Review: The 127th Annual Exhibition of The Pastel Society

The 127th Annual Exhibition of The Pastel Society starts another year of annual exhibitions by the leading national art societies who are members of the Federation of British Artists - and hold all their annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries. It's on until 7th February 2026.

For those who don't know, I'm an avid fan of pastels and pastel artwork and used to also produce pastels and exhibited at the Pastel Society in the 90s.

Facts about the exhibition - and how to see it

This is an OPEN exhibition and is not limited to work by members and it contains 377 artworks in.....

All types of pastel including: soft pastel, hard pastel, oil pastel, ink pastel, water-based pastel, conté crayons or sticks, sanguine, and other dry mediums that are similar in their application including charcoal, chalk, and pencil.

You can see the exhibition at the Mall Galleries until 7th February 2026.

• Open every day (10am-5pm)
• Admission £7, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 25s. Concessions available. No booking required.

You can also see the artwork as follows

• on the Pastel Society website
• all the individual artworks online - on the buyart@ the Mall Galleries website
• you can view some of the artwork online in the online catalogue. The paper catalogue is available from the Gallery
• view all the artwork - on the walls - in my Facebook Albums
• East Gallery
• North Gallery
• West Gallery - to be uploaded
• The artwork I liked typically gets a photo of just that work.... unless there's another reason for photographing it on its own.

Cover of The Pastel Society Catalogue for the 127th Annual Exhibition

A week ago I attended the Private View - and that's when my problems started - and why this review has taken so long to write. 

A very popular Private View

It was very crowded and I was unable to sit down. I'd noticed a slight problem with my feet before I went - but standing up for two hours and not moving much really lacerated them. I had problems walking home, even more when I removed my shoes and I couldn't really walk very much for the next 2-3 days. Needless to say - but I will - with my mobility issues, I do not mess about when my feet scream very loudly at me!

I managed to photograph the artwork in the East and North Galleries at the beginning of the PV. So I returned on Sunday intending to do the West Gallery - but ended up talking (and sitting) for a long time with both the President and the Vice President - which was really interesting!

So I then went back AGAIN yesterday - and this time 

• I saw the exhibition properly i.e. not so full of people that you can't see the art as happened at the PV, 
• photographed the West Gallery - to be uploaded very soon
• started making my notes about the exhibition - for this review - in the new Apple Journal.

So this is my review....

The 127th Annual Exhibition of The Pastel Society

This post provides you with:

• events - and when they're on
• prizes - who won what
• what's different about the 2025 exhibition
• what I liked and....
• ....what I think can be improved

Events - and when they're on

I wrote a post about the Events Programme  last week, after I realised I couldn't walk and wouldn't be visiting the exhibition again last week!

• See Pastel Society Events Programme

Prizes - who won what

The Prizewinners with their Certificates

This page provides info about the prizewinners.

Winner of The Pastel Society Prize
Sunrise behind Tower Bridge by Benjamin Hope PS NEAC ROI RP RSMA

The top cash prizewinners were

• Caran d'Ache Prize (£1,000 for the best work in the exhibition as selected by Caran d'Ache) 
• Winner: Sheila Goodman PS, Autumn Glory
• Pastel Society Prize - £1,000 for the best work by a member, selected by the Pastel Society Council.
• Winner: Benjamin Hope NEAC PS ROI RP RSMA, Sunrise behind Tower Bridge
• The Yoshimoto Prize £1,000 for an outstanding work in any dry medium by a non-member.
• Winner: Sarah Manolescue ROI, Flowers in the Window

The one I liked the best was Benjamin Hope's artwork - not least because he seems to have done it on a new kind of wafer thin support. As he's also an oil painter, I'm guessing it is aluminium with some sort of abrasive material mixed in with the gesso.

How to develop large scale hyperrealistic graphite drawings

For all those interested in developing their skills in large scale hyperrealistic drawing with graphite. Which, as it happens, is a pretty niche field.

I've just discovered - via a recommendation from an artist I greatly respect - Jono Dry and his amazing drawings. Not that I'm any sort of fan of the surreal content of his typical subject matter - but I do appreciate somebody who has developed his skills with graphite to this level.

