Clevedon Art Club Exhibition

Any readers who may be holidaying near Bristol or Weston-Super-Mare during the next couple of weeks may like to visit the nearby coastal resort of Clevedon (just of Junction 20, M5 on the Bristol Channel).

The 55th annual exhibition of the Clevedon Art Club starts today until 27th August. It is held in the Science Atrium, Clevedon Community School, Valley Road, BS21 6AH, 5 minutes drive from J20 on the M5. www.clevedonartclub.co.uk

There are 322 pieces of art to a very high standard. The exhibition attracts professional artists as well as amateurs. It is an open, juried exhibition and worth a visit.

Four UKCPS members have a total of 6 CP pictures in the exhibition. Bev Lewis, and Pauline Longley (2 each), Diana Connor (1) and new member Jenny Campbell (1). Those of you who live in and around the Bristol area should go and have a look, and you might consider entering next year.

For those of you who don't know Clevedon, there is an historic Victorian Pier (several paintings of this in the exhibition), beautiful Georgian and Victorian houses, pebble beaches, interesting rocks and a lovely walk along the promenade. Two very good cafes over looking the pier, and views of Wales. Best seen when the tide is in, although the sea is rather muddy with silt!

Highly commended at the 9th Annual Open International Show

See work which was Highly Commended at the 9th Annual Open International Show below.

Bessie by Brian Ainsworth

Siberian Eagle Owl by Karen Coulson UKCPS

Take a Pick by Irina Garmashova-Cawton

In Velvet by Jo Goudie UKCPS

Stornaway Crow by Jo Goudie UKCPS

Rainforest Dreaming by Bev Lewis UKCPS

Charlie by Pauline Longley UKCPS

Uncommon Scents by Martin Vela UKCPS

Topiary Levens by Peter Woof UKCPS

Deadline for UKCPS Open Exhibition entries: 12th June 2010

This is a reminder that the deadline for all entries to the 9th Open International Exhibition 2010 of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS) is Saturday 12th June

Stamford Arts Centre

(Source: Google Streetview) 

This blog post Call for Entries: 9th UKCPS Annual Open International Exhibition 2010  summarises the conditions of entry. 

However you should also read the Call for Entries (downloadable form in pdf) in full.

Exhibition Venue: Stamford Arts Centre, 27 St. Marys Street, Stamford, PE9 2DL

Submissions due: SATURDAY 12th JUNE 2010

Submission is open to all living artists. The work must be original (concept, design and execution by the artist), 100% coloured pencil, demonstrate compositional and drawing skills, and ability to use colour from a pencil source. Entries must not have been shown in a previous UKCPS exhibition.
The Exhibition will run from Monday 13th September to Friday, 1st October 2010. Open during normal gallery opening hours - Monday-Friday 10.30am - 5.30pm, Saturday 10.30am - 5.00pm and Sundays 1.00pm - 5.00pm.

Awards: Caran d'Ache Award for Best in Show (£400), UKCPS Award for Reserve Best in Show (£300), the President's Award (£100), the Peter Weatherill Landscape Award (£75), the People's Choice Award (£50), plus other awards donated by our sponsors.

Call for Entries: 9th UKCPS Annual Open International Exhibition 2010

Any coloured pencil artist, anywhere in the world,
is invited to enter
the 9th Open International Exhibition 2010
of the United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS)
sponsored by Caran d'Ache

The UKCPS has issued its Call for Entries for the Ninth Annual United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society Open International Exhibition 2010. Artists working in coloured pencil and living anywhere in the world are eligible to enter.

The exhibition will be held at the Stamford Arts Centre, 27 St Mary’s Street, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2DL between 13th September 2010 and 1st October 2010.

If you are thinking about entering and are wondering about the type and standard of work submitted to and selected for this exhibition, you can see images of exhibited and award-winning work in the blog posts below relating to last year's exhibition and also on the exhibition page on the UKCPS website

• UKCPS Annual exhibition 2009 - Award Winners
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2009 - Highly Commended
  
• UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2009 - now online

Winner of the Derwent Award for Best in Show (£400) and the People’s Choice Award (£50)
UKCPS Annual Open International Exhibition 2009
Old -Timers, One, Two, Free! by Kate Clarke
3x(39x26) cm, coloured pencils (£845)

Call for entries – what you need to know

The combined Call For Entries and Entry Form document was despatched with the March edition of Talking Point to UKCPS members last week and should now have been received by all members living in the UK.

