Three Exhibitions in December

I'm so pleased that I've just had a painting accepted for the annual Winter Group Show at the prestigious Linden Hall Studio gallery in Deal, Kent (UK). The above painting is called The Last Light and was inspired by memories of dusk as I travelled through Kent on trains. It is acrylic on canvas and 21 x 31 cm.

The WGS is on from December 1st to January 29th 2022. I will be showing with very well known artists, some of whom were my tutors at art school, such as Mali Morris, Clyde Hopkins, Alan Gouk.

At the same time I have 7 paintings in a large corporate show in office spaces at the Kings Hill village, Kent. These spaces are wonderfully spacious with great lighting, and I am showing some medium to large sized paintings along with several other artists. This exhibition will continue to the end of January too. More photos to follow.

Selected for Turner Contemporary gallery exhibition!

 

My painting COEXISTENCE (above) has been selected for the current exhibition at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, Kent. The exhibition is called OPEN and celebrates 10 years of this prestigious gallery with its wonderful exhibition space. My painting is large, 100 x 140 cm, and the exhibition is on from October 23rd to February 20th 2022. I am thrilled to be showing at this gallery!

This seems a really good moment to write my blog again after an absence of over a year due to personal circumstances. I have made a lot of new work since I last posted which I will now start to post on a regular basis! In December I will have my paintings in 3 exhibitions: The Turner Contemporary gallery; The exhibition THE WINTER GROUP SHOW, at the Linden Hall gallery, (Deal, Kent), and 7 paintings currently on show at the corporate spaces at Kings Hill, Kent (curated by Frickleton Fine Art).

The photos below show my painting in the gallery and a view of the gallery at sunset. It is situated next to the sea and I took this photo from the railway station as I prepared to go home. You can see that the gallery even from that distance appears quite large.

Two Current Exhibitions, London and China

'Landscape Poem,' acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm (2016)

On Thursday 22nd November I went to Gordon Dadds solicitors in Covent Garden, London, to attend a Private View of a group exhibition I was in. Though I have already mentioned this exhibition in my previous post, I'd like to write a little more.

Curated by Diane Soames, the exhibition displayed a wide variety of artwork from completely abstract to figurative. The building itself was amazing and the whole of the fifth floor was laid out like a gallery, with four rooms each containing artwork by an artist and the corridor and main conference room also displaying paintings. My paintings had very good feedback. It is always a surprise to see your paintings away from the studio and I take the opportunity to assess my direction and to consider where I would like to go from here. (Though it is never possible to say exactly where I want to proceed to, at least I can get an over-view of where I think are the most interesting, creative elements to pursue.)

'Mutianyu Valley Waterfalls,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 80 x 40 cm

I'm posting the two paintings exhibited and a view of the room they were in. I was unable to photograph the large exhibition areas because the PV was very crowded and you could hardly move! There was a beautiful catalogue, wine and canapes and I found myself chatting to company directors from major organisations in London. What was really refreshing was being able to discuss art with people who had a wide view of what art can be. They wanted to discuss things such as the meaning of colour and brush strokes, and some mentioned certain calligraphic aspects of my work that I had not noticed. I had a lot to say about my painting inspiration and how I want to translate my ideas into paint. (This is where writing a blog is such a positive thing to do - you get the chance to compose sentences about your painting practice and process and to constantly redefine where your interests lie, at that moment.)

My paintings

It was also really great to meet artists I did not know and to instantly connect with them via phone on social media! Three hours of chatting passed very quickly and then I had the train journey home.

The other artists were: Belinda Nathan, Polly Bennett, Leisha Jane Yaz, Jo Watters Pawlowski, Linda Pocock, Venetia Berry, Julia Stockwell Hamid, Hannah Luxton, Gill Bustamine, Gabriella Cynasi Willis, Rouhangeze Baichoo, Antonina Adamou.

Covent Garden

For those of you who live outside the UK, I am posting some photos of Covent Garden looking very pretty with Christmas decorations.

Covent Garden

As it is nearing the end of what has been a really hard year for me, full of ups and downs and my mother's death, I'm getting ready to start to create a whole new body of work in the next few weeks. First though, I'm off to Paris on the 13th December for the Salon des Beaux Arts.

Inside Covent Garden

Meanwhile, the 1st Dafen International Oil Painting Biennale (in the Red Cube Public Museum, Shenzhen) opened on Friday 30th November, at 10am. I was of course asleep as it was only 2.am UK time, but I felt so disappointed to miss the Opening. I had been invited to go but with several exhibitions coming at the same time it was too difficult to co-ordinate everything, (visa, ticket, etc). I am hoping that I will get some photos of my painting in the exhibition from artists who were able to go.