This video has only had nearly 14 million+ views!

Dry has devoted his practice to pushing the medium of graphite. With experimentation as a fundamental aspect of hyperrealism, a sense of play and precision is kept at the core of his practice.

I very much like the educational ethos of a lot of the work he does. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: A lot of artists trying to work out how to teach online will appreciate this video.

I also respect an artist who has worked out how to monetise his drawing practice in terms of:

• limited edition prints of his artwork
• educational videos via YouTube (all those views add up!) - which include lots of practical tips about studio equipment and building a business
• developing a Patreon community

Dry has built a dedicated Youtube channel focused on the output of educational videos showing specific aspects of the drawing process, as well as sharing tools to build a business in the creative industry.

Interesting also that he declines to take on commissions.

Analysis of Sales at The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

After the annual exhibition of the The Pastel Society (PS) and my review of the exhibition comes my metrics post!

• Which price ranges achieved the best sales? 
• Is this the same for members and those selected from the Open Entry - or does it vary?

This is another of my regular posts reviewing sales and prices after the annual exhibition. It covers:

• General commentary on 
• sales of artwork and how and when art is sold
• Buyers at the Mall Galleries - where the PS hold their annual exhibition
• Sales at the 2025 Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society focusing on:
• the number of sales and 
• the prices that pastel artwork sold for 

The reason I'm writing this post is because I'd like to see:

• more artists do better
• more artists make sales
• more artists improve their annual income from their artwork
• THROUGH more intelligent pricing of their artwork

Bottom line, the most realistic price for your artwork is the price which enables a sale. Otherwise, why bother pricing at all?

General Commentary on Sales of Artwork

How and when art is sold

These days art sales are typically generated in one of three ways

• the associated online website for the artwork - and the fact this goes online before the exhibition in the gallery opens
• sales at the Private View - where it's a common expectation that a goodly proportion of artwork will be sold given this is an opportunity for artists to be nice to collectors!
• sales while the exhibition is open to the public.

In the past, art societies used to have Buyers' Views for people:

• who were known collectors and/or
• had previously bought at the exhibition.

Art Societies don't seem to be doing these as much these days. Maybe because of the online exhibition - which is published well in advance of the exhibition opening and the fact people are more used to online sales. It's certainly the case that artwork regularly sells before an exhibition opens

Nevertheless, I still think there's a case to be made for the "pampering time" for previous art buyers/collectors when they don't have to fight for space with the legions of "friends of the artist" and can actually see the work properly.

I don't go to as many private views as I used to, mainly because to my mind they should be artists and buyers and "influencers" in the absence of a private view. 

I left this one early because of the crush - see Review: The Pastel Society 126th Annual Exhibition (2025) 

It's nice to have an event for friends of the artist BUT if it creates such a crush that it causes people to leave and/or deters sales, then that is a problem. 

My solution would be to introduce a constraint for all members and those selected via the open entry of strictly one friend only at the PV.

After all, friends can come any time, but artists typically only come once and it's on PV day! Plus buyers and collectors do like to meet the artist - and I see precious little effort by art societies generally to making sure that can happen. 

On the day of the PV, it's perfectly possible to stage manage a different focus at different times eg buyers at lunchtime; members getting together in the afternoon and friends allowed in the evening. That way we might actually get to see some art. I find I always have to go back if I go to the PV - just to be able to look at the art properly.

Sales have also been less than usual due to the constraints on people's budgets in the last couple of years. It seems to be easing slightly - but sales are still not yet back to where they used to be - and it's worth thinking about how to help them along....

Who are the buyers at the Mall Galleries?

Essentially annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries are about AFFORDABLE ART for most of those who visit, view and buy art.

This is about my well known mantra characterising buyers at the Mall Galleries. 

Typically they are essentially "middle class, middle aged and middle income"

They typically like buying artwork priced at less than £1,500 - and they like it even more if it is priced at less than a £1,000.

You should bear this in mind as you review the charts and commentary below and as you check the profiles of the price ranges of artwork sold in the charts below

Sales at The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

This is a chart of the sales at the recent Open Exhibition 2025 of the Pastel Society.

I got my numbers by going through the data on sales available from the online exhibition.

