Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.....

At the beginning of July I bought myself a 3month art pass and started off by visiting the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition. I've not been in years and so loved it. I felt the work was split between 2 moods, the playful and funny, just like Grayson Perry who was the main curator this year and the romantically beautiful. See if you can guess the category in the work below : )

The photos dont really do them justice, they were far more beautiful in real life.

The birch trees above and the hydrangea below were amazingly realistic watercolour paintings.

 This rock face was also watercolour and had the most amazing colours. 

Who thought a bin bag could be so attractive : ) I remember the artist Chris Stevens saying there is always beauty in the mundane, so true!

Fiona Rae's work was beautiful and brought back lots of memories from when I first saw her work at the Sensation exhibition when I was 18 along with the other Young British Artists (maybe not so young now though!).

I fell in love with the prints of Norman Ackroyd whilst I was there, they reminded me of many family holidays to the coast. 

It was a great day out and definitely inspired me to enter next year. I love the soft romantic feeling of the paintings which is what I'm going to start working on next. If you're feeling like you've always wanted to enter and are a bit nervous, go for it and fingers crossed we get through : )

Second time lucky.....

On our first attempt to visit the newly refurbished William Morris Gallery we arrived on a Tuesday to find it closed!! Note to self: always find out opening times before going anywhere!! So for anyone planning on going it's open from Wednesday through to Sunday. 

The new gallery is looooveeeellllyyy with lots more of his designs, wallpapers and textiles on display, which are my favourite. There are lots of deep drawers below glass cabinets filled with a whole host of work in amazing colour combinations i've not seen before. It's like visiting the gallery for the very first time!!

It's the infamous Art Trail in Walthamstow at the moment and outside the gallery is one of Morris' quotes:

Inside is a lovely etching from Anna Alcock of Inky Cuttlefish, of her daughter in the pose of this years theme 'bestow'. 

The books in the gallery are an illustrators dream! The painstaking detail gone into them is amazing. Also on display is the working drawings alongside final prints, so it's really good to see how they changed parts that didn't quite work and shows that by developing your work is key.

Sections to keep the kids entertained.....

Grayson Perry's Walthamstow tapestry.....

 

The tapestry charts man's passage from birth to death, with references to consumerism, branding and advertising in Perry's quirky style. Offered as a tribute to Morris, one of his heroes, the tapestry draws on Morris's ideals and brings contemporary arts and crafts back to his home. The colours are extremely vibrant and pop as soon as you walk into the room.

For this years Art Trail i'll be at Queens Road Adult College this Saturday along with fellow tutors and students so if you are passing by pop in to see the work and say hello. Also for any of my students who wish to display and sell some work pop along at 10am to drop off your work. 

Hope to see you there,

Sharon