For sixteen days in June Surrey artists will be welcoming the public into their studios for the annual Surrey Artists’ Open Studios (SAOS) event taking place in artist’s studios right across the county. There will be 297 artists taking part in 180 studios, our largest event to date. As well as a chance to meet and ...
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Jenny (left) and Sophie (right) I am taking part in the SAOS and with just over one month to go and I must confess that I am feeling a bit alarmed. I’m not 100% certain that is a very good beginning for an article but as my intention is to share the ups and downs of life from an artist’s perspective, it really is as ...
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Camels casting shadows on the sand Who doesn’t remember that moment of seeing their own shadow? Maybe it was having Peter Pan read to us that nudged us into seeing it ‘attached’ to our feet and following our every move. And those early recollections of being in the warm bright sunshine - all happiness and light - ...
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The Art of Model Making - Just an idea! In the original 1897 version of Bram Stoker’s book ‘Dracula’, we are first introduced to the Count when Jonathan Harker is invited into his castle in Transylvania. He is described as a “tall, old man, clean shaven but with a long white moustache, aquiline thin nose, arched ...
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This month I shall continue the theme of brushstrokes as I am very hopeful that you find it interesting and an eye opener! I can do no better than share with you words from one of 20th century’s teaching luminaries - Robert Henri - an American artist/teacher and an outspoken advocate of modernism in painting. He ...
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Looking for crumbs that fall from a Rich Man’s Table Sir Edwin Landseer (1802 - 73) Last week I went to one of my favourite London Galleries - the Wallace Collection. It can be easily found on Manchester Square, just a few streets north of Oxford Street with Bond Street being its nearest tube station. The ...
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Earlier this month I gave to talk at the preview of an exhibition of work by six artists, and I was invited to be part of this mix. It is an exciting event, as is always the case when I step out of the studio to put my paintings on show and I talked about what goes on in the studio. This is where the shadow box comes ...
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Golden Eagle in hunting mode My name is Andy Ritchie and I live in Loxwood. As a hobby I am a woodcarver, specialising in wildlife subjects such as birds of prey, moths, butterflies, dragonflies and otters. I took up this pastime when I retired about ten years ago, and it all sort of happened by accident. After ...
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Last month I wrote about seeing beauty in unexpected places. This month I would like to share a painting that I recently bought. Firstly let me say it is a rare occurrence that I buy paintings. After all I have more than a houseful of my own, so I shall explain how and why . . . Walking down Guildford High Street ...
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Recently an old friend and lifelong art dealer visited my studio, René Gimpel of Gimpel Fils. It was a sociable visit as I know that his dealing activities are firmly located in abstraction, particularly of the English 1950’s artists and onwards into contemporary, conceptual and ‘cutting edge’ works. So I feel both ...
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