Analysis of the number of artworks sold by price range
in The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

The Pastel Society exhibited 382 artworks and sold 84 paintings (22% of the hung artwork). 

This is a marked improvement on the 2024 performance (see below).

Review: The Pastel Society 126th Annual Exhibition (2025)

I recommend you go and see the 126th Annual Exhibition of The Pastel Society. It opened at the Mall Galleries last week and is on for another two weeks.  This is an OPEN exhibition and is not limited to work by members and it contains 382 artworks in.....

All types of pastel including: soft pastel, hard pastel, oil pastel, ink pastel, water-based pastel, conté crayons or sticks, sanguine, and other dry mediums that are similar in their application including charcoal, chalk, and pencil.

In addition this is what The Pastel Society is about

“Membership of The Society will be granted through a strict assessment of technical skill, originality, innovation, enthusiasm and a willingness to promote the objectives and activities of The Society.”

I've visited three times so far

• at the PV last Tuesday when the Mall galleries were packed with people; 
• again on Thursday morning - with the aim of photographing the exhibition for all those who cannot get to see it in person and 
• again yesterday morning. Can I recommend viewings on Sunday mornings - they're nice and quiet!

The Private View - and this was after some people had gone home!

This post provides you with:

• facts about the exhibition - and how to see it
• events
• prizes
• what's different about the 2025 exhibition
• when is a pastel not a pastel

Facts about the exhibition

You can see the exhibition at the Mall Galleries until 8th February 2025. 

• Open every day (10am-5pm)
• Admission £6, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 25s. Concessions available. No booking required.
• Catalogue is available at the Gallery - or you can view it online

You can also see the artworks in the exhibition ONLINE via

• the Mall Galleries Shop website - 60 artworks to the page + you can see the media used easily 
• The Pastel Society website 
• my photos of the three galleries in which it is held on my Facebook Page
• West Gallery (78 items) - mainly artwork by members
• East Galleries (22 items) - a mix of members and Open Entry
• North Gallery (47 items) - mainly artwork via the Open Entry 

The artwork I liked typically gets a photo of just that work....

The West Gallery

Review: The 7th Derwent Art Prize (2024) Exhibition

This is a summary of my thoughts about the Derwent Art Prize Exhibition at gallery@OXO. This is in addition to:

• my review of the prizewinners - see Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 2024 - Prizewinners
• my Making A Mark Facebook Page Album of views of the exhibition - The Derwent Art Prize 2024

The aim of the Derwent Art Prize Exhibition is to 

• reward excellence by showcasing the very best artworks made in pencil by artists from around the world.
• showcase c.80 artworks in an exhibition.

The Prize invites artists to submit the very best 2D and 3D artworks created in any pencil, including colour, water soluble, pastel, graphite and charcoal pencils.

This year, the Judges shortlisted just 68 artworks, however 2 artworks did not make it on to the walls because they got stuck in Customs! See the end for tips for getting your work through Customs

I'm writing this post essentially for all those who might like to submit artwork to the next Derwent Art Prize because, although you can see the images online, you cannot see how they are presented. 

That said, judgement is always on the basis of the digital image of the art.

Artwork at the entrance
varying sizes, subjects and presentation

My perspective on the Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 2024

First off, the main point I want to emphasise is that there is a lot of exceptionally good artwork in this exhibition. I'm guessing that the reputation of the Prize - and the fact it's still going - means that this prize attracts many more professional artists these days as well as young / aspiring / emerging artists.

For me, the appeal of the exhibition is that:

• it often presents novel perspectives on the very ordinary 
• as well as extraordinary insights into the very unusual. 
• ALL delivered while demonstrating an exceptional degree of technical accomplishment.

Essentially, it's NOT artwork which is technically good but actually dull - as much hyperealistic artwork can be.

Nor is it exciting concepts which are then delivered by people lacking in skills associated with creating art - which is the sort of art I hate.

To get selected, the artwork has to move mind or spirit AND also be executed by somebody who demonstrates they're very good at wielding the media used for pencil art.

For me, it has come on a lot since the very first exhibition - which I remember really well because it demonstrated news of thinking and recording in pencil media.

