Fine Art Blog

News and Opinions on published UK Fine Art

  • Artist Fabian Perez: painting shady images? definately amazing art

    Argentinian artist Fabian Perez is known for his paintings of shady-looking, mysterious gentlemen & evocative images of women. According to the artist his inspiration is due to his father, who owned brothels and was constantly being hassled by the Argentinian authorities.


    ‘Tinto II’ limited edition canvas by Fabian Perez

    Despite this somewhat rough background, his images are romantic, the subjects are beautiful & Perez paints them with equal parts of awe and respect. The casual observer would never equate the ladies with those that work in brothels, nor the men with those that frequent them – as of course the quality of the art speaks much louder than any ‘story’ behind them.


    ‘Tess III’ limited edition canvas Fabian Perez

    His style reminds me somewhat of the work of UK artist Hamish Blakely, especially his newer work, in that both enjoy showing subjects with dark backgrounds on the canvas, presumably to reflect nighttime or a low lit venue; both also paint beautiful Hispanic women almost always posed facing to the side or away from the artist, as well as men wearing trilby hats low on their faces, so that the face is covered in shadow. I admire both of their works in their own right.


    ‘The Last To Leave’ limited edition on board by Hamish Blakely

    I also find the sculpture recreations of Fabian Perez’s work very stylish. The ‘Man in Black Suit’ – Sculpture is my favourite, the detail in the piece is incredible: the folds in the clothing make it realistic and the pose struck by the character makes me think of Michael Jackson in his ‘Smooth Criminal’ video – in fact Michael is dressed in a suit with a trilby hat on, not a far cry from the characters we are discussing!


    Michael Jackson from his Smooth Criminal video

    Something you may not know about Fabian Perez is that he is a keen martial Artist. Perez says he gained many things through the discipline of Martial Arts & he uses it in his art, by clearing his mind through meditation before painting. For Perez, Martial Arts are not his hobby, they are a significant part of his life.


    ‘Man in Black Suit – sculpture’ by Fabian Perez

    Links:
    Argentina, Perez’s home country

    Argentinian nightlife

    Thanks,

    Vicki

  • Artist Nicky Belton – shes not all bras & knickers you know!

    Nicky Belton is a popular contemporary artist with a lot of influence from the textile and fashion industries.

    Her preferred mediums are handmade papers and bright inks, which she uses to create her Original paintings. This style may sound unusual but it matches her art perfectly. Her limited editions are then reproduced from these original works.


    ‘Naughty Little Number II’ limited edition print by Nicky Belton

    Nicky Belton is most well known and loved for her pictures of corsets and other lingerie, however she also paints cats, dogs and female accessories such as handbags and shoes. This means that her art tends to appeal to women a little more than it does to men but I have still heard men say how beautiful her art work is!


    ‘Corsets I’ – original artwork by Nicky Belton

    Her designs are beautiful yet a little bit saucy. Her original art with their intricate designs & colours actually matches the colour & feel of the paper well. The slightly creased, materialistic texture of the handmade paper gives an interesting look to the artwork and I don’t believe it would looks as good without it. I especially like her pictures of corsets with pretty designs of flowers embellished with silver paint. The colours in these pieces are more subdued yet opaque.


    Kinky Corsets I, limited edition print by Nicky Belton

    I think it worth paying that little bit extra for an original piece of artwork, after all, how could one not appreciate more the handmade paper and the hand-embellished artwork? Of course all original work is unique – so when a person buys a piece of her art there will never be another exactly the same & that is another reason buyers prefer them. I have heard several viewers say that if only Nicky actually made the lingerie accessories she paints, because they would buy them!

    Links:
    To learn how to make your own paper
    How to buyer Lingerie for your body type

  • Artist Lawrence Coulson – the UK’s most successful limited edition artist?

    We have not yet mentioned the extraordinary artist Lawrence Coulson in our blog, so I am going to tell you a little about him, his background and his art.


    Shoreline Fire, limited edition print by Lawrence Coulson

    Coulson grew up around art, as his father Gerald Coulson was a successful artist, painting mainly landscape and aviation scenes. However, Lawrence did not feel as adept at painting as his father & so never viewed art as a career choice, painting only as a hobby.

    His favourite medium at that time was watercolours but later his father persuaded him to experiment with oils instead. This he did, with much trepidation and soon realised he much preferred the results he achieved with oil paints. Eventually, Lawrence Coulson & other began to realised he did have artistic talent…


    Catching The Breeze limited edition print by Lawrence Coulson

    Coulson was working as a retail manager during this time and struggled with the exciting prospect of trying to become a successful professional artist or playing it safe and staying in his job. But the demand for his art continued to grow until Coulson had to choose between keeping his job or pursuing art as a full time career. Luckily for us, he decided on the latter and plunged into his new career in 1997, inspired by the comments of both his father and many others, including a restaurant owner who asked Lawrence to try selling artwork on his walls – & shortly after that Lawrence got his first customer!

    Coulson paints landscapes, and he himself states this is because he loves the British countryside & all the different atmospheres he discovers at different times, in different weathers and in different places, which in essence is what he tries to capture in his paintings.


    Moonlight Sparkle limited edition print by Lawrence Coulson

    In 2003 Lawrence Coulson won the Fine Art Trade Guilds award for “Best Selling Published Artist” which is a great accomplishment for a self-taught artist. Coulson has also experienced much commercial success and a large fan base & is one of the most recognisable artwork in any high street gallery. It is amazing to think that he was reluctant to leave his other job & become an artist in case he was not successful (he and his wife had a baby at that time) given the phenomenal popularity he has enjoyed.

    Today he is one of the most long standing & recognisable Artists working with Washington Green Fine Art publishers & the demand for his work has never been higher


    Freedom Is A Place limited edition print by Lawrence Coulson

    Thanks

    Vicki

    Links:
    How to paint landscape art
    English Countryside Images
    BBC Article ‘English countryside almost gone’

  • Australian artist Rolf Harris – Can you tell that im turning 80 years old yet?

    Just released are these 2 new limited editions by Rolf Harris for Spring 2009 & with just over 2 months until Rolf Harris’s 80th birthday on March 30th 2010, these are sure to be very special pieces.


    ‘Into The Sun’ by Rolf Harris

    ‘Into The sun,’ is a stunning lioness face study & Rolf captures beautifully the features of this most majestic of animals; stalking her prey or about to start a chase? the viewer is left to decide!


    ‘Uluru Sunset’ By Rolf Harris

    ‘Uluru Sunset’ is the second piece. Uluru, also known worldwide as ‘Ayers Rock,’ is the world famous landmark in Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park. To view the sunset there is one of the most popular excursions in the whole of Australia. With the rich warm colours, Rolf captures perfectly the scene in his trademark style.

    As is usual now they are released as (1) an on paper version, which comes mounted/matted (with its borders) and will need to be glassed and framed or (2) an on canvas board edition: these are of a higher print quality & are as near a match to his original painting as possible, these are designed to not be framed but not glassed.


    Rolf with his wobble board

    Demand for these is huge, own a part of art history and be a part of Rolf Harris’ s 80th birthday year by owning these stunning pieces

    Thanks you

    James

    Links:
    Everchanging colours of Ayers Rock on video
    Living With Lions, lion conservation group
    Rolf Harris to do a song with Dizzee Rascal & the Chemical Brothers for his 80th Birthday!