Pastel Society Exhibition 2014

Jason Bowyer PNEAC RP PS – Rhythm – Pastel

The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2014 ran from the 10th to 21st June at the Mall Galleries. A new fan of this art society, I enjoyed the exhibition very much and look forward to future exhibitions by them.

As always, I loved the work of Jason Bowyer PNEAC PS RP, and his work here was no exception – stunning as always – but there were also many other works that captured my interest and thus more artists I will be following!

After the Leaves Have Fallen 3 – Charcoal- by Roy Wright PS

Roy Wright PS exhibited an ambitious and captivating charcoal drawing “After the Leaves Have Fallen 3”: it’s rich texture and detail draws the eye from the grass, up the trunk, to be lost in the intricate branches against the pale winter sky.

Cyclaman – Pastel – by Robin Warnes PS

Works ranged from the highly realistic to the more abstract, from minimalist drawings to the very painterly, deeply layered works, in charcoal, pastel and mixed media.

Cheryl Culver PPS – Sunrise – Pastel

Cheryl Culver, President of the Pastel Society and a member of the Royal Society of British Artists, known for her serene and shimmering pastel paintings of woodland and landscapes in sensitively beautiful muted palettes which are often exhibited in prestigious London galleries including the Mall Galleries, shared her thoughts on the Jackson’s Art Blog before the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition: visit the Jackson’s Art Blog to read the full article. 

View the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2014 virtual gallery online.

Visit the Pastel Society website.

 

Now the hungry lion ROARS, and other stories: Paintings by Atul Vohora

Now the hungry lion ROARS, and other stories: Paintings by Atul Vohora

A new exhibition by artist Atul Vohora begins this week at Lauderdale House at Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill, London N6 5HG.  Atul Vohora is a painter who has lived and worked in London since 2001, and studied at Canterbury Christchurch and The Prince’s Drawing School in London.

Artist Atul Vohora

Atul Vohora is a much loved and respected teacher at the University of Greenwich, The Slade School of Art (on the Short courses and its Summer School), and the Heatherley School of Art in London. He continues to exhibit in London and nationally. He studied in Canterbury and at The Prince’s Drawing School in London.

Drawing is central to his practice as an artist, and many of his insightful ideas and theories can be explored more fully in Atul Vohora’s recent book, Painting the Human Figure: Ideas and Perception: visit www.atulvohoraartist.co.uk for more information.

Painting by artist Atul Vohora

New paintings by Daniel Shadbolt

Oil on canvas by Daniel Shadbolt

New paintings by the talented painter Daniel Shadbolt is a new one-man show this June at the Jonathan Ross Gallery 286: 286 Earls Court Road, London SW5 9AS.

Artist Daniel Shadbolt

The New Paintings exhibition features wonderful examples of both Shadbolt’s still life and portrait work. For the past few years he has worked from his studio in a house in West London which has again proved inspirational: “the interiors that he depicts are the distillation of an artist’s life” (Gallery 286 website).

Oil on canvas by Daniel Shadbolt

A graduate of Chelsea College of Art and Design with a BA Fine Art: Painting, as well as completing the prestigious Drawing Year at The Prince’s Drawing School, and receiving the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Bulldog Bursary in 2008, as well as host of other awards and selection for many distinguished exhibitions, Daniel Shadbolt is a accomplished artist and well known as an inspiring teacher (at schools such as the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London), with a warm sense of humour and love of life and people that shines through in his work.

Oil on canvas by Daniel Shadbolt

Personally I most admire Daniel’s lively brushwork and shimmering use of colour: his paintings seem to breathe and move before your eyes and I find them quite mesmerising.

Oil on canvas by Daniel Shadbolt

For some time I had planned to visit this charming gallery in London’s Earl’s Court and this was the perfect excuse. In summer the garden is open and it is gorgeous – worth the visit alone – but of course Daniel Shadbolt’s paintings are stunning and the best reason to visit right now. Moreover, June has brought such lovely weather so it’s the ideal time to visit Gallery 286.

The exhibition continues until the end of the month, but already well-received it looks set to be possibly sold out, with lots of red dots in evidence at the first private view and even more by the second one!

Visit Daniel Shadbolt’s website for more information about the artist and his work.

Visit the Jonathan Ross Gallery 286 website for more information about this and other exhibitions.

