see that most people who used sketches supplemented their sketches with reference photos. A third of artists responding used their own sketches and photos but only 10% of artists worked from just their sketches. There's no right or wrong answer here. There are good reasons for either practice. Speaking personally I find a reference photo much more helpful if I have a sketch or drawing from life. I use reference photos to check the accuracy of relative proportions and sketches for design, atmosphere and colour.

Paintings by past masters: Just 10% of artists identified paintings by past masters as influential and this option attracted just 4% of the total responses. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? All I know is that the more I study art history and painters that have gone before is that an awful lot of past masters studied the artists who were past masters in their lifetimes.

Maybe more artists would find it helpful if they allocated more time to study more artists from the past to see what they can learn? I know I'm finding it incredibly helpful and yesterday could be found sketching landscapes in the National Gallery - two Cezannes and one by Rubens!

Commissions: 4% of artists identified commissions as one of the main reasons they make art. This suggests to me that the proportion of those artists working to commission is a bit lower than I was expecting. On the other hand it maybe that even artists working to commission regrad as commissions as the 'day job' and responded to the on the basis of the art they choose to create. I'd love to hear what you think on this topic.

Current trends/whatever seems to sell: There is one response which I found very surprising. NOBODY identified current trends and whatever seems to sell as a reason to make art. I don't expect it to be the main reason to make art

However I simply don't believe it. I know a lot of artists want to sell art. I know that a lot of artists keep a 'weather' eye on how trends are changing in the marketplace, what is selling and what remains unsold. For some artists it's critical to making money to live on. In every business, keeping an eye on the market is absolutely essential to being able to sell product to customers - and at a very basic level art is no different - unless you have an independent income and/or choose to make the art you want to make in the time you have left over from doing the job which makes the money you live on.

So what was going on here? Why did NOBODY acknowledge this as a factor they take account of when making art. This was a multiple choice poll and there was no limit on how many options people chose.

Alternatively, could somebody please explain to me what the 'painting a day' small works phenomena was all about? ;)

More Making A Mark Opinion Polls

You can find more Making A Mark Polls

• either by clicking on this blog category label opinion poll
• or by consulting this site which provides a quick overview of all the monthly Making A Mark Opinion Polls to date The Making A Mark Poll - Resources for Artists

A new Making A Mark Poll will be posted on Monday 1st March. I've got a day left to work out what it's going to be about!

In praise of older art books - used and low cost

Why buy second hand art books? Here's a few reasons:

• you can buy books you'd NEVER see on the art bookshelves of a book shop
• you can buy classic art books which are no longer in print. I'm currently eyeing up the various prices being charged for different editions of Kenneth Clark's Landscape into Art.
• you can buy art books which can tell you about art processes or facts from the past. I'm currently reading a book on pastel techniques which provides very detailed descriptions of the methods adopted by famous pastel artists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Information which I've never read in a modern book about pastels.
  
• you can buy rare and much prized/very difficult to find art books which are classed as 'used'; however it's more than likely you'll be paying a premium for these over the price it cost when new
• they typically cost less than new art books even at Amazon prices! Many cost much less than they did new!
• many are better produced in terms of binding and print quality (although the use of mono plates in older books is common). You can often buy a well produced hard back for the cost of a contemporary paperback.
• buy from a reputable dealer and you can secure a art book which is 'as new'
  
• older books were published when publishers were not so obsessed with keeping the mass market happy. Many used art books adopt a much more intelligent tone and do not attempt to 'dumb down' for the mass market
  
• rare second hand art books are like antiques - much nicer than the new modern version of the same thing!

If you want to 'try before you buy' see if you can locate a library which has a good stock of art books.

I'm currently working my way through the shelves of the Barbican Library which has many very good books. Out of my first haul of eight books I've ordered four!

Turner Sketches (hardback 1977)
(ordered from Trumpington Fine Books
via Amazon for £9 + £2.75 P&P
following a visit to the Barbican Library)

Booksellers

Some tips from my foray into the second hand book market in the UK.

Once you've decided on a title it pays to have a good look round at the prices being charged by different booksellers. There can be very large variations - which are (I think) only sometimes dependent on the quality of the book.

• Amazon is a good place to start. A lot of smaller niche dealers are selling their books via Amazon as well as via their own websites. It's a good way of finding out about the decent second hand booksellers
• AbeBooks is a global marketplace listing over 100 million new, used, rare and out-of-print books offered by more than 13, 500 independent booksellers. It has various country based domains. It was acquired by Amazon at the end of 2008 ('nobbling' the opposition). So it looks independent but isn't really. It has a rating system based on cancelled orders and returns. Their search system works better on ISBN numbers than titles. Like Amazon, it's good for introducing you to booksellers who are reliable
• [Update]Alibris - Tracy Hall reminded me of one I forgot include. There's also alibris.com which is alibris in the USA
  

I've found some out of print books there which I couldn't find anywhere else.
Tracy Hall

