BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS

The title of this blog post I feel is the most accurate to describe this piece. Pictured above is not only my first painted portrait titled, 'Reflection' but my entry for the National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award 2011.

I can honestly say that this painting really pushed my abilities, there was even a point where I thought that this would be something that I would have to put on the back burner while I practiced using acrylics. I persevered and luckily got the result that I was hoping for, the piece even made a trip to Wales with me in order to put the time in to get it ready for the designated hand-in day.

I now await the judges decision as to whether my attempt will make it into the exhibition, I assure you I'll be keeping everything crossed.

Links

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National Portrait Gallery

BP Portrait Award 2011

BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2010

I visited the National Portrait Gallery yesterday in order to catch the 'BP Portrait Award 2010' Exhibition before it closes this Sunday (19th September) and what a truly inspiring show it is. As a creative who particularly enjoys portraits and realism within artwork this event really was tailored to my interests. The exhibition offers a range of styles and approaches towards capturing a portrait, with the winners and runners up of the competition clearly stated.

Above is a painting that particularly caught my eye, firstly due to the shear size of the piece and of course the detail is quite astonishing. The painting is just one example of the wonderful work of artist Jason Brooks whose website can be found below.

In addition to the award exhibition I spent another hour or so perusing the other floors of the gallery which holds a number of beautifully created portraits from various eras. If you find yourself around the Leicester Square area before the 19th the show is well worth looking at and with free admission it makes for a great afternoon.

Links

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Jason Brooks

BP Portrait Award 2010

National Portrait Gallery, London

HONOUR YOUR CITY/ CitID

I am really pleased to be able to share with you more about my previous post that depicted a small section of the above piece. The small section was of a painting that is the outcome of a commission from CitID.

CitID is an ambitious project aiming to gain global consciousness by giving a (type)face to every city worldwide; big or small, rich or poor, famous or infamous, well-known or unheard of.

I was asked by CitID as a resident of the Neath area to contribute to a project titled 'Honour Your City'. The brief was to capture the vibe of where I lived and produce a logo/artwork depicting why view on my area.

After brainstorming, sketching and researching my ideas of what I was going to illustrate for the project, I felt that the historical aspects of Neath would be the way to depict the town. Having spent a wonderful sunny afternoon walking around and photographing Neath Abbey Ruins I knew what the piece had to consist of.

The website is now live showing the numerous logo/artworks of everyone who was asked to contribute. However, submissions for this project are now open to the public. Click on the link below to visit the website and take part.

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Links

Stuart Whitton on Honour Your City/CitID

Honour Your City/CitID

View the original photo and additional images on Flickr

T.B.A

I have recently completed a small painting but unfortunately that is all I can really say at the moment, more will be revealed in the next couple of weeks. However, the image above is a macro shot depicting a section of the finished piece, if you would like to see some work in progress shots please click on the link below.

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Links

View the original photo and others on Flickr

2010

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What was a crumbled party hat from New Years Day has become the main influence of my first painting of the year. The concept of the piece is simply that last year has gone along with some personal doubts about my work and that I am hoping for a year of great artwork and opportunities.

Considering that I predominately use pencils to vent my adoration for black and white imagery this was a big change for me. I haven't painted in some time but after the experience of creating this image I am going to use the medium more often.

As always there are more shots of the piece on my Flickr page, take a look and tell me what you think.

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Links

2010 on Flickr