World Art Day - the best interactive tour!

Yesterday was World Art Day and I forgot!
Today I'm posting one of the best of what was posted yesterday.

Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

Starting with the Prado Museum in Madrid - where they are promoting a Virtual Tour of the Museum for World Art Day.

Make sure the language selected is English to get it in English below the image. 

ACCESS THE VISIT HERE

This is the image which explains how to use the commands during the InteractiveTour

The introduction to the Tour has Spanish labelling throughout the video - but if you scroll down this page you can see what's on offer

This includes Ten Tours of the Collection

The digitization was done between November 2022 and March 2023.

The tour includes all the rooms and spaces that have works from the Collection have been digitized, including spaces such as the Entrance Hall, the Jerónimos Cloister as well as corridors and stairs. It excludes the Basement Floor and the Dolphin's Treasure

Did you know that 15th April was decided as the day for World Art Day - because it was Leonard da Vinci's birthday

Next up, the National Gallery in London didn't do anything to mark the day on Facebook.  Other than point out that Leornardo da Vinci was born on 15th April.

Other contributions were many and varied

• from the Yorkshire Evening Post which invited people to share their favourite artists in Yorkshire - which got an amazing response!!
• to Care Homes and Community Services celebrating the way art brings happiness to people in later years
• not forgetting the very young - who also enjoy making art.

The trick to capturing an audience was to be community oriented.

I'll try not to forget next year!

About World Art Day

Each year, on 15 April, World Art Day celebrations help reinforce the links between artistic creations and society, encourage greater awareness of the diversity of artistic expressions and highlight the contribution of artists to sustainable development. It is also an occasion to shine a light on arts education in schools, as culture can pave the way for inclusive and equitable education.

World Art Day, a celebration to promote the development, diffusion and enjoyment of art, was proclaimed at the 40th session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 2019.

World Art Day is an international celebration of the fine arts which was declared by the International Association of Art in order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide.

Holbein: Drawing, Painting, Materials & Techniques

The Holbein at the Tudor Court Exhibition at the King's Gallery closes today. I'd spent forever making up my mind about when to go - but not booking - and then realising I need to get a move on. Which is how come I saw it yesterday. You can see some of my pics from it on my Facebook Page

To be absolutely honest, I enjoyed the "Holbein in England" exhibition at Tate Britain in 2007 much more and it remains a vivid memory for me. (see Holbein in England - and at Tate Britain). Mainly because it which contained more portraits by Holebin including my favourite Holbein portrait "A lady with a Squirrel' plus Holbein's portrait of Erasmus

The Kings Gallery exhibition had three parts about artworks by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543)

• mainly paintings from other artists of the same era
• drawings by Holbein and miniature portraits by Holbein
• large paintings and some large portraits and more drawings by Holbein + four miniatures by Holbein

One of the most interesting part of the exhibition came after the exit. A small exhibition in one room at the top of the stairs contained information about Holbein's art materials and the techniques he used for his portrait drawings and also his miniatures.

Holbein: Materials and Techniques

A view of part of "Holbein: Materials and Techniques"

I promptly took photos of all of it and have uploaded them all to an album on Facebook on my Facebook Page called Holbein: Materials and Techniques - so 

• if you missed it or you enjoy finding out about the materials used by artists in the past, you can have a peek and see for yourself.
• I've also added comments about specific materials and techniques where I knew something which wasn't included in the exhibition.

There are also more resources about Holbein on the Royal Collection website - listed below

• Holbein's Portrait Drawings - about how Holbein created his drawings
• Holbein in the Royal Collection
• images of the Holbeing drawings and paintings in the Royal Collection

What I find interesting is that Holbein was a royal artist - he was appointed the King's Painter in 1536.  To all intents and purposes his stay in England related to his contacts within the Royal Family and the Tudor Court. 

I've not yet found an explanation for why so many of the better known paintings by Holbein are NOT in the Royal Collection. For example, 

• the 'cartoon' drawing of King Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger is in the National Portrait Gallery. This was made in preparation for the very large painting which used to hang in Whitehall Palace - but was destroyed in the fire in1698.
• The Ambassadors - which is a very large, important and unique painting - is in the National Gallery.

The other interesting fact about Holbein is just how many portraits there are by artists "after Holbein". He was a much copied artist. There again he is regarded as one of the most important portrait artists ever!

