The Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2013 soiree. #Portrait2013.
Date: 17 June 2013 16:53:47
It's been a year. An extraordinary one, one that it's been hard to keep up with at times.
Latest on the list of wonderful art happenings to be involved in was the Sky Arts #Portrait2013 programme. It was a link up originally sourced from the fabulous Mr Benjamin Rabe who suggested they and I have a chat about something which didn't come to be (although I hope yet does some time in the future).
The Portrait Artist of the Year show saw thousands of hopefuls submit artwork in the hopes of making it through to a program built around the skill of live portrait painting, with four televised shows leading to a head to head for a lovely prize commission.
Saturday 16th June was the first televised heat. In order to start with a splash it was held in Trafalgar Square. I popped up with some materials in the knowledge that most of the set up would be early Sunday am.
And, unfortunately, it did start with a splash. June 15th - set up day - was extraordinarily rainy.
It was, to be honest, a huge shame. Everything was grey and looked smaller than it deserved to, because heads were down as puddles were avoided... The weather report for the following day was as bad, if not worse.
And then, the next day, I got up at five thirty to get a taxi at six thirty to get to London for eight thirty. That wasn't great. The students followed up later as I felt bad that anyone had to get up then.
Oh yes. The students. Them. Kids eh? Rude and lazy and work shy and so forth.
It's not like the students I'm working with are excellent, hard working, eager to be involved, excellent with others who they've been teaching in event after event, passing on the knowledge that we've all picked up. It's not like I can trust them with not only the college's tech but my own, not like we've all worked out socks off for a very amazing two years.
Kids eh?
Except they've been all of the above and more. The students I've had for the past two years will be my friends for the next... 100? We've done so much work together, so many art events, so much improvement in terms of their skills (if not always their fashion sense *cough*greenhoody*cough*).
That was a joke for someone I was extremely proud of when he got into a very cool College to progress to. I like the green hoody. That, amongst many things this year, makes me smile. The students I work with have become the best of their generation, I'm very pleased with where we've got to.
So I arrived with a couple of friends, ready to set up, at 8.40 (slight delay, sigh) and then the students arrived at 9.20 and then it was time to go. From 10 am to 6 pm they drew, painted, guided, talked, chatted, smiled, laughed and showed off the College and myself so brilliantly I smiled all day.
And part of the loveliness of the day was that we got to draw on the big tablets :) the SMART board interactive whiteboards which are all sorts of fab to work with and on. We have become tablet specialists over the past year and the IWBs are the biggest screens to play with I think we've come into contact with. As ever we owe a huge amount of thanks to Steljes who loaned us the devices to use on the day.
And best of all? It was sunny. Almost throughout (there was a brief 5 minute flurry of rain but I missed that). And then we had sun and it was lovely and sunny and fabulous... Inside and outside of the tents.
... and it was this busy throughout. For 8 hours.
Blimey.
It was like being a zoo animal. In fact at one point we were joined by Lizzie the Hawk which was also lovely...
Not only did we get to show off tablet art skills and apps but the students and I also had an impromptu masterclass from Edward Ofusu and Jake Spicer who both painted absolutely gorgeous pictures.
The day after? I'm still getting over it but oh boy, it was all sorts of amaze... More to come but onwards to the next tick on my list. I shall leave you with a picture of my students wearing orange beards :)
