Fine Art Blog

News and Opinions on published UK Fine Art

  • Muhammad Ali (signed) portraits by his official artist Simon Bull

    London art gallery Picture Perfect Gallery has scooped a national exclusive and will be the first gallery in the country to sell new portraits of Muhammad Ali by British American artist Simon Bull. The portraits are from a series of works that hang in the Muhammad Ali Museum in Louisville Kentucky and are personally signed by Muhammad Ali. Until now they have only been exhibited in the USA.


    (Distant Thunder, original by Simon Bull – also signed by Ali)

    Gallery proprietor Russell said: “This is a real coup for both the gallery and the City, to have an exclusive UK exhibition of perhaps the most iconic man of the last century is fantastic”

    Bull, who in 2009 was commissioned to paint joint portraits of Ali and US president Barack Obama said: “Muhammad Ali is an icon, not just for sports fans, but politically, spiritually and culturally. His story is a noble one and one that reflects and represents the wider human narrative. His life has been and continues to be an inspiration to a global audience. Bringing a selection of these works for exhibition in the UK represents an exciting moment for fans and collectors alike.”


    (Simon Bull meeting Muhammad Ali & Lonnie Ali in their home)

    Others from the series are in exhibition at the Muhammad Ali centre in Louisville, Kentucky in the USA

    thank you

    James

    Links:
    The Muhammad Ali Educational Centre
    Muhammad Ali biography
    Picture Perfect Gallery can be contacted in the UK on 0845 644 7877

  • The Unilever Series: artist Ai Weiwei at the Tate Modern in London

    So the full title is ‘The Unilver Series: Ai Weiwei: Sunflower Seeds 2010’

    Phew! Underneath the cumbersome title is a work of great artistic merit & simply unbelievable human achievement, read on…

    It may appear that the Turbine Hall has been scattered with tonnes of Sunflowers Seeds but in fact each seed is a unique hand-crafted replica of a sunflower seed husk and has been hand made by small teams of artists in Jingdezhen, China to be exact.

    What also is breathtaking is that there are supposed to be 100 million of them!

    Artist Ai Weiwei invites us to look more closely at the cheap mass production the west may associate with China & the social, cultural & political implications of such mass marketed goods over the years.

    Finally it seems things are paying off now with China’s expanding wealth, will that effect your visit to the exhibition and how you reflect on it?

    These 100 million unique porcelain pieces form Ai’s latest sculptural masterpiece.

    Admission is free & runs from 12 October 2010 – 02 May 2011

    Links
    The Tate
    The Daily Telegraph
    www.visitlondon.com

  • Artist Paul James – Where Urban Meets Farmyard!!!

    Paul James was born and raised in Leicestershire, where he grew up with a natural talent for art. Encouraged by his parents, he progressed artistically & with the advice of his school teachers, went on to art college to study graphic design. Paul did not complete his course & instead began to sell paintings of vintage cars and neighbours pets…more on his artistic journey in a later post!


    ‘Up The Swanee’
    limited edition on paper & canvas by Paul James

    You may be surprised to hear that Paul James is also a self-taught artist, as he is so incredibly talented you may not necessarily link those two statements! Paul is known for his very realistic, almost photgraphic looking paintings of animals and landscapes. His artworks have gained him a big following in both the UK and overseas such as the USA & Ireland to name but two and it is not hard to see why. His uncanny ability to paint animals in fascinating detail and capture amusing poses & expressions has endeared him to the public.


    ‘Dave’
    limited edition on paper & canvas by Paul James

    Paul has had the amazing success and honour of being published by not one, but several different publishing houses during his career, which just goes to show his continuing popularity and the first class art he is producing. His art takes a great deal of time to paint & we can see this in his great attention to detail, the subtle colours in the animal’s coats & the way you can see each separate animal hair in places!


    ‘Kred Gordon’
    limited edition on paper & canvas by Paul James

    A little known fact about Paul is that he is also a very talented musician and composer, he has even released a CD of his music, as well as performing for live audiences. Now that is what I call multi-talented! Although, it would not be hard to guess that Paul is an artist of many talents due to the versatility of his art, the fact that he can paint a serious picture of a landscape on the one hand and then a humorous animal the next.

    Paul was previously published by Washington Green Fine Art publishers. New For Winter 2010 Paul is now being published/distributed by Demontfort Fine Art publishers…again we will have more on this in a future post!

