Thursday 20 September 2012

£25,000 First Prize for Scottish Landscape Painting

Prizewinning landscapes in 2011
On Making A Mark later today, I'll be announcing the details of a major biennial art competition dedicated to painting the Scottish landscape.

The Jolomo Bank of Scotland Awards 2013 for Scottish Landscape Painting are due to be launched at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh later this morning.

Total prize money of £35,000 is available - with £25,000 going to the winner of the First Prize.  A further £10,000 is available to the runners up - so it's a prize which is definitely worth entering by anybody who qualifies.

Before you get to excited, you need to know that the competition is only open to artists who currently living AND working in Scotland

The images on the right are of the paintings which won prizes in 2011

For some background about the prize - see my 2011 post on this blog Scottish Landscape Painting and a £25,000 prize which highlights 24 year old Edinburgh artist Calum McClure who was the 2011 competition winner.  He'd only just graduated from Edinburgh College of Art when he won the prize.

Calum said the impact had been life-changing.
“Winning the Jolomo Award has changed so much about my practice. I have been able to focus entirely on my work, whereas before I was doing 45 hours a week as a chef. It’s a huge opportunity and I feel very privileged to have won.

Along with the monetary side of the award, winning has also given me confidence in my work. The thought that the judging panel had seen something in the localised nature I try to bring to landscape depiction is fulfilling."
How to Enter

Landscape Painting: 2013 Jolomo Bank of Scotland Awards - Call for Entries is my detailed overview of the Call for Entries for the Jolomo Bank of Scotland Awards 2013 for Scottish Landscape Painting - posted on my main blog Making A Mark

Tuesday 18 September 2012

The Limbourg Brothers - and "September"

Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry
Folio 8, verso: September
by the Limbourg Brothers
I always think it's a pity that we don't see more present day painters painting the months of the year.  Recording the changes in the landscape - particularly where farming is involved - generates a real understanding of the land and a much better sense of place.

You can find out more about the Limbourg Brothers in this fascinating video - which is some 53 minutes in length.  So grab a hot drink and find a compfy chair.....
  • It shows how the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry came to public attention.

    In 1948 the American photo journal Life published the twelve calender miniatures from the manuscript, which roused an enormous public interest.
  • It displays the actual book which contains these incredibly important miniature paintings of the medieval times
  • Authoritative experts explain the importance of the paintings and the way in which the Limbourg Brothers worked and created innovation in painting
Watch and enjoy!


Saturday 15 September 2012

Winslow Homer's Studio at Prout Neck

This is a slideshow of photos of Winslow Homer's Studio at Prout Neck in Maine - plus a Vanity fair article on the studio and his painting habits  It would seem Winslow Homer was pretty smart as to the timing of paintings to satisfy the seasonality of people's interests

Winslow Homer West Point, Prout's Neck

West Point, Prout's Neck (1910) by Winslow Homer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It looks as if tours of the studio where he settled in 1883 are about to start.  This is an extract from the Portland Museum of Art's website relating to The Year of Winslow Homer
Walk in Winslow Homer's footsteps.
The Portland Museum of Art is pleased to offer tours to this National Historic Landmark beginning on September 25.
Reservation details »
In addition, the Museum is having an exhibition Homer's Prouts Neck Home (22 September - 30 December 2012)
To celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Winslow Homer Studio at Prouts Neck, the Portland Museum of Art presents Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine. This extraordinary exhibition showcases 38 masterpieces that the great American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) created during the final decades of his life, when he lived and worked in Maine.
For more about Winslow Homer see my website - About Winslow Homer - American Artist