Affordable Art Fair Tickets

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Gail Brodholt

A large cardboard box arrived at the studio this week, full of tickets, leaflets and maps – it’s that time of year again. The Affordable Art Fair returns to Battersea Park next month and Half Moon Studio will be there again for the thirteenth (!) year.
And, of course, this is the start of the studio’s annual collective panicking – rushing to get some last minute editioning done, trying (and failing) to produce a workable hanging plan, dashing to and from the framers, etc.
Anyway, as usual, I have some free tickets for either the Charity PV evening (Wednesday 19th October) or the Gala PV evening (Thursday 20th October). The tickets will also get you in for free at any other time if you can’t make it on either of those nights.
I will be there for most of the time, if anyone wants to say hello – and don’t worry, you will be allowed to leave the stand without buying anything – all those rumours flying about last year were definitely not true….
Email me if you’d like one – first come, first served, of course….

Another Odyssey

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Gail Brodholt

Here is another linocut I thought I was happy with. That is, until I got to thinking about it. Below is the original version of One Way Ticket, of which I’d editioned ten and then stored in my plan chest.

Then I made the mistake of opening said plan chest and accidentally looking at them. I found I didn’t like that female figure at all and also, well, where are all the people? Tooting Broadway is a very busy tube station after all……

So with the help of my trusty repair kit, I added three more figures – a couple walking by, hand in hand, and a man striding into the other station entrance. I thought I’d just change the woman in the foreground too – make her hair longer and tone down her top – and add some floor tiles inside. Okay, that’s better….

Hmm – I’m sorry but it’s all so dark. I know, I’ll lighten the sky – make it daytime instead of evening. Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll change her top again…

I still don’t like her top though – let’s try a different pattern – and, well, why not make the sky yellow and the interior of the tube station blue?
No, sorry, I don’t like any of that and what’s more, I’m not sure if it’s not all too crowded now. Perhaps I should take out one of the figures?

Okay, that will have to do – surplus male removed, blue sky and yellow interior re-instated, and I’ve gone with the original top. And if you think this was a lot of work, I can assure you this is an edited version….

RE Diploma Work

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Gail Brodholt

When I was elected a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) this print was chosen as my Diploma Work. It’s called Rush Hour (linocut, 29 x 52cms.) Apologies for the quality of the image – it’s a bit dark unfortunately.
The RE holds annual elections at Bankside Gallery, London, for artists who would like to join the Society and enjoy the benefits of being a member. Candidates are asked submit a completed application form plus CV and portfolio of prints and drawings/sketchbooks, usually in January each year.
Applicants’ works are assessed by a jury of Society members and usually between 3 and 6 artists are elected from some 40-50 submissions each year. Elected members must pay an annual fee, which helps to cover gallery costs.
If you are interested in applying, you can download the application form here .

A Visit to the Asmolean Museum

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Gail Brodholt

On Wednesday, I had a rare day away from the studio. I went up on the train to Oxford to visit the Print Room at the Ashmolean Museum, where the RE Diploma Collection is held.
There I met up with Bren Unwin and Daphne Casdagli, respectively President and Curator of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.
Left: Arriving at the Print Room

When an artist is elected to the Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), a print is selected from their portfolio by the council and delivered to the RE archives, held at the Ashmolean.
We were there to meet Clare Tilbury, Hon RE and art historian, who manages the diploma collection on our behalf, and to hand over the prints from our newly elected Associate Members.
Left: Myself and Daphne Casdagli (right) unpacking the prints.

The Diploma Collection is a substantial historic collection of prints, dating back to the earliest days of the Society and includes work by distinguished past and present members, such as Dame Laura Knight, Graham Sutherland and Norman Ackroyd.
Left: Bren Unwin (left) and Clare Tilbury (right) taking out the relevant storage boxes.

There are over nine hundred prints carefully catalogued and stored here, as the Society has been going since 1881. The collection can be viewed on request to the museum.
And just in case anyone’s wondering what exactly I was doing there, I was shadowing Daphne as I am due to take over from her as Curator for the RE next year.
Left: looking over some of the print collection (and thanks to Bren for the photos – as usual, mine were too disastrous to use……)

New Camera Experiments

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Gail Brodholt

I have a new camera for photographing my work and I thought I’d try it out first – and what better way could there be than with an over excited dog at the beach? A baptism of fire doesn’t quite cover it…