John Moores Painting Prize 2016

On Tuesday I went to Liverpool to see what events were happening in conjunction with the Liverpool Biennale and while I was there I took the opportunity to see the John Moores Painting Prize 2016. I submitted a painting to the John Moores Painting Prize last year but I was unsuccessful so it was really interesting to see the standard of work I was up against in the exhibition. While I didn't like or resonate with some of the artwork I understand why my work was not selected. I don't think I'm quite on the same level as some of the artists in terms of painting and concept but I hope to get there by the end of my final year at University. The John Moores Painting Prize is definitely something to aim for and I won't be put off from applying.

Here are some images of the work selected for the exhibition.

Michael Simpson - Squint (19)

Christopher Hanlon - Untitled

Selma Parlour - One, The Side-ness of In-out

Gabriella Boyd - Birthyard

Tristan Barlow - Truck Stop Swamp

Ben Cove - Freeloader

Graham Crowley - Blue Drift 4

Zhang Yang - OLD NEWS

Wang Wang - Corrupted Land

Film Photos from Cala d'Or

So Amy and I landed back in Leeds last Tuesday after an amazing, well deserved break in Cala d'Or, Majorca, where we enjoyed sun, swimming and seafood. We stayed in a cool little apartment which included a small kitchen area and access to a pool which was perfect for our casual holiday. It was my first proper sunny holiday and our first holiday together so we loved being able to chill out and do what we wanted. Every day we would cook up fried eggs for breakfast, relax by the beach, read a book, swim in the pool and then go out for an extravagant meal in the evening where we would try food like octopus and squid and we LOVED it! I took my Nikon FA film camera my Dad gave me last year and three rolls of film so I could capture snapshots from our holiday. I thought I'd share some of them with you here:

Parterre de Rois #4 - Artist Magazine

Parterre de Rois is an Italian-curated biannual magazine combining erudite and popular culture co-founded and co-edited by Molly Molloy and Gianni Tozzi. The latest issue #4 of Parterre de Rois is themed around Happiness and seeks to ask the question: 'What is happiness for you?'. High quality reproductions of emerging and established artists work are combined with interesting interviews and articles providing for a beautifully constructed journal. 

Upon discovering Caroline Walker was being featured in the magazine alongside a short interview I was very keen to purchase a copy. At the time I was trying to get hold of the issue it wasn't yet available through the PDR website and was only in two UK stores, both of which were in London - a little too far to travel for a magazine. I contacted Parterre de Rois directly to find out when the issue would be made available to buy online and I received multiple replies which were both extremely helpful and professional. I was very impressed with the high level of customer service and that makes me respect and love this magazine more than any other I've bought.

Molly let me know that their magazine was being stocked at MagCulture in London so I sent off for it straight away. I was super excited when I received my copy of the #4 Happiness and was delighted to find that Guy Yanai, an artist whose work I also admire, was featured in the magazine too.

As well as Caroline Walker and Guy Yanai, twenty-eight other contemporary artists are also featured in the magazine across the 224 coloured pages including Mark Wallinger, Jo Ann Callis and Chental Joffe. For more information about Parterre de Rois you can visit their website here and for a full list of the featured artists or any other past issue you can take a look in the online store here. As someone who struggles to read and concentrate on large amounts of text, this image heavy magazine is perfect for me and it's put together flawlessly. If you are interested in contemporary art and are frightened by the endless advertisements and dense sections of difficult-to-understand text in magazines such as Art Review I would encourage you to purchase a copy of Parterre de Rois, you will not be disappointed! I will definitely be buying their future issues!

Anna Valdez

Anna Valdez | Coking with Bacon | Oil on Canvas 

Anna Valdez | Laptop with Landscape | Oil on Canvas

Anna Valdez | Plants and Drawings | Oil on Canvas

I recently stumbled across the work of Anna Valdez, a visual artist with a background of anthropology and video who paints still life arrangements composed of various household objects. Houseplants, books, quilts, clothes and drawings are some of the reoccurring motifs that appear in her paintings and are enable her to 'understand the domestic sphere as emblematic of both personal and collective experience'.

Valdez's playful contemporary still life paintings really resonate with me because of her use of bold colours and cleaver juxtaposition of organic plant life and man made objects. Incorporating bright textiles into her paintings it provides a lovely textural backdrop for her twenty-first century arrangements. I really admire Anna Valdez's work and she has become a huge source of inspiration in my practice.

Made You Look - Documentary

Made You Look is an amazing documentary film about creatives working in the digital age. It discusses why graphic creatives are turning to analogue means of making work in an era when technology is booming.

