Japanese Body Painting Artist

I've now been reading camera reviews for three days and feel like I've been reading them almost non-stop for the last 24 hours! So here's where I'm up to!  Comments and suggestions continue to be very welcome. I'd have never looked at the one I think I might get if it hadn't been for comments on the last post I'm shopping for a new camera ! First the general conclusions which have emerged

Yesterday, BBC4 broadcast a film about the story of 17th-century Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi called Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia. I'm assuming Michael's name figures first in the title as he's beginning to get a bit of a reputation for doing programmes about leading artists. Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershoi Michael Palin in Wyeth's World I'm highlighting this

These are some of leading figures in the art world who died this year - plus some leading artists the in the UK art world and a couple I know personally. I've started at the end of the year and have worked backwards. Do please say if you think I've left anybody important out by mistake. December 2015 Ellsworth Kelly (age 93) an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker - see obituaries

I've not heard from Transport for London Lost Property Office so I'm assuming that it's unlikely I'm going to see my backpack again - which contained my camera (plus three sketchbooks and two pencil cases!) So I've decided to make the most of the sales and have started shopping for a new camera By which I mean I've started interrogating all the review sites about which cameras best meet my

Season's Greetings to all those who follow 'Making A Mark'  on my blog and/or on Facebook.  Your 'likes' and comments are always very much valued wherever you leave them Wishing you and yours a happy day today and all the very best for the New Year. This is my colour pencil drawing of the Ice Lake from a special winter day at Sheffield Park in Sussex. I look at this every single day

As usual I have some suggestions as to art exhibitions to see in London over the Christmas/New Year period. Plus the all important details of when the galleries are open and when they are closed. Major exhibitions have their titles in bold Links to the website for the exhibition is embedded in each title Exhibition venues are ordered according to the number of visitors they generated in 2014

Did you know that the world's very first Christmas card was sent by the director of an art museum? Henry Cole, the Founding Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum sent the first Christmas card in 1843 This post covers two topics the Christmas e-card sent as part of your marketing communications plan for your business as an artist the Christmas e-card you might need to send to friends and

I first got to know Robyn Sinclair as somebody who had an enormous talent for leaving encouraging comments and remarks on this blog and my sketch blog. I feel absolutely certain this was an experience that I share with many other artists and sketchers. I'm very sorry to have to share with those of you who knew her that Robyn passed away on Saturday evening after a long illness. Robyn

The process, fees and timescales have changed for the call for entries for the 2016 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists These are explained below. However the key changes to note are: non-members can submit digital entries this year the fees charged have changed and are now much simpler the timescale has changed - non-members wanting to use the new digital entry process need

Thirty artists have been shortlisted for The John Ruskin Prize 2015. The Prize winners will be announced at the private view on 25 February 2016. This is an annual art competition about drawing - with a theme. The Prize was established in 2012 to support emerging British artists. It aims to uphold Ruskin’s belief that drawing helps us see the world and its fragility more clearly. The theme

Six artists have been shortlisted for The Columbia Threadneedle Prize of £20,000 plus a solo exhibition at Mall Galleries. Exhibition All visitors to the exhibition in February 2016 will be encouraged to vote for their favourite to win the second major prize - the £10,000 The Visitors’ Choice Award. The exhibition will be at  The Mall Galleries including Visitors’ Choice Award: Wednesday

As more and more art competitions and open exhibitions change over to digital entry, it's becoming more and more important to know how to photograph your artwork. One thing I do know from the very many images of artwork that I see on people's blogs / websites / Facebook is that lots of people do NOT know how to produce a good quality image which avoids photographic distortions loses the grey

A lot of artists like to get the letters after their name which mean they are a signature member of a prestigious art society.  For many this also helps them to get a 'proper art gallery' to represent them. However first you need to become a member of the art society - or an associate member. This post is a plea to some of the more prestigious art societies to make the information about how to

Lots of aspiring artists want to sell art from their home. I've been wondering how many have thought through the implications of doing so when it goes beyond simply selling online and then wrapping up and posting artwork done at home. Selling art from home - Things to think about This is Selling Art from Home - a new page on my art business website. It aims to cover all the things you need to

I learned a few new things about framing art while writing this week's blog post Do frames help to sell art? Today's post is also about framing and shares some facts you might not be aware of. You can find the references to articles read in arriving at a wider knowledge of framing and framing choices at the end of the article. The purpose of a frame A frame has four main purposes. It serves

I've just completed my 'end of year' update of this page - UK National Art Societies: Open Exhibitions 2016 on my blog. It provides summary details of all the major open art exhibitions in the UK in 2016 by: national art societies major regional art societies These summary details are: Deadline for online entries - Most submissions are now digital - hence the description. These are all

I was very taken with the new frames being used by a very well established member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at their annual exhibition last week. So much so that this was the first photo I took.  I really loved the way the frames were neutral and unassuming and enabled eyes to focus purely on the painting. Oil paintings by Roger Dellar ROI red dots indicate two have sold By the

After five years, the Europe Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum that house the permanent collection of 17th- and 18th century European art and design will reopen to the public on Wednesday. This brings to an end another of the major projects in the programme of upgrading the galleries to the 21st century. To provide all our visitors with the best quality experience and optimum access to

One of the things I love to see is an art society which makes time to celebrate young emerging artists in its annual exhibition AND prize sponsors who believe in backing young artists. At the 2015 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries, one wall is devoted to the Young Artists who were considered for the Winsor & Newton Oil Painters Awards (for artists

a view of the Main Gallery of the Mall galleries and the ROI Annual Exhibition I visited the 2015 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters yesterday afternoon - and came away with a theory about framing. That's going to take some number-crunching and another post to reveal however it's likely to be very relevant to next year's exhibition - and those of others who exhibit at the

I'm guessing that there are people like me who have been watching The Great Pottery Throw Down on BBC2 and thinking "must pay a bit more attention to ceramics"! So last week I took the lift to the sixth floor of the Victoria & Albert Museum and walked the whole length of the V&A - from end to end and round the corner - because that's how big the galleries need to be that house the V&A's Ceramics

I'm having a MAJOR problem uploading images to Blogger when using the Chrome browser When I click the picture icon while writing a post - to upload an image - instead of getting the normal 'upload an image' screen, I get this huge pop-up with a completely nonsensical message The message says "in order to select an item from your online storage, please sign in" The problems with uploading