Members, associate members and on members can also now download the formal Call for Entries (pdf downloadable form) and Entry Form from the calendar/events page of the UKCPS website. The form contains details about the topics identified above plus insurance, shipping, post, collection, sales and commission.

The key aspects of what you need to know when deciding whether to submit work have been set out below as a check list. However please ensure you read all of the call for entries form carefully before submitting your entry.

Eligible work

• Submission is open to all living artists. You do not need to be a member of UKCPS or live in the UK.
• Entries must not have been shown in a previous UKCPS exhibition.

Originality, reference material and copyright:

• The work must demonstrate compositional and drawing skills and an ability to use colour from a pencil source
• The work must be original (concept, design and execution by the artist)
• Any photographic reference used for the entire or as the primary source must be taken by the artist
• Subject to UK and International copyright laws, reference images may used to contribute and build up a final composition provided the final work does not resemble any reference source in a recognisable way.

Eligible Media

• The work must be 100% coloured pencil
• Coloured Pencils and crayons that are wax-based, oil-based or water-soluble (e.g. Caran d’Ache Neocolor II or Derwent Aquatone)
• Graphite pencil used in moderation under or between layers of coloured pencil
• Solvents or water used to dissolve the pencil
• Manufactured coloured support (paper, board etc.)
  
• Artist prepared uniform white background (eg gesso)

Ineligible Media/Work

• Pastel pencils; acrylic, oil, ink and watercolour
• Collage, montage, three-dimensional work
• An image produced by drawing over a digital reproduction
• Only one work can be marked 'not for sale'; any second and subsequent submission marked 'not for sale' would be ineligible
• The Society and the Stamford Art Centre may refuse to exhibit selected work presented for display if it is not up to the entry submission standard or pictures are not suitably framed.
• The Society has the right to refuse to accept works not meeting all specifications and conditions set in this prospectus. It is the artist’s responsibility to provide evidence that the work is in compliance if there is a challenge.

Selection

• The 2010 judges will include: Ann Swan (an RHS gold medal winning botanical artist), a representative of Caran d’Ache and a representative of Stamford Art Centre.
• Judges review images which are anonymous. Only details of the title and size are provided.
• Judges will be asked to select works to produce a varied exhibition showing the full range of capabilities of the coloured pencil medium.
• Every effort will be made to maintain true quality to the submitted image, recognizing that the print or electronic medium may affect the viewed image.

Awards

• Cash prizes include: The Caran D’Ache Award for Best in Show (£400), the UKCPS Award for Reserve Best in Show (£300), the President’s Award (£100), the Peter Weatherill Landscape Award (£75), the People’s Choice Award (£50).
  
• In addition, each of the exhibition's commercial sponsors (various manufacturers and suppliers of coloured pencils - see side column of this blog) will provide awards involving art media and materials. There will also be other smaller prizes of art materials for highly commended works.
• The judges present on 12 September will select the works for the Awards (except those specifically given). The decision of the judges is final.

Method of Submission

• NO ORIGINAL WORKS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED. NO SLIDES.
• Fees are payable with each submission and vary depending on the status of the entrant. Members are able to submit the first work free. Payment should be by cheque or via online payment only (see form)
• Initial submissions should comprise entry form, fee and image only by post. Good prints or photos (no larger than A4/8.25” x 11.7”) or high resolution scans on a CD. Both prints and file names need to indicate the name of the artist clearly.
  
• Both sides of the entry form must be completed and submitted with the image. Framed & Unframed sizes need to be supplied in centimetre. All prices must include commission.
• Include a short CV (resume) and for each entry, give brief details including type of pencils and support used and reasons for choosing the subject. The CV and descriptions will not be part of the judging process, only for the interest of the public during the exhibition.
• All entries should be submitted to the Elizabeth Frearson, Chair of UKCPS (details on the Call for Entries form)
• Artists whose work is selected will be notified of detailed arrangements for submission of the artwork proper. It's been possible to arrange regional collection points in the past and UKCPS will endeavour to make this service available to entrants again this year if possible.
  

Artists intending to submit entries should note that, with submission, they grant permission for the UKCPS use of the accepted images for publicity and promotion for purposes wholly related to UKCPS.

