Portrait 16: A Contemporary Survey of Portraiture

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PORTRAIT 16


PORTRAIT 16 FOREWORD BY JEREMY MARK ANIKA MANUEL CAROLINA PITEIRA CLAIRE LUXTON EDWARD SUTCLIFFE ELLIE YOUNG EMMA-LEONE PALMER EMILY MACINNES GUGLIELMO ALFARONE HANNAH HOPKINS JEAN-LUC ALMOND


JOHN WILLIAMS JOSHUA BRYAN LACHLAN GOUDIE MARC HEATON MARCO VENTURA MARK POWELL NICK LORD PAULA WILKINS SOPHIE DERRICK THOMAS FOWLER

HOW TO COMMISSION • TIPS & ADVICE • INTERVIEW WITH NICK LORD • INTERVIEW WITH ELLIE YOUNG • INTERVIEW WITH JOSHUA BRYAN


FOREWORD JEREMY MARK

Has contemporary portraiture ever been as interesting as it is right now? From David Hockney’s hugely-anticipated 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life currently showing at the RA to the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award, now in its incredible 37th year, to the countless hashtagged selfies posted on Instagram each day, our collective fascination with people and faces is at an all-time high.

Even queen of the selfie, model Cara Delevingne, has embraced more traditional methods of portraiture: Jonathan Yeo’s recent series of paintings of her, which were debuted at his Copenhagen retrospective in March, are nothing less than magnificent. Suddenly, surrounding ourselves with portraits and faces is more relevant and exciting than ever before.

As a member of the NPG, and an avid collector of portraits – in all media – I often wonder what is it that makes this particular genre so appealing. Is it the way an artist can capture a split-second of emotion, or allow a face to reveal an entire life story, in just a few brushstrokes or the click of a camera? Is it the ever-surprising, constantly evolving spectrum of creativity and imagination artists dazzle and challenge us with? Or is it simply that pictures of other people are instinctively tangible?

Jeremy Mark, July 2016

Having spent over 12 years editing celebrity magazines, (during which time I co-curated an exhibition of portrait photography from the Heat magazine archive with DegreeArt founders Isobel Beauchamp and Elinor Olisa) people have always held a huge fascination for me. Faces, personalities, emotions: they all offer endless intrigue.




PORTRAIT 16


Anika MANUEL Anika Manuel is a portrait and figurative painter from St. Austell, Cornwall. Her passion is for the flat, found image and its subsequent translation into painting. Having always had an interest in faces, Anika began copying from family photographs as a child and to this day continues to capture realistic depictions of the human figure, although the subject has shifted towards the stylized and the celebrity. Working predominantly from found photographs and images in magazines, Anika re-presents these images within a new and exciting context. Recycling imagery is important to her general concerns and she champions the undervalued and unexplored in a vibrant and instantaneous manner to which the immediacy of acrylic paint lends itself. Since graduating from the internationally renowned Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2011 with a First Class honors degree in Fine Art, Anika has had her work exhibited in numerous exhibitions and art fairs in the UK and was one of 12 artists chosen to take part in 20:12, an exhibition celebrating the Olympic games in which she was commissioned to paint a Team GB athlete. Most recently Anika has exhibited at Stroke art fair in Munich, the Affordable Art Fairs in Battersea, Hampstead and Bristol, New Faces exhibition at the Lander Gallery in Truro, Cornwall and the summer exhibition at the Moreton Gallery in the Cotswolds.

THE LUPITA EFFECT 2016 Acrylic on Linen canvas 60 × 45 × 3 cm £875.00

AWARDS GA / Clyde & Co Student Award. The Muse Gallery AIR Award SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2015 New Faces, Lander Gallery, Truro 2014 Solo show, Crypt Gallery, St Ives 2013 Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, Dejavunik 2012 Affordable Art Fair Battersea 2012 Affordable Art Fair Bristol 2012 The Execution Room, Vyner Street, London 2011 The Execution Room, Vyner Street, London 2011 Forest of Art group show, 2010 Chelsea BA Fine Art degree show, London 2010 Hitachi Consulting Installation, More London, Riverside 2009 Edenbrook Installation, Wood Street, London

MISS JUNE 2013 Acrylic on cotton circular canvas 60 diameter x 2 cm £725.00


LUPITA 2016 Acrylic on Linen canvas 60 × 45 × 3 cm £875.00


THE KEEPER OF OUR SECRETS 2016 Acrylic on Linen canvas 35 × 25 × 2 cm £395.00


TWIGGY 2016 Acrylic on Linen canvas SOLD - COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE


