Essex in Mayfair ... Art Exhibition

Essex Art Club
Patron: Ken Howard OBE, RA, RWS, ROI, RBA, Hon NEAC
President Tom Coates: RP, PPPS, PPRBA, PPNEAC, RWS, ROI

Presents it's 114th Art Exhibition.

Selected works of art by the members of the Essex Art Club.

 

 www.essexartclub.co.uk

The Essex Art Club is a long standing society having the who's exhibiting members having included artists such as Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Frank Brangwyn and Sir Alfred Munnings.

Princess Zahrah ....

I can't believe it is so long since I last updated my blog, and just when I promised myself I would post more often. I have a number of things on my easels, and they tend to stay there until I am happy that I want to do no more to them. This portrait of my granddaughter is one of them, and as I started this some time ago you may have already seen this on my facebook pages. I'll still post it here as I know not everyone goes to Fb and i'm often asked to share how I paint portraits. The trouble is I get so engrossed in painting them I forget to stop and take photos of the different stages, so there are not too many photos of this one.

This is Princess Zahrah and came about as I was sorting and filing photos. I have so many of  my little princess, but just had to stop and have a go at this one... Not quite so orange looking in real life, or maybe it's just my monitor. 

This was the stage after the initial washes were done.

For some reason I find it a bit more difficult to get a likeness with the grandchildren. I wonder when we are painting someone so close to us we know them too well. It's not so much a problem with drawing them out, but when it comes to painting and choosing colours that's where I tend to lose it a little.  

I have decided as much as I can, to start using more of my own references. I'm so grateful to generous photographers for sharing photos, but I recently found I couldn't enter into a competition as the ref used wasn't my own.

Before I start I usually block out the background in photoshop so i'm not distracted by it, then I print it. I'm finding as I'm getting more experienced with drawing portraits I don't worry about the need of the ref to be the same size and can draw it in a different size if needed. I can never emphasize enough how important drawing practice is, I know how valuable I have found it to be and when I actually started to listen to others telling me so and doing it, I'm amazed how much i've improved.
 

Here is where it still sits. Some opinions are, that it is done, i'm not to sure on that yet. I know I still have to darken a few touches here and there, like the inner mouth area. Although it doesn't show to well in this photo, some of the areas in the hair are a touch darker and probably not quite so orangy. I do need to add some more wispy bits to the hair as well. It also need warming and more variation in the skin tones. I often see skin painted with the same colour but in different tints, you need to use colour as tone as well and that is what this is lacking at the moment.  It's also on hold at the moment as with Christmas almost here I have lots of other things on the list to finish. 

Portfolio book published and on sale....

          So..yet again I haven't kept up with posting here, but I have been busy painting and stuff, along with daily life, adding the bonus of the arrival of another gorgeous new grandson into that as well.

                Self publishing a portfolio of works......This is something like lots of other projects that is still on the to do list. Until recently that is, well actually like only a few days prior to publishing this on Blurb, talk about last  minute. It started when a good friend of mine Ruth Harris, pointed out that I may have missed a great offer on RedBubble. Seems they had teamed up with Blurb to give away a chance for you to publish you own book, and all for free other than P&P and any extras you decide on, which is where you have to restrain yourself. It's only a small 7 x 7inch, but still, it's free, so who's gonna not do it. 

 Watercolour Dreams, a creative journey.....

        

Watercolour Dreams by Stephie Butler | Make Your Own Book

I spent a few days and late nights getting this put together and only just made the deadline. I have to thank Ruth so much for being at the other end of the email system. She was answering questions non stop as I was working on it, saving me so much time, as she had all ready been through it all and finished hers. You can see Ruth's book Here. please take a look, it's full of her gorgeous floral paintings.......

 It covers some of my work over the last couple of years, just a little part of the journey so far and I've tried best to incorporate everyone's  favorite pieces. Once I started on this project I must admit I did get a little hooked. I've always loved playing around with design, setting things out etc, and soon found I had to stop myself and get back to the basics of this as I was running out of time. Maybe I won't leave the next one until the last minute, that way I get to enjoy playing with it more, probably won't but the thought is there anyway.....

For Sale...

          The initial reason for having a portfolio is to be able to share your with others, especially those paintings that have already sold. It will come in especially useful when showing prospective clients looking to commission work, and having it sitting on the table at Exhibitions for everyone to browse would be very nice as well, so I may think about a larger version. 

Using these self publishing companies  online gives you the opportunities to be able to sell your books as well. although you do have to purchase one yourself before being able to do this, but who wouldn't want one after all the hard work that you put into doing it, and it is your work after all. 

I have made it available for sale if anyone is interested and it's also available as an ebook HERE too. Would love to know what you think of it if you have the time to leave a comment or email me it would be very much appreciated. 

I really did get so much enjoyment out of putting this together, and even if it is only for me, I'm still proud of it. It gives me a real sense of what I have achieved over the time it covers , so it really doesn't matter if I don't sell any to anyone else, I really don't mind at all, what I do hope though is that you enjoy browsing through it.

Now to achieve something else from the long To Do list :)

Hidden Tears ...SOLD

SOLD at PV of Essex in Mayfair...

Monday I spent a most wonderful evening at the opening preview of the Essex in Mayfair Exhibition. I really enjoy these occasions as it's a chance to chat with lots of other fellow artists, catch up on what they've been doing and how they are getting on. There is such a wide variety of artists working in various mediums and subjects, means the work is so interestingly different, always making for great topics of discussions. 

The exhibition was opened by Tom Coates, as our president Ken Howard is away. Tom is a wonderful artist and a very entertaining gentleman all round. He chose a wonderful landscape painting of London which was awarded the Ken Howard prize, and the rest of the evening we tested the wine of course and admired the art work on display. 

I was thrilled towards the end of the evening to have sold one of my paintings. The highlight for me being to actually meet the buyer. I'm always intrigued to know where the paintings are going, what appeals to them about it, why they want to buy it. On this occasions I chatted with the lovely young lady for quite some time which was thoroughly enjoyable. We talked about the collection I was working on "Children of the World", what grabbed me to paint these children in the first place,  the emotions I was trying to get across to the viewer and why, which she totally understand having the same love for Africa. It was really so wonderful to talk with her.

 "Hidden Tears" part of the Children of the World collection

 The Exhibition is still open until Sunday

54 The Gallery

Shepherd's Market

London

W1J 7QX

Mayfair Exhibition...

3 paintings selected for Essex in Mayfair....

    Each year the Essex Art Club put on a summer exhibition and the last few years, along with this one, it has taken place in a beautiful little gallery amongst the bustling streets of restaurants and cafe's in Mayfair, London. Members are invited to submit up to three paintings for selection process and I was thrilled to have had all three selected again this year, along with 5 unframed mounted originals. 

Ken Howard is the president and usually honours us with opening the Exhibition. This year unfortunately he can't be with us, but we are fortunate to have the very talented Tom Coates stand in for him. It's full of a mix of wonderful artist work where most is for sale.

 54 The Gallery

Shepherd's Market

London

W1J 7QX 

It really is a lovely place filled with so much atmosphere. Do try to visit if you are in the area. It is open from 11am - 7pm apart from the last day when it closes at 4pm. nearest tube Green Park Station