I'd just like to see some 3D artwork next time!

PS There are emphatically no cats, dogs or horses or any other sort of animal mammal in this exhibition! There is one very dead bird.... (Just saying....)

The exhibition demonstrates a wide diversity in terms of

• styles
• subject matter
• size
• age of the artist
• country where the artist lives

It is truly international - with over 6,000 entries by 2,324 artists from 77 countries. 

That means it's getting an entry way bigger than most of the prominent open art exhibitions of national art societies!  One might be tempted to ask what is this art competition offering that other open exhibitions are not. My answer would be "big cash prizes". Any time you have an art competition with very significant cash prizes you get a lot of entries.

Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 2024 - Prizewinners

Yesterday, I visited The Derwent Art Prize 2024 Exhibition at gallery@oxo in London and this post is a review of the exhibition and the competition.

the Derwent Art Prize is now very much an international prize and one seen as prestigious to the careers of young up and coming illustrators. (from my review of the 2020 Exhibition)

This is my first post about the Derwent Art Prize - focusing on the prizewinners. 

My second will come shortly and will focus on the exhibition. 

I'll also be uploading my photos of the exhibition to a folder on my Facebook Page

The Derwent Art Prize - the competition

What's remarkable about this art competition is that:

• It has more entries than most national art societies: This competition received more than 6,000 entries 
• It attracts entries from a very large number of countries: entries were received from 77 countries,
• 68 artworks - of a very high standard - were selected for The Derwent Art Prize Exhibition 
• Five artists received over £13,000 in prizes at the opening, on Wednesday 3 April 2024. (see below)

At the end of this post you can see my posts reviewing previous exhibitions.

The exhibition is free to visit at gallery@oxo, London

• from 11am to 6pm, from 4th April to 13th April, and 
• from 11am to 2pm on the closing day, 14th April 2024, 
• with daily artist demonstrations.

Derwent Art Prize 2024: Prizewinners

Three of the prizewinners

The shortlist and winners were chosen by an international panel of art professionals: 

• Sergio Gomez, Miami-based artist and gallery director; 
• Curtis Holder, London-based artist; 
• Valérie Sonnier, artist and professor, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris; and 
• Helen Waters, Director, Cristea Roberts, London.

First Prize (£4,000 and a year's supply of Derwent Art Products)

This was awarded to June Collier for Hetty in Hospital 1.

FIRST PRIZE
June Collier Hetty in hospital - 2020
oil paint and pencil on canvas - 80cm x 65cm

All four selectors were profoundly moved by the depth of sensibility displayed in this work, stirring profound emotion.

Review of the Society of Graphic Fine Art Annual Exhibition 2024

This morning I visited the Annual Exhibition 2024 of the The Society of Graphic Fine Art (aka The Drawing Society) at the Mall Galleries.

The SGFA have taken over the large West Gallery with 181 artworks demonstrating a wide range of artworks covering diverse subject matter and different media. 

You can see the artwork exhibited ONLINE - with links from both the Mall Galleries website and the SGFA website (although you need to wait awhile before the images appear - and only if you accept cookies, which I normally always object too as per GDPR i.e. it shouldn't need cookies to work)

The default position is you can view the artwork as thumbnails

Alternatively you can view by name of the artist 

Or view a large image of each artwork - which provides details about the art and the artist

HOWEVER this only applies to artwork by SGFA members and associates.

I'm also going to be uploading my photos to a Facebook Album - more or less in the order they are hung in the Gallery - and will insert a link here when this has been done

You can also follow the SGFA on https://www.instagram.com/drawingsocietyuk/

NOTE: There is no catalogue.

About the Society of Graphic Fine Art SGFA

What's different about the intended focus of this exhibition is the raison d'etre of the SGFA.

The purpose and objectives of the SGFA

As it states on their explanatory panel which can be found posted around the gallery (see above), the SGFA is all about drawing and draughtsmanship.

Established in 1919, the Society of Graphic Fine Arts is the only national Society which is based in the UK which is dedicated exclusively to drawing. It exists to promote and exhibit original works of high quality in colour or black and white. This includes traditional and contemporary media. The emphasis is on excellence in drawing and draughtsmanship, demonstrated by hand.

