Rosemary Lewis

Royal Institue of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition 2011

2011-12-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

I attended the private view of the ROI annual exhibition this Tuesday, intending to have a good look around before the opening speeches - unfortunately by the time I got there it was too busy to get to see a lot of the work. It was great to see the place so packed though, and from what I did get to see it seemed like the standard this year is especially high -I felt honoured to have had a painting selected.

I ended up in staying in the east gallery which cleared out as the speeches began - this is where the Winsor and Newton Young Artists' work is on display. I was really excited that my painting 'Red and blue bowls with cherries' was hung in a prominent place, right between the second and third prize winners:

Top left 'Lena' by Fedor Gridnev ( 3rd prize) - I loved the loose brushwork and limited palette in this piece.
Right 'Performance' by Lauchlan Goudie ( 2nd prize)- A really ambitious still life -I thought the artist pulled this challenging arrangement off very well.

There are a few artists ( that I am aware of) in this section who have had atelier training, I feel they have really raised the bar with their high standard of draughtsmanship and realism.

Top Left: Travis Seymore 'Melancholia'
Right: Sally Jane Fuerst 'Rainbow bear' - I especially enjoyed this painting - it's exciting to see what can be achieved when an atelier trained artist applies their skills to contemporary subject matter.

Nancy Fletcher 'Expecting'

There were loads of other paintings I really loved, too many to mention. I hope to get a chance to go back and look at them on a quiet day.

I should apologise for the poor quality of my photos, which I took on my phone (will have to pack the camera next time). Sadly, the ROI do not put the exhibition online, but both Katherine Tyrell's blog Making a Mark and Adebande Alade's blog have a good selection of some of the work on show.

Of course, the best way to view the exhibition is in person- it closes next Sunday so there's still time to get there - visit the Mall Galleries website for more details.

Teaspoon

2011-12-09T14:12:00.001-08:00

Oil on card 2.75 x 5"

To see a step by step account of how I made this painting, please see my Newbloodart blog posts:

Part 1 : preparation and drawing
Part 2 : painting

Artists and Illustrators artist of the year -winners announced

2011-12-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

The winners of the Artists & Illustrators artist of the year award have been announced, and I'm pleased to have been selected as runner up in the still life section. The overall winner was Raoof Haghighi for his portrait of his his sister Roya (pictured above). Well deserved in my opinion (I voted for this one!) - I really like the way he captured the light filtering through the frosted glass of the door and across the bare wall, and the sense of longing or waiting in the sitter's pose.

For a full list of the judges' selections from the 3500+ entries received click here.

Artist's and Illustrators - Artist of the year

2011-10-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited to have been shortlisted for this year's Artists and Illustrators artist of the year competition.
You can see all of the selected work here, and also vote for your choice for the Readers prize. I especially enjoyed looking at the portrait section, there is some really strong work there. My own entry is in the still life section - the two pieces in this section which really caught my eye are by Hara Katisiki and Dave Pickard.

Some urban studies

2011-10-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

3x4" oil on card
3x4" oil on card
3x3" oil on card

4x3" oil on card

These were all done from life, making the most of the unusually clear light we had a week or so ago.

Titanium White

2011-09-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

Oil painting on wooden panel*
5x7"

Blue Jug

2011-09-06T04:24:00.001-07:00

Oil painting on card
3x4" (sold)

Pear

2011-09-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Oil painting on panel
6x4" *

Strawberry

2011-09-01T15:19:00.001-07:00

Oil painting on card
3x3"*

Cork Street Open Exhibition - Visitor's Choice Award

2011-08-31T02:00:00.000-07:00

I had a quick look back at the Cork Street Open website to see if the remaining prizes (which had been unallocated at the time of the exhibition) had been awarded yet. I was really pleased to see that the visitors' choice award had been given to Luca Indraccolo's 'Portrait of Bryan'.

