RWA Exhibition June 2011.
Himself has been beavering away in preparation for this exhibition.
The private view last Sunday afternoon was a happy affair.
Linda arrived colour-matched to one of the paintings. It is interesting how often this happens. On Tuesday evening another woman in a similar-coloured cardigan stood in front of the same painting. I was also caught admiring a pink and black painting of Mary Fedden's whilst dressed in pink and black.
Linda with the artist Alf Stockham.
When the show was over a few of us sauntered down the road for a meal at Brown's .
Mary Fedden Exhibition, 'Celebration.'
On Tuesday evening we were back at the RWA for the private view of work by Mary Fedden OBE. She was born in Bristol in 1915 and studied in London at the Slade. From 1958 to 64 she taught at the Royal College of Art. She was the first female tutor in the painting school and David Hockney was one of her pupils.From 1984-8 she was president of the RWA.
Her early work, above, gives suggestions of the stylization that was to follow.
She is a wonderful colourist, capable of both great subtlety and of vibrant juxtapositions. She handles velvety blacks to great effect.
The paintings behind glass showed too many reflections to photograph very successfully, but it is possible to see how well framed her work is - something that is always of interest to fellow artists, as a frame can make or mar any piece of work.
The gallery was very busy, so I had to wait patiently for a space in which to take photographs.
Sometimes, as in the painting below, she uses a very thin, turps reduced paint, which runs freely down the canvas creating a grainy patina.
A couple of women came up behind me and said, "you are exactly colour-matched to that painting, we think that they should let you have it."
She is a wonderful colourist, capable of both great subtlety and of vibrant juxtapositions. She handles velvety blacks to great effect. 
The paintings behind glass showed too many reflections to photograph very successfully, but it is possible to see how well framed her work is - something that is always of interest to fellow artists, as a frame can make or mar any piece of work.
The gallery was very busy, so I had to wait patiently for a space in which to take photographs.
Sometimes, as in the painting below, she uses a very thin, turps reduced paint, which runs freely down the canvas creating a grainy patina.
A couple of women came up behind me and said, "you are exactly colour-matched to that painting, we think that they should let you have it."If only!
I loved this little monochrome watercolour of catching moths. Once again beautifully mounted and framed.
The good news for Himself and Neil was the amount of interest and activity that spilled through into their show.
On Friday evening we traveled to Bath for our third private view of the week. There has been an annual open exhibition in the city every year since 1904, bar one, during the second world war. The Victoria Gallery is a friendly, centrally placed gallery and on Friday night it was humming with activity, in spite of the weather.
David Inshaw is the current president, seen here with one of his paintings. I had earlier overheard a man who was looking at it say to his companion, "the cat's quite good."
Himself has a painting in the show, the central image above.
A prizewinner being photographed while the mayor, in his mayoral chain, looks on.
It is interesting at an open exhibition to see not only the wide variety of work but also the responses to it. While Himself checks out the hanging of his painting people in the foregound are having a lot of fun studying a sculpture.
There are always people from the past to meet when we go to exhibitions. Himself is having a conversation here with a student from a number of years ago, now an art teacher herself.
I loved this little monochrome watercolour of catching moths. Once again beautifully mounted and framed.
The good news for Himself and Neil was the amount of interest and activity that spilled through into their show.
Bath Society of Artists 106th Annual Exhibition.
On Friday evening we traveled to Bath for our third private view of the week. There has been an annual open exhibition in the city every year since 1904, bar one, during the second world war. The Victoria Gallery is a friendly, centrally placed gallery and on Friday night it was humming with activity, in spite of the weather.We had difficulty parking and then made a dash, under our umbrellas, to join the throng.
David Inshaw is the current president, seen here with one of his paintings. I had earlier overheard a man who was looking at it say to his companion, "the cat's quite good."How's that for high praise!
Himself has a painting in the show, the central image above.
A prizewinner being photographed while the mayor, in his mayoral chain, looks on.
It is interesting at an open exhibition to see not only the wide variety of work but also the responses to it. While Himself checks out the hanging of his painting people in the foregound are having a lot of fun studying a sculpture.And what would my neighbour, he of the bee stings, make of this, I wonder?
There are always people from the past to meet when we go to exhibitions. Himself is having a conversation here with a student from a number of years ago, now an art teacher herself.
well done for getting this up and running so speedily - can we still see your flowers though?
ReplyDeleteWhat about posting your constantly changing vases of flowers that you cull from your garden - never a week without something different and always such a delight.
Hello, Just wanted to say I have been enjoying your other blog for a few months now and when I saw your title today about "closing the gate" was filled with dismay ,BUT so pleased you have decided to continue with a blog devoted to a variety of things and look forward to reading your future posts with as much enjoyment as your garden blog. (wonderful evocative photos always !)
ReplyDeletePeter Davies begged Her Indoors to enter one this year (first ever, though she was on the selection committee last year), and they bloody rejected it!
ReplyDeleteDear Janet, flwrjane asks everyone to post their flowers in the house and I'll be doing so.
ReplyDeleteHello Valkrye, and welcome.
Tom, If there is one thing that an artist knows about it's rejection. We were told that there were an enormous number of submissions this year with many regular contributors being unplaced. Thanks to HI for last year - Himself was selected and won a prize! (We took friends out to supper after the private view and managed to part with most of his winnings. Ah, the bohemian lifestyle!)