I'll come back to that later - as I think a divergence from the intended scope of the exhibition appears to have occurred this year.

Work which is eligible for exhibition is

• Drawings in any medium, monochrome or colour - pencil, coloured pens and pencils, pen and ink, pastels and oil pastels, charcoal, conté, etc. 
• Any original artwork which demonstrates evidence of drawing by hand: - original printmaking, watercolours, acrylics, oils and 3-Dimensional work.
• Any work based on a photograph must have the photographer's permission.

Work which is NOT eligible for exhibition includes

• Digital imagery generated by computer.
• Giclee prints and all other reproductions and facsimiles.
• Work shown previously at the Mall Galleries or hung in an SGFA London exhibition.
• Work that is more than three years old.
• Any work that might infringe on copyright law 
  
  

The Exhibition

In general, the exhibition has a lot of excellent artwork by artists who are clearly accomplished in their design and execution of artwork with an emphasis on drawing skills.

It's not all of a very high standard - but that's the same in most exhibitions.

The exhibition comprises 181 artworks - all of which are for sale - covering 

• drawings, fine art prints (engravings, etchings, linocuts,woodcuts) and paintings
• in a wide range of media: graphite, charcoal, pastels, coloured pencils, metalpoint, ink, watercolour, acrylic, paper collage, stitched media and the ever present "mixed media"

The styles on show for any one medium are diverse. In that sense this is a good exhibition to view what's possible with different media.

Dry media such as pastels and charcoals are used by exhibiting artists in various styles from the very precise to the very painterly. Coloured pencil use is more related to precise drawings.

Graphite and pen and ink are very much favoured by those who like to be very precise.

Speaking personally I'd like to see a lot more fine art prints and rather fewer paintings.

The view of the exhibition at the entrance to the West Gallery

The Artists exhibiting include:

Who painted this? #64

I was very glad to find there are still people out there who remember Who Painted This?" and hopefully this will now become a Sunday morning challenge for the visual memory and brain cells!

The answer to  #63 is below this week's challenge along with the names of who got it right. There were three 'entries' and every one of them got it right - but there was also a very clear "best answer".

But first this week's art history challenge.....

Who painted this? #64

The first time I saw this painting I was absolutely bowled over by it. Some of you may also have seen it - but can you remember where and when?

If you think about it, you've got a number of clues as to:

• time period
• location
• artist.

     

How to participate in "Who painted this? #64

Don't forget - there are rules to how "Who painted this?" works - and these are detailed in THE RULES for participating in this challenge.

This is about using brains not technology - so please do NOT "cheat". 

Briefly, in your comment ON THIS POST you must tell me ALL of the following:

• the title of the artwork
• the name of the artist who created this artwork
• the date it was created
• the media used
• where it lives now
• how you know all this eg how did you do your search
• anything else you can find out about the artwork and/or artist

The Winner is the first identifiable person (i.e. no anonymous guesses) who, in my judgement, is the first person to get to the answer by fair means AND provides the best quality answer in terms of added details about the artwork and artist

Remember also

• no use of Google image search or Tineye to find the image allowed - this is a traditional web search of images using words only plus "hit the books" time
• I don't publish the comments until next week's post.

i.e. comments are being opened up again - but ONLY for this weekly post and comments on this blog post will only be published once a week - on the following Sunday.

NOTE: You can find out more about the background to "who painted this?" and the RULES on this page https://makingamark.blogspot.com/p/who-painted-this.html

Who painted this? #63

Call for Entries: Derwent Art Prize 2022

The 6th Derwent Art Prize is a major INTERNATIONAL art competition for artists working in dry media - and is now open for entries. 

Deadline for entries is Tuesday 4 January 2022 (5pm GMT)

Below you can find out about this major art prize, the prizes on offer in 2022, the selectors and the exhibition and, most importantly how the call for Entries works

The Derwent Art Prize was conceived in 2012 and aims to reward excellence by showcasing the very best artworks created in pencil by artists from around the world.

The Derwent Art Prize is a global art competition with a prize pot of some £12,500. 

