Daphne Todd Exhibition at the Mall Galleries

I went to the Private View of the Daphne Todd exhibition at the Mall Galleries on Monday night. It is an excellent exhibition and looked extremely impressive in the Threadneedle Space.  I can only imagine more and more of the FBA artists will want to start having focused exhibitions of their own work in this space.

Landscapes by Daphne Todd
Threadneedle Space, Mall Galleries

I had a chance to speak with Daphne before the exhibition opened and she told me about the paintings in the exhibition and also about her experience of being an Official Artist on a Royal Tour.

The exhibition is open until Sunday 23 December 2012, 10am to 5pm.  It's an excellent complement to the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters which opens today in the other two galleries.

About Daphne Todd 

For those who not familiar with Daphne Todd OBE PPRP NEAC, she's well known as an advocate of representational and figurative artwork - and the traditional values of painting from observation rather than from photos.

She's is best known for her portrait work and is the Past President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (1994-2000) - and indeed is the first and only woman to hold that role to date.  In 2010 she won the BP Portrait Award (which is when I first interviewed her) with a portrait painting of her mother on her death bed. She'd previously won the 2nd prize in the same competition back in 1983. Daphne is also a member of the New England Art Club.  In 2002 she was awarded an OBE for her services to the Arts.

She did her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Slade School of Fine Art (when Coldstream was Principal).  She spent most of her six years at the Slade painting in the life room - which I guess is something that would be very difficult to do these days

She considers herself simply an analytical painter of the seen world.

Official Artist on a Royal Tour

A Making A Mark Interview with Margaret Stevens

It was my very great pleasure last Friday to meet up with and interview Margaret Stevens PSBA, FSBA and to discuss with her the SBA's Distance Learning Diploma Course in botanical painting.

Margaret has a number of very important roles. She's

• current President of the Society of Botanical Artists,
  
• the Course Director for the Distance Learning Diploma Course and
  
• the author who wrote and co-ordinated the production of the two books produced by the SBA - The Art of Botanical Painting and The Botanical Palette: Colour for the Botanical Painter

Bird of Paradise, Crane Flower (Strelizia regina)
16.5 x 11.5 inches, watercolour
Margaret Stevens PSBA

You can also read my Book Review: The Art of Botanical Painting on Making A Mark Reviews.

I was keen to hear about the Diploma Course as I'm one of a number of artists who are considering starting Course 7 next year. However first we started with something about Margaret's own background.

How did you get into botanical art and how long have you been a botanical artist?

Margaret Stevens has always painted flowers. She was extremely fortunate as a child to have a father who was a very talented painter. He taught her how to paint and her mother was also very encouraging. At 16 she became the youngest member of her local art society in Devon and sold her first oil painting - of lily of the valley - at the very first show she exhibited at. Later in life she was also fortunate to have a husband who also encouraged her. She started painting flowers again - but this time as a therapy - when her husband became ill in 1981 and then died in 1982. She found it to be a very effective therapy during this sad time. She was also very much heartened by the knowledge that her husband had wanted her to continue with her flower painting. Now facing life as a widow, she took the pragmatic view that if you want to earn a living from painting them you better paint what people want to buy!

Since then she has received 13 medals from the RHS including the Gold and Silver Gilt Lindley medal for work of special educational interest. She has also taught students in adult education classes for many years, written three books and played a very full role in her work for the SBA, SBA Books and the Diploma Course.

She's also produced work for publication and worked extensively on commission for botanical art collectors including a series of roses for one collector.

The fridge was always full of roses!

What does botanical art have to offer an artist who likes nature and plants? Is it recession proof?

Margaret takes the view that botanical artists are essentially people who are captivated by the beauty of flowers and plants. Becoming a botanical artist enables an artist to take a good long look at the natural world in order to find all the beauty that exists around us.

God has already done the best job. Artists can't improve on that and can only do the best they can.

She's noticed that younger artists often start botanical painting with a view to making a career of it. Their goal can often be about achieving a high standard so they can win an RHS Gold Medal. By way of contrast, Margaret commented that a number of people only come to botanical art later in life. Some are women who enjoyed painting and botanical subjects at school but who have never had an opportunity to study it. As time passes the opportunity presents for them to find the time to do something for themselves. She also highlighted Fiona Strickland, who won a major prize this year, who only started painting botanical art relatively recently having taught Art and Design in Scottish secondary schools for 26 years.

Looking at botanical art from the buying perspective, Margaret believes that many traditional collectors and many other people who buy art do so because they want art which pleases them in their own homes. Her view is that people who love flowers and plants are always going to buy botanical art no matter what the state of the economy. It's not a 'current fad' or trend.

She also commented that unlike some art exhibitions, where some people may go to private views to meet celebrities and to be "seen to be seen", the people who come to the buyers' preview and private view of the SBA's Annual Exhibition of botanical art are very much there for the art. The Society has a very large mailing list of people who are very keen to hear about their exhibitions - with more adding their names all the time.

How many students have now completed the Diploma Course?

Margaret was in London for a number of events - one of which was the Graduation Ceremony for the Course 4 students where she would be presenting Diplomas to the students had recently completed the course.

