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Julian Schnabel: Self-Portraits of Others

Most of the twenty-five plate paintings by Julian Schnabel in this exhibition, produced between 2018-2020, were inspired by photographic sources and, especially, a cinematographic source—photo reproductions of well-known artworks, and particularly images of van Gogh paintings that appeared in the 2018 film At Eternity’s Gate. (more…)

Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair 2021

Explore, discover, and collect the very best in international contemporary original print with over 500 artists & leading galleries at London’s latest landmark creative destination.

Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair’s unique hybrid model of representing artists directly within a curated exhibition next to individual gallery booths, creates opportunities for emerging artists to sit alongside some of the most prominent international artist printmakers & specialist dealers, while formulating new approaches to contemporary printmaking . The rigorous selection process of our artist open call, selected by a panel of industry leaders, means collectors have access to only the highest calibre of original contemporary print. (more…)

Why You Should Join an Online Life Drawing Class

When the online classes are led by a tutor, they can give helpful guidance and tips throughout the session. It might be less hands-on than a session in real life, but some artists might prefer it to having a tutor looking over their shoulder! Not all classes are guided, and these can feel more informal, allowing you to take your drawing in your own direction. (More…)

Silverpoint: A Rare Art Form

Silverpoint, or Metalpoint, drawing (the two terms are often used interchangeably) is perhaps the most challenging of graphic techniques, and its practice is often limited to the work of specialists. However, it has been used to extraordinary expressive effect by some of the most famous and canonical artists in history.

As the name suggests, it is a medium that uses a thin stylus of a soft metal, most commonly silver mixed with copper – although gold, brass, and pure copper serve equally well. The pointed or round-ended tip of the stylus leaves no mark on a plain piece of paper, except to scratch its surface, but once the sheet has been given a preparatory ground, it will deposit a shiny metallic line.

During the Renaissance, silverpoint was one of the most commonly used mediums for young apprentices to practise their drawing skills before they advanced on to oil painting. Today, however, it is an almost forgotten medium, with only few contemporary artists practising it. (More…)

5 Reasons Why Artists Keep Sketchbooks

If you’re an artist and you don’t have a daily sketchbook habit, you may want to make time for it. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that taking time to draw in your sketchbook each day could increase your artistic abilities exponentially.

That said, many artists have trouble getting started with a consistent daily sketchbook habit, even if they love to draw. Some of this issue has to do with not knowing what to draw, but some of their reluctance also has to do with the “why.”

In other words, they really don’t know why artists keep sketchbooks, so they find their motivation lacking.

This blog post offers a little help for both of those issues.

Here are five reasons why artists keep sketchbooks.

Importance of light direction in the composition of a pencil sketch.

Apart from the subject, medium, and skill of the artist, many other factors are there that go into the creation of successful pencil sketch, one of them is the light direction while sketching.

How light reflects off of objects determines how we perceive them. Therefore, it becomes important for the artists to capture the light in a way that creates the exact illusion of what is observed in the drawing. (More…)