The exhibition was conceived in 2012 and has been consistently sponsored by Derwent, the internationally renowned fine art brand since that date. It is

• A Biennial Open Exhibition
• Open to artists from around the world; and 
• Rewards excellence by showcasing the very best 2D & 3D artworks created in pencil or coloured pencil, pastels, graphite and charcoal.

Last time, this exhibition was held in 2020, there were:

• 4,756 entries 
• submitted by 1,884 artists 
• from 72 different countries. 
• The Derwent Art Prize judges selected a shortlist of 70 pieces.

The last Derwent Art Prize exhibition in a gallery - at the Mall Galleries in 2018

The Prizes

CONGRATULATIONS TO DERWENT for maintaining the prize fund in an era when many commercial / organisational sponsors have been turning their faces to the wall and leaving formerly prestigious art prizes to disappear.

I also like the fact that the main prize fund pot is equally split across 

• all entrants and 
• those aged 25 years and under.

Derwent Art Prizewinners with Selectors in 2016

Prizes valued at £12,500 will be awarded to entries selected for the exhibition at the Private View at the Exhibition at the Gallery@OXO, London.

A total prize fund of £12,500 will be awarded. Prizes are as follows:

• Derwent Art Prize (£6,000)
• First Prize £4,000 plus a year’s supply of Derwent products**
• Second Prize £2,000
• Young Artist Prize - for artists under 25 years (£6,000)
• Young Artist First Prize (For artists under 25 years) £4,000 *
• Young Artist Second Prize (For artists under 25 years) £2,000
• People’s Choice Award £500

All the First and Second prize winners will also receive a special box of Derwent Lightfast Pencils which have a core which is resistant to prolonged colour change- meaning artwork hung in archival/museum conditions will not fade for up to 100 years.

The Selectors

This year’s entries will be judged by a panel of selectors comprising an artist, a critic and a curator. a fourth Judge is to be announced.

• Katy Hessel - a London-based art historian, curator, podcaster, and founder of the influential Instagram, @thegreatwomenartists.

Writing and speaking about art history in an accessible and fun manner, my goal is to readdress the gender imbalance in the art world by reinserting women back into the canon of art history.

• Paul Hobson - Director of Modern Art Oxford - 

he has worked for more than twenty years in the art world in senior roles for the Contemporary Art Society, The Showroom, the Serpentine Gallery, and Royal Academy of Arts in London. He has been Director of Modern Art Oxford since 2013.

• Charmaine Watkiss - Artist - pencil and paper are her main materials of choice

Her work is concerned with what she calls ‘memory stories’. She creates these stories primarily through research connected to the African Caribbean diaspora, and then maps the stories onto life sized figures. 

The Exhibition

From the open submission applications the panel will select approximately 80 works for exhibition.

At the bottom of the page you can find my previous reviews of this art competition, the prizewinners and the exhibitions - and see the diverse range of artwork which has been selected in the last eight years. 

The exhibition will be held at Gallery@OXO in central London will be from 24 February – 6 March 2022.

This is situated on the Riverside Walkway at the heart of one of the richest cultural areas of London, between the London Eye, The Hayward Gallery and Tate Modern.

How to enter the Derwent Art Prize

Who can enter

Entries are invited from international artists

What can you enter

Artists may only enter once, with a maximum of 6 images.

Lockdown Art #3 - images from the Pastel Society Exhibition

I'm looking for lockdown art at every art exhibition I'm going to at present. This has been a major event in our social history - and such events are always recorded in art.

I'm beginning to wonder if some are less obvious than others....

Here are examples I spotted at the Pastel Society exhibition - which continues at the Mall galleries until next Saturday.

Masks are an easy way of spotting #lockdownart - but they're all different - and there are two versions below - followed by a very complex graphite drawing interpreting the experience of being Covid Positive.

Face to Face by Peter Vincent PS

The first one is Face to Face by Peter Vincent PS who mostly creates landscapes in pastels. I loved this diptych of two simplified heads which focuses on the anonymity triggered by mask wearing. We only know they're a different sex because one has a bun at the back. There again chaps have bins these days too....

