My Participation in the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale, Beijing, China 2019, Part Two

Coming in to land at Zurich airport

It is a month since I flew to China for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale and I've only found the time now to collate images for my blog, both for my personal account of my trip and also for several articles that will follow over the next few weeks with photos of individual artworks.

For this post I'm adding photos of my journey and the first day in Beijing. It has always been exciting for me because though this was my fourth trip to China (third for the BIAB) I simply love China! I've had a deep interest in Chinese art since I was 11 and spent many hours copying ink paintings of animals and landscapes from library books. I've also enjoyed Chinese films since I was a student.

This time I flew with Swiss Air and changed aircraft at Zurich. I've flown Air France and China Southern in the past and this airline was just as good.

Flying out over Switzerland for a 10 hour flight to Beijing

Though I took off during the day on 28th August, about 5 hours of the final part of the flight was in darkness. Here are a few photos of coming in over Beijing and landing at dawn. We seemed to circle for ages over Beijing and its suburbs and I loved seeing all the flashing colourful lights below. Then as a strip of eastern sky lightened to pale orange-red, we began our descent. We landed just as the sun was about to rise! It was about 5.15am LT.

Beijing at night

Touchdown at Dawn!

It took quite a while to get through Terminal 3 - the first time I've landed at this largest terminal - and this included getting a small train across the airport. Then I collected my bags and walked hopefully out to Arrivals looking carefully for the BIAB representative. She greeted me so sweetly and I asked her to take a photo of me in all my sleepless glory....

I felt worse than this....though very excited

We went out to the bus once everyone had arrived, about 10 of us, and some of the artists were known to me from previous trips. Then we went to Terminal 2 to pick up other artists. Finally at about 9.am we set off on the colourful journey to Beijing which took about an hour. I loved seeing the trees lining the route because there is a particular type of tree with leaves that sway in the breezes like pieces of glittering silver coins. None of the other trees' leaves appeared like shimmering silver and I don't know the name of these trees but they seem endemic to China. I will post a video of them another time.

Arriving at the hotel was quite chaotic because of the time of day. Lots of artists were already in the foyer and we found out that we could not check in till 2pm so it was suggested that we have an early lunch - 11.30 - and wait. I met up with old friends and found two Chinese ladies who I was thrilled to meet up with again because I had lost touch with them since the 2015 BIAB. I was approached by an artist from Chile who told me she reads my blog!

Here are some photos of the foyer area. It is a Theatre hotel, showing genuine Chinese theatrical productions, and beautifully decorated with great attention to detail, as everything is in China.

Part of the foyer

Artists waiting to get their room keys

Entrance to the theatre

When I went for the amazing lunch in the dining hall I met several old friends. Altogether I guess about 150 artists were invited for the 4 days though not everyone arrived at the same time or even on the same day. Some arrived that night, some had been exploring China for several days before coming to the hotel.

Entrance to the dining hall

Some old and new friends

Then I was able to get the keys to my bedroom and it was on floor 5, room 5071. It was a really large room with a huge bed and very large bathroom. Being at the side of the hotel I had a view across a street and I realised that this was the area I had seen from the aircraft as we came in to land because I had noticed shadowy blocks of flats and worked out our flight route from the position of the moon and direction. Every night aircraft flew in over the hotel area though not so low as to be noisy.

It was by then 2.30pm and I decided to sleep for 3 hours because I had not slept for about 48 hours - I had waited overnight at Heathrow on the Tuesday night.

 View from my window

My room

That evening our supper was at an early hour - 5.30-7pm - and I met many more old friends and was really happy to see these artists again. (I will be writing about the artwork of some of these artists in a future post.) Mobile phones and cameras never ceased to take photos....