From looking at the rest of the work on his website I'm guessing he's spent time at an atelier, although he doesn't offer any information on his training. The standard of his drawing really shows through in this painting, which although quite loose in its brushwork is tight and accurate anatomically and tonally.

How refreshing it is as well to see a thoughtfully composed portrait - something I felt was lacking in the majority of work shown at the BP portrait award exhibition.

Of course, I've no idea how good a likeness of Bryan this is, but I found it compelling as a work in its own right - the sitter projects a strong mood and personality, and the compostion and lighting work to enhance this.

It's great to see good work being acknowledged.

Ivory black

2011-08-29T12:30:00.001-07:00

Oil painting on card
3x4"*

Victoria Plum

2011-08-27T03:08:00.000-07:00

Oil painting on card 4x3"*

Cherry

2011-08-24T09:02:00.001-07:00

Oil painting on card
3x3" (sold)

Yellow + Red Pastels

2011-08-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

Oil Painting on card 4x3" (sold)

Shell

2011-08-21T02:22:00.001-07:00

oil painting on card 4x3"*
UBEM9JAQKTF6

Artists' Reception at the Cork Street Open

2011-08-11T12:15:00.001-07:00

Last night I attended the Cork Street Open artists' reception. The two adjacent galleries where the exhibition is being held were full to overflowing, with many guests spilling out onto the pavement to grab a bit of space and fresh air.

There was lots to see and many people milling around -as a result I'm not sure I got to view all of the works, and didn't get to spend enough time on any of them! Fortunately all the exhibited work can be found on the exhibition website.

There was a lot that I really liked, here are just a couple of pieces that especially caught my eye:

' Selfridges' by Tony Feld - Oil on board - 27.8x41.1

The composition drew me in from right across the room, and the painting held its interest up close with its beautifully crisp, unshowy style. It won the AC Art + Framing prize. You can visit the artists' site here.

Hung below this (sadly a bit low down to be easily viewed) was this intriguing drawing entitled 'Mouse Series II' by Annie Ridd (pencil on paper - 51x81).

The drawing depicts a dead mouse in various stages of decomposition, along with some insects which appear to have been feeding off it. There are many reasons why we may find decay to be unpleasant, and although I found the drawing uncomfortable to examine closely I was also compelled to keep looking due to the wonderful care and delicacy with which it had been drawn. It helped me to discover beauty in a natural process which I would usually shy away from. I wonder what reactions it provokes in other viewers?
I can't find a website for Annie Ridd but you can see some more of her work here + here.

There's just one day left to visit the exhibition which closes at 6pm on Friday.

Cork Street Open Exhibition

2011-08-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to have had three paintings accepted for this year's Cork Street Open Exhibition. The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs until the 12th August. Full details can be found on the organiser's website.

Lighter sequence II, oil on panel 10x5"

Shell and Brown Ribbon, oil on panel 6x4"

Four Shallots, oil on panel 12x5"

green fishing float

2011-04-16T07:51:00.001-07:00

oil painting on card 3x4" (sold)

light bulb

2011-04-07T14:59:00.001-07:00

oil painting on card 3x4" (sold)

silver ball II

2011-04-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

oil painting on card (sold)

3x4"

mandarin

2011-03-30T07:58:00.001-07:00

oil painting on wooden panel **

6x4"

Freshwater clam shell and marble

2011-03-16T11:10:00.001-07:00

Freshwater clam shell and marble** oil on card 3x4"

pastels: blue + green

2011-03-15T12:31:00.001-07:00

oil on card (sold)

4x3"

Huxley Purchase Prize 2010

2011-03-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

I was awarded the Huxley Purchase Prize at the Discerning Eye exhibition last year - the prize is given by Benjamin Benton, owner of clothing company Huxley. Here is a link to a recent blog post on the Huxley site where Benjamin reveals his motivations for giving the prize.