Face to Face by Peter Vincent

Pastel33 x 66 cm (43 x 86 cm framed) £595

Peter is a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of The Pastel Society. He retired in the early 90s when computers made his skills in measured perspective drawing redundant and took up pastel drawing. he works unusually - employing a mask for shapes in his drawings.  He doesn't appear to have a website and sells through galleries - but you can see more of his work on the Mall Galleries website

I can't breathe by Neil Rogers

The next one is titled I can't breathe by Neil Rogers. His portrait focuses on one of the common complaints of those using cloth masks (I can recommend the proper medical ones with the filters which I use!)

Review: 122nd Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society

This is a review of the 122nd Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society - as in the hung version - currently on view in all three galleries at the Mall Galleries in London.

I'm going to start with a number of comments about the exhibition and then highlight a number of artworks I liked - by Gallery.

I'll be referencing artworks by linking to the photos I took yesterday.

Portraiture featured on the end wall in the West Gallery
- with different dry media, different styles and different approaches to
making a mark with dry media

Overview of the Exhibition

There are some exhibitions you like a lot and some which include art you like but overall the exhibition somehow just doesn't quite grab you as others have in the past

This is one of those. I'm wondering if this is because it does NOT include all the artwork which sold when the exhibition had to be "online only" at the beginning of the year. 

That said I'd still recommend a visit - because some of the artwork on display is very good and I'd certainly recommend a visit for anybody who aspires to be in next year's exhibition!

I made notes while I was in the exhibition (thanks to Evernote!) of things which I noticed and these are as follows....

I think this was my favourite wall - in part because of how it was hung

Positive Notes

• There are some large and very colourful artworks by non-members which I regard as a very good thing.  Many will not remember the works on Mark Leach (who died while President Elect) but I still miss his large and colourful artworks. It's good to see others contributing large and interesting pieces which embrace colour.

Winner of the Young Artist Award
The Beast's Negative Space by Charlotte Bullock

• There are lots of artworks in this show which show off the breadth and scope of what's possible when using pastels and other dry media. I always enjoy the artwork which really shows off the unique characteristics of the media employed i.e it's trying to look like pastel and not an oil painting!
• There seems to be much more abstracted artwork than hitherto - which is no bad thing

Pastel drawings by Fellcity House

• I ALWAYS like to see good drawing - and there's very definitely examples of good draughtsmanship within the show
  
• There's some examples of an innovative use of pastel. I saw my first (I think) pastel and thread artwork by Marsha Roddy
• The exhibition includes rather less lockdown art than I was expecting - however what is included is unusual. Sometimes keeping it simple says a lot.
  

Face to Face by Peter Vincent PS

Less Impressed

• I saw rather more of artists trying to mimic leading members in this exhibition than in past exhibitions.  I'm not impressed by this - in part because I've never quite understood the point of trying to emulate leading members.
  
• The exhibition includes some artwork which is trying to be photorealistic without quite pulling it off. I'm quite picky about photorealism. I tend to have an attitude of "don't show it until it's excellent". It's a notion worth pondering on for all those who try to reproduce photos.

You can see my photos of the exhibition - in sections, as if you were walking around the three galleries - on my Facebook Page (whether you are a member of FB - or not!). Links are at the end of each Gallery section below.

 

East Gallery - artwork I liked

Set of landscapes in pastels by Norma Stephenson

 

The standout artist for me was Norma Stephenson PS - who produced a knockout set of pastels. I think I maybe like them a lot as I very much like the palette she used for the works which seems to me to be lighter and more cheerful than some of her paintings which have always seemed to me to be quite grey. What I like about Norma's work is that she produces what are recognisably landscapes while making them semi-abstract by playing with colours and mark-making in an impressionistic way.

It's obviously working as the red dots indicate that two have already sold after the preview on Tuesday - helped I think by realistic prices!

Pastel Society 122nd Annual Exhibition now on view - for real!

The Pastel Society's 122nd Annual Exhibition can now be seen in person at the Mall Galleries in London until 24th July 2021. You need to book a ticket online and visit between 10am and 5pm.