183 students have completed the Diploma Course since it started. Course 5 and Course 6 currently have another 165 students. For the last course they had 106 applications and accepted 86 people. Apparently the applications often start rolling in on Christmas Day as prospective students make the most of a Christmas present!

Margaret already has a batch of people accepted for Course 6 who decided to start as from Course 7. She's also got a batch of applications which have already been received for assessment for the next course. (For further details see the end of this post or the SBA website)

What I found very interesting is that the Diploma Course has a very low drop-out rate. Which for a demanding course which is 27 months long is pretty amazing. Apparently students do from time to time need to take time out because "life" intervenes but they always seem to pick up the course again when they can.

What percentage of diploma students come from overseas?

Looking at recent course details Margaret estimated that around 25% of students come from overseas. A wide variety of couuntries are represented eg Japan, Sri Lanka, Italy, Austria, Canada and Australia.

Has the standard of work by diploma students improved since the course started?

This year 15 of the 69 students (22%) are graduating with Diplomas with Distinction. Their work has been exhibited at the Annual Exhibition and the level achieved is broadly equivalent to that of an RHS Gold Medal.

Margaret told me that membership of the Society is increasing all the time. Students who have completed the Diploma Course are certainly being accepted initially as Associates and then as Full Members of the Society. Their work is also being accepted for exhibition. So much so that this year, for the very first time, SBA Full Members have had their quota of works for display reduced from 6 to 5.

One of the tasks students have to do as part of the course is write an essay in the middle of the course. This may invite reflection on how botanical art from the past can influence or has influenced contemporary botanical art. In Margaret's view getting students to study botanical art from the past - for example at the Lindley Library or in the British Museum or V&A - exposes them to a rich body of work which will undoubtedly influence the standards of their own work. As regular readers of this blog will understand I was in full agreement with that notion!

How many SBA members act as tutors for the course?

Around 30 SBA members act as course tutors for the Diploma Course. Members are matched up with a module which suits their particular interests and skills. They're then able to provide expert feedback on all the coursework that is submitted. They're also available to support students if they run into problems as they try to complete the modules.

Will there be any more SBA Books?

I learned that there is to a new book for next year which is likely to be under the SBA Logo. The probably title is The Sketchbook of Mary Ann Scott. It will follow the progress of a Diploma student from the beginning to the end of her course - via her sketchbook. Last year Mary Ann - who lives in Italy - won The Special Award for Excellence as well as receiving a Diploma with Distinction. The benefit of the book for future diploma students is that it will demonstrate how excellent use can be made of a sketchbook while completing the course.

Details of the Diploma Course

A prospectus, list of assignments, details about starting dates of Courses, application form, fees and payment arrangements, are downloadable as a PDF file here or by contacting the Society.

Those interested in Course 7 to commence in January 2010 should register by completing the registration form attached to the prospectus. Applications for Course 7 close on 15 October 2009.

and finally......

I'd like to thank Margaret Stevens for making time in her very busy schedule to see me. I greatly enjoyed hearing about her career as a botanical artist and how the Diploma course has progressed since its inception. Her great enthusiasm for both botanical art and the Society is infectious. Her approach to botanical art also seems to embody the two characteristics that Richard Bell identified in his review of The Art of Botanical Painting - relaxed but rigorous! She's both a very easy person to meet and talk with but is also dedicated to the pursuit of high standards in botanical art.

A "Making A Mark" interview with Ann Kullberg

Colored Pencil Instruction Books by Ann Kullberg

Many people who start working in coloured pencils tend to come across Ann Kullberg and her work pretty quickly - I know I did.

Ann Kullberg is a self-taught artist with a degree in Education who has had a long-standing love affair with coloured pencils. Since 1987 when she first picked up a coloured pencil she has become an accomplished and award winning portrait artist as well as an author, a tutor, the publisher of a monthly e-magazine and a juror of international art exhibitions. She's also a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and won an award for excellence for Broken Rules.

Ann has written two books Colored Pencil Portraits (1999) and Capturing Soft Realism in Colored Pencil (2002) for North Light Books and has a third due to be published next month. (You can read a review of Colored Pencil Secrets for Success: How to Critique and Improve Your Paintings on Making a Mark reviews...... - see Book Review: Colored Pencil Secrets for Success). Her work has also been featured in a number of other books about coloured pencils.

As an educator, Ann also delivers workshops and has developed a website which provides a range of learning materials for people wanting to learn more about coloured pencils including online support, instruction CDs and videos and kits.

I've had cause to correspond with Ann a few times in the past few years since my first email which asked a question and got a very prompt and friendly response. She's always struck me as somebody who gets a really nice balance between working hard to deliver results and to help people learn at the same time as being very relaxed and great fun so that everybody has a great time. She certainly has a huge fan base.

1. How long have you been a practising professional artist and what helped you make make that leap to doing it full time?

I guess I became a "professional" artist around 23 years ago, when my work was first accepted by a fine art gallery with a fine reputation in the beautiful and artsy Oregon coast community of Cannon Beach. And although I have been making my living at art for over 20 years now, I can't honestly say that I have ever really and truly been a 'full time artist'!

Let me back up for a second in order to explain....I did decide to try to make a living at art 22 years ago when I found myself divorced with 2 children under the age of six, and one with autism so severe that I dreaded placing him in day care. A stay-at-home artist seemed my only real choice at the time.