Our first supper (I am 3rd from the left in green cardigan) with most of this group being artists I knew

After our meal a group of us went for a walk in the area around our hotel. (I was quite regretful that I did not know about the David Hockney exhibition that some of the artists went off to see that evening.) In Beijing there are areas of Hutongs, which consist of traditional old houses called Siheyuans with narrow alleyways.  I really like these old houses and a painting may come from this. One such area was just behind our hotel and we went to explore it. In the past the Hutongs were being destroyed but now some are being preserved as tourist areas because they have such a charm and give a glimpse in to other aspects of Beijing. I could imagine how Beijing might have looked centuries ago with a sea of these grey buildings and their tiled, peaked roof tops. Their brickwork is a very particular grey.

So here is a collection of photos taken in the small Hutong area we walked around.

A Supermarket

A street in the Hutong area

Typical Siheyuan - grey bricks and peaked roof

Siheyuan showing peaked roof

A small restaurant in the Hutong area

Entrance to the restaurant which was full of people

I said to one of my friends that the lighting on the streets in Beijing, the bright, warm colours and the whole lively atmosphere really reminded me of Nicosia. It is quite a different feeling to the vibes of streets where I live in Tunbridge Wells, Kent (UK). 

We took a few group photos before returning to the hotel really tired. I slept a few hours and then jet lag set in. I was not able to throw it off for the four nights and spent most nights watching people on the road outside my window, people cycling late at night, a large van cleaning the roads with jets of water, and the sun rise, while drinking jasmine tea. If I am lucky enough to go again I will take sleeping tablets!

I am the second from the left.....

And a view of our hotel, Qiamen Jianguo.

Stay tuned, more to follow!

My Participation in the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019

Speaking at the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale symposium

I returned from Beijing just under a week ago. It was an amazing trip, my third participation in the Beijing International Art Biennale (this was the 8th BIAB) and I met old friends and made many new friends. It has been such a refreshing experience in many ways, for my artwork, for the many conversations with artists, and as a learning experience. Seeing all the many great and diverse artworks is always going to extend your ideas about art and allow you to enjoy new visions.

At this point in time I'm planning to write a series of articles about the BIAB. Part One will include my personal experiences and Parts 2 and 3 will include articles about the exhibition. These will focus on showcasing some of the artwork by particular artists to give an idea of the breadth of this huge Biennale which this year included artworks from 113 countries.

For this post I'm attaching a photo of my speech at the international symposium on August 31st, and also a short video of my speech. The video was filmed by my friend the artist Rebecca Vincenzi. I will write more about my speech in Part One of my articles on the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale.

Finally, a photo of my painting in the National Art Museum of China and also one of me painting a Chinese landscape view with my ink on paper.

To be continued.

Standing by my painting 'Walking Towards a Shared Future.'

Painting with ink on paper from a high point overlooking Chinese landscape

The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019

Painting with ink on rice paper  in my studio in China in 2016

This will be a brief post because I'm on a countdown now to going to China for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale which opens on 30th August with 125 countries participating this time.

I've also been selected to give a speech at the international art symposium on 31st August at 3.30pm. I submitted a proposal for a speech some months ago and have prepared a PowerPoint presentation with high resolution images. I'm speaking about the ideas behind my painting which I painted specifically for the Biennale based on their theme 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.' (My painting is posted below). I have a 10 minute slot for my speech, and preparing the PowerPoint and images has taken up quite a bit of time recently, along with getting my visa, finalising many details for the trip, and all the many things you have to do before travelling. Consequently I have not been able to paint for over 2 weeks. Several new ideas are brewing in my mind but they will likely be tweaked by this visit.

I have been selected also to go on a sketching trip on Sunday, in the landscape, along with other artists, so may get the chance to work with calligraphy brushes on rice paper again. I think this will really refresh my work.

I'm going to Heathrow tomorrow night and have an overnight stay and then travel to Zurich at 8.40am with a brief stop and on to Beijing arriving at 5.15am on Thursday 29th August. This for me is the worst part because I hate flying! It will only be a short trip as I return on 3rd September but it will be fun to meet all the other artists, some of whom I may know from 2 previous Biennales. 