Covent Garden

On the way back to Charing Cross station

How I Finish A Painting and Some Thoughts on 'Perfection.'

'B Went Missing in the Land,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 70 x 50 cm (2018)

The posted painting is one that caused me so many problems! Some of my recent paintings have focused on creating a lot more open and 'quiet' areas but this one evolved quite intensely. In the end I decided to let it have its own direction and to consider it carefully for some weeks before making changes. Then a few days later a curator came to my flat to select work for a London exhibition and this painting was one of the works she liked! It just shows that artists are not always the best judges of their works. (She also chose another painting which I had been unsure whether to include in the selection! See below.)

'Landscape Poem,' acrylic and oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm (2016)

The paintings were exhibited in the offices and foyer of Gordon Dadds solicitors in Covent Garden, London, and the Private View was very well attended on Thursday evening with wine and canapes. The whole of the fifth floor was set out like a gallery and looked fabulous! (I will be posting photos of this event soon.) There was also a very beautiful catalogue.

Seeing your artwork on show always gives a new perspective on the work. It rarely looks the same as it does in a cluttered studio and I was pleased that it actually looked better. My paintings were set out in a white office with plenty of space between each one and the curator told me there had been very good feedback. I always find that a London audience has a wider knowledge of art styles and can appreciate the more abstract kind of artwork. I spent some 3 hours speaking about my paintings and my inspiration to people who really connected with my descriptions. I also took inspiration from a view of windows seen out of the large office window; different shapes and colours seen within each window.

On the way home on the train I was thinking a lot about my next body of work and about the idea of perfection. I used to strive for perfection but rarely does any painting ever meet my idea of this, or perhaps we fix our ideas too much on one specific route or how something 'should' look. Some paintings can seem 'complete' in their own terms; perhaps this is a kind of perfection. Most times there is a niggling part of the painting which causes endless re-consideration! As I often tend to get too obsessive about 'wrong' areas, it helps to start something new because this releases my fears and I feel unblocked. There is nothing worse creatively than feeling blocked.

'China Poem,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 70 x 50 cm (2016)

'Finish' is another concept which can block you. How do we know when a painting is finished? I can know with some certainty when the painting is figurative because inadequate areas will scream out for attention. But with abstract, which for me means expanding and exploring the language of paint, it is not always so certain or signposted clearly. Perhaps the best thing is not to think of these things, just to paint and let time be the judge. My husband has stopped me ruining many paintings by telling me to lay it aside for a while.

Four Exhibitions

'Stormy Day, Brighton,' acrylic on canvas, 25 x 20 cm

I was surprised to find that it is over a month since I last wrote anything in this blog. Time has once again been an issue and I wrote a long post recently on Facebook about this because I believe that it is a problem for most artists: juggling life commitments with earning money and family obligations, and trying to fit painting in between! I have found a way to paint 3 to 4 days a week but this calls for much planning and rigorous adherence to my schedule in order to get paintings finished and canvases stretched. It's also a case of developing a rhythm that works for you, and for me that means working between 4 or 5 canvases and also making works on paper or rice paper. A dialogue emerges between different images and mediums which I believe extends my ideas further.

Also, there is a chunk of time gobbled up by submitting to Open Calls - and I had work in three exhibitions last month and the two paintings posted are going to the Llewellyn Alexander gallery in a few weeks for their annual 'Not The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.' I received a phone call to inform me that these two Brighton inspired paintings had been selected. They are different to my usual style and approach but figuration has been creeping back into my work and I do not have fixed ideas of how my work 'should' look; I just follow its call!

'Bringing in the Canoes, Brighton,' acrylic on canvas, 25 x 20 cm

I have work in a painting and photography exhibition at the Crowborough Community Centre (Sussex) until May 17th, and also I had a painting in the annual Haywards Heath Art Trail last month, and currently I have two paintings in an Abstract exhibition at the Baker Tilly offices in Crawley (Sussex)

January's First Post

This is the poster for an exhibition my work is in this month. It is always so encouraging to have work selected for exhibitions in other countries, and to see the promotional material with your name on it! It feels like a good beginning for 2017.

I also have a painting in an exhibition in Singapore near the end of February. Below are the two selected paintings.

