New Work

'The Wasteland,' oil and acrylic on board, 46 x 61cm

Yesterday I heard that the Llewellyn Alexander gallery (London) has accepted two of my submitted paintings this year. I was really pleased! Both are landscapes and a bit less abstract than my current work, but I submitted my photos, CD and documents with hours to spare, and was not sure if they would choose anything! I have shown with them for the last 11 years and it is always a highlight of the summer. The exhibition is well-known and called NOT THE ROYAL ACADEMY. It runs at the same time as THE ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER SHOW.

I have been very busy painting. I have quite a few new canvases and I'm including some of them in this post. This week I have worked on 3 more paintings. Spring always has this affect on me.

'March Paintscape,' oil and acrylic on board, 46 x 61cm

My book is getting some good comments from the people who have read it so far! I think that the best thing an author can hear is that someone did not want the book to end, and that is what people have been saying. This is the link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jagged-Green-Line-Fiona-Stanbury-ebook/dp/B00IIOX92Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395930907&sr=1-1&keywords=fiona+stanbury

I hope you might take a look. Though it is an e-book right now, I will be making it available in print very soon. As an e-book, it can be read on an iPhone, iPad, and Kindle device.

Old and New

'After the Long Hard Winter, it was Time for a Picnic.' Oil and acrylic on board, 30 x 45cm

Paintings don't always end up the way you expect! The above painting started as something else, but the band of white I was trying to 'fit' into the composition wouldn't accommodate my wishes. Sometimes it happens that forcing shapes is against the overall composition, so I had to give up trying to control everything, and  let the paint flow into its own identity. Any kind of insistence can be against your painting, as it can rule out other possibilities! I squeezed some tubes of paint onto the board, and began breaking the block, and as I was at the time thinking of sunshine and Picnics, it suddenly took this form. It's more abstract than my previous work, but I felt that the paint suggestions and title really worked. 

This way of working reminded me slightly of a painting from a couple of years ago, which I'm adding below.

'Terrain,' (Cyprus series) oil on canvas, 98 x 60cm

Again, the painting evolved structurally as I worked, and colours began to suggest worlds. This is mostly how I like to work, with paint and meanings overlapping.

The Easter holidays interrupted my work, as time became rather fragmented, but I have framed my painting to take up to the Royal Academy this Thursday, and submitted drawings to the Painting Center, New York. As I am on their Register of Artists, they email me about exhibition opportunities.  They want 'working drawings,' the kind that artists make either as compositional studies for a painting, or working out ideas for paintings. The brief was that these should not be finished works, just studies, and could include paint and colour. I often work from quick watercolours or pen drawings, either from my imagination or as a synthesis of something seen. My application took a long time, as the work had to be submitted on a CD, by post, and I'm praying that my fee (dollar notes) reaches the PC safely - I could find no other way to submit the fee, as they wouldn't accept electronic payments. Below are a couple of the preparatory drawings I submitted.  Competition will be huge but if you don't try, you don't get the chance!

'Study for Terrain,' gouache on watercolour paper, 11.7 x 8.3ins

'Study for Evolving,' gouache on paper, 11 x 8ins

'Study for City with Fountains,' pencil, felt tip and gouache on watercolour paper, 11 x 8ins
(Click on image for larger view)



The Wind Threw the Bags into the Trees.

'The Wind Threw the Bags into the Trees.'  oil and acrylic, 61 x 45cm

It's been a week of mixed activities. I worked on 5 new paintings, 2 of which are finished (the above is one of those). I made more drawings, exploring different ideas for compositions combining abstract and figurative elements from my environment and imagination. These drawings really excite me as they are a new direction, and glimmer with possibilities.

I applied to a gallery in the US last week. This particular gallery is one I admire, as I love the work they show, and I thought mine might fit (an important consideration). Several of my Facebook friends show with this gallery, though I did not use their names when I applied. I emailed 9 images of my work, with my updated CV and Statement. The next day a reply came, which I am taking in a positive way, being a very positive person! He said the work was 'good and strong.' and that he was fully booked, and would keep me in mind if any openings came up. My initial disappointment was eased by the thought that generally galleries don't make nice comments unless they mean them - I've had enough abrupt, outright rejections to know this! I know that the examples of my work that I emailed were ones I felt GOOD about, and while I may or may not hear from him again, this was a positive position to have applied from.