Ann with her children at her daughter's wedding

Although I did reasonably well selling my art through galleries at first and then commissions later, I always had to supplement my income some how or other, which is why I said I can't say it's ever truly been 'full time'! At first I supplemented by cleaning houses while the kids were in school. Later I added to my art sales income by teaching art.

Eleven years into my career, and with the publication of my first art instruction book, my supplemental income came from more workshops, more classes, book royalties, my online magazine, and all the other online stuff I do now.

2. Some artists like brushes and others like pencils. Why are you a pencil artist?

That one's easy. Control.

Even when I fooled around with watercolor back in high school, I used teeny, tiny brushes and basically "drew" with them, meticulously.

3. Tell me about how you got into using coloured pencils

We were visiting my then husband's great aunt, and I saw this small drawing on her wall, but couldn't figure out what the medium was. Intrigued, I asked and learned it was colored pencil, but of a professional quality rather than the horrid school grade colored pencils we'd all used in elementary school.

Within a couple of weeks of that visit, I'd found Bet Borgeson's book, The Colored Pencil, at our local library, and had bought my first set of 24 Prismacolor pencils. The minute I tried the pencils, I fell in love and knew I was "home".

4. What was the impetus for your new book Colored Pencil Secrets for Success: How to Critique and Improve Your Paintings and why did you choose the approach you've used this time?

I critique one piece of art each month in my online colored pencil magazine, From My Perspective, and have done so each month for the past 9 years.

From feedback I've received over the years, it seems it is one of the more popular sections of my magazine, and I've heard folks say how much they've learned from them, and how often the critique of the month happens to be pertinent to what they are working on at the moment. So...I decided it might be a good idea for a book, since I am all about instruction and what helps folks improve their work. My editors agreed, so that's the story.

5. As an art tutor specialising in coloured pencils, besides writing art instruction books you also provide a range of other options for learning more about coloured pencils - from kits, lessons on CDs, video lessons and workshops to an online art magazine. Why do you provides such a range of approaches for learning and what do you see as the pros and cons of each of these options compared to art instruction books?

Every teaching tool that I've developed has actually come straight from a need some student presented me with, so I guess they are all different because folks are different and we all learn in different ways.

• A book is cheap, stays with you, can be read over and over, and I think you should start with my first book, if you're interested in colored pencil portraits. But a book is static and one-way.
• The kits are more interactive and can teach you so much about technique, especially if you're the type who learns by doing, instead of just by reading.
• The magazine and video lessons provide something for those who love their computers and feel very comfortable gathering information online, or on their computers.
  
• And a workshop? Well...nothing, in my opinion, beats a workshop, since it is all things all at once. You get to watch me demonstrate, you get to hear me go over and over key elements, you get to try it yourself, you get to get my feedback on how you're doing with the techniques, and you also usually get donuts and coffee! :-)

6. You've just started a new web directory Colored Pencils Central. What's the story behind this development?

Well, I just got frustrated trolling around the internet every month looking for beautiful colored pencil work to feature in my monthly magazine. One night, not too long ago, while trying to unwind enough to fall asleep, it just came to me that it seemed no one had tried, recently, to create a real, working directory for colored pencil websites and blogs, etc. It may not work. We'll see. I have nearly 300 websites listed at the moment, which is cool...but folks can submit their site if they don't find it already listed, and it may eventually turn out that maintenance is too much. But at least for now, there is a nice little central place to go to find a colored pencil pet artist, or abstract artist, or....

7. A number of coloured pencil artists progress on from coloured pencils to using pastel pencils and then soft pastels proper. Has that ever been a temptation for you?

Not at all. I don't even know how to explain it exactly....I don't really think of myself as an artist at all, to tell you the truth. I am just someone fascinated with what can be done with colored pencils. That's pretty much it. I was fascinated with the first little pale drawing I saw done in cp, and I imagine I'll die fascinated by what all folks are doing with this humble medium. I. love. colored. pencils. period.

8. Finally, how do you see your career as an artist (as opposed to a tutor) developing from here?

Oh boy...time for another confession.

I've never planned anything in my career in any way, so you can guess that I haven't any plans now, either. I do have dozens of gorgeous pictures of my ballroom dance instructors, and I would like to see what I can do with those, but I haven't tried anything yet. I'm letting them simmer in my mind/eye/heart/soul/simmering place. Other than that, I don't know. It's hard to make art when you're so busy trying to make a living at art.... and although that's sounds funny, it's really not. Ironic, yes...but true, I promise!

I'd like to thank Ann for her time in giving me this interview abd for providing me with a delightful photo of her family.

If you're interested in what Ann provides by way of art instruction I suggest you check out her books and websites. Also don't forget to read about her new book on my new blog later today - see Book Review: Colored Pencil Secrets for Success

Do please feel free to leave comments (below) on Ann's interview or messages for Ann.

________________________

UPDATE: I've taken the opportunity presented by the recent interviews with Alyona and Ann, plus book reviews and new sites to update my own information site - Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists. I'd noticed the same difficulty as noted by Ann relating to finding the websites of coloured pencil artists and had planned to do something about it - but now I'm going to be linking to Ann's new Directory instead!