The Joy of Life, (selected for the Port Commune exhibition)

Fiona's-World, (selected for exhibition at the Momentous gallery, Singapore)

Saying No

'My Return to China,' acrylic on board, 30 x 25 cm

Somehow this year things have really taken off with my artwork, both in the work itself and also with the opportunities that have kept coming my way! I have tried to work out why this has happened. I think that my work has grown in confidence in the last 5 years. You never KNOW how to paint, you just get better at recognising the shifts in your work and learning to evaluate what works and what doesn't. The rest is fluid and you have to develop an awareness of where it is leading and to learn to see what possibilities are being suggested by the work itself. For me, it is a case of following the paint journey, and following the excitement of brush strokes and colour. When something works, it resonates as having meaning for me, even if I can't say why!

I have come to learn to listen to my inner voice and value it above all else. I know that what has meaning for me may also have meaning for others, but if it doesn't, then that doesn't matter because if I have resolved the painting according to my own rules, and in the best way I can, then that is enough. The inner, unadulterated voice is the key - it's your inner world and the reason you should paint - and you should never be swayed away from that core by some outside idea of how you should be painting, or changing market demands. 

'Autumnal Seascape,' acrylic on board, 30 x 25 cm

Being accepted for the 6th Beijing International Art Biennale, and being invited out there by the China Artists Association, really was very encouraging and helpful, and also consolidated a lot of ideas that were emerging in my artwork concerning brush strokes and colour. I felt a surer sense of my path, though within that path are always huge creative possibilities. I felt able to apply to exhibitions further afield, and I am currently preparing an application for a group show in New York. Of course, there is a huge amount of competition and I used to really get depressed when the rejection notices came back, but the cure for that is to send out 10 more applications. You don't then get time to mull over the whys of not being accepted.

'Fiona's-World,' (2) acrylic on board, 30 x 25 cm (accepted for Singapore)

As time becomes more limited, I am having to learn to say no. May and June are already full of commitments and in order to get work ready, and make sure I also have new work to submit for further exhibitions, I have had to opt out of the lovely gallery I am co-running with a group of local artists. I feel so sorry about this but it is now a time problem, and at a later date perhaps I can hang work there again (and do my one day a week shift). But right now with four events in June and some big paintings to finish, I need time to focus on a new series of painting.

There are always so many other things you have to do, and also things as mundane as varnishing work, signing it all, updating websites and various linked websites, and applying for more shows. The more one does, the more there is to do! But I do hate to say no!

Inundated!

'Fiona's World,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

There have been years when exhibition opportunities were less or I was rejected but this year I have found myself inunadated with opportunities and - as often happens to artists - it is now a case of making sure there is enough work to fill them all!

'Colour-World,' acrylic on canvas, 25 x 30 cm

Maybe it is luck from my Chinese astrological sign (I am the Year of the Monkey, and it is this year!) or perhaps my work just became better or fits the market better, but I now find myself with 4 exhibitions in June, a painting residency in China for the month of August, and another exhibition in Singapore in November. In June, I will have work at the Awe-Some Fenix gallery in Singapore, three paintings at the Llewellyn Alexander gallery (London) for the 'Not The Royal Academy' exhibition, and I am taking part in the South East Open Studios across Kent, and also will have work in the Tunbridge Wells International Art Fair. 

'Paint-Poem,' oil and acrylic on panel, 25 x 30 cm

In between organising work for these events, I am doing new work. Being an artist is much harder work than most people think because you have to juggle so much AND evolve your painting ideas, aiming always to improve your work. It takes a lot of focus and discipline.

'Fiona's World, 2,' acrylic on panel, 25 x 30 cm

Today I received an email that 'Fiona's World, 2,' has been chosen for the November exhibition at the Awe-some Fenix gallery in Singapore. It was only painted a week ago!

A Larger Arena

'Landscape-Meditation,' Chinese watercolour and gouache on rice paper, 35 x 34 cm

For this post I am going to add a selection of paintings. Colour brightens my day during these dark winter months and heralds the approach of Spring. 

'Somewhere Else,' acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

Painting on canvas will have to wait for a few weeks as I am off to Cyprus on Tuesday. On my return I will be working on some much larger canvases because I feel that my ideas about colour and brushstrokes need a larger arena. In Cyprus I will work on paper.

'Landscape-Meditation,' gouache on paper

I have recently sent out several applications for exhibitions and residencies. My favourite residency place in China is closing down and I am now applying elsewhere in China. The thought of working back there and exploring Chinese calligraphy is really exciting.

'Landscape-Meditation,' gouache and pen on paper

As well as national and international exhibition applications, I have just signed up for the SOUTH EAST OPEN STUDIOS, which will take place across Kent, UK, in June.

Once Again.