• Bibilion is another front end directory of booksellers - but it comes up on a search for 'second hand art books'
• Biblio has a range of rare art books with a decent range of subcategories. It has a nice feature where you can find booksellers local to your area. However I found the pricing on one book to be completely ludicrous.
• [Update] Honor Martinez recommends Bookfinder. I'm searching for the same book (Landscape into Art by Kenneth Clark) in each Directory and this one came up with a particularly and a good quality listing which was clean looking and well organised.
• [Update] Martin Stankewitz recommends www.zvab.com - this is the English version which is called Choosebooks. Two of its categories are 'art' and 'graphics'
  

I use ZVAB.com which is kind of central antiquarian platform in Germany. Has also an english spoken menu. Highly recommended!
Martin Stankewitz

• ([Update] Penny Schine Gold suggests the use of Fetchbook to compare prices across different book directories
  

The feedback systems used by some directories of booksellers means that you can pick and choose how much risk you want to take with the description given. I check out each seller before I place an order. My experience is that top rated sellers give very accurate descriptions of the books they have for sale. Personally I'm a sucker for a carefully crafted description! I invariably do not buy from those who only provide a very cursory description.

Do keep a note of the description and do check the book against the description. I had one seller come back to me and say that actually the book that was being sold was not as per the description. I cancelled the order and found the same book elsewhere.

It's worth keeping a note of those sellers who deliver a top notch book which is well packed for a good price. You may want to provide feedback and/or order from them again.

Once you've learned which are the reputable independent booksellers, if you buy direct from them then Amazon or AbeBooks don't get to take a cut of the price paid and the price may be lower.

Used Book descriptions

There is a recognised standard for used book descriptions. Below I've quoted the standard as set by the Independent Online Booksellers Association. I've been buying very good and near fine and to be honest I've seen books being sold as new on shelves in bookstores which have been in worse condition!

These IOBA Book Condition Definitions are used to describe both the book and the dust jacket, if applicable. Thus the word “book” may be replaced by “dust jacket” in the following definitions:

AS NEW; FINE; MINT: Without faults or defects.

NEAR FINE: a book approaching FINE (or AS NEW or MINT) but with a couple of very minor defects or faults, which must be noted.

[NOTE: From here on, there may be "+ (Plus)" or "- (Minus)" in a grade, which will mean that it is above the grade noted but not quite to the next higher grade for "+", and that it is below the grade noted but not quite to the next lower grade for "-", i.e., Very Good + (or Plus)/Very Good - (or Minus). Which means the book is better than Very Good and the dust jacket grade is less than Very Good.]

VERY GOOD: A book showing some signs of wear. Any defects or faults must be noted.

GOOD: The average used book that is totally complete (as issued) and intact. Any defects must be noted.

FAIR: A worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title page, etc. Any defects or faults must be noted.

POOR or READING COPY: A book that is sufficiently worn that its only merit is the complete text, which must be legible. Any missing maps or plates must be noted. May be soiled, scuffed, stained, or spotted, and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.

EX-LIBRARY: Must always be designated as such no matter what the condition of the book.

BOOK CLUB: Must always be noted as such no matter what the condition of the book.

BINDING COPY: A book in which the text block, including illustrations, is complete but the binding is lacking, or in such poor condition it is beyond realistic restoration efforts.

REMAINDER MARKS, BOOKPLATES, PREVIOUS OWNER'S NAME: These are faults and must always be noted, if they apply.
IOBA Book Condition Definitions

Below is the AbeBooks version. It's best to check each seller's site to see how the define the terms they use. It's worth noting that Amazon does NOT provide a glossary of terms for the used books sold on its site!

Book Condition

Condition of a book is usually in the form of VG/VG, Fine/Good, VG/--, etc. The first part is the condition of the book; the second is the condition of the dust jacket. If a "/--" is present, it usually means that the dust jacket is not present.

As New - To be used only when the book is in the same immaculate condition to which it was published. There can be no defects, no missing pages, no library stamps, etc., and the dust jacket (if it was issued with one) must be perfect, without any tears.

Fine (F or FN) - Approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp. For the use of the term Fine, there must also be no defects, etc., and if the jacket has a small tear, or other defect, or looks worn, this should be noted.

Very Good (VG) - Describes a book that does show some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or paper. Any defects must be noted.

Good (G) - Describes the average used worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted.

Fair - Worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. (which must be noted). Binding, jacket (if any), etc., may also be worn. All defects must be noted.

Poor - Describes a book that is sufficiently worn, to the point that its only merit is as a Reading Copy because it does have the complete text, which must be legible. Any missing maps or plates should still be noted. This copy may be soiled, scuffed, stained or spotted and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.

These terms may be arbitrary, but whatever terms are employed, they may be useless or misleading unless both buyer and seller agree on what they mean in actually describing the book.
AbeBooks - Statement of Book Condition descriptions

Links:

• The Independent Online Booksellers Association (based in the USA)
  
• The Independent Sellers Network (based in Leicester)
  
• IOBA Book Condition Definitions
• IOBA Book Terminology
• The Independent Sellers Network : Glossary of Terms used in Book Descriptions