Society of Women Artists 153rd Annual London Exhibition 2014

Thursday 26 June to Saturday 5 July
(closes 3.00 pm on the last day)
Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1

Private view: Wednesday 25th June 10.00 am – 8.00 pm
11.00 am – official opening and presentation of Awards

Day at the beach (looking for treasure) – Linocut by Sharon Low

I’m delighted to again have work accepted for the Society of Women Artists annual exhibition this year, and even more excited to have been made an Associate member. This follows having works accepted over the past few years, and this year having six works accepted (the maximum of four to be hung and two accepted but not hung).

For an invitation to the private view and free entry throughout the duration of the show, please visit my website at www.sharonlow.com or send an email to exhibitions@sharonlow.com

I hope to see you there there!

Day at the beach (handstand on the sand) – Linocut by Sharon Low

Day at the beach – Linocut by Sharon Low

About the Society of Women Artists (SWA)

Originally founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA), this unique group has held an annual London exhibition of the work of women artists ever since 1857.

During the mid-nineteenth century, women were not considered serious contributors to the field of art and they had great difficulty in obtaining any public showing.

At the first exhibition of the SFA, 149 women showed 358 works. It is a reflection of the times that some of the artists hid their true identities for fear of social recrimination.

At this time the art world was dominated by the Royal Academy which, when founded in 1768, had just two women among the founders; there were no other women Royal Academicians for over 150 years, until Annie Swynnerton SWA (a member since 1889) was elected as an Associate in 1922.

Some of the most noted artists of the time were attracted to the Society: when Lady Elizabeth Butler’s “The Roll Call” was displayed at the Royal Academy in 1874, even Ruskin, with his peculiar views of femininity, revised his opinion that “no woman could paint”.

The SFA was involved in education for women artists: female artists were effectively excluded by the mores of the time from professional training – even for those who gained a place at art school, the model in the women’s class would be decorously draped on grounds of propriety.

As access to professional training increased, the Society’s exhibitions attained higher standards, and a name change came in 1869 to the Society of Lady Artists. The mid-Victorian persona was discarded in the last year of the century, and the twentieth century was embraced by the Society with the new name: The Society of Women Artists.

Among its members the Society has had many famous artists: Dame Laura Knight, the first woman Royal Academician for over 160 years, was elected President of the SWA in 1932;  Mabel Lucy Atwell, the world-famous illustrator, was also a member. Current members include Daphne Todd OBE, the first woman President of the Royal Portrait Society; June Mendoza OBE, the well-known portraitist June Mendoza; the late Suzanne Lucas, Past President of both the Society of Botanical Artists and the Royal Miniature Society (in 1980 was elected as the first woman president of a Royal Society); and Philomena Davis, elected first woman President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1990.

The Society has enjoyed Royal patronage since 1865 and the current patron is HRH Princess Michael of Kent. The current President is Sue Jelley.

For more information about the SWA, please visit their website at www.society-women-artists.org.uk

Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2014

Sarah Jane Moon – portrait of Dr Laura Bridgeman, Clarence Rd 2014
oil on canvas 168 x 122 cm

I was just in time to catch the recent Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2014 at the Mall Galleries before it ended. As expected, I was impressed by the high calibre of all the artists.

Winner of The £3,000 de László Foundation Award for artists 35 years and under
Flora Watson – Studio 26

I was particularly looking forward to seeing paintings by artists and friends I admire, such as Sarah Jane Moon, Bulldog Bursary Prizewinner 2013-2014, with her portrait of Dr Laura Bridgeman and Flora Watson, who was Winner of The £3,000 de László  Foundation Award for artists 35 years and under with “Studio 26”.

Hero Johnson’s Portrait of Ian

Ian Rowlands’ Portrait of Hero

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also much anticipated were paintings by Hero Johnson and Ian Rowlands, with their portraits of each other that were also featured in recent editions of the Artists and Illustrators magazine; and a host of others, some of whom I’ve pasted images from below and which can still be viewed on the Heatherley School of Art blog.

Melissa Scott Miller RP – from the RP show 2014

Minna Stevens – Self-portrait – from the RP show 2014

Tim Benson VPROI – Beth (burns survivor) – at the RP show 2014

Ilaria Del Turco – Daniel – from the RP show 2014