I have just finished a private commission for a surprise 40th Birthday present. It was a great project to work on and loved painting every minute of it.


Thank you to Crystal for giving me permission to add this to my website......

I am currently working on private commissions until the New Year......

I have just finished my largest painting yet, it is another one of my daughter age three. She will be four soon and thought it would be good to paint one every year, already she has changed so much.  I have decided to keep it for the new year to show on my website, so here is a tiny preview from it....

Here are the tour dates for the BP Portrait Award 2011 exhibition:

TOURING

Following the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, the winners and selected entries will subsequently tour to:

Wolverhampton Art Gallery
24 September - 1 November 2011
www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk

Aberdeen Art Gallery
12 November 2011 - 21 January 2012
www.aagm.co.uk

A lovely review by artist and writer Katherine Tyrrell. I always look forward to her write ups and am so pleased she has mentioned my painting in this one...


http://makingamark.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-bp-portrait-award-exhibition.html#.Tlay_gCc22A.facebookweeblylink_new_window

Is actually really flattered to have been mentioned by Brian Sewell in his latest crushing review of the BP Portrait Award in last weeks Evening Standard.
After his rerview last year, I didn't think he would visit it again - see he can't keep away......

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/review-23975527-bp-portrait-award-2011-national-portrait-gallery---review.doweeblylink_new_window

Is very pleased to be in the August edition of 'Artists & Illustrators' magazine - in the 'Life Drawing' section.

The last few months have been very busy for Mark and I as we were organising our wedding which took place last month.  We decided to get married on the day of our 10 year anniversary together which went beautifully and thought it would be good to share a couple of photographs on my blog.  It was a small affair, exactly how I had envisaged and Lila Pearl was the perfect bridesmaid.  We all had a fantastic time.  

Since then my place of work has also moved further afield, so I am now cycling to and from work which has taken a bit of getting used to.  One good thing about it is that I get time to think up new ideas for paintings, and am now gearing up to start a new painting as soon as I can.

A huge thank you to Torie for our wonderful wedding cake and cup cakes, it was definitely the best fruit cake we've ever tasted.  Tories website 'Victoria & Florence' is beautiful and well worth a visit, just click on this link - http://www.victoriaflorence.com/index.htmlweeblylink_new_window

http://victoriaflorence.blogspot.com/2011/06/thea-and-mark.html?spref=tw

I am so pleased to have my portrait of Lila Pearl in here - 

During the past 20 years, over 20,000 artists have entered the prize, which has attracted over 3 million visitors. This new book brings together some of these portraits in a celebration of our enduring fascination with different human faces. This beautifully produced compendium features 500 paintings from many of the best figurative artists active over the last twenty-one years. Reflecting the diverse methods of contemporary portrait practice, the book includes a dazzling array of styles, from immaculate photorealism to intense expressionism. The BP Portrait Award is one of Britain's most prestigious art prizes, and each year nearly 300,000 people visit the exhibition based on the competition. It has acted as a springboard for many painters' careers, notably the prize-winners who have been subsequently commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to paint an eminent sitter. This book includes full-colour reproductions of many of those commissions - including paintings of Dame Helen Mirren, J.K. Rowling, Sir Michael Caine, Fiona Shaw, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Paul Smith and Dame Cicely Saunders. As well as these high-profile commissions, the book features an inspiring wealth of subjects: unflinching self-portraits, warm portrayals of children and babies,conversation pieces, studies of people at home and at work - a rich and varied selection of hundreds of faces by some of the finest portrait painters of our time. Published to coincide with the BP Portrait Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London from 16 June to 18 September 2011, and touring the UK in 2011-12. This book is a key reference work for everyone who is interested in the history of the award and its impact on the status of portraiture and figurative art in the UK.

About the AuthorSandy Nairne is Director of the National Portrait Gallery. He was previously Director: Programmes at Tate, London and is well known for his innovative television series and book State of the Art.

Please visit - http://www.npg.org.uk/shop/shop-list.php?sText=500%20portraits&x=0&y=0&showProductDetails=5115weeblylink_new_window for more information.