London shows, a sextet, a rant and a demo
Hope you've had a good weekend,
Grab a drink and a comfy seat, there's a lot to share!
The event in London went really well (my mum would have loved it, she secretly identified as a prime candidate for membership of the Bloomsbury Group, this was their turf!)
New blog post:
My next blog will share the story and work of Dutch 17th century artist Judith Leyster, who I talked about in the panel discussion. Time constraints meant I had to pare down some really fantastic input from Judith Leyster expert, historian and author Frima Fox Hofrichter.
Returning to collect my work at the end of the show was a great excuse to help Marcus use up his hotel points and spend a brilliant couple of days in London:
The Jay Rayner Sextet at Pizza Express Jazz Night (Soho)
Painting Jay on the Portrait Artist Of The Year last year was a brilliant experience - he was a great sitter in every way. He posed wearing his keyboard cufflinks, and mentioned one of the (many) strings to his bow is playing jazz piano.
Jay generously gave Marcus and me tickets to one of their jazz nights - what a fantastic experience! I HIGHLY recommend both the Jay Rayner Sextet, and the Pizza Express Live experience. My side of the bargain is to sign and varnish his painting, I'm hoping we can sort that out soon!
Nudity in high places
It was lovely to take in the splendour of the Goodenough College Great Hall one last time. I was delighted to hear that staff and students had felt happy to see people "who looked like them" in my paintings hanging on the walls. Also that my painting of Cheryl 'Defiance' had prompted interesting conversations around nudity in art. I think it's so important to exercise the rights we have to work from the figure, and to exhibit such work. All sorts of pressures (eg algorithmic censorship emanating from beyond our shores, and ideological objection) constantly challenge that liberty, and we cannot take it for granted.
People who engage respectfully in dialogue, disagree constructively, and listen to each others' perspective, are much needed in this world. Cheryl was one of those. Many people change their view of this painting when they learn that it was done immediately following her mastectomy. Many people don't even notice the missing breast. I hope she would be pleased with her impact, and would be excited to know that this painting will be on show in the equally impressive Bristol City Hall in the summer (watch this space!)
Art exhibitions
A bit like exam revision, it's more fun visiting galleries with friends... but I pay far more attention, and cover more ground when flying solo! Here are three I loved. I'd urge you to visit any/all of these, full of high quality original work by groundbreaking contemporary artists:
The Time Is Always Now (National Portrait Gallery) - Artists Reframe The Black Figure
Casildart Contemporary (a new gallery near Marble Arch tube) - EmpowerHER - International Women's Day Exhibition 2024
The Barbican - Unravel - The power and politics of textiles in art
Also, there was this:
The Society of Graphic Fine Art annual open exhibition has just finished at the Mall Galleries (click the picture to see the show online). To be honest I was gutted not to make it into this show, as drawing is a big part of my art practice. Sour grapes aside, as this isn't a public forum I'm going to have a moan: While some of the work was excellent, some was boring, safe, and not particularly skilful. Some were simply oil paintings (not what I would have called graphic, let alone drawing). I felt my work would have stood up well by comparison in technique, design, and subject matter. I'm not objective about my own work, but this is a really common experience for artists, and it never gets easier to stomach.
Finally, if you're around in Bristol on Wednesday afternoon, I'll be giving a short free life drawing demo before our regular session:
Thank you for taking the trouble to read this rather longer format than usual newsletter! I'd be interested to know if you prefer long/short, and what sort of content you most enjoy. Also anything you'd like to see more of, on any of my channels.
If you were one of the incredible people who forked out the (substantial) ticket price, travelled, and gave up your evening to support me at the London event, please know your presence was deeply appreciated - I hope you enjoyed it, I was so proud to have my posse there, it helped settle my 'panellist' nerves. And if you didn't, I don't blame you one bit - I hope you might enjoy a virtual taste of it from my blog, and maybe even grace the blog with your comment!
Have a great week,
Gxxx