Fine Art Blog

News and Opinions on published UK Fine Art

  • Lawrence Coulson, the UK’s perennial favourite landscape artist

    Lawrence Coulson has been the UK’s perennial favourite landscape artist for more years than I care to remember & since 1999/2000 he has been in continuous published format.

    Being published continuously for 14 years is an achievement few artists reach, very often falling out of vogue but Coulson’s art has that certain je nais se qu that not only keeps his work fresh & vibrant but also makes his new releases highly anticipated.




    ‘Majesty And Mist’ limited edition on paper

    Looking to next month, we usually see a range of new releases by his publisher Washington Green Fine Art and we are hoping Lawrence will be amongst them, with wondrous new landscapes to showcase!

    I was impressed with his series of limited edition released way back In February this year: ‘August,’ ‘Come With Me,’ ‘Estuary Silence,’ ‘Majesty And Mist,’ ‘Shoreline Dreams,’ ‘You Are So Much More’ – they where spectacular. They highlighted the diversity of colours he is able to work with and also the printing mediums his limited edition prints ‘work’ on. (some published on paper and some onto canvas board)




    ‘Come With Me’ limited edition on canvas board

    Just to focus on the above image for a few moments, we can see why Coulson carries so much artistic magic in his hands. The warm ever changing colour of the glowing evening sunset set against the deep blue sea & in the foreground, leading up to the edge of the hill, we have grasses gently moving with the breeze, leading up to the majestic trees sitting silently and overlooking the horizon. Is this an English taste of paradise?




    Recent photograph of the artist from his facebook page in March 2013,
    yes even artists have to clear snow!

    Thank you

    James

    150+ Lawrence Coulson artworks for sale
    Washington Green Fine Art (his publisher)
    Lawrence Coulson’s Facebook page

  • Artist Peter Smith – Teaser artwork for upcoming New Releases?

    Thanks to some of our followers for sending us this news, favourite UK artist Peter Smith is experimenting with new ideas for his forthcoming series of limited editions:


    from Peter’s facebook:
    ‘Some more training I did in the background whilst creating the latest
    Impossimals. This time for metal, water and shines.’

    The picture added yesterday shows the artist perfecting his painting of metallic, watery and shinny surfaces and I think he is doing rather well!

    September usually sees a major phase of releases by the two dominant UK publishing houses for high street art: Washing Green Fine Art & Demontfort Fine Art and we hope to see, as usual, something new and creative from Peter next month.

    For me his most memorable change of direction was his ‘Lost Impossimals’ collection in February 2012 that saw Peter display Dinosaur-esque and hybrid type fanciful characters (his Impossimal characters crossed with animals) in a series of six limited edition prints and it proved a major hit!



    ‘Lesser Spotted Neapolitan Knickerbocker Glory’
    from the ‘Lost Impossimals’ collection

    We are very excited and wonder in what way his lovable characters will appear in his upcoming limited edition releases, all we know is they should have a good splashing of: water, metal & shiny surfaces!…Peter you don’t give much away!

    thank you

    James

    The Lost Impossimals collection
    Demontfort Fine Art
    Peter Smith on Facebook

  • ‘Museum Of The Year 2013’ prize is awarded to the William Morris Gallery of Walthamstow, East London, UK

    http://www.fineartblog.co.uk/?p=713

    The William Morris Gallery (a museum) in Walthamstow has been awarded the Museum Of The Year 2013 by the Arts Fund, beating some very worthy competition and benefiting from a huge financial donation.


    Art Fund Logo

    This is good news in what has been a tense few years for Museums & local areas of historic interest with the Coalition government’s austerity measures resulting in cuts in local funding in these key areas. The relaunched gallery opened 10 months and is a shinning beacon in the borough for the arts and it is committed to promoting Morris’s legacy and life achievements.

    William Morris (1834-1896) was a man of immense achievement and talent: a textile designer, writer, poet, artist, a socialist and hugely influential in a number of fields. He was a founding member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, The Kelmscott Publishing Press, The Socialist League, as well as being a key figure in both the Arts & Crafts Movement & the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.


    Photograph of William Morris, 1887

    Awarded yearly by the Arts Fund the prize rewards innovation in UK gallery & museums as well the creativity used in bringing artwork to life, in the previous year. As well as the main £100K prize the additional Clore prize is also jointly awarded, which allows £10K to promote learning schemes and will benefit the local community. Judges included: an MP – Labour MP Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central), a Journalist – Sarah Crompton (Telegraph’s arts editor) & artists – Roberta & Robert Smith.


    Photograph of the William Morris Gallery

    Director of the Arts Fund, Stephen Deuchar, had nothing but praise for Walthamstow Council and the members of the public who have been tirelessly campaigning for the building. After facing a potential closure, a public campaign led to a £3 million pound investment (funded equally by the council and the Heritage Lottery Fund) in the difficult restoration of this Georgian Building. The gallery is a tribute to his life and works & how fitting that it is within the building in Walthamstow that Morris grew up.

    Thank you

    James

    Useful Links:
    The Friends of the William Morris Gallery
    Guardian Article
    Art Fund Announcement
    More on William Morris

  • Banksy News: An artistic experience like no other

    http://www.fineartblog.co.uk/?p=708

    So, you would like to see the artistic works of Banksy? Well, I can tell you where not to go. I wouldn’t bother with the National Gallery, and don’t even waste your time looking for them in the Tate. What makes Banksy such an intriguing artist, is the fact that you don’t quite know where to find his art. They simply just crop up at different locations around the city, so those of you that haven’t given Banksy’s works a thought this morning, may just encounter one on your commute to work, or whilst dropping the kids off to school. They may just unexpectedly make your day.



    Banksy’s stencil graffiti of a woman and her shopping trolley plummeting from a great height can be seen on the side of this abandoned building in upmarket Mayfair, London.


    It is this unknowing that makes his art so exciting. Those of you that are lucky enough to encounter one in person are left pondering…”What is it? Advertising? Or…could it possibly be a Banksy? It looks like a Banksy, but why here? A billboard on the side of a building in East India Dock Road?



    Banksy’s sharp attack on consumer culture took pride of place on the side of this abandoned building in East India Dock Road, Poplar -just outside of London’s financial district. It has since been removed.


    What makes a glimpse of a Banksy an artistic experience like no other, is that it’s an experience that you more than likely have lucked into to and an experience that you may not encounter again. For instance, those of you that may have glanced at the ironic attack on consumer culture that reads “Sorry! The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock”, will never get to relive the experience, as it has been scrubbed off the East India billboard already.



    Banksy’s addition to this ‘No Stopping’ sign in London is perhaps his commentary on the fast paced rat race that takes place in the Capital every day.


    Banksy’s un-institutionalised view on art is what separates his contemporary works from the likes of the two previous Brit-art heavyweights, Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin. Although he could quite easily hold major sell-out exhibitions at the likes of the Tate Modern (as Hirst plans to), it would defy the point of his art entirely. To contain his art to the walls of a gallery would destroy the Banksy experience. What makes his art so spectacular is that you don’t set out to find it. Instead, by chance, you stumble upon it in the most unlikeliest of places so the artistic experience takes place when you least expect it.

    Thank you

    Adam

    Handy Links:

    Banksy Unmasked

    Banksy – Image Archive

    Banksy Spoof – Hanksy