Lighter Sequence 1

oil on board 10x6" (sold)

cobalt turquoise

2011-02-16T04:57:00.001-08:00

Cobalt Turquoise (sold)

Oil on card

3x4"

Silver ball

2011-02-15T07:22:00.001-08:00

Silver ball **
oil on board
4x6"

Red ink

2011-02-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

Oil on card
3x4"
(sold)

glass and cotton reel

2010-08-18T05:15:00.001-07:00

oil on canvas covered board
8x6"

house study

2010-08-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

oil on card 8x6"

two marbles

2010-08-15T04:09:00.000-07:00

oil on board

2x3"
(sold)

Alphonse Mucha

2010-07-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at the work of Alphonse Mucha recently. I enjoy the sense of design, the colours and lines. Especially the thick outline he uses - flattening the image - so I tried a drawing incorporating this line. I also tweaked it in photoshop to make it black and white - the original is in pencil (B).

Continuing the yellow theme...

2010-06-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

oil on card
6x4.75" (sold)

yellow roses

2010-06-29T05:24:00.000-07:00

Oil on card 6x12"

Oil on card 5.5x8"

yellow lighter

2010-06-29T02:30:00.001-07:00

Oil on board
4x6" (sold)

freshwater clam shell

2010-05-19T11:47:00.001-07:00

2.27 x 4 " oil on board

(sold)

a few pencil sketches

2010-05-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

It was good to sit out in the sunshine this afternoon and do some drawing outdoors. One positive effect of the cold spring is that a lot of flowers which would normaly have come and gone by now are still flowering - I found cowslips and bluebells in the park today. Above are sketches of a plane tree, buttercups and speedwell.

blue lighter

2010-05-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

Oil on board 4x6" (sold)

Another lighter - I seem to have a drawer full ( I think the lighters will become a series)...

I had to nip out for a tube of phthalo blue (PB15.3) to tackle this one properly, and I'm glad I did as I bumped into an old friend along the way that I hadn't seen in years.

lighter

2010-04-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

oil on board 2x6" (sold)

Clementine

2010-02-02T05:08:00.000-08:00

Oil on board 4x4" (sold)

two cherries

2010-02-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

Oil, 4x4 - I painted this back in July *

August sketch

2009-08-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

more clouds

2009-06-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Meadow- 31st May

2009-06-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

cloud studies

2009-05-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of cloud studies completed from life. I didn't realise that clouds change shape so much until I tried to paint them. I was always aware that they moved around but didn't know that each cloud can grow or shrink away over the space of 10 minutes or so. I guess I've seen this before when looking at time lapse films of clouds but its not until I came to paint them that it became really apparent.

apple on blue cloth

2009-04-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

here's a (mostly) alla prima study of an apple. I had to come back and finish the stalk and the highlighted area the next evening because I ran out of time.

4x4" oil on board (sold)

Daffodil opening

2009-03-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

oil on board 6x10"

rose study

2009-03-03T04:49:00.000-08:00

I think that flowers are one of the hardest things to paint or draw. To help me get started I bought some artificial flowers, which I can pick up and draw whenever I have a spare hour or so. I kept forgetting that they were fake while I was doing this study - they seem quite convincing to me although a botanist could probably spot them a mile off. I've heard that artists used to learn how to draw the human figure by studying statues, so learning from artificial flowers seems reasonable. I think if I ever do a finished piece I would try to use real ones though.

mandarin

2009-02-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

oil on board 4x4" (sold)

garlic

2009-02-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

shells

2009-01-26T15:28:00.000-08:00

Cherries and Blue Bowl

2009-01-22T11:25:00.000-08:00

This painting will be exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists annual exhibition 2009 which is held at the Mall Galleries, London. This is the second open exhibition I've entered so I'm really pleased to have had work accepted again *

two red grapes

2009-01-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

3"x3" oil on board.

freshwater clam

2009-01-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

4"x 2.25"

Back at last after over a month... now things have quietened down I hope to post more regularly!

tea light

2008-11-23T02:40:00.000-08:00

shell

2008-11-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

(sold)

plum

2008-11-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

sketchbook page - onion and plum

2008-11-12T12:16:00.000-08:00