Carolina PITEIRA Carolina Piteira has been working in London for the past four years as she completed her degree at University of East London. She won in 2011 the Signature Art Awards and has exhibited in Lisbon, Cyprus and London with various group shows. She gained notoriety in Portugal when her debut exhibition sold out. In 2013, her critical, tongue-in-cheek but extremely skilled series exploring political figures such as Angela Merkel and the Queen set her on the map, she continues to tackle provoking subjects as she grows as an artist. “I focus on the intensity and power of character in my art, trying to give the energy and heaviness of my subjects through the paintings.” SELECTED AWARDS 2014 2012 2011 ​2009

Ambassador of “Portugal Sou Eu” selected by the Ministry of Economy of Portugal First Prize Fine Arts, Limehouse Arts Foundation Studio Award, London, UK First Prize in the 2011 Signature Art Awards. Degree Art Gallery, London, UK First Prize in the National Painting Competition at El Cort Ingles Lisbon

OF MICE & MEN 2013 Mixed Media on Canvas 120 × 105 × 2 cm SOLD Commissions available

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2016 2016 2015 2014 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011

Portrait 16, Degree Art Gallery, London, UK Periplos, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Espanha ARTIS 2015, Galeria de Arte do Casino Estoril, Portugal R.O.T.H Reflections On Traditionalism & Heritage, Grosvenor House, London, UK Graduates for 2012, AVA Gallery, London, United Kingdom Surface & Presence, Rich Mix, London, United Kingdom World in our eyes, The Hellenic Center, London, United Kingdom Reflections, Mile End Art Pavilion, London, United Kingdom BA 2011, AVA Gallery, Docklands, London, United Kingdom Signature Art Awards, Degree Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom

HER MAJESTY 2012 Acrylic on Canvas 120 x 90 cm SOLD Commissions available


MR BERLUSCONI 2010 Acrylic on canvas 170 × 125 × 2 cm £6,000.00


THE WORLD IN A SPLASH OF COLOUR 2016 Acrylic, oil pastel and collage on canvas 180 × 180 × 4 cm £12,000.00


IL FAUT OSER 2016 Oil, acrylic and collage on canvas 130 × 130 × 3 cm £8,500.00


Claire LUXTON My practice primarily involves working with Photography, Resin and Steel, creating striking, largescale sculptures and installations. I am fascinated by the qualities of the materials that I use and the way in which their physicality can occupy a given area. Often using site-specific locations, my work aims to powerfully alter and interact with particular spaces or environments. The other half of my practice is centered on the exploration of painting often through Epoxy Resin. My paintings have a symbiotic relationship with my photography and sculptural pieces, one informing the other, drawing form, from the texture, aesthetic energy and strength. I am captivated by the way in which the materials I use evolve differently through my exploration and in turn I like to investigate and navigate these effects and physical qualities through my paintings. Like the way I interact with my sculpture and photography, painting involves me being very physical, translating this relationship and energy onto the canvas. In addition to this I want my paintings to explore the materiality of themselves, ultimately questioning the parameters of 2D and 3D. “We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity” My current solo exhibition ‘Avalon’ seeks to explore the notions of submersion and suspension, further examining the powerful themes within the realms of the sublime. Working site-specifically to radically transform the gallery space, my work seeks to suspend the viewer in an immersive environment. AWARDS 2015 Xerxes Sculpture Prize Finalist 2015 Signature Art Prize, 2015 longlist SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2016 2016 2015 2015 2014 2013

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, DegreeArt Affordable Art Fair Battersea, CC Spring Avalon, DegreeArt.com Gallery, London Affordable Art Fair Battersea, Contemporary Collective, Spring Edition False Lights London UCA Pre Degree Show Canterbury

ESSENTIAL - LARGE PRINT (FRAMED) 2016, Edition of 5 310 g.s.m Hahnemuhle Etching paper print. 74 × 89 × 3 cm £1,000.00



BELOW- LARGE PRINT (FRAMED) 2016, Edition of 5 310 g.s.m Hahnemuhle Etching paper print. 50 × 40 × 3 cm £1,000.00


SEEP I & II (ABOVE) 2016, Edition of 15 310 g.s.m Hahnemuhle Etching paper print. 50 × 40 × 3 cm £250.00 each

TENDRIL PART I & II (BELOW) 2016, Edition of 15 310 g.s.m Hahnemuhle German Etching paper print 50 × 40 × 3 cm £250.00 each


Edward SUTCLIFFE Edward Sutcliffe is a figurative painter based in London. He studied art at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and Central Saint Martins, London. His work has been shown in group exhibtions in Seoul and London and was included in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The main focus of his work is the human face captured in paint, exploring the tension between individuality and the homogenous. His undoubtable precision and hyper photorealistic style is accompanied by an attention to bring real emotion and a sense of the sitter’s character to the fore. Creating figurative paintings that evoke simplicity and purity unhindered by concept and rhetoric. Edward Sutcliff has work in public and private collection in both the UK and abroad.