All queries should be directed to Pat Heffer (details on the Call for Entries form)

Important Dates

The Exhibition will run from Monday 13th September to Friday, 1st October 2010. Normal gallery opening hours are 10.30am - 5.30pm from Monday to Friday, 10.30am - 5.00pm on Saturdays and 1.00pm - 5.00pm on Sundays.

Key dates include the following

Key Date/Deadline	Action/Event
12th June 2010	Deadline for receipt of all submissions
w/c 9th August 2010	Notification of judges selection sent to artists
10th September 2010	Last date for receiving works by post or courier
11-13th September 2010	Handing in of artworks (Pat Heffer will advise re arrangements)
13th September 2010	Judging, Opening and Private View 6pm to 9pm
13 September – 1 October 2010	Exhibition open
1 October 2010	4:00 – 5:00 removal of works 5:00pm Annual Meeting (AGM)

Richard Klekociuk wins $1,000 First Prize

Symbolic Still-Life

40 x 80 cm, Prismacolor and Polychromos Pencils on Canson Pastel Board

copyright Richard Klekociuk

Last Friday Richard Klekociuk won the Launceston Art Society's Triple A Art Award, with a coloured pencil drawing. The prize is worth $1,000 AUD

The Launceston Art Society in Tasmania is one of the oldest art societies in Australia.  It has been operating and exhibiting since 1891. Many of Australia’s celebrated artists have exhibited with the society at various times since its foundation.

Links

• Richard Klekociuk website
• Richard Klekociuk - Glover Prize finalist

The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists - and coloured pencils

This year the UKCPS Open International Exhibition will be held in Gallery 2 of the RBSA Gallery in Birmingham which is the home of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA). This post tells you a little bit about the RBSA, its history and current activities - plus Rachel Stirling's latest success in promoting coloured pencil art.

The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists is one of the oldest art societies in the UK.

In 1821, the Birmingham Society of Artists was formed, whose objective was to establish a museum for works of art, provide facilities for students, hold public exhibitions and extend art education in the city of Birmingham.
RBSA - About the RBSA

The RBSA played an important part in the Pre-Raphaelite movement and Sir John Everett Millais and Sir Edward Burne-Jones both served as presidents of the RBSA. Other well known presidents were Lord Leighton and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Today there are nearly 200 Members and Associates, elected in categories of painter, sculptor, potter, printmaker, textiles, and jewellery. Members and Associates are elected once a year.

The Society also has a Gallery near the Jewellery Quarter area of Birmingham which is around 15 minutes walking distance of the main stations.

The RBSA invites non-members to enter the three Open and one Prize exhibitions which are held each year in the Gallery. The RBSA also contributes to continuing education and community art through its Friends organisation - Friends of the RBSA - which also has twice-yearly RBSA Friends exhibitions.

Promoting coloured pencil artwork at RBSA

One of the main aims of the UKCPS is to promote coloured pencils as an art medium.

Floral Design by Rachel Stirling

One of the main ways in which members can help with promoting coloured pencils is by entering their artwork in the juried exhibitions of other art societies. The more other artists see and appreciate how coloured pencil can be used as a medium for fine art, the more likely it is that they will give coloured pencils a try!

Rachel Stirling who helped to organise and run the Art Materials Live event last November, had two coloured pencil drawings juried into the RBSA Friends Spring Exhibition which ran 18 - 28 February 2009.

Upcoming RBSA art competitions include the two shows below.

• RBSA Open all media exhibition : 1 - 18 April 2009
• RBSA Prize exhibition : 28 May - 27 June 2009 (this has a grand prize of £1000)

Submission forms and further details are available from the website
Please click on the following THREE links to download the required forms: Schedule, Terms and Conditions, Labels. Alternatively, send in an SAE to request a schedule and we will return one in the post to you. The forms will need to be returned to the gallery by Wednesday 25 March.
RBSA - Home Page

Here's wishing the best of luck to any members who consider entering.

Links:

• the UKCPS Open International Exhibition
• Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
• RBSA - Art Competitions
  
• RBSA Gallery - Locate us
  

Prizes for Peter Woof UKCPS and Suzy Herbert UKCPS

Kew Waterlilies 1 by Peter Woof

Congratulations to UKCPS Signature Members Peter Woof and Suzy Herbert who both received highly commended awards for their work which was juried into the 87th Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Graphical Fine Art

• The Award for a Highly Commended Drawing (Sponsored by Stabilo) Kew Waterlilies 1 by Peter Woof
• The Award for a Highly Commended Work in Monochrome (Sponsored by STABILO) - The Generation Gap by Suzy Herbert.
  