    Thank you

    Jessica

    Links:

    Heres some tips on how to paint animals

    Click here to view animal painting demonstrations

  • Rolf Harris – New Collection for 2010 – ‘A Life In Art’

    How apt that it should have such a title as this: ‘A Life In Art’ no artist has done more to capture the great British Public’s attention over the years with art than him.

    From the 60s right throughout the 2000s and beyond, he has been a stalwart of British TV, from Rolf’s Cartoon club to the much loved Animal Hospital!


    (‘Self Portrait – A Life In Art’ limited edition paper and canvas print)

    Rolf’s desire to paint is clearly as strong as ever and on a personal note, I believe the images that are being published as limited editions are getting stronger and stronger as the years pass.

    His love of Elvis Presley also reappears in this new collection, & ‘Elvis Entertains’ shows the king at work during his 1968 comeback. No doubt Rolf wanted to get up there and do his ‘jeg the peg’ (jake the peg) routine lol!


    (‘Elvis Entertains’ limited edition paper and canvas print)

    Anyhow here is all the image information for all you art lovers:

    Trust – Paper Giclee 11 x 16 inches 195 -£495.00 Framed
    Trust – Canvas Giclee On Board 14 x 21 inches 195 -£595.00 Framed
    Trucks At The Old Barn – Paper Lithograph 14.5 x 8.5 inches 195 -£395.00 Framed
    The Sun Has Set On Venice – Paper Giclee 24 x 16 inches 195 -£750.00 Framed
    The Sun Has Set On Venice – Canvas Giclee On Board 30 x 20 inches 195 -£875.00 Framed
    Snow On Marshy Ground – Paper Giclee 30 x 15 inches 195 -£775.00 Framed
    Snow On Marshy Ground – Canvas Giclee On Board 40 x 20 inches 195 -£925.00 Framed
    Sketch Club CONTEMPLATION – Paper Lithograph 9 x 12 inches 195 –£295.00 Framed
    Sketch Club CONCENTRATION – Paper Lithograph 9 x 12 inches 195 -£295.00 Framed
    Self Portrait, A Life In Art – Paper Giclee 11 x 14 inches 195 -£495.00 Framed
    Self Portrait, A Life In Art – Canvas Giclee On Board 17 x 22 inches 195 -£595.00 Framed
    Road To Paradise Valley – Canvas Giclee On Board 49 x 19 inches 195 -£1,225.00 Framed
    Mist On The Thames – Paper Giclee 32 x 12 inches 195 -£750.00 Framed
    Mist On The Thames – Canvas Giclee On Board 41 x 15 inches 195 -£875.00 Framed
    Mending The Nets – Paper Giclee 18 x 14 inches 195 -£625.00 Framed
    Mending The Nets – Canvas Giclee On Board 24 x 18 inches 195 -£750.00 Framed
    Intuition – Deluxe Sculpture TBC 95 -£2,500.00 Bronze
    Intuition – Sculpture 12 x 10 inches 595 -£995.00 Bronze
    A Life In Art Book (2 LE Prints & Original Sketch) Book 260 page full colour TBC -£495.00 Book
    A Life In Art Book (& 2 LE Prints) Book 260 page full colour 1950 -£295.00 Book
    A Life In Art Book – Standard Book 260 page full colour Open -£55.00 Book
    Marina, Storm Clouds – Paper Giclee 20 x 14 inches 195 -£650.00 Framed
    Marina, Storm Clouds – Canvas Giclee On Board 25 x 18 inches 195 -£750.00 Framed
    Fishermen By Moonlight – Paper Giclee 15 x 21 inches 195 -£595.00 Framed
    Fishermen By Moonlight – Canvas Giclee On Board 17 x 24 inches 195 -£695.00 Framed
    Fire Escape – Paper Giclee 22 x 18 inches 195 -£750.00 Framed
    Fire Escape – Canvas Giclee On Board 27 x 22 inches 195 -£875.00 Framed
    Elvis Entertains – Paper Giclee 24 x 17 195 -£750.00 Framed
    Elvis Entertains – Canvas Giclee On Board 30 x 22 195 -£875.00 Framed
    Dry Country – Canvas Giclee On Board 44 x 27 inches 195 -£1,295.00 Framed
    Bush Sunset – Canvas Giclee On Board 40 x 28 inches 195 -£1,225.00 Framed
    A Much Loved Reminder Of Australia – Paper Lithograph 29 x 20 inches 195 -£795.00 Framed

    & for all your people who cant wait any longer to see Rolf, we give you a link to his ‘jeg the peg’ (jake the peg)…2006 Comeback 🙂

    thank you

    Steve

    Links:

    Rolf does Jake The Peg