Alistair Butt RSMA - Landscape and Marine Painting Blog: January 2013

Watercolours - Works on Paper exhibition starts tomorrow

Watercolour - Works on Paper Art Fair

31st Jan to 3rd Feb 2013

at Level 2, Science Museum, London SW7

I will have a number of Watercolour paintings displayed on the Jack Fine Art Stand during this exhibition.

The fair is held in a self contained space on Level 2 of the Science Museum. Using the main Museum entrance on Exhibition Road, then take the glass lift at the end of the main Reception Hall up to Level 2. The lift exits at the doors to the fair.

There is a also a covered passage leading from South Kensington tube station directly to the Exhibition Road entrance.

There will be a coffee bar and licensed café within the fair.

For more details of the Watercolour Works on Paper Art Fair click here

Early, Modern and Contemporary art on paper
The Watercolours + Works on Paper Fair returns for 4 days to the Science Museum, South Kensington, London, SW7 from Thursday 31 January - Sunday 3 February 2013.

View and buy from a range of Early, Modern and Contemporary art dealers and see a range of Museum quality art presented in 4 interconnected galleries on one floor, this time on Level One.

Prices start at a manageable level: £250 - £500 for mounted drawings, majority of works priced between £500 to £10,000, and then the exceptional items at £10,000 plus.

What can you find at the fair?
Watercolours and drawings: all types of pictures drawn by hand, in ink, pencil, crayon, chalk, pastel, gouache, watercolour or charcoal.
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Works on Paper: a wider range of original art on paper, including prints, photographs, posters and handmade artists' books.

For the website of Jack Fine Art click here

The finished snow oil painting started in a post a few days ago

Detail from "-15ºC All Day", Yorkshire.
Oil. Alistair Butt © 2013 - #AB 0213014

Oil Painting - Seathwaite, Cumbria

Detail from "Summer Day, Seathwaite, Cumbria".
Oil. Alistair Butt © 2013 - #AB 021319

Just as a change to all the snow, here's one painted from reference material gathered last summer and now drying in the studio before being framed.

A very warm day, with people even out sunbathing while most others being harded walkers were returning (now afternoon) from Scarfell, the highest mountain in England at 978 metres (3,209 ft). The route up to Scarfell (plus others) from Seathwaite is considered the best as can be seen by the number of cars parked on the lane to the hamlet on most days.

Seathwaite also has another clam... in that it's the wettest inhabited place in England and receives around 3,552 millimetres (140 in) of rain per year. In September 1966 five inches of rain fell on Seathwaite and the surrounding fells in an hour, the resulting flood severely damaging the nearby Stockley Bridge, which lies 1200 metres south of the hamlet. Stockley Bridge is an ancient packhorse bridge on the old route between Borrowdale and the Cumbrian coast. The bridge was widened in 1887 and had to be repaired after the 1966 storm. On 19–20 November 2009 Seathwaite received 314.4 millimetres (12.38 in) of rain in a 24-hour period, a major contributor to the 2009 Cumbria and southwest Scotland floods. If confirmed this is a record for the amount of rain falling anywhere in the UK within 24 hours.

The result of all this water is than most of the becks (A beck, in old Norse, is a brook or stream with a stony bed) are crystal clear, as most of the soil has been washed away but it means that every pebble and boulder can be seen on the bed.

This oil painting when ready will be heading up to the Beckstones Art Gallery, nr Penrith, Cumbria.

More snow related oil paintings - one finished while the other is about half way...

Detail from "Snow covered fields with Hoar Frost", Northamptonshire.
Oil. Alistair Butt © 2013 - #AB 021309

The morning fog had covered all the trees & vegetation with a good coat of hoar frost. With the fog having cleared, the hoar frost was now catching the afternoon sunlight and almost glowing against the clear blue sky. One of those subjects that maybe, without the snow and frost along with the good warm light from the afternoon sun, one could walk by without a second look.

Started this oil the other night - now part way through this painting, still much to add - ice floating down the river, more work needed on the ice in the foreground with it's vegetation, tree is just basic framework at present and then both banks need finishing...

Reference for this came from a few years ago and a few hours working alongside this river in Yorkshire. It was the coldest I've been out working in -15°C although lower earlier in the morning.