'Storm over Nicosia,' black paint on paper, 8 x 11ins, 2013

I'm applying to the Painting Center's open exhibition (New York), as the theme is one I am currently engaged with. They want examples of 'working drawings,' ones that artists make to examine ideas - drawings that may lead to a finished painting, but may also never be seen. I have a month to photograph my drawings, and send the CD to the US. Of course, thousands of artists will apply, but it's worth a shot. I'm aiming in wider directions, hoping to widen my network and opportunities. In April, I will take my painting up to the Royal Academy, for another attempt at the Summer Show, and by April 3rd I should hear whether I have been selected for the Creekside Open.

'The Wind Blew the Bags into the Trees,' was inspired by one of those sudden visual impressions! On March 10th I went by bus to get some hardboard to paint on, my stock of canvases being finished. As I stood with the hardboard, waiting for the bus home, I noticed the skeletal trees opposite had plastic bags snagged on them. It was an icy, windy day, the bags were snagged randomly across the line, and it reminded me of musical notes, and at the same time was quite funny.
(Click on images for larger view.)

Second Day

Yesterday morning I took this painting up to the Royal Academy for yet another attempt at the Summer Show. How many of us try hopefully each year, knowing that the odds are not favourable? I hurried through the Burlington Arcade, with its gleaming shop windows and neat little boxes of sparkling jewellery, pastel knitwear, expensive shoes in a variety of striking colours, and an aura of hushed exclusivity. I wondered where the other artists were, why no one was struggling with large paintings through the narrow walkway filled with shoppers.

It was the Second Day. I realised with a shot of panic that possibly most people deliver their work on the first delivery date. Do people believe that you have more chance if your painting passes along in the line of thousands on that First Day, while the selectors' eyes are still fresh and open to excitement? It's something I've always believed, but this year I was forced into the Second Day. As I reached the end of the arcade, and turned towards the Royal Academy back entrance, I noted the empty street. First Day delivery ensures a long wait in an ever-growing queue which frequently disappears out of view. Each foot of forward motion is wedged between interminable bands of non-movement. A sense of triumph follows the handing over of your work, and a quick exit passes the still-growing queue.

Yesterday I breezed down the long, narrow entrance to the Royal Academy, and unwrapped my small painting. Television cameras were there, filming an artist who was unwrapping a large canvas of purple flowers. As I left, small groups of artists were arriving, but the atmosphere was very different to First Day. The long queues seemed to emanate a sense of urgency and energy.

Afterwards I reasoned with myself that if one's chances are so small anyway, First or Second Day probably makes almost zero difference!

('One Among Many,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 41cm x 51cm )

Letter in the Daily Mail newspaper

This is the text of the letter I had published in the DAILY MAIL newspaper on Thursday, June 11th 2009, as the main letter on the letters page, along with a photo of myself and this painting:

'As the Royal Academy opens its annual Summer Show this week, thousands of artists across the country will still be nursing frustration at not being accepted. Like myself, they will probably be wondering why.

It was my 8th attempt. I entered an oil painting I felt quite optimistic about. I've been to many previous Summer Shows and have a fairly good idea about what gets in. My small painting, called 'Waiting,' was a metaphor for the way most people in life are waiting for things to happen. I am a practising artist, I've had many exhibitions, (and have work in 3 shows this month, including a solo show), but like many artists, I always hope for the day my work will hang proudly in the Royal Academy Summer Show. (The closest I've got so far is carrying a rejected painting in a bag around the exhibition.) While most artists realise that submitting work is like entering a lottery, we submit work year after year with a 'Maybe this time' attitude. We are lured by the promotional material that suggests there is a chance for us too.

Year after year, I see work by the same established artists, or artists I know of, artists whose style is known on 'the Circuit.' I wonder how many newcomers actually have a chance of a second glance as their work passes before the glazed eyes of the Selection Committee? Space dictates its own restrictions, but when a whole room is given over to a famous artist to curate or show his/her work, our chances dwindle even further. It's certainly not an even playing field, and each year I see many worthy and impressive paintings go on to hang in the excellent 'Not the Royal Academy,' at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery. Many times, as I wonder why a particular painting was rejected by the Royal Academy, I find this alternative show contains the more exciting work.

In my opinion, the Royal Academy Summer Show is an exclusive club. The Show seems to be funded off the backs of hopefuls, who pay their £25 per painting submission fee, and at the end don't even get a free ticket to see the exhibition. There seems to be no control or checking of the selection process, so the final decision once again comes down to the arbitrary likes and dislikes of a few artists. I would like to see a few members of the Public on the Selection Committee, to break with the traditional loop . Let's have some new thinking on the selection process!'