Keep checking this blog for my photos of the Beijing Biennale which I will post soon after my return.

'Walking Towards a Shared Future,' acrylic and oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm

An Artist's Insights in to her Themes and Sources For Painting

'After the Deluge, the Light Rose Over the Mountains,' acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

This is today's Facebook post:

TWO of my favourite starting points for my paintings are mountains and waterfalls/rivers. I like to use them to explore paint and an idea of space, in particular, to give a sense of the physical space we feel in landscape which is always so different wherever we go. This has fascinated me since I was a child and it took me a while to realise that the actual sensation of space and 'being' in the land is at the root of my abstract-figurative compositions. As a child I used to imagine myself dancing through landscapes and this is what I like to do with paint!
Both of these, from this year, are about being in landscape and feeling the elements and its changing nature, in this case mountains and flooding (which we have had a lot of in the UK), and they are paintings of hope because in the end the light comes through. They are also about the presence of landscape as a being in itself.

I find it really useful to keep thinking about my core values and themes, even if they keep changing, as they always do either step by step or through a sudden insight brought about by trying out a different process.

I would add to this that my work tends to have several areas of focus as I cast out my net to explore the elements I'm interested in. This sense of space is one of the things that has always enthralled me because my earliest memories are of journeys with my parents, often by car, as we travelled to visit relatives in Scotland or Cornwall. These tended to be quite long journeys and I sat quietly feeling the different 'vibes' that came from the land. 

'Three Escape the Deluge,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

I still imagine myself dancing through landscapes and landscape memories. I love that feeling of my own small size in relation to epic landscapes with huge mountain vistas, or being on very flat, open landscape where there is a certain factor of vulnerability. But the theme has widened recently to include the thoughts of environmental concerns, climate change and the eternal precarious aspect of being a human being.

I like to think that my use of paint - bold brush strokes, forms that suddenly appear, an emotional reaction to the paint - are all part of this dance and that I also echo Nature.

To be continued.

Resolving an Unfinished Piece of Painting; Process and Looking

'The Land was Alive with the Sound of the River,' acrylic on canvas, 80 x 40 cm

This painting went through many changes until I decided to let it stand. Too many unnecessary elements kept forcing their way in and what I wanted was to leave the green as a presence with incidents running across it like a river. So I erased pieces of painting to recover some areas of simplicity. The title refers to the way that I feel that colours have a 'sound.'  I always remind myself that there is rarely perfection, just a glimpse of something that has meaning and mystery and can be explored on the next canvas.

I'm sitting here with 2 canvases in front of me that I'm trying to resolve and glancing at them in between writing. I find that more and more I spend a lot of time looking at work, or I leave it for a while to be considered if I am not sure how to proceed. Sometimes I work over paintings very fast, destroying most of the colours and shapes until I find the forms and colours needed. These 2 troublesome paintings have been through several incarnations over the last 3 months. 

Below is one of them. I feel that I need to sort out the lower third of the painting and also the left side. I want a slightly more gradual transition of colour. One of the reasons I usually leave a problem painting for a few days is to get a more objective view of it. Just a few days away from staring at it obsessively can be enough to let the actual distracting parts stand out. Sometimes after some hours of working, I am too emotionally connected to see the work as a stranger might.

'Stepping Through Colour,' acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

Painting needs so much patience! Not every painting can take the same path; some arrive quickly and surprisingly, some can take months, and I've gone back to work even years later if something sticks out as irrelevant or wrong. I learn from all and constantly reassess what works and why and how to take the best elements from my work and try to extend them each time. I feel that it is like casting a net and pulling in different sparkling items which I then chose to keep or throw. 

This has been one of my busiest and hottest months! I've booked my ticket to go to China on August 28th for the Beijing International Art Biennale, as an invited artist (accommodation and expenses covered) and I have been shortlisted to speak at the symposium. I always told myself that if I ever got the chance to speak at an international event, I would bite the bullet and give it a go. My proposed speech is on the theme of my painting and also covers the theme of the Biennale, 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.' I timed my speech and it is just over 4 minutes. I'd rather it was short and to the point. In case I am selected I now have to prepare a PowerPoint presentation. 