FBA - British Scene and reminder of Watercolour & Works on Paper Fair

Browse and buy the British Scene

Open today, The Federation of British Artists present an exhibition of the landscapes of modern Britain on until 16 February.

From the hard lines of inner cities to the flurries of green hills, a selection of artists examine the picture of a visually shifting landscape. Capturing views from across the country, The British Scene explores what makes Britain so recognisable that we can call each image home.

All works are available to Browse & Buy online now. Read more

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Reminder - some of my watercolour paintings are on sale at the Jack Fine Art stand.

Watercolour + Works of Paper Fair

at the Science Museum, London SW7.

Thursday 31 January to Sunday 3 February 2013

Visitors to this fair can view a range of Early, Modern and Contemporary art dealers.
All the art for sale is a work on paper, whether it is a print, drawing, watercolour, poster or photograph.
Prices start from £200

2013 RI registration deadline coming soon

For those that paint in watercolour you have just over a week to get your artworks in for this years Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours exhibition held at the Mall Galleries, London. The Mall Galleries now offer electronic registration as a first step for those artist that live further away and if selected the work or more then needs to be delivered to the gallery on the receiving days.

See here to register

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours Open Exhibition 2013

REGISTRATION DEADLINES

Registration Opens: 01 November 2013
Registration Closes: 31 January 2013 12:00
Selection Notification: 07 February 2013

Receiving Days

Friday 22 and Saturday 23 February, 10am - 5pm. Notification of acceptance will be posted on the Mall Galleries website on Thursday 28 February.
Collection Unaccepted work: Saturday 9 March, 10am-5pm
Collection Unsold work: Thursday 25 April, 10am-5pm

Exhibition Dates

Private view date: 04 April 2013
Open to public: 05 April 2013
Closes: 18 April 2013
Opening times: 10am-5pm

AWARDS AND PRIZES

Numerous artists' prizes and awards are available, including the Turner Watercolour Award. More information available here

CONDITIONS

Maximum of six works submitted.
Maximum of four works selected.

Paintings must be under glass and should be not executed on hardboard or canvas.

Minimum price: £300

Earliest Artwork Completion: 01/11/2010

Report from yesterday - more out and about in the snow

Yesterday dawned with a clear sky and hence yet another very cold start but as I'd been waiting for a good spell of sunlight while the snow was here, unlike the last time when it lasted less than an hour, it was drop everything and get outside.

Having had another band of heavy snow since the last outing, the minor roads were like sheet ice first thing in the morning, but they were better later in the day while all the main roads were very good.

Some early morning mist added to the wonderful array of subjects... it was almost one every few footsteps. The snow has a wonderful way of transforming the landscape and even locations not considered before can sometimes look stunning...

A small stream, which I've painted a number of times throughout the year but not with this much snow covering the banks and trees. Along with sketching at other locatons beside this stream, a good half hour was spent sketching here (different positions) with some steam rising from the water giving the warm colour above the water, the odd water fowl moving now and then to disturb the water surface and the peace only interrupted by the odd fly past from the RAF while out training in the clear blue sky. Most rivers in this area have these deep sided banks which at times doesn't make for good subjects being all bank and not much more, could be alright this time...

Later I saw this small rabbit, trying to hide up against this tree - click to enlarge - she or he is to the left side at the base of the trunk.

Overall well worth getting out, some nice new material gathered for future paintings.

Another snow related oil painting demonstration - Part Two

Continue from this post

Stage Three:
Painting the stream came next. Some of the base colours had already being placed so really it's adding the fine details. I prefer to paint, apart from any under painting, the water wet into wet as this gives a more fluid feel. For brushes it's a either or both of Rosemary & Co's Series 303 'One Stroke' Golden Synthetic (in the smaller sizes) or Series 279. Masters Choice Long Flats. Both have a longer head length which for me helps with the fluid movement. Mostly it was picking up the colours from the background trees/snow back and placing them in the correct position using horizontal and vertical brush stroke.

Moving back to the trees the final element to paint was the snow on each branch, again using a rigger, bits of snow in shadow first then the snow in sunlight.