If you look at the collection of Holbein portraits and drawings in the National Portrait Gallery, you'll find that most are "after Holbein"

Review: The 7th Derwent Art Prize (2024) Exhibition

This is a summary of my thoughts about the Derwent Art Prize Exhibition at gallery@OXO. This is in addition to:

• my review of the prizewinners - see Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 2024 - Prizewinners
• my Making A Mark Facebook Page Album of views of the exhibition - The Derwent Art Prize 2024

The aim of the Derwent Art Prize Exhibition is to 

• reward excellence by showcasing the very best artworks made in pencil by artists from around the world.
• showcase c.80 artworks in an exhibition.

The Prize invites artists to submit the very best 2D and 3D artworks created in any pencil, including colour, water soluble, pastel, graphite and charcoal pencils.

This year, the Judges shortlisted just 68 artworks, however 2 artworks did not make it on to the walls because they got stuck in Customs! See the end for tips for getting your work through Customs

I'm writing this post essentially for all those who might like to submit artwork to the next Derwent Art Prize because, although you can see the images online, you cannot see how they are presented. 

That said, judgement is always on the basis of the digital image of the art.

Artwork at the entrance
varying sizes, subjects and presentation

My perspective on the Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 2024

First off, the main point I want to emphasise is that there is a lot of exceptionally good artwork in this exhibition. I'm guessing that the reputation of the Prize - and the fact it's still going - means that this prize attracts many more professional artists these days as well as young / aspiring / emerging artists.

For me, the appeal of the exhibition is that:

• it often presents novel perspectives on the very ordinary 
• as well as extraordinary insights into the very unusual. 
• ALL delivered while demonstrating an exceptional degree of technical accomplishment.

Essentially, it's NOT artwork which is technically good but actually dull - as much hyperealistic artwork can be.

Nor is it exciting concepts which are then delivered by people lacking in skills associated with creating art - which is the sort of art I hate.

To get selected, the artwork has to move mind or spirit AND also be executed by somebody who demonstrates they're very good at wielding the media used for pencil art.

For me, it has come on a lot since the very first exhibition - which I remember really well because it demonstrated news of thinking and recording in pencil media.

I'd just like to see some 3D artwork next time!

PS There are emphatically no cats, dogs or horses or any other sort of animal mammal in this exhibition! There is one very dead bird.... (Just saying....)

The exhibition demonstrates a wide diversity in terms of

• styles
• subject matter
• size
• age of the artist
• country where the artist lives

It is truly international - with over 6,000 entries by 2,324 artists from 77 countries. 

That means it's getting an entry way bigger than most of the prominent open art exhibitions of national art societies!  One might be tempted to ask what is this art competition offering that other open exhibitions are not. My answer would be "big cash prizes". Any time you have an art competition with very significant cash prizes you get a lot of entries.

Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 2024 - Prizewinners

Yesterday, I visited The Derwent Art Prize 2024 Exhibition at gallery@oxo in London and this post is a review of the exhibition and the competition.

the Derwent Art Prize is now very much an international prize and one seen as prestigious to the careers of young up and coming illustrators. (from my review of the 2020 Exhibition)

This is my first post about the Derwent Art Prize - focusing on the prizewinners. 

My second will come shortly and will focus on the exhibition. 

I'll also be uploading my photos of the exhibition to a folder on my Facebook Page

The Derwent Art Prize - the competition

What's remarkable about this art competition is that:

• It has more entries than most national art societies: This competition received more than 6,000 entries 
• It attracts entries from a very large number of countries: entries were received from 77 countries,
• 68 artworks - of a very high standard - were selected for The Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 
• Five artists received over £13,000 in prizes at the opening, on Wednesday 3 April 2024. (see below)

At the end of this post you can see my posts reviewing previous exhibitions.

The exhibition is free to visit at gallery@oxo, London

• from 11am to 6pm, from 4th April to 13th April, and 
• from 11am to 2pm on the closing day, 14th April 2024, 
• with daily artist demonstrations.

Derwent Art Prize 2024: Prizewinners

Three of the prizewinners

The shortlist and winners were chosen by an international panel of art professionals: 

• Sergio Gomez, Miami-based artist and gallery director; 
• Curtis Holder, London-based artist; 
• Valérie Sonnier, artist and professor, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris; and 
• Helen Waters, Director, Cristea Roberts, London.

First Prize (£4,000 and a year's supply of Derwent Art Products)

This was awarded to June Collier for Hetty in Hospital 1.

FIRST PRIZE
June Collier Hetty in hospital - 2020
oil paint and pencil on canvas - 80cm x 65cm

All four selectors were profoundly moved by the depth of sensibility displayed in this work, stirring profound emotion.

Review: 212th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours

I visited the 212th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours twice last week - for the Private View and then, because that was packed, again the next day so as to see the exhibition properly. 