Links:

• Ann Kullberg website
• Colored Pencil Central
  
• Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

A "Making A Mark" interview with Alyona Nickelsen CPSA

My very first book review over on my new blog is about Alyona Nickelsen's first book - Colored Pencil Painting Bible.

Alyona Nickelsen is an award-winning coloured pencil artist who was born in the Ukraine. In 1999 she moved to a new life in the USA with her husband Tom. She now lives in Aliso Viejo, CA.

Curve Appeal
12" x 13", Prismacolor on 250gsm White Stonehenge Paper
copyright Alyona Nickelsen / Watson Guptill Publications

In the last ten years she has started to use coloured pencils on a professional basis, developed great skill in the way she uses them and achieved both recognition and success as a coloured pencil artist in the USA. Her art has been exhibited in more than 30 national and international shows and won numerous awards. Alyona is now a Signature Member of the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA), a Full Member of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club and a Juried Member of the International Guild of Realism. Her work has also been featured in leading art journals.

Last year Alyona started her own online Colored Pencil Painting School which opened for business last September.

As you'll see from her answers to my questions Alyona has been a very busy lady of late!

1. How long have you been using coloured pencils?

I have been using colored pencils professionally since 2002. However I have used colored pencils my entire life. My journey began when I was just a child and I then used them throughout my entire school life.

2. Why did you choose them as the medium for your artistic expression? Why did they appeal to you?

I have always been passionate about graphite and charcoal. When the time came to integrate color into my work I began looking around for my own perfect medium.

I tried oils, but due to some health issues, I cannot tolerate the smell. I had given a pretty good effort to acrylics and began seriously thinking about it when I stumbled upon a large set of colored pencils. This immediately brought back the only positive memories I can recall from the gray days of my childhood in the former Soviet Union. That is how it started.

I was (and am still) amazed at the pencil quality, the wide selection and the brilliant colors that are available to the modern colored pencil artist.

3. I’ve seen one of your paintings in person and was very impressed with the depth and intensity of colour you achieve. Your new book focuses on the ‘how to use odorless mineral solvents’ in some detail. How did you arrive at your technique?

During one of my wanderings in an art supply store I met a worker who was very knowledgeable about the store’s merchandise. She was kind enough to answer quite a few of my questions about different types and brands of art materials. I mentioned that I had difficulty with the smell of oil paints and she introduced me to Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits as a substitute for turpentine. This didn’t solve my oil problem but something on the label attracted my attention. There, I noticed a statement that OMS could be used with oil and wax mediums. I soon began experimenting and Gamsol remains an important tool in my art toolbox.

4. I find I much prefer dry media to painting with brushes. Given the painting emphasis of your work and the title of your website Brush and Pencil, are you really a secret brush artist at heart?

The brush is a good companion to pencil in my artwork. I frequently use a waterbrush to apply OMS in smaller and more intricate areas. However, this is not the only one way I use brushes. I love the control that dry medium provides you. But sometimes you need to bring more spontaneous elements to your work and, for example, apply a wash of ink or watercolor.

5. Have you ever tried combining coloured pencils with any other media?

Yes, as I already mentioned, I sometimes include ink or watercolor to achieve a specific effect. Recently I began looking into encaustic mediums and oil pastels as a new addition to my technique.

6. I’m not a fan of work which takes forever to complete. I remember once you got the same painting into two different competitions before noticing that the dates clashed. You decided to create a second work identical to the first. I remember you as being very confident that you could make the deadline for despatch – which prompts my next question. Once you’ve resolved the content and design, how long does it typically take you to create a coloured pencil painting?

When the composition and color mix solution are ready, the only factor that can affect the time of the execution is the size of the work. I would say that an 8”X11” piece could be achieved in less than a week.

7. The preface to your book talks about the journey involved in creating your new book. What was your biggest challenge in developing the book?

The biggest challenge was not letting the circumstances overwhelm me so that I could stay focused. The actual writing of the book happened after it was already fully formed in my mind. It was just a matter of putting everything together in organized manner and developing visual examples.

However, the sudden illness of my mom and her chemo therapy treatment put enormous pressure on me during that period. My parents don’t speak English and I was the only source of communication for them. I spent endless days in different hospitals with my mom, taking care of her and being her interpreter for doctors and nurses while I wrote on a laptop. There were many times when I had to gather all of my strength just to continue working on the book that I had promised to so many people. At the same time my dad needed me to communicate with my American husband, Tom, who doesn’t speak Russian and my son, who speaks Russian with great difficulty. This was an enormous challenge that meant non-stop talking for an entire year, switching back and forth between two languages, keeping all house chores and trying to squeeze in enough time to work on the book in parallel.

8. Which artist has had the most influence on you in terms of how you create your art?

I would say that it was not a particular artist, but the entire art movement, called social realism, had an immense influence on me. Looking at the framed pieces of Soviet propaganda I knew that I did not want my work to be polluted by the mind bending agenda of the communist party. I did admire the work of world classics as well as many Russian masters, such as Ivan Kramskoy, Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov and others.

9. Your life must have been very busy of late. How do you manage to balance creating art for galleries and competitions with writing books and teaching coloured pencil?

You are right, but busy is not the word – crazy is more like it. I work nonstop from 5:30 in the morning to 10:30 at night when I just about drop dead away into bed.