Detail from "A Winter Afternoon", Northamptonshire.
Oil. Alistair Butt © 2013 - #AB 021309

Stage Four:
To finish the painting the foreground bank vegetation alongside the water was painted followed by the shadows and then the sunlit snow. This was painted thicker and blended in most places with the snow shadow colour to give a soft effect. Although still wet I risked adding the dried twigs and grasses in the foregound.

Landscapes past and present at the Mall Galleries, London

For those that may be interested... from the Mall Galleries...

LANDSCAPES PAST AND PRESENT

There may be snow on the ground outside, but inside the Mall Galleries you can bask in the warm Mediterranean glow of a collection of Dutch Italianate paintings on loan from Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Shown in The Threadneedle Space, they are hung alongside contemporary works by painters, photographers and film-makers inspired by these seventeenth century works.

Memory & Imagination: Dutch Italianate and Contemporary Landscapes opens tomorrow and is on until 1 March.

In the Main Gallery, the Federation of British Artists presents an exhibition of the landscapes of modern Britain. From the hard lines of inner cities to the flurries of green hills, a selection of artists capture views from across the country. The British Scene explores what makes Britain so recognisable that we can call each image home.

The British Scene opens on Thursday and is on until 16 February (closing 1pm on the final day).

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THE PASTORAL IDEAL

31 January, 6.30pm

Join us for a tour of the exhibition and a talk on the theme of The Pastoral Ideal: Fact or Fiction? Explore why poetic landscape painting remains so popular today and investigate the ways that contemporary artists re-work traditional countryside imagery.

Another snow related oil painting demonstration - Part One

What more could any landscape artist want... a superb sunlit river with snow covered trees and banks provided all that was needed for this painting.

Stage One:
Having drawn up the image, again using a dark oil mix of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber and turps so it would dry quickly, I applied a underlying wash using colours relating to each area. This is an alternative to the usual all over colour wash usually applied as a base for oil paintings. This underlying wash although thin, helps with next stages and in places can be the final colour.

Stage Two:
Working on the far bank of the river, the background line of trees was painted first, starting with the dark colours before moving onto the mid toned colours on some of the evergreen trees. That area was left alone for a while while I painted the snow covered bank, leaving position lines from the under painting for the main branches of the bushes alongside the river. Dark areas of the bushes, branches etc were established next.

Moving back to the background trees all the snow needed to be painted, rigger brushes came in handy here for all the small snow covered branches - some in sunlight while others in shadow. Next was the medium or slightly lighter tones colours of the branches and trucks of the trees, again using a number of rigger brushes.

To finish of this stage was to add more underlying colour into the water of the stream, using colours from the far bank of trees but slightly darkened.

Snow subjects are superb to paint, adding an additional transformation to the landscape, sometimes simplyfing the subject but not always if there's lot of branches, bit of snow... At least in the UK at the moment there's 20cm (8 inches) outside at the moment... go outside and find your own snow subjects to paint.

Royal Society of British Artists Open Exhibition Receiving Days

If you missed the online submission deadline for the Royal Society of British Artists open exhibition, all is not lost....You can still bring your work in on the Receiving Days to be viewed by the Selectors.

Receiving days
Friday 25 & Saturday 26 January (10am-5pm)

to 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5BD

Select this link for information on regional handing-in points.

Notification of selection for the exhibition posted on the Selection Notification page Thursday 31 January (noon)

Collection of unaccepted work
Saturday 2 & Wednesday 6 February, 10am-5pm

Founded in 1823, the RBA continues to advocate the highest standards of skill, expression and concept of draughtsmanship.

Acceptable media: Any medium including sculpture and original prints (please detail edition and how many are available). We cannot receive pictures taller than 2.4m (8ft).

Conditions:
Maximum of six works submitted, three of which can be original framed prints. Maximum of four works selected. Work must have been completed within the last two years.
All works must be for sale. Minimum price: £300, unframed prints: £120.

Submission fee:
£12 per work or £6 for artists under 35.

Awards & Prizes:
Over 20 artists' prizes for members and non-members are available to win.

Download the Registration Forms here.