'Landscape-Poem,' acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60cm

Once again, we are almost at the end of another year! I have not written for over a month due to completing several applications, and work going off for a show. I've applied to the Beijing Biennale, which was a long, complex application as both a CD of images and photos (large ones) were required. Also, I am submitting work for a watercolour exhibition, and 2 weeks ago 10 paintings went off for a corporate exhibition in Crawley.

Looming ahead is the exhibition in Cyprus, in the third week of January. But for now, Christmas is less than 48 hours away, and I just put up our tree last night! Happy Christmas everyone. 

My final painting, for this post, is 'Homage to Glyn,' which was painted in memory of my mentor and dear friend, the artist Glyn Hughes, and memories of times in Cyprus with him. It is 60 x 45cm, oil and acrylic on canvas.

Summer's Passage of Colour

View of my patio garden from living room windows

My patio garden, view from top flower bed

I can scarcely believe that I haven't written this blog for more than a month! It has been a summer full of events, so much so that I didn't even plant my patio garden to its fullest glory - ultramarine blue Lobelia and Orange Dahlias were missed out.  I've just put in the final Geraniums today, spurred on by my impending trip to Cyprus tomorrow! But they will be something positive for my return and hopefully blooming by then. Though this blog is usually about my paintings, I'm posting a couple of photos of my lovely patio garden. This year it was the best in terms of colour and some of my friends noted that my paintings use similar colours! I spent 3 hours today watering Petunias, Busy Lizzies, Pansies, Violas (still in flower), and the wonderful yellow-with-red spots 'Monkey Plants.' My Fuschias are draped with flowers and my Begonias are just showing their red 'crowns.' I suppose I measure this year by my flowers because there were moments of frenzied planting followed by times when events took over and I had to hope the rain would nurture them.

It has been my busiest year for exhibitions - I have taken part in seven! Shortly after the SEE Art Fair ended, I submitted my entry for OFF THE WALL, The 9th Terrace Open. It is an installation-type show, which is open for only a day but has much coverage on the internet and Facebook. Every year artists from different countries send work for this show, which takes place on the walls of a piece of land in Hackney, London. Many of my American artist friends sent over work and I was thrilled to be showing alongside so many artists who I respect. I delivered my painting on August 2nd and met Karl Bielik, who organises the event each year. It was great to see actual paintings by my friends and I would say that of the 80 entries this year, I must know around 70% of the artists.

One of the walls of OFF THE WALL TERRACE OPEN.

Artists delivering work

'An Unveiling,' acrylic, silver paper, orange plastic bag, indelible marker pen and gesso on canvas, under glass

Karl arranging work on the walls of OFF THE TERRACE OPEN

The unique point of this show is that the works remain on the walls. Some have been there for 9 years. Not every artist likes to submit work that the elements will dissolve - and there were paintings I looked at and thought, 'What a shame, that is too beautiful to fade away!' But many works have stood up to the elements and are still there, either blazing away or flaking and warped. I decided to do two copies of my painting. Both are under glass, both have elements which will survive long after the paint has been washed away. I called them 'An Unveiling,' because the elements will slowly unveil the image. When I submit next year I will be able to see how my painting has survived, or not! 

On the tail of this, an artist-led London gallery accepted me for a two week show - the only snag being that the dates they offered were during my trip and unfortunately when I said I could not exhibit until late September, or October, the offer fell flat! But the fact they liked my paintings was a positive response.

New Work - New Opportunities

'A Journey Through Paint,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 95 x 54cm

My diary for this coming month is full. It is getting to the point where preparing work for shows, and doing all the admin work and website updates, social media updates, and all web-related, promotional admin is taking over from actual painting! But these two paintings are some of the recent work.

I have to deliver two paintings to the Llewellyn Alexander gallery (London) in May, for the NOT THE ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION, and they are still not framed. I am showing some work at The Art Pull gallery, in Tunbridge Wells (Kent, UK), in the middle of May. I'm entering a portrait for a portrait exhibition, which is a long shot as it will be very competitive. I haven't painted a portrait for a while and it was a very interesting thing to do. Also I have several applications for exhibitions pending and I am still planning a show in Cyprus with a friend, though currently we are looking for a venue.

'Paphos Walk,' (2) acrylic on canvas, 60 x 50cm

My work is still hanging in Camden Quarter (Tunbridge Wells restaurant), and every time I walk past the bright colours catch my eye. I think they catch everyones' eyes as they walk by!