I have on average 40 emails per day to answer, check student’s homework, take care of the business part of my work including packing, shipping, mailing, bookkeeping, making phone calls, etc.

I don’t currently have time to participate in any juried shows. This year I didn’t even have a chance to enter anything into the annual CPSA show. The majority of my time goes to maintaining my school, communicating with my readers and, as a luxury, occasionally getting to work on a new art piece for my galleries or working on a commission.

10. What are your future plans for working with coloured pencils? Is there going to be a second book?

Absolutely, I am currently working on the second colored pencil book. Sorry, but I can’t disclose the details yet.

11. Finally, you’ve won an awful lot of prizes – which one meant the most to you?

The most powerful impact on me was not even receiving an award, but my very first acceptance in a national show. I remember my doubts regarding my artistic career were at a peak when I received this first proof that I was on the right path. In that regard I would like to say thank you to Beaumont Art League in Texas as well as Frank Gerrietts, a great artist and a former president of BAL.

Alyona's new book Colored Pencil Painting Bible was published by Watson Guptill in March and you can also read a Book Review: Colored Pencil Painting Bible on Making a Mark reviews...... today.

Links:

• Brush and Pencil – website of Alyona Nickelsen
• Watson Guptill Publications – Colored Pencil Painting Bible

Tina Mammoser - The Cycling Artist

Paintings by Tina Mammoser
currently in a featured artist exhibition at the Skylark Gallery, Gabriel's Wharf
for more details see paintings and galleries and events

Tina Mammoser has a talent for branding and being business-like. I've known Tina Mammoser online for some time now and we’ve been talking for a bit about her doing an interview for my blog. She recently reinvented herself as a new brand – the Cycling Artist – so I decided it was about time to provide some insight into who she really is. Below you'll find out about the focus of her artwork, why she developed her new brand and what was involved in its creation.

Those of us who know Tina also know that she readily admits to having a bit of an obsession with the business side of art. After the new banner logo for 'The Cycling Artist' you'll find what she has identified as being barriers to being creative AND organised and some of her tips for making time for making art - in Tina’s words edited by me. All quotes in this piece are by Tina unless otherwise indicated.

First some background. Tina was born in Chicago in 1970, always wanted to visit Scotland and managed to do her (non-art) post-graduate studies (that’s grad school to Americans) for 3 years in Scotland before moving down to London where she took up painting as a hobby. She started to take lessons with a local artist and became immersed in her tutor's creative lifestyle. It all took off from there!

The creation of “The Cycling Artist”

For any artist its's important to be able to talk about yourself and your work - even if it's always changing. '”The Cycling Artist” brand came about simply by talking about and presenting my last two years work at different shows.

Tina has been painting a variety of water-based subjects and themes in oils for a long time. Two years ago she started to combine cycling along the south coast with painting it back in the studio. She started when she took a bike trip along the Kent coast in snowstorms! She then developed her paintings of the sea when she got back....and then realised that she could combine three of the things she liked the most - cycling, painting and the sea – as an ongoing project. (See Follow my coast journey to see how far she has got and you can read about the process here and in the blogposts listed at the end.)

Having such a focused project has really helped me talk about my work to people - I now have an engaging adventure to share! The sea is also so near and dear to the British that the theme also seems to speak to everyone on some level.

An art fair visitor helped me with the brand idea. Having talked to me at a previous exhibition, when he saw me again he remembered “Ah yes, you’re that cycling artist”.

I realised then that I had a story/presentation that was effective and memorable and a potential gimmick. At about the same time Alyson Stanfield was discussing the importance of better story-telling on her ArtBiz blog and highlighting the importance of a good website design. It just all fell into place.

The first thing I branded was my blog – it was simpler to tackle and slightly separate from my general promotional materials and official website. To further define the brand with a domain I purchased thecyclingartist.com and forwarded it directly to the blog. I reworked my artist statement and CV too. It didn’t take long for me to see the potential for rebranding everything.

With two shows coming up in October I’ve had professional giclee canvas signage made, relaunched my website and am purchasing large printed patches to velcro to my bike bags for advertising when I’m out doing the actual cycling! That is where something like ‘thecyclingartist.com’ domain works better than my regular domain name – it’s memorable and ties in with what people are seeing as I zip past or sit drawing on the beach.

Being creative AND business-like: what gets in the way

Being business-like means Tina has identified what are the sort of things which can get in the way of her painting if she lets them. These include:

• Getting started
• Getting distracted
• Short attention span
• Clutter
• Spending too much time on activities like blogging, updating websites and making promotional materials!

Being creative AND business-like:
What works for Tina – and helps Tina work

Tina’s worked out what helps her work efficiently and effectively. Here are a few of her tips and strategies.

I’d never get around to painting some days if I didn't tell myself, repeatedly "Just do what's necessary"

• Doing what’s necessary involves avoiding approaches which are over-complicated or too-advanced. My advice is ‘do what works for you and what you will actually do’! Don’t choose a tool that feels like barrier for you or to getting the job done. If you truly hate computers then don’t use one for your accounting or inventory.
• I personally need a clean studio with white walls and limited visual stimuli. Palette swatches, art postcards and even just my extra supplies and mediums all need to be on one wall – preferably screened off - so not in my line of sight while working. (Obviously some artists actually need the opposite!)

