BANKSIDE GALLERY EXHIBITION 29 APRIL - 3 MAY 2010

THIS EXHIBITION IS ORGANISED BY THE SOUTH LONDON WOMEN ARTISTS GROUP

I am exhibiting this painting at the Bankside Gallery exhibition from 29 April to 3 May 2010.
The painting is oil on canvas.
Painted in 2009, it was inspired by the Smithfield Nocturne cycle race held in June every year at the famous Smithfield Market in London.

I have painted three cycle race pictures recently, the last one in acrylic, which I like, but the selection committee of SLWA chose this one. I submitted all three for their decision. This one is the second one I painted. I found the buildings quite difficult to depict as I wanted, to suggest both the soft evening light of a summer evening, the bright orangey lights of the huge round-topped windows, and the dark, seedy shuttered side of the Smithfiled Market, which was all closed up because it was a Sunday.

Title: SMITHFIELD NOCTURNE CYCLING,
Measurements: 63cm x 93cm

Bankside Gallery is on the Thames Path near the Tate Modern.
Open 11-6 daily, admission free.
Address
48 Hopton Street, London, SE1 9JH

BBC RADIO 4. THE SCREAM AND EDVARD MUNCH. IN OUR TIME.

THE SCREAM AND EDVARD MUNCH. MELVYN BRAGG AND DAVID JACKSON, DOROTHY ROWE AND ALASTAIR WRIGHT. IN OUT TIME. On Thursday 18 March 2010.

Available to listen tonight at BBC Radio 4, 21.30 Also I have tried to subscribe to the Podcast for IN OUR TIME, but so far nothing has downloaded to iTunes. I am hoping!

Fascinating programme. There is a good text on the BBC website and here is the link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rbmrx


There is also a list of 4 books on the subject. I will definitely listen to the programme again, as what the contributors talked about was very interesting and told me a lot about Munch and the German art scene in particular, that I did not know.

His influence on art students of today, is touched upon, and also the way he stored his paintings outside, or with scant regard for their protection. He painted on cardboard sometimes and had little money at first to spend on paint - the old, old story!

THE FOUNDLING MUSEUM EXHIBITION LONDON WC1

The exhibition at the Foundling Museum, Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ

I will be visiting this exhibition with a group from the South London Women Artists group in April. The show is called:
Matt Collishaw, Tracey Emin and Paula Rego: At the Foundling

Here is a link to the Foundling Museum.

Here is a link to my Blog on Blogspot 2007 entry about Paula Rego exhibition in Madrid, 2007. Paula Rego


This exhibition should be fascinating, since I am interested in the Foundling Museum with its paintings by William Hogarth among others, and have always wanted to go there but somehow never made the trip. Now I am definitely going. You can find out more about this philanthropic institution by looking at its website.

Paula Rego is one of the best artists working in London now. I saw an amazing exhibition of her work when in Madrid, at the Reina Sofia Gallery. She works in pastels very large.

Most people will be familiar with Tracey Emin's recent drawings, which have been shown at the Royal Academy summer show, among other places. I loved reading her column in The Independent every week, but now sadly I no longer take this newspaper (economy drive) so don't know if she still writes in it.
Mat Collishaw I am not familiar with.

My other small blog is at my new website, for Paulina Little
www.sportsportraitartist.co.uk

BATTERSEA PARK AFFORDABLE ART - MARCH 2010

VISITING THE AFFORDABLE ART FAIR ON THURSDAY LATE AFTERNOON

Finding the free minibus in Sloane Square was easy, but traffic holdups meant it took ages to get to the Park on Thursday evening.
The entry area had interesting photo etchings by Andrew Curtis - very large and black/white. I admired the successful results of what I know to be a very difficult and demanding technique of etching.
Inside the main tent was the usual huge collecting of gallery pitches, luckily mostly named and with a location so you could find London galleries easily. I admired the determination of those people who came from Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands etc.
The ceramics I liked are by Pat Armstrong who works in Lincolnshire. Her work is fired in a raku kiln, and the copper in the glaze results in beautiful reds oranges and golds.

Also the small square paintings in acrylics by Anthony Frost jumped off the wall with their brilliance and texture. They were on show at the Penhaven Gallery from St Ives.
Particularly liked the work of woman artists Sue Stone in the Grimsby based gallery called Gate Gallery. She had a small painting of French's - the famous pub in Soho. Very lively and fresh.

It was exhausting though, and there was nowhere much to sit down and rest. Everything very crammed together. Luckily it was not packed up with visitors and many of the stands had nobody viewing, so I did have a good chance to look carefully at the art.

Noticed a lot of money had been spent by some artists on the most elaborate frames, and even small oils had been framed under glass in some cases.
Prices quite low on the whole, from about £300, so if you subtrace the price of framing - perhaps £70, and the commission, the artists do not get very much.

I admired several works done of urban scenes at night, with a lot of red and black. Seems a fashionable subject at present. Saw some of these on the Amstel Gallery stands, from Amsterdam.

ACRYLIC PAINTING - AT RICHMOND ART SOCIETY

I went to a meeting of the Richmond Art Society last night at the Vestry Hall, Richmond on Thames.
The demo was about Acrylic painting, and was given by the tutor Sue Ribbans.

I am used to painting with acrylics, but found the talk very interesting. Sue Ribbans showed up her method of keeping acrylics wet, by making a home-made wet palette from a lidded plastic box lined with kitchen roll and covered with baking parchment.

The supports she uses vary from primed cardboard, heavy duty watercolour paper, canvas or hardboard. Primer is usually acrylic gesso which is white. To 'fight the white', Sue usually paints an underlying wash of blue or pink, or sometimes red.

She showed us her recent paintings and prints, some of which will be in the exhibition at The Bank Gallery, Chobham, Surrey, from 30 March to 11 April.