I have also made a few updates to my novel's details and hope to get on with the sequel soon. The link is:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jagged-Green-Line-Fiona-Stanbury-ebook/dp/B00IIOX92Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1398699203&sr=1-1&keywords=fiona+stanbury

The Art of Showing.

As more shops and companies close daily, galleries too are affected by the economic uncertainty and it becomes harder in the UK to show your work, if you are still an 'emerging' artist. But I have begun applying again to London galleries, ever optimistic that I will find gallery representation. It has to happen very soon! I need homes for the endless stacks of canvases that we manoeuvre around daily. Our space resembles a labyrinth. I'm always saying to someone, 'Be careful, that picture's wet,' as trousers or skirts hover in front of lines of new paintings.

My work was viewed by an art agent a year ago, and in December she chose 11 paintings for a show in Crawley, at Gainsborough House, for DMH Stallard (Solicitors). I've begun painting predominantly on canvas (which I stretch myself) as they can be hung without framing, which is so terribly expensive and has prevented me from taking part in many shows. My agent had suggested I stop painting on boards, as she could collect canvases at short notice. She took the paintings that day, and hung them. The great advantage about this kind of show is that people in such a busy environment will pass your work every day.

My husband Thanos had never seen my work on show before in the UK, and we made the journey to Crawley with some excitement. One of my large paintings greeted us in the main foyer of the very plush, large office complex. As we wandered around, my paintings lined the corridors, decorated the large conference room, and were dotted around several offices. It was a perfect environment, and the lighting was great. Two other artists shared the space, but my work alone adorned that conference room.

The show was on for a month, and I agreed with my agent that next time she takes work, she will get a larger vehicle to carry my 2 metre canvases. Three huge, colourful canvases in the conference room would have had maximum impact.

(Photos: My paintings on show - Thanos with some paintings, the conference room, me in the foyer.)

Interpretation versus taste

Taste and prejudice are the enemies of creativity. As a painter I can't afford to 'hate' any colour or my options are limited. Through the act of painting, new horizons open and we follow where they lead, without self editing. The worst thing is when someone says 'I prefer it when you paint trees,' or 'Your flower paintings were so good.' Other people's interpretation of what you do grows from many sources, some relevant, some not, but how crushing it is when someone blocks the flow with a random remark. I've known painters who couldn't paint for days.

Recently an art agent collected 11 canvases for a show. I thought a lot afterwards about how others look at my work once it has (hopefully) become a separate world. Always there is the fear of how one's work will be interpreted - and of course, maybe I am deluded and in a creative cul-de-sac without realising it! (The fact that it is not an exact science leads me to many wobbly moments.) What amazed me was that she selected what I considered to be one of my worst paintings ever. ('Puddles in the Park.') I wondered what she had seen in it that I was unable to connect with, because of the tangle of aesthetic and technical questions in my mind.

I had deliberately used shapes and colours that challenged my visual comfort zone, and had been unable to unify them. I let the painting go for exhibition as perhaps when it re-enters the studio, it will need just a tweak here and there.

One of the exciting and eternally challenging aspects of painting is that there is no set viewpoint, no one way or fixed interpretation. But artists tread a fine line between listening, and closing our ears to unproductive interpretations when working.

Then there are the demands and evaluations of the market, but that's another post!

('Puddles in the Park,' oil on canvas 50cm by 70cm. 'Coastal Landscape,' oil on board 12ins by 24ins)

Admin versus Creativity

After much painting, erasing, and contemplation, and numerous cups of coffee, my commission is finished. I could have gone on longer, but felt that it had reached the stage where it conveyed the buzz of night life and multi-layered conversations that were the original impetus. It's a theme I love, as each brushstroke takes me back to my many night-time walks around Nicosia, and colours start to carry the essence of those memories.

The painting will be delivered on Saturday, but during the painting process my client was kept updated by the means of photos of the progress of the painting attached in emails. Modern technology can be so helpful for an artist and saves so much time.

Much of my painting day tends to be taken up with what friends refer to as 'Admin Time.' Perhaps there was a Golden Era when galleries sought out artists and opportunities dropped in through the letterbox each day. Now we have to be on constant alert for exhibition opportunities and the chance to showcase our work. This means signing up to gallery newsletters online, joining artists' databases, and constant networking (often on the internet) and putting your work on as many websites as you can find! It is time consuming and can be expensive, and of course there are thousands all doing the same thing. But what I love about the internet is how easy it is to enter other artists' worlds and make connections. My own practice has been greatly extended by sites such as Facebook, which allows me daily discussions with artists around the world.

('Nicosia Balconies at Night,' 120cm by 60cm, Oil and Acrylic on canvas.)