Collection of unsold exhibition work:
Thursday 21 March, 10am-5pm

Exhibition dates 2013
Private View: Tuesday 5 March (2-8pm)
Opens to public: Wednesday 6 March, open daily 10am-5pm
Closes: Sunday 17 March (1pm)

Read more.

Request a free sample issue of Artists & Illustrators Magazine

If any one is interested... the Artist & Illustrators Magazine is offering a no obligation free issue.

All that's required, on your part, is to fill out the form on the page of this link for your free sample issue.

While their, also have a look around the Artist & Illustrators website: there's news, competitions, galleries, info on Art Societies, Artists, best art material etc

New exhibition starts today at Sea Pictures Gallery, Clare, Suffolk

Alongside the main exhibition of Moira Huntly RSMA PPPS RI RWA at the Sea Pictures Gallery, Clare, Suffolk, is a small selection of other RSMA (Royal Society of Marine Artists) and Wapping Group members work.

Moira Huntly is one of Britain’s most distinguished and well respected contemporary artists.

In addition to many prestigious awards and solo shows internationally Moira is:
Past President of the Pastel Society (PPPS)
A Royal West of England Academician (RWA)
Member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (RI)
Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA)
A Governor of the Federation of British Artists

The whole exhibition (three pages) can be seen here

or visit the gallery:

Sea Pictures Gallery
Well Lane, Clare, Suffolk CO10 8NH
Telephone: 01787 279024

Please note that Well Lane is actually the main road through Clare and the gallery is situated next to the Pharmacy. Parking is available on the street or in the Country Park car park which is signposted.

I have a few paintings in this show... all my work at the gallery can be seen here

Oil Painting Demonstration - snow covered lane in Derbyshire

A wonderful snow covered landscape in North Derbyshire, made even better with the patches of warm sunlight and cool shadows crossing this farm lane.

Stage 1:

Having drawn up the subject (thinned dark oil painted), this time allowed to dry overnight the basic areas of colour were placed. Although not really a complicated subject this time the main shapes and position needed to be correct. This painting was started with the sky, this time painted before the tree branches although the branch lines (from the drawing) can just be seen under the sky colour. The dark areas were then placed (trees, walls etc), then I moved onto the mid toned colours of the hill side outcrop of rocks. The snow this time was painted in one go working from the distance towards the foreground...

Detail from "Walking along the farm track", North Derbyshire.
Oil. Alistair Butt © 2013.

Stage 2:
Adding the details... I started with the background trees (left) and moved across to the right hand side. More detail was added to the stone walls, very typical of this area, it was covered in places with thick moss, while in other areas bare stones were showing, while not forgetting the odd patch of snow and finally some dried winter grasses were placed.

The final elements to be painted were the main group of trees... dark and or mid tones colours for the main and smaller branches done first, followed by adding the lighter or highlighted colours - all done wet into wet.

More time out and about in the snow plus today add in hoar frost

Typical view for today, snow lying on the ground with one of the best hoar frosts for a long time, and due to the cold temperature plus lack of any good sunlight, thanks mainly to mist and fog, the frost stayed all day...

Close up of the hoar frost... most bushes, trees etc looking more like a thorn bushes...

The main objective, while out today was to gather reference material of snow/hoar frost covered woods and likewise along some streams. Not that it was ideal conditions, being -7°C at the start of the day but things improved slightly (a degree or two) through the day...

One the way to the next location. While most of the main roads were clear having being gritted, as is the way, most of the interesting subjects and their locations are down lanes/tracks like this... solid sheet ice - always interesting!

Snow... this time the real stuff!!!

As mentioned before, the last few weeks I've be painting nothing snow related landscapes (mainly oils).

Well the above photo shows some of the 'real' stuff that fell over yesterday in two bands of snow that crossed the UK - not as much fell as first forecast, in the end about 5 cm, but as the clouds cleared allowing some afternoon sunlight - how could I miss not going out!!

The wood is part of Sherwood Forest (off both Byron and Robin Hood fame) - for those interested more information can be found here... From the site... "The best UK Sherwood Forest visitor guide – maps, places to visit, parks, photos, walking, cycling, horse riding, wildlife, history, Robin Hood and the outlaws plus places to stay when you visit"

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