The dance of avoidance upon arriving in the studio is inevitable - learn to see through it and begin
Ian Roberts

• If I have a problem getting started or feel useless I reread the chapter on distraction and avoidance in Ian Robert’s Creative Authenticity – it really hit home the first time I read it.
• Having a studio at home makes a big difference. My ability to access everything easily (computer, internet, paperwork, phone, painting, canvas prep) is vital. (However when starting out I very much needed the discipline of an outside studio!)
• I acknowledge my tendencies and work within them by varying my tasks during the day. My focus tends to last for about 20-30 minutes and then I move on to something else so I keep focused by actually allowing my focus to shift! I alternate creative tasks with mundane ones, computer with non-computer.
• I use a daily/weekly to-do list to make sure things get done.
  
• The list never gets smaller! I’m always adding new things as I cross some off each day. Each week I start a new page in my reporter’s notebook. Each night I put circles next to the priority things for the next day.
• On very bad days I find I actually need to strictly list my entire day in 15min intervals with specific slots for everything, including eating – this fortunately isn’t too often.

Some advice given to me by a business advisor many years ago is to remember that we never finish a to do list – it’s easy to get downhearted about not achieving enough in a day but in reality most business people might cross off 50% of their daily list. That should be considered a success.

It’s so easy to fall into a routine of beating yourself up about not being productive when actually you’d be more productive if you stopped for a bit and refreshed.

• Limiting my worktime and having a break helps a lot.
  
• As an artist I find I can just keep working, and I usually work weekends as well. So I now have an 8pm stop rule.
  
• I've recently discovered the benefits of an afternoon break, usually about 2-3pm in my case. Do whatever works for you. Stop and have a meal and get away from work entirely like any office worker would, go for a walk, have a workout, or meditate. I personally do a very cheesy Meditainment narrated self-motivation meditation, and I have to say I love it despite being very set against it at first. So now I visit a little Highland cottage in a thunderstorm when I need a break. And I don’t even have to cycle there!
  

Tina Mammoser's work is in private collections in the US, UK, Australia and Japan and is represented or exhibited regularly in London and the southeast. Paintings have also been shown in group exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery and with the Pastel Society and Royal Society of Marine Artists at the Mall Galleries in London.

You can currently see Tina's work in two exhibitions in London - details below - plus you have an opportunity to meet her on 12th October at the Skylark Gallery 1 or at the Prelude Art Event in Spitalfields from today and over this weekend.

Links:

• Tina Mammoser: website and blog
  
• Tina Mammoser - exhibitions
• exhibitions
• Featured Artist at the Skylark Gallery 1 – (see blog post) I will be in the gallery all day Friday 12^th October to meet and greet visitors and chat about the work.
  
• Prelude Art Event 5-7^th October (see blog post for directions) Free Entry. Fri-Sat 10am – 6pm, Sun 10am – 5pm. Spitalfields, Market Street, E1. More information at www.spitalfields.co.uk
• Tina Mammoser - the coastal journey
• From Shellness to Sheerness
  
• New Milton to Poole
• Folkstone to Beachy Head
• Margate to Sittingbourne
• Winter's journey (the very first bike ride on the coast)
  

Enrique Flores sketches everywhere!

Nepal
all images copyright Enrique Flores

Enrique Flores has a simply amazing collection of travel sketchbooks - some of which are now listed on my playlist of other people's travel sketchbooks on my new YouTube channel which focuses on travel and sketchbooks.

I think Cin Woods (Learning Daily) was the first person to put me onto Enrique's work - but until I saw his his channel at YouTube I had no idea how many sketchbooks he'd completed - and has now videoed. Enrique's username at YouTube is acuarelista.

Enrique has travelled to some very interesting places (Nepal, India, Cuba Morocco) as well as countries in Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal) and parts of his home country of Spain.

He produces an incredible quantity of watercolour sketches while travelling through a country. As you can see below his usual output is about 4-5 a day. I wanted to show some images with this interview and asked him for some sketches from Nepal which I found stunning.

Here's what I like best about his sketchbooks. Enrique's work is simple, clear and has huge impact. His sketches of landscapes and scenes are both big and typically well composed. He finds the big shapes in a scene and uses them well. Put simply Enrique makes pictures. He has a really good ability to leave a big empty space when that makes for an effective design. He leads you in and around the scene he's recording and also records small details and objects he saw. He uses saturated colour as required and I can't remember seeing anything which had been fussed and overworked. I like the way he attaches the small mementoes of a place - but without overdoing it.

I wrote to him and asked if I could interview him for this blog - as I very much like to promote travelling with a sketchbook and I thought we could all probably learn something from Enrique. So here's the interview - my questions and his answers.

What's your background in terms of training?

I spent five years at Fine Arts university in Madrid plus 2 years doing a Master in Arts Graphic Design at St. Martins, London. I worked in advertising (JWT) for a while before choosing the weird life of the freelance ilustrator.

How long you've been keeping a sketchbook?

I keep a day-to-day diary since I was 23 or so. Everytime I go on my travels I make sketches. My first one was a black and white Cuba on ruled paper, 1990

How do you manage to get so much done while travelling?