View of the RI 2024 Annual Exhibition in the East Gallery

The good thing is that, besides being a very good exhibition, that this exhibition is on for an extra week and finishes on 13th April - so lots of time to see it.

That's because it's taken me some time to wrote this post which I started ages ago. That's because

• I decided I wanted to write a blog post about one new artist I liked a lot - check out Miranda Brookes - an exquisite Landscape Artist
• Then I loaded all my photos of the exhibition into Facebook albums on my Making A Mark Facebook Page - all now annotated including some detailed comments

• NORTH Gallery: RI Annual Exhibition 2024 (40 items) 
• EAST Gallery: RI Annual Exhibition 2024 (40 items)
• WEST Gallery, RI Annual Exhibition 2024 (54 items)

Then Easter and "life" intervened (dentist / blood test / big birthday party / lost voice etc etc)

But finally, I'm trying to finished this review which I started last week. It:

• covers features of the exhibition
• looks at changes to the exhibition in 2024
• comments generally on the standard of the exhibition
• highlights some of the individuals whose work is worth highlighting.

Features of the RI 212th Annual Exhibition 

the end of the West Gallery
(photo taken just before the gallery closed)

This is the biggest exhibition dedicated to paintings in water colours in the UK. 

I highly recommend a visit to the exhibition - I've always enjoyed visiting it and I am sure any genuine fan of watercolour paintings will do too.

Features of the exhibition are:

• There are 465 paintings in the show 
• around 50% of these are from the Open Submission
• many of the artworks in the exhibition are of a very high standard and 
• some are absolutely amazing in terms of the expertise on display
• It also displays a wide diversity in approaches to paintings using watercolour media and subject matter - from traditional to the more contemporary.

However, if you want to find "very edgy, fresh, new and very contemporary" you probably need to go the pop-up galleries or do what Charles Saatchi does - and go to the degree shows! 

National Art Societies are emphatically not edgy and tend to just look very foolish when they try to be! (I can point you in the direction of one in another place which has made that very silly decision). 

Fortunately I found relatively little of what I tend to term the "can't draw, can't paint, won't sell" school of painting which lacks application to both concept and craft. which seems to be regarded by some as legitimate art. But not by me!

Bear in mind, the Mall Galleries does not serve a "high end art, wealthy clientele" who, in any case, typically head to the major Art Fairs! 

Instead the Mall Galleries serves what I have very frequently characterised as a very large population of people most easily characterised as "Middle England, Middle Aged, Middle Class with a Middle Income" audience for the most part. They tend to be solid buyers of not overpriced artwork when the economy is not experiencing turmoil and uncertainty. They can even be very spontaneous if you get your pricing right! Bottom line, the sort of people who have bought their homes, had their children and are now indulging themselves from time to time. People who come to London for the day and do an exhibition or two!

Fortunately, I fall into my own characterisation and I enjoyed the show a lot and was tempted by a few paintings - but other buyers got there before me!

You too can see the exhibition:

• at the Mall Galleries - every day until 13th April (10am-5pm)
• online on the Mall Galleries website
• on my Facebook Page Making A Mark https://www.facebook.com/makingamark2/ - where I make more comments about some of the art and the artists
• Plus you can also browse the e-catalogue online.

In addition, there's a very extensive events programme taking place up until 13th April. 

Unfortunately there's an absolute dearth of public information about the prizewinners. 

Although I've received an email notifying me of the prizewinners, when I started this review, the Mall Galleries website had NOT yet been updated re.

• the page dedicated to RI prizewinners on the Mall Galleries website - and there are no images at all - which seems very odd)
• the News Page re the RI - where you'd expect an announcement of the prizewinners to be posted as soon as the exhibition opens to the public.

But it's now nearly a week after the PV when these prizes are announced and there's nothing!

UPDATE: now posted on Mall Galleries News page a week late Award Winners | RI 212th Exhibition (Just before this post was published. I'd looked everywhere once. I wasn't looking twice.)

I'd be very miffed if I was a sponsor or a prizewinner to be so totally ignored.
Prizegiving is a big feature of the Private View and should be a priority for online/written communications too. Otherwise it potentially jeopardizes ongoing sponsorship.

TIP:

• Somebody at the Mall Galleries very much needs to update the project plan and TO DO LIST re what is supposed to happen when an exhibition opens - or join up the dots better!
• At the same time, the webmaster of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours really needs to be rather more proactive at making sure all relevant information about the exhibition is ON THE RI WEBSITE promptly - and that they're not just relying on the Mall Galleries.

Changes at the RI Annual Exhibition in 2024