ACHIEVEMENTS 2014 - Winner of BP Portrait Travel Award 2014 2013- Finalist in the BP Portrait award 2012, 2011, 2010,2009, 2007 & 2000.

THEO 2015 Oil on canvas 105 × 40 × 2 cm £12,000.00


RICARDO 2015 Oil on canvas 119 × 90 × 2 cm SOLD - COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE


STEVE 2015 Oil on canvas 48 × 28 × 2 cm £8,000.00

TED 2015 Oil on canvas 23 × 20.5 × 2 cm £4,500.00


COPYCAT 2013 Oil on Canvas 150 × 65 × 5 cm SOLD - COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE


ELLIE YOUNG I am interested in representative painting in relation to time, the nature of the film still as a frozen moment captured and extended or the portrait sitting for an hour, each moment counting as a mark on the page. I feel that painting can measure an expansion or contraction of time and that the attempt to portray something real using paint and brushes can result in images that can be both amusing and captivating. My artistic influences cover a broad spectrum from Titian to David Shrigley but my favourite painter is Pierre Bonnard. I am moved by the way his paintings both guide and disconcert the viewer, as though glimpsing an instant through the artists eyes, and excited by his shimmering use of colour. I am currently experimenting with heightened colours reminiscent of fauvist painters. AWARDS 2011 Nominated for Hans Brinker Trophy Hans Brinker Amsterdam SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2016 Frontiers Cardiff 2016 Oriel Davies Open Newtown 2016 Lynn Painter Stainers Prize, London 2013 One Hour Portrait Studio, London

REAL PEOPLE - ANNIE OAKLEY 2016 Oil and Pencil on Cut Out Wooden Panel 19 × 16 × 1.5 cm £140.00


“MOST GIRLS AREN’T BORN UGLY” 2011 Oil on board 24.5 × 49 × 2 cm £140.00

“HERE I AM - IT’S YOU.” 2011 Oil on Panel 25 × 41 × 2 cm £140.00


Emma-Leone PALMER “Not interested in traditional portrait commissions? Throw some paint on your face, scream, shout, sing, be yourself, let who you really are shine through and become a muse...” Wimbledon based artist Emma-Leone Palmer graduated in Fine Art in 2005. Some of her exhibitions include: SWA, Mall galleries, Art Gemini Prize, Faces of Compton, Watts Gallery, The Chocolate Factory, Southwark, Vibrance, The Gallery on the Green and regularly participates in The Wimbledon Art Studios Open Studios. Her love of figurative, oil painting grew whilst painting in her Umbrian studio in 2007-8. On her return back to England this culminated in an prolific solo exhibition at The Watts gallery, a national gallery, of 38 portraits, exploring the character and colour of a single community. The exciting ‘Paint Play’ series explores the physical and emotional reactions individuals experience by placing (or wiping off) paints onto the surface of their face and the questions that arise. Through this theatrical process elements of the subjects personality shine through otherwise untapped in traditional portraiture. Other portraits scrutinise difficult emotions such as grief and defiance.

UNTITLED ME 2015, Oil on Board, Framed 92 × 62 × 2 cm, £1,834.00

Her work is in collections around the globe and has many interesting commissions from celebrities to most recently a 9 year old boy with ‘Chelsea’ blue smeared all over his face. Commisisoning Starts From £7,200.00