I consider myself quite lazy when travelling and I disagree about the quantity of drawings you think I make. I should do a lot more. None of them takes me more than half an hour and some of my travels are one month long. Anyway I´m OK when I do about 4-5 drawings a day. When I´m in ugly places I try to draw just to keep my hand working, no matter of the subject.

I use small sketchbooks for drawing people and writing and A4 for landscapes and architecture (as I said no more than half an hour sessions)

What sorts of sketchbooks have you have used?

Mostly Winsor & Newton A4, A5 and A6, 50 lbs. I know the paper is awful for watercolour but they have lots of pages. I have been using recently large watercolour Moleskines just to give them a try but I finish them in only five days (they have few pages because of the weight of paper). For a day-to-day notes and sketches I use ClaireFontaine A5

What sort of watercolours do you use/prefer?

I prefer Schmincke but for a long time I´ve used a plastic box of Winsor and Newton 14 half pans. It´s smaller and less heavy than the Schmincke metal box and more comfortable for carrying around.

What sort of brushes do you use/prefer?

Any brush is fine by me and lately I´ve been doing good watercolours with a flat brush intended for ceramics! I never use fine Kolinsky brushes as I´m very absent-minded and I lost them very often.

Where's the next trip?

Menorca, at the Balearic Islands after high season passes. I´ve been there already and it is a fantastic place for sketching. Great rocks and cliffs and turquoise waters.

....and which places do do you still want to visit?

I´m willing to travel in isolated and lonely places such as Patagonia and Tibet but I need at least three monts for doing it with no rushes and I´m still waiting for the appropiate moment.

I know I can't wait to see another Flores sketchbook. Please visit Enrique's blog and let him know what you think of his sketchbooks.

[Note: This post is also being posted on Travels with my sketchbook in...... ]

List:

• Enrique Flores 4ojos travel sketchbooks - YouTube
  
• Enrique Flores - blog
  
• Enrique Flores - website

Frank Kiely - an Irish artist in London

The Luas Picture 2006

53.5 x 78cm £250 unframed
copyright Frank Kiely

Frank Kiely is an Irish born Artist. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2002 and in 2006 became an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Print-makers. His work takes everyday streetlife as its subject. His prints tend to use graphic linework in black on white and he then picks out part of the subject matter in colour to to accentuate specific aspects of the scene or to tell a story.

After graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2002 Frank exhibited widely in Britain, Europe and USA. As a result his work is now in various private and corporate collections including BP International, Boyle Civic Collection, Clifford Chance, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Guardian/PMPA Insurance, the Royal College of Art and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.

You can see Frank's screenprints at the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers at the Bankside Gallery. Frank won the Print Quarterly Prize at this year's exhibition for Ox (see below).

Ox
Screenprint, 69 x 57.5 cm, £900 (only 2 left)
copyright Frank Kiely

Frank Kiely lives and works in London and I met Frank when visiting the Bankside Gallery and was greatly intrigued by his prints. This is an interview I did with him.

How did you get started with fine art printing and why?

Prior to Art College I did a portfolio preparation course which included a range of art subjects including printing. We did linocut, woodcut and screenprinting. I remember hating screenprint back then; it was time consuming and the fumes made me feel very sick.

In my second year at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology I began to to use printmaking as my preferred medium after being required to do some for an assessment. I then applied printmaking to collages & paintings I'd been struggling with in the studio. My collage works still appeared like collages but were now set together on one flat plane. I started to spend my evenings and weekends printing in the print room amazed at what effects I could get. This was the beginning of my love affair with printmaking.

Flower Girl at Covent Garden
Screenprint, edition of 5, 53.5cm x 70cm, £900
copyright Frank Kiely

Why do you print in preference to any other form of visual artwork; what sort of prints do you produce and why do you prefer this method?

When I used to paint I wanted to achieve seamless areas of flat colour. Screenprint is now my favorite image-making technique.

Screenprint is a technique where you build up areas of flat colour in layers to create your image. In the early stages of making an image I first make rough sketches, then I take some photographs. I collage all this together and draw it all up into stencils ready for printing. I love how it all comes together as I print colour after colour until I have a clean crisp finished screenprint.

What are the main influences on your work?

My daily experience of life is a big influence on my work. Everything from art, music and books to conversations etc. I'm a huge fan of many pop artists (Hockney, Paolozzi, Caulfield and others) and I also like impressionism, my favorite being Degas. I love collage based work from Dadaists to recent practitioners like Wangechi Mutu. Currently I have gained a renewed interest in the lithographs of Toulouse Lautrec. I've also recently discovered the work of Erland Hudson. I find her drawings so enjoyable with their range of mark making and in terms of composition.

What do you most enjoy about producing a print?

Everything - so much happens during printing.

Lots of my decisions happen at the printing stage. Since beginning to print, I've built up a wealth of tricks to help me achieve what I want under most circumstances. I usually like to print using large screens and large beds. The machines I use are quite impressive and demand some physical strength.

My favorite part of printing is probably mixing up the colours. I have great fun relating my colours to whimsical references other than the usual, cobalt, burnt umber, cyan, colour names. Sometimes my colours are references to childhood sweets, like bonbon yellow, choc a mint green and raspberry yoghurt. I think I must have a bit of that disorder (synaesthesia) where colour stimulates a sense of taste in your brain.

Which was the theme you enjoyed doing most so far?