View of part of the West Gallery

 

I visited today and I'll post my review tomorrow. (see Review: 122nd Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society)

However, you can see my photos of the exhibition on my Makingamark Facebook Page where I've uploaded the photos I took this morning into three albums. (see end of post for links to the albums)

(NOTE: Now I'm using a rollator to cope with walking, I'm finding I'm very tired when I get back from exhibitions - hence the delay between photos and review)

It is essentially an exhibition of work in dry media by leading pastel artists - most of whom (but not all) live in the UK. The artwork is created in pastel (soft, hard or oil), pencil, coloured pencil, chalk or charcoal. 

It was previously on display online on the Mall Galleries website as it was originally due to be hung during the third lockdown.

Since then, some artwork sold online and has been shipped to its new owners. So what the Society have done for this exhibition is invited those artists who sold work to submit new work to "fill the gaps"

Sales include some of the artworks which won prizes, so I'm going to refer you to these two blog posts to see the artworks which won awards

• The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2021 Prize & Award Winners | Part One featuring
  
• Tom Hudson-Davies
• Janine Baldwin PS
• Halla Shafey PS
• Margaret Glass PS
• Rebecca Hardaker
• Dave Roberts
• The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2021 Prize & Award Winners | Part Two
• Maximillion Baccanello
• Anne Magill
• Janine Shute
• Charlotte Bullock
• Christine Watson
• Susan Relph PS
• Caitlin Heslop
• Nicholas St John Rosse RSMA

View of the East Gallery

 

You can also see my photos of the exhibition on my Making A Mark Facebook in three albums - and you can see them whether you are a member of FB - or not!

• Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2021 - West Gallery
  
• Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2021 - East Gallery
• Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2021 - North Gallery

 All the works are for sale

• prices start from £300 
• all artwork can be purchased using the Own Art scheme that allows for the cost to be spread, interest-free over 10 months.

UPDATE: Wildlife Artist of the Year 2020 - small works

For those wanting to support a cause but not necessarily spend a lot of money you can do as I do most years and spend £60 on a sketch produced for Wildlife Artist of the Year

This is the link to where you can see the Sketch for Wildlife Series 2020

Each postcard is 6”x 4” in size and on sale for £60 with 100% being donated to David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF).

It's an excellent way of raising funds - and getting artwork on display and names of artists known without and framing or the work taking up too much space. It's used by very many good causes as a way of buying art - and you often don't get to find out the artist until you've bought the piece (which is not the case this year - where the sale is taking place online

My postcard art purchases 

Below you can see my monochrome series of previous purchases.

I have three absolute rules for my small wildlife works purchases which are:

• they must literally be postcard size i.e. 6 x 4inches or 15 x 10cm (i.e. 148 x 105 mm) so they can be framed easily and inexpensively (and not all those in the sketches gallery this year are - which is a pity)
• there has to be some sort of thoughtful aesthetic to them - and to be honest the gallery this year is dominated by the very literal 
• I also require skill in the use of media - preferably monochrome - which means graphite, charcoal or pastel - or a monochromatic fine art print. 

The monochrome theme has grown over time and I now stick to it on the basis of if I want to hang them together in the future I'd like them to look good together - and I'm a fan of monochrome.

These are three I've bought in the past - framed in the little white standard art postcard box frames which I always used to buy from the National Portrait Gallery - which means they stand on their edge on a bookshelf.

• The top one is the shadow of a sting ray zooming through the picture plane - which I really liked because it conveyed the speed of movement as well as the way it swims. It's by Tim Reeves - whose website I cannot find online.
• Bottom left was my first - and is a graphite drawing of a worm cast - and I bought it because it is so unusual. I love artists who find beauty in the most unusual things. This is by somebody called Sara ? - but I can't work out her surname and she hasn't labelled it on signed on the back as well (see How to sign ​a painting, drawing or fine art print)
• Bottom right is At Dusk which depicts a very simple and subtle murmuration of starlings by Simon Conolly. This is a motif I see regularly at the Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibitions. Simon is actually a sculptor - who specialises in birds in flight and I'm guessing this may have started as a sketch for a new work. I was rather pleased to snaffle this one as a postcard. 

My post card sized art from previous Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibitions

The display of Postcard Art at Wildlife Artist of the Year 2015 at the Mall Galleries
- which is when I bought the piece by Simon Connolly
(third column from the right, third row down)

PS The Online Exhibition of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2020 is now public - for viewing.