GLITTER PAINT PLAY 2016 Oil on Board, Framed 120 × 100 × 4 cm £5,240.00


EMULSION PAINT PLAY 2015 Oil on canvas 63 × 80 × 4 cm £2,096.00


GONE 2014 Oil on Canvas. Framed 166 × 122 × 5 cm £7,860.00


DEFIANCE 2014 Oil on Canvas 164 × 119 × 4.5 cm £7,860.00


Emily MACINNES Emily Macinnes (b. 1989) is a Scottish-American documentary photographer currently based in Edinburgh. In 2012 she gained a BA Honors in Photography from Nottingham Trent University and later studied Photojournalism at the Danish School of Media and Journalism. Emily has worked with various international NGO’s documenting local and global issues as well as more intimate stories of struggles faced closer to home. Some of her clients include Oxfam, UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières. What unites her work is a common interest in people’s stories and a desire to creatively communicate the individual and emotional aspect of the issues she documents. SELECTED AWARDS 2015 Photo Boite’s 30 Under 30 Women Photographers 2013 Winner of Oxfam ‘Exposure’ Photography Prize for Women, 2013 2013 Recipient of the IdeasTap Innovators Fund 2012 Shortlisted for Athens Photo Festival, 2012 2012 Winner of the Signature Art Prize 2012 Shortlisted for IdeasTap Photographic Award (16-22) in partnership with Magnum 2012 Scholarship for 63rd Missouri Photo Workshop, MO, USA, 2012 2011 Shortlisted for 9th Helen Keller Award

POST-WAR: MAHMOUD & AMER 2016 Photographic Print 30 × 40 × 3 cm £750.00

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2016 Idomeni Portraits: Harvard Carr Centre for Human Rights, Boston, USA 2016 Everything for Family: DOCfield ‘16 Barcelona 2016 Fokus: Mikser, Belgrade 2015 reGeneration 3: Museu Amparo, Mexico 2015 reGeneration 3: Museé de L’Élysée, Switzerland 2014 The Young Carers exhibition and discussion with MSPs, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh 2014 The Young Carers, City Chambers, Edinburgh 2013 The Nomads: Goose Flesh, The Arches, Glasgow 2012 Ideastap/Magnum Photographic Award, Covent Garden, London Film Museum UK 2012 Signature Art Prize, Old Spitalfields Market

POST WAR SERIES 2016 Photographic Print 40 x 30 cm £800


POST WAR SERIES 2016 Photographic Print 40 x 30 cm £800


MISS TRANSENDER SERIES 2016 Photographic print Above 30 x 40 cm £750 each and right 40 x 30 cm £800



Guglielmo ALFARONE I investigate my own background and my search draws the viewer in, shakes them, screams at them with huge dimensions and demanding subjects. The large-scale calls for rage, with the figures portrayed staring intensely. That is, each subject is deeply engaged with their own history, present but at the same time detached. They are the youth of a disenchanted world, proudly brandishing their own disillusions to a distressed observer. The young faces depicted embrace several feelings, such as boredom, arrogance, frailness, fear or mere indifference; through these emotions the characters affirm their genuine presence (their Da-Sein) only in the present moment since they have no yesterday and no tomorrow - no drive nor ambition. It could also be said that these young characters spring a terrific lucidity, which make their existence sort of insolent. They are the youth of a disenchanted world, proudly brandishing their own disillusions to a distressed observer. AWARDS 2006 2005 2004 2001 2001

ELENA £750.00

Awards 1st Prize Scholarship prize (students of academies of fine arts of Italy) Concorso Premio Agazzi 2006, Italy 4th Prize National biennial painting competition, Limana (BL), Italy. 2005 2nd place Prize National painting competition “ Giuseppe Gambino”, Italy 1° Prize National painting competition “ex-tempore” Caorle, Italy, 2001 1° Prize National painting competition “ex-tempore” Mestre(VE), Italy

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS 2015 ‘Nutrire il Pianeta, Energia per la Vita’, Solo Show, Fondazione Bracco, Expo 2015, Milan 2015 Trentatre, Galleria 33, Pietrasanta, Italy 2014 Art Up, Live Painting, Galerie Raison D’Art, Lille, France 2014 Portraits, Solo Show, Galleria 33, Arezzo, Italy 2013 Ultimate Urban Experience, Live Painting for Nissan, London UK 2013 Immortalized, Distinction Gallery, Escondido, CA, USA 2013 Black and White Fondazione Valeria Riva, Venice, Italy 2012 Ten Paths to the Future, Imago Art Gallery, UK