'A Traveller's Story,' acrylic on wooden panel, 89 x 41 cm

Here is my most recent painting which is on a piece of wooden panel I bought very cheaply at a local store as it was about to be thrown! I found the surface really nice to paint on and experimented with thin glazes of colour over white and thicker, dripped colour. Transparent versus opaque. It reflects my feeling of being a Traveller through stories that emerge from the act of painting. It is also an example of a painting that I am very glad I stopped work on and left for a few days. I was actually going to work on it further but on second glance decided that was going to make it in to a different painting. So the choice was; do you want a new painting or does this actually say something? I felt it did.

Packing my Painting for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale

My husband helping with wrapping the canvas

For this post I'm including some photos of my large painting being packed for its long trip to China for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale (125 countries). I always become quite anxious about this preparation process, worrying 'Will it all go smoothly?' 'Will the van come on time?' and 'Will my painting arrive undamaged?' 

The narrow box with canvas inside and the end section ready to screw on

I ordered the box about 3 weeks ago and this time I made it narrower than for previous Biennales because I wanted to have less space to pack with materials. It worked out better because all I had to do was bubble wrap the painting and attach strips of foam around the edges of the frame to stop any bumping during transit. The canvas then fitted perfectly. 

I always need to have stock of bubble wrap, foam padding and brown tape available for exhibitions.

The box with labels

It all does take a bit of time because I also had to stick labels on the box and write on it, just to be sure! You can't really see from this photo but the box is huge - around 175 cm high, 135 wide and 6.5 cm deep. It was very heavy to carry up the stairs and then it went in to the van.

I sighed with relief as the van drove off!

The collection was 5 days ago so it must be well on its way now. Here is a photo of the painting. I framed it in a wide, off cream frame.

'Walking Towards a Shared Future,' acrylic and oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm,

The Biennale opens on August 29th at the National Art Museum in Beijing.

Sources of Artists' Inspiration: How I find Inspiration.

'Walking Through Colour,' acrylic on 300 gsm paper, 29 x 21 cm

I find my inspiration in many different ways. Firstly, Nature always inspires me; from childhood when I spent hours walking through fields and forests and making up names for the various spirit-worlds I felt I encountered in each place, to my current emotional connections with the land, I continue to find exciting sources for ideas in my artwork. 

Landscape is usually the starting point though not always. But as I am also part of Nature (!) I like to let my hand find imagery by allowing it the freedom to translate uncensored various aspects of landscape experiences and memories. They become a composite of emotional and physical experiences, a parallel for journeys. They are also journeys in paint, each brush stroke being part of my response to paint and changing imagery in my mind.

''Night Walk,' acrylic on 300 gsm paper, 29 x 21 cm

This week I began to make a series of small paintings on paper to gather 'clues' and elements for possible paintings. These small works always help me because I can play with forms and colours randomly and make changes quickly with thick acrylic. I have not tried to force a 'finished' painting, they are merely ideas.

'Lakes and Rivers,' acrylic on 300 gsm paper

So, I'm taking various landscape elements and forms that mean something to me and assembling them spontaneously to see what might 'work' as a larger paint 'poem'. I'm open to possibilities and once I start working on canvas, things may be discarded.

'Night Trees,' acrylic on 300 gsm paper, 29 x 21 cm

At the same time, to widen my creative 'pool,' I am also working on canvas between 4 different paintings. I think I see the small works as an enquiry in to possible forms that could then enter troublesome, unresolved areas of the canvases. Recently I have trodden a line between several lines of enquiry in new canvases, some more landscape referenced, some more towards paint and abstraction. 

To be continued.

'Mountain Trails,' acrylic on 300 gsm paper, 29 x 21 cm