I went to see a screening of the film at Hyde Park Picture House and afterwards a panel of five local creatives (including the director of the film and an illustration tutor from LCA) talked about the film and answered questions the audience had. I found the whole event extremely interesting and it was great to get different opinions from some of the top designers and illustrators like Jon Burgerman, Antony Burrill and Hattie Stewart.

The point of the film was to say that there is no real 'side' but suggests that analogue and digital techniques work alongside each other in harmony. We need both; we need technology to speed up processes, network and inspire us but we also need to know when to unplug, get into our studio and make something physical. There is nothing more satisfying than holding a print you've made, a painting you've created or a dress you've sewn.

You really do need to get the right combination of both worlds if you want to be successful in the creative industry and the film was a great reminder of this. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and where better to watch it than the beautiful Hyde Park Picture House.

Artists That Currently Inspire Me

Over the summer I have been collecting names of artists that currently inspire me in terms of the direction I want my art practice to take. I have been thinking a lot about what I want my art to become in my second year of university so that when I start again this month I have a path I want to go down. Doing this has really helped as I feel I have a focus and can get on and make some art rather than wasting time just thinking about it. I have done a couple of paintings and experimented with some ideas (which I will post about in the near future) but for now I thought I'd show you three of the main artists that I am currently interested in.

Paul Wackers

I love the colour, shapes and textures Paul Wackers creates in his paintings of plants and objects that he associates with personal internal anecdotes.  I admire how he combines both nature and object within a single composition that gels well together aesthetically creating an abstracted still life. I think his colour and shape is excellent and is something I really want to try and capture in my own work.

Kirra Jamison

Kirra Jamison's large abstract, gouache paintings really caught my eye because of their beautiful pastel colours and crisp, flat shapes. Jamison works with tape to produce those careful, sharp edges which is a way of working I really enjoy using.  

Tatiana Urban

Tatiana Urban explores modern landscape painting and I really love the colours and gestures in her work. The like how she combines abstract organic shapes with geometric shapes to produce a contrast in the paintings. 

Five Favourite Instagramers That Paint

I've been an Instagramer for way over a year now sharing my art for others to see, but what I love about Instagram is the never-ending stream of inspiration I get from it. I find it is such a great place to come across some fantastic artists ranging from Painting to Photography, Drawing to Fashion and Illustration to Sculpture, so I figured I would share some of my favourite Instagram accounts with you. Todays 'Top 5' (although in no particular order) are all painters that definitely deserve a quick delve into.

ANTONYMICALLEF

Antonymicallef is a contemporary artist recognised for his self-portraits composed of thick, opaque paint in a style similar to Frank Auerbach. His self-portrait series focuses on himself and the medium he works with using thick, overlapping brushstrokes to make up a dialogue of himself.  I love the raw fleshy colours he uses in his portraits as it looks like a vicious assault on the canvas that makes for some beautifully painted portraits.

DAVIDMYRVOLD

Davidmyrvold's bright, abstract paintings are inspired by the outdoors and landscapes, often with gut feelings taking place within them. The black line within his works can be seen as a reference to the veins of a leaf, with trees being a big influence in the paintings and titles of his works. I really enjoy David Myrvold's posts as they are vibrant, playful and a pleasure to look at.

NELOVINUESA

Nelovinuesa is a Spanish artist who paints beautiful landscapes incorporating flat, bright, geometric shapes referencing architecture and nature. He seems to combine thin, transparent and gestural brush strokes with solid tone to make up his compositions that provides for a fresh style of landscape painting. I love his darker, black and grey landscapes with bursts of vivid colours such as red, blue and yellow because of the bigger difference in contrast.

TED_COLLIER

Ted_Collier is a restaurant owner and fine artist who, first and foremost, paints for himself. Often adopting a Ouija board type method of working he uses materials such as squeegee's to find his compositions. The only thing he does properly plan out is his colour, using swatches to find the right colours that make him happy. I love his abstract, circular paintings because of the fluid gesture, but you can't really appreciate the size of them from the small Instagram squares on your iPhone.

TRAVIS_CHAPMAN_ARTIST

Travis_chapman_artist describes his work as 'art with a twist' and it is exactly that. His paintings often contain pop and celebrity culture themes in ironic situations such as Edward Scissorhands in a blow up lifeboat. His beautifully painted landscapes sometimes include intentional tongue-in-cheek additions to subtly mention current moments in the news. I really like his acrylic paintings because of the quality of painting and comedic value they have to share.

So that concludes my Five Favourite Instagramers That Paint post which are based on my current opinion. There are so many other great painters out there on Instagram, these are just a taste of the ones I personally love! What do you think of this selection and who are your personal favourites? I'd love to know what you have to share! Clicking the name of each artist takes you to their personal Instagram account and you can also find a link to mine here.