SKAI II - £750.00


KHRISMA 2016, Graphite on paper, 140 x 100 x 1cm, £1,350.00


WAITING 2015 Graphite on paper 200 × 150 × 1 cm £2,500.00


STUDY FOR MAURO 2015 Graphite on paper 100 × 70 × 1 cm £900.00


HANNAH HOPKINS I have always found portraits to be compelling and I am fascinated by them and the people they portray. For me a portrait needs to draw the viewer in and offer them a connection with the sitter, whether it is presenting us with character or emotion, there needs to be a little glint with which you the viewer can identify with. In my portraits I aim to question what makes this person what they are or what they appear to be. This then helps produce something more than a bland portrait. How a person appears to everyone is obvious. I try to look more deeply into how they present themselves to the outside world. I look at the expressions on their faces; is it simply a smile or does it reveal something deeper? Everyone’s smile is different and can show some inner emotion that is rarely seen, kept hidden. AWARDS 2012 Royal Institute of Oil painters young artists award; 2nd Prize 2009 R.S.P. Prize for painting at the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts 2009 N.S. MacFarlane prize at the Royal Scottish Academy SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2014 These Precious Things, The Elizabeth Gallery, New York 2013 The Royal Society of Painters in Oil Colour 2013 The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2013 The Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2012 Still Life and the Opera, Glyndebourne 2011 Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery Glasgow 2010 The River Runs through it’, Roger Billcliffe Gallery Glasgow 2009 ‘The Royal Institute of Oil Painters’ The Mall Galleries


KORA STAR 2015 Oil on canvas 45 × 49 × 4.5 cm £900.00


BORDERLANDS 2015 Oil on canvas 42.5 × 53 × 4.5 cm £800.00


AUTUMN 2014 Oil on Canvas 35 × 45 × 3.5 cm £1,500.00


Jean-Luc ALMOND I am obsessed by the materiality and texture of the paint itself. A certain tension exists within the thick surfaces of my works, as paint can take precedence over the act of representation.I am interested in the transformations that can take place when I am no longer a slave to the image and the painting becomes more about the paint and the surface. I see paint as a vulnerable skin hovering and clinging to the subject, masking the identity of the subject. Sometimes a random damaging mark can surprisingly enhance and enliven the image. I layer multiple paintings on top of each other before scratching away at the surface to reveal phantasmic faces peering from beneath. Therefore, my paintings are constructed through the processes of both creation and destruction, damage and repair.

AWARDS 2016 2016

SILENCE - £1,495.00

Winner ‘Just Art’ Open Art Competition London Legal Support Trust in associa tion with Arts for Justice National Open Art Competition Winner

SELECTED EXHIBIITIONS 2016 2016 2016 2014

Modern Panic London Art Rooms Consume National Open Art Winners Exhibition

TURQUOISE JANE 2016 Gesso and Oil on Wood 40 × 30 × 3 cm £1,495.00


PIE 2016 Oil on Wood 40 × 30 × 3 cm £1,495.00


DIANA 2016 Oil on primed wooden panel 40 × 30 × 3 cm £1,495.00


JANET 2016 Oil on primed wooden panel 50 × 40 × 3 cm £1,695.00


JOHN WILLIAMS John Williams uses traditional oil paint and canvas to accomplish his detailed depictions of people and still lifes. Portraiture is his speciality. His aim is to suggest a world of detail in a quiet, graceful and peaceful image. Photographs are the starting point. They are used to capture and study the fleeting details and the amazing architecture of the body or object. John’s style is very realistic yet the results offer a natural, organic look. Born in America and now living and working in the UK, Williams’s art career has gone from strength to strength. He graduated in graphic arts from The University of Illinois, and in 2008 continued his studies at both Putney and Heatherly’s Schools of Fine Art in London. Since 2010 John’s portraits and paintings have been repeatedly accepted in juried competitions and open exhibitions including the Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition. In 2013 he was awarded first prize for his portraiture at the Royal Birmingham Society of artists Portrait Prize exhibition and in 2015 was highly commended. He became an associate member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 2016. His portrait of art historian, critic and writer, Edward Lucie-Smith was selected to be included in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London, a most prestigious international portrait painting competition. AWARDS 2015 Winner RBSA Portrait Prize Exhibition Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 2013 Winner RBSA Portrait Prize Exhibition Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 2012 Winner of Celebration of Sport, Outside The White Cube

WINTER 2013 Oil paint on French super fine linen, hand stretched canvas 79 × 69 × 3.5 cm £10,500.00



EDWARD LUCIE-SMITH 2014 Oil paint on French super fine linen canvas 72 × 56 × 5 cm £13,500.00


BRICK LANE GIRL 2013 Oil on canvas 70 × 55 × 4 cm £10,500.00


JOSHUA BRYAN Taking influences from film and photography my most recognised work is my Triangulation series. My practise is primarily drawing based; both abstract and objective, my work benefits from both a conceptual and a literal approach. As a way of embracing the physical