I'm one of those people who really enjoys what I'm working on at the moment best. I guess it's connected to my 'don’t look back' philosophy. However, I greatly enjoyed all the work I made in the past at the time I did it, from my work on school to my current city work. I think at the moment I get particular enjoyment from my Gulliver's Travels work. I think Swift was a genius as the worlds he invented are an enjoyable commentary on the human condition.

What were the pros and cons of going to the Royal College of Art?

The RCA had its ups and downs and I do believe in the soundbite “The RCA experience” - you've got to do it to know what it’s really like. I met many interesting people there who've subsequently become close friends and mentors to me. I made a great connection to John Hewitt, one of my lecturers, and his ideas and imagery. We had many talks on 'what is art?' in the context of the 9/11 attacks. Eileen Cooper, another lecturer, always gave sound advice about future careers and, since leaving the RCA, I've found her advice extremely helpful. Alan Smith, one of the senior technicians in the printmaking department, gave me help and guidance in etching which will be with me forever. He taught me how to love and respect this technique of the masters.

What happens next? What are your aims? How do you see your work progressing?

Last year I was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and the 2007 Annual Exhibition will be my second RE exhibition.

In February 2008 Andrew Turnbull and I have a show at the Mark Jason Gallery. We both graduated from the RCA in 2002 and since then we've both been selected for many of the same exhibitions and some of our work is represented in the same collections. One of our big fans is Diarmuid Gavan, who will open the exhibition for us.

Current plans also include finding a gallery in Ireland that would like to host this show. I'm very keen to show all my Gulliver’s travels images together - and I also plan to produce more of these.

I will continue to broaden my audiences by exhibiting worldwide wherever I get the opportunity. I married recently and my wife graduates this year so we plan to do some traveling which might involve taking up a residency in a different city. I'm very attracted by the British school in Rome and hope to be selected to do a project there. I'm also interested in exhibiting in Japan. I'd love to show my work in Japan at the same time as soaking up everything Japanese. I'm very curious as to how this would affect my imagery.

Sounds to me as I may have just found a fifth artist who wants to know more about Japanese prints! ;)

Links:

• Frank Kiely - website
  
• Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Street, London, SE1 9JH Tel. 020 7928 7521

Sarah Wimperis: Painting the life, light and colours of Brittany

"Bonjour"
46cm x 55cm, oil on canvas, Private Collection
copyright Sarah Wimperis

I've been a fan of the work of Sarah Wimperis since I discovered her daily painting blog last September. Sarah lives in France and paints the light, colour and life round about where she lives in southern Brittany.

I'm going to feature some of her paintings and some of the new ways in which she's marketing herself today and tomorrow. What Sarah is doing is the sort of thing many artists can now contemplate. Here's a synopsis of an interview I did with.

I left Falmouth Art College in Cornwall in 1981 with my BA in fine art. In the last 26 years I've travelled a lot and worked as an artist full time. I've taught art to adults and children, had a mural painting company, and work as an illustrator. At the same time I've always painted, had exhibitions and undertaken commissions.

The illustration work keeps the bread on the table, the kids in college and a roof over our heads (very nice roof as well). I tend to do illustration work at night so that I can paint in natural daylight. One of the challenges of illustration work is always being creative to order - doing what other people want. I started the daily painting routine to force myself to do something for myself. It was great when people started to buy them (from her daily painting blog "The Red Shoes") and also the larger paintings that I do.

Breton Cottages
80cm x 90 cm, oil on canvas
copyright Sarah Wimperis

We visited Brittany for a good few years before moving here. I love the culture, markets, fest noz, standing stones etc, it is a very ancient and magical land. Where I live in Southern Brittany is a particularly beautiful part of Brittany.

I am the family breadwinner we wanted to be able to afford a house outright, no mortgage, it takes that worry away when you are self-employed.

Our five kids were all growing up, the eldest had gone to art college, the three middle ones were about to fly the nest and the youngest is such a self reliant easy lad that he would cope whatever we did to him!? Anyway a few life changing things happened which made us think that there really is no right time for anything and also life is pretty valuable so go for it and get everything that you can from it…so we did.

One of Sarah's recent initiatives has been to start making her mark on the video world - with videos about her work. Her video of Sarah's Grand Exhibition - December 2006 shows her work set out around her attractive Breton home and also of the mezzanine studio where she works. I was extremely envious of her set-up by the time I had finished viewing this! Do take a look - I think it gives a really good idea of the size of her paintings and their impact in a home.

I was discussing marketing with a friend who has a very innovative mind especially when it comes to the internet. We thought it would be great to have a virtual exhibition which all of your “cyber pals” could come to. My original plan was to wander around waving a glass of wine in front of the camera but we need to get a bit better at the whole thing to do that! Personally, I find it fascinating to watch people working so I'm planning more videos of me painting.

Tomorrow - more about Sarah's daily paintings and the setting up 'The Red Shoe Press' and her first book.

Links: Sarah has three sites, listed below. Her two blogs feature her red shoes - a favourite motif. You can see more of her larger paintings on her main website.

Sarah Wimperis Artist - main website
The Red Shoes - Daily Painting Project
Muddy Red Shoes - the every day blog
Sarah's Grand Exhibition Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAPFQyMzrTo
Towns of Art and History in Brittany

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