The exhibition was held at the Menier Gallery between 30th September and 11th October.

Frank Kiely, the prize-winning fine art printmaker and a Council Member of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers was invited by the SGFA to award the prizes. I was talking to Frank last week and he told me how it took him three hours to decide how to allocate the various awards as the standard of work was so high. You can see Peter and Suzy's work, along with that of the other award winners by scrolling down the page on the home page of the SGFA website

Readers of this blog will recall that both Peter and Suzy also won prizes at this year's UKCPS Annual Exhibition as well (see UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2008 - Award Winners). This exhibition finishes next Tuesday and if you've not seen it yet you can find details of how to visit in 7th Annual Open International Exhibition 2008 and AGM.

If you are a UKCPS member, do please let me know if you've won a prize for your art or received a commendation in a juried exhibition with another art society.

Botanical Illustration by Valerie Oxley

Valerie Oxley is a member of both UKCPS and the Society of Botanical Artists and specialises in botanical illustration.

She also teaches across the UK and this week saw the publication of her long awaited book Botanical Illustration. This will be particularly welcomed by Valerie's past and present students who have been urging her to write about the subject for many years!

Botanical Illustration by Valerie Oxley
Crowood Press (September 2008)

Valerie's botanical art credentials are impressive. Valerie developed the Diploma in Botanical illustration at the University of Sheffield, Department of Lifelong Learning (TILL). She's also the Vice-Chairman of the Northern Society for Botanical Art and the Chairman of the Florilegium Society at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

Her new book has been written for students of botanical art - for those new to this aspect of art as well as for those with some experience wishing to develop their expertise. It deals with the practicalities of botanical art and the related botany of the subject and covers the following topics:

• the history of botanical illustration,
  
• the botany of plants and flowers,
  
• materials and equipment,
  
• preparation of plant material,
  
• observation techniques,
  
• starting to draw,
  
• developing tonal studies,
  
• preparing to paint,
  
• colour theory,
  
• painting techniques,
  
• what to paint and how to paint,
  
• alternative media including coloured pencil techniques,
  
• correcting mistakes and
  
• finishing touches
• photography and computers.
  

If you're interested I'd recommend you take a peek inside the book by using the Search Inside facility on the Amazon website.

It is also very well illustrated with over two hundred colour illustrations by over fifty artists, including a full page illustration of Carlina involucrata by UKCPS member Eleni Mcloughlin and coloured pencil drawings by Susan Christopher Coulson, Vivienne Brown, Jane Cowan, Helena Anderson and, of course, Valerie herself!

Coloured pencil matters and techniques which are covered include dry and water resistant coloured pencil techniques, pen with coloured pencil (and Eleni's illustration), Papers, Drafting Film, Erasers, Pencil Sharpeners, Blenders, Indenters, Embossers and colours that resist, removing coloured pigment, use of the grisaille approach and dealing with wax bloom. There is an eight point suggested "working method" and finally a bit about fixative and storage and a mention of water soluble pencils.

You can also find out more details about Valerie's workshops on the Workshops page of the UKCPS website. This also provides details of courses run by all other UKCPS members who teach - or at least the ones UKCPS has been told about! ;)

Book Details: Botanical Illustration, The Crowood Press, (September 2008) ISBN 978-1-84797-051-0

More Bits

I apologise for posting infrequently. As I have said, I have health problems, and actually my wife has health problems as well, and I would prefer someone else to take over this blog as soon as possible as I have neither the time nor the enthusiasm that this deserves. However, a couple of things have forced me into blogging again.

First congratulations to Gayle Mason for becoming a full member of the Society of Feline Artists. This is a juried position, but I have no doubt the jury found it an easy decision in Gayle's case.

Second, following some discussion of photo use on the Yahoo group recently, I refer everyone to Katherine Tyrrell's extremely interesting and informative blog post about what appears to be possible copyright infringement at the American Watercolour Society Exhibition. If you get the chance, read through the links from this post, especially the thread at Wet Canvas. Please note that copying from photos is an issue that it seems ALL art societies are having to come to grips with, and is not confined to the UKCPS.