Demonstrations to art societies

This last month has been incredibly busy with portrait commissions, teaching , and also giving portrait demonstrations to art clubs and societies.

The latter can be great fun, particularly if it is a society you have visited before. Rather like meeting up with old friends and continuing an ongoing dialogue. The banter can be energizing. I do encourage the audience to ask questions and make comments. There is nothing worse than standing out there to the sound of silence. At a recent demo, one person commented that it was actually a "performance" as well. To produce the artwork is one thing, but you also have to keep the audience engaged , entertained and amused. More and more do I find myself turning into Billy Connelly!

Above, is an oil portrait demo I did for Clare Art Club. This was done in about one and a half hours with lots of palette knife work and large brushes. No time to fiddle around. The subject was David Gilbert, President of the club. He is a larger than life character and a great subject to paint!

Strethall Church Art Fair

This weekend I took part in an exhibition held in Strethall Church, near Saffron Walden in Cambridgeshire. The setting is idyllic with the church nestling in a small wood amidst rolling cornfields.


It is believed that it was originally built in 1010 by the local Lord of the Manor to appease the marauding Danes who had been forcibly converting the locals to Christianity.

The weekend, however, was a far cry from such bloodthirsty times. A marquee was placed midst the tombstones. All around there were people sitting sipping tea and munching on cake, chatting, gossiping, putting the world to rights . Children played , dogs frolicked, the Autumn leaves rustled in the trees. All was well in this part of rural England.
Inside the church the exhibition consisted of paintings, drawings, pottery, sculpture and examples of wood turning. All of this was the subject of much "learned" discussion both from the experts and those for whom a little knowledge is clearly a dangerous thing!



Outside in the graveyard, on the reverse of one stone, I came across the following amusing quotation



Ended up feeling sorry for the poor old jellyfish. Funny what people want to be remembered by.

"Mrs. McLeod wins a Prize in National Art Competition

This week I was delighted to be informed that my portrait of Mrs. McLeod has won a Daler Rowney Award at the Patchings National Art Competition in Nottinghamshire.





The competition is sponsored by both the Artist and Leisure painter Magazines and has attracted entries from throughout the country and abroad.

The exhibition of selected works ( 70 in the professional category and 70 in the leisure painter category ) can be viewed on line. The exhibition which is being held at the Patchings Arts Centre at Calverton in Nottinghamshire runs until the 18th July.

Painting stolen from exhibition

At the Guildhall Exhibition in Cambridge ( see earlier blog) there was a painting stolen. It was a small work measuring only 12" x 9" and could easily have been concealed under a coat or in a bag. The usual security measures were in place with invigilators at the desk and even cctv cameras around. But with 280 paintings on show displayed both on walls and on array of screens, it was impossible to see every part of the gallery. The thief has never been tracked down or the painting recovered.
I would welcome any comments from other societies or artists who may have encountered this problem and any suggestions as to how best counteract it.