and the winner is...

The winner of the public vote, and £250 worth of framing, during the Broadway Arts Festival painting competition is Lindy Allfrey for her painting 'Lady in Red'. Congratulations!

Float mounted art on aluminium

This photographic artwork on aluminium with oil over painting by Charlie Calder-Potts, is float mounted on a 6mm x 50mm wooden sub frame, glazed with anti reflective glass, and a 6mm backing to provide support. The float mounting technique I use here is very strong and stable but also reversible.  

Frame from the archives

I made this frame back in 2003, but it is still one of my favourites. The artwork is thread, glitter, and paint on fabric by Heena Karson. It is stretched over foamboard, this and the inner gilded slip frame are glued to a piece of 'invisible' anti reflective glass. This piece of glass is fitted in the rebate of the inner bevel frame which is covered in black fabric. There is then another piece of 'invisble' AR glass between the outer gilded box frame and the material covered frame. Finally there is a material covered backing, spaced about 10mm from the inner glass, this and the way artwork and small gilded slip around it are mounted on the glass make them appear to be floating. The gilded frames are water gilded in palladium leaf.

Workshop painting has started

Visit from my first teacher

I had a surprise visit on Saturday from Norman, the framer who first taught me how to make frames. He is now retired and living the laid back life in the Lake District. Here he is talking to my Mum, and inspecting the progress of the new workshop.

Broadway Arts Festival lanterns

The 2000 lanterns hanging around Broadway look really good, my bad photo does not due them justice!

Teenagers art competition for Broadway Arts Festival

The theme for the teenagers art competition was titled 'Self', art students from various schools in the area took part. I thought all the work was very good. I especially liked a canvas in the bottom photo, (in front of the window), the one top left, of a young man in a hoodie. Really creative and interesting work all round.

Broadway Arts Festival competition results

Here is the full list of winners and highly commended entries in the Broadway Arts Festival painting competition

First place - Jane Lampard    

Joint winners of the under 25 prize - Bel Blackmore and Mel Thorn

Highly commended entries:
Lindy Allfrey
David Birch

Antonia Black

Mary Edwards

Ian Gibson

Lily Musker

Audrey Hammond

Ann Hulme

Maurice Juggins

Kevin Line

Annie Phelps

Natasha Sinclair

Plum Neasmith

Edward Noott

Stud walls are started

 

The stud walls were started today, this will be the office/reception room, where customers will enter the workshop, then behind this is a small tea room/kitchen, and in the corner will be the toilet. The reception room will be a good size, so I can have lots of frame samples on display, with examples of work, and a good selection of ready-made photo frames and mounts for sale.

Wall between two workshops

The partition wall in the new workshop was started yesterday, great to now see exactly the space I will have. The next few weeks should see it moving forward each day, with the partition walls for the office, tea room, toilets, and separate work areas going up, windows, doors, internal painting, and all the fittings such as electrics going in. I think it will now be the end of July when we move.

Toftathon

This week every bit of work bench space has been covered in a marathon of Sam Toft paintings, featuring the awesome Mr Mustard, Doris, and friends. Sometimes large orders can be a little tedious, but not when they are of such cheerful and fun pictures. These Tofties can be seen at the John Noott Galleries in Broadway.

Broadway in the 1880's

A fascinating display of photographs from the 19th Century, depicting daily life in Broadway is on display at Luckett and Son Ltd, in Kennel Lane, Broadway. The photographs also detail the many artists who spent time in Broadway during the period Sargent painted 'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose'.

The John Singer Sargent exhibition

Some photos from the art competition

On Saturday afternoon, the winners and highly commended entries of the Arts Festival painting competition were announced to a large crowd outside one of the John Noott Galleries, in Cotswold Court, Broadway. I will post the full list of winning entries in a few days. 

Workshop update

  

The concrete floor has been all but finished, just a small strip right at the far end of my part, and about a quarter of the other workshop still needs laying. The roller shutter door has been fitted.

Broadway Arts Festival starts tomorrow!

The first Broadway Arts Festival, celebrating the work of John Singer Sargent RA (1856-1925) and the Broadway Colony, starts tomorrow! So many people have worked tirelessly to make the festival a truly great event, and I am really looking forward to visiting some of the events over the coming week. Today I have been helping out at Trinity House Gallery, this is where the exhibition of over 15 paintings by Sargent will be held, along with work by many of his contemporaries and friends, such as Francis Davis Millet (1846-1912) and Alfred Parsons RA (1847-1920). 

I have been helping to unpack paintings, generously loaned from private collections both from here in the UK and abroad. Public galleries have also loaned paintings, with one painting from The Royal Academy (a beautiful painting by Alfred Parsons), and three from Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery. The Tate Gallery have also loaned two drawings by Sargent, and a nice young lady called Alex, who works there, came from London today to hang these, and to make sure the hanging and security met the Tate's policy on loaning out paintings.

This week I have mounted some paintings and photographs for the children's art competition (11 to 13 years old), and was very impressed with the quality and creativity of the work. The main art competition, open to amateur and professional artists, has a 'John Singer Sargent' first prize of £1000, there is a £500 young artist prize (under 25), and there is also a most popular public vote, the winner of this will get £250 worth of picture framing from me! 

Big frame is finished, now for the next one...

So the big frame is all finished, now its on to the next one, seen in the top photo, its bigger and will be finished the same as this one, gold leaf all over. The first one is for a portrait (will try and get a photo with the painting when I deliver it), the larger one is going to be a mirror.

Finishing the gilding

The water gilding on this big frame was finished on Tuesday 8th June, next for some light distressing and antiquing. I have been without a phone and internet line since early on Wednesday morning after a lorry, trying to turn round on the industrial estate, reversed into a telegraph pole. The pole was moved only a few inches but my phone line was snapped in the process!

The floor goes down and external painting begins

The gold goes down

Double sided illuminated manuscript

This very old manuscript page has writing on both sides. Usually if there is something on the back of a picture a piece of acrylic can be used instead of a backing, but in this case the customer wanted to be able to hang it both ways round. The back of the veneer frame was cut down on a table saw. On each side of the page there is a museum board undermount, then a double mount in gold and ivory, and each side is glazed with museum glass. These components are taped together, then the rebate of each frame is lined with cushioning foam tape so that when the frames are put back to back the sealed package is held in place and does not move around. The two frames are held in place with four strong magnets, which have been secured with Araldite adhesive in recesses made with a router. Four small dots of reversible adhesive at each corner add extra security. Finally the frames are finished at the top with antique brass ring hangers. 

Painting bole on a frame

I will be working on this frame for the next few days, it is prepared with yellow, pink, and red bole. I started water gilding it yesterday and hope to have it finished by Tuesday 8th June.