This month we visited the Affordable art Fair in Battersea Park, London and had a very enjoyable day, taking in a wide range of art – paintings, prints and sculpture by over 1000 artists. There was nothing controversial about any of the work we saw and this show was a good one for visitors wanting beautifully executed landscapes at very reasonable prices. There was also a large number of foreign galleries exhibiting and many others from areas of the UK not normally featured; maybe it was my imagination, but were also probably far less exhibitors from London this year.
I have also been following the BBC’s Big Painting Challenge which is said to feature some of the best of our amateur talent. It’s not one of the most successful or inspirational art programmes I’ve seen and I’m beginning to wonder whether the artificial conditions under which this programme is made, is good for the artists or viewers interested in art. The various challenges are the kind that art college students have to face over a long period but the stress of having to cope with them in a very limited time creates much pressure. The criticism from the judges, the chats with the presenters and having to perform in front of a camera is daunting enough and would be hard for even the most experienced professionals, I suspect. Some of the tips offered are quite helpful but for me the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Competition, which is to be followed up by a Landscape Artist of the Year series, is a much better proposition.
The major problem I have with high profile competitions these days is that images of an artist’s work have to be submitted on-line so even at the initial stage it is a lottery which works are accepted or discarded. Although the judges for the final stages are usually named it is not known who does the first sifting as most competitions have thousands of entries submitted using photography. I’ve just been through a difficult selection process myself having to decide which of my works are weak so that I can dispose of them due to lack of storage space. It really has been immensely difficult! Here are two photos of some of the works destroyed.
I have also added two new paintings of the coast at Villefranche on the Cote D’Azur and near Porto Venere in Italy to the PLACES Gallery.
