W O R K


F R A M E D


V A N I S H E D


D E L I V E R E D       


and


A C C E P T E D

I have been accepted to show one of my pieces in this years Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  The Summer Exhibition has been going over 250 years, the open exhibition has been filling the main galleries at Burlington Arcade every year since 1769.  Each year an artist is invited to set the show, this 2021 Yinka Shonibare is the chosen artist and him and a panel of artists, are working under the theme of ‘Reclaiming Magic' and celebrating the joy of creating art.

The show is around 1000 pieces of print, painting, photography and film, as well as sculpture, architectural works.   My piece is a 2-dimensional oil painting which I painted in situ last July, the summer 2020 lockdown. Every artist talks about a dialogue between themselves and their canvas and I had not noticed this kind of relationship with my canvases when I painted until I painted this one.  
It is called 'What Would Happen If I wasn't Here?' and is part of a series looking at identity. What it is to be a woman, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a homeowner, and home-maker. What do these titles mean and how they manifest themselves in our lives.

I have a few from this series and I will put them into an on-line exhibition on my website.

I am so bloody pleased.

love from today when all the hard work with sweat and a few tears feel worth it.

Victoria ​

July Moment On average the warmest month in England, July is known as both Picnic Month and Ice Cream Month! 

Great local ice cream parlours:
 Holy Cow in Seaford 
Latchetts Farm, north of Uckfield
Gelato Gusto in Brighton 

All words underlined are website links 

S U C H    E X C I T I N G    N E W S


I have been accepted to the final stage of this year’s Royal Academy Summer exhibition. I have never made it through to the exhibiting stage of this competition and it is high up on my of experiences and recognition as an artist, I am majorly chuffed to have got through the digital stage, I really really want this, keep routing for me.  

I am off to the framers and once the work is framed I will take the painting up to London on 9th August for the final stage of the competition. I find out on 9th September, I'll keep you posted but in the mean time I'll continue to walk tall with this feeling. I work hard as an artist and, like many others, need  recognition.  Recognition comes both from myself, from people artworks offered via postbuying my art and by getting through important competitions.  

  
I recently hung a self-portrait in a community space, opposite Farleys Farm in Chiddingly, Sussex.  It is from a series I did at the beginning of our first lockdown last year. As I unpacked it, I realised how each painting is like a full chapter dairy entry – they take me back to where, what and who I was at the time I painted them.  The self portrait is up for the month of July, if you are local please do have a look, the community space sells some of the best coffees in the local area. Open from 8:30 until 14:30 Monday until Saturday.

I realise it has been a year since I painted my first washing line painting, and the obsession with the subject comes and goes. I know this is part of my character, how I go about things. During the last year I have also painted my daughter Lucy, some pears in pairs, and apples. I have continued my exploration with the female and male body, where I have to stretch my skills on proportion and colour mixing, and each time I have different levels of success.  Of course, I want each painting to be brilliant but it just does not work that way. Each one has its own uniqueness but I cannot always see the brilliance, or whole picture, until it has been undercover for a while.

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There are many galleries open now, do remember that most of them are closed on Mondays.



Royal Academy London: 
David Hockney- (23 May to 26 September) if there is ever an artist who makes me feel good that the world is a good and happy place, David Hockney is the one. Think blossom and blue skies, rich colours and minim detail. 
Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch Exhibition (18th May - 1st August 2021) must go to

Tate Britain:
Turners Modern World (until 12 September 2021)

Tate Modern:
Paula Rego at Tate London (7 July to 24 October 2021) must go to
Yoyoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms (until June 2022)

Turps Leavers Show: ⠀
Thames-Side Studios Gallery Harrington Way, Warspite Rd, SE18 5NR @thamessidestudiosse18 Exhibition open: (Sat 10th - Sat 24th July)⠀⠀
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Yippee I am back at life drawing classes .  .  .  .

One of the most challenging aspects of being an artist is really observing what you see, and a good way of keeping this awareness up to scratch is by regularly sketching. It doesn’t matter what you sketch as long as you observe well. For instance, if you were sketching a person sitting opposite you, imagine taking a snapshot of them. By looking at this imaginary image, it is possible to learn where their hands join their wrists and where these hands rest on their lap, where their head sits – is it leaning to one side or bent forward? And their ear that is poking out of their hair, how big is this ear in proportion to their head? All these observations go towards making the drawing and they help to train the eye to draw in proportion. Nothing beats life drawing for training the eye. I am, and always will be, working on this, and it is a place of growth for me. Our eyes don’t lie but what happens is that our brain makes assumptions, so we believe that we are drawing the right angle or shape but actually the best thing to do is to truly look at what is in front of you. I spend much on my time while sketching telling myself to draw what is actually there, not necessarily what I want or think to be there. I continue to train myself in this way.

. . . via Zoom 
Sadly I am not back at drawing class in person yet, it is on zoom. Thank goodness for technology.
  







​SURPRISES
Give Such a Feel Good Factor 

 
It is with great delight that I can share these photos sent from Kazakhstan. If you remember, I ran a competition for subscribers to my newsletter to win one of my paintings. I really value my subscribers and wanted to say thank you for being alongside me as part of my journey as an artist. I am grateful to you all, whether your support is by purchasing my work, visiting my exhibitions, celebrating my competition wins, commiserating with me when I am not acknowledged, telling your friends about my work or just being there to have creative conversations, thank you.

Please take a moment to see the amazing place my painting prize has ended up. The winner is a very cultured and interesting lady, and she is going to put my painting next to a few masters of Kazak art.  I feel am deeply honoured and privileged.  
 

E X C I T I N G    N E W S


If you haven't heard of the #artistsupportpledge, I hope this introduction encourages you to explore and use it.  

ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE is a movement set up last year, in response to artists losing venues due to lockdown. The idea is to encourage artists to sell their work on-line – they post images and descriptions of their work under one umbrella on Instagram (#artistsupportpledge), the work cannot be priced over £200, and when an artist has sold work to the value of £1,000, that artist supports their art community by purchasing other artists’ work from #artistsupportpledge.
I tried this during its early stages and did not sell the piece I put up. I was discouraged by the failure but I now want to try again – so follow the link and you will see a small selection of one-off pieces.
I have set up a page on my website to give you a preview, and you can follow me on Instagram to find out when they will be available.

Do visit the #artistsupportpledge on instagram and see a wonderful range of artwork for sale – and hopefully you will feel inspired to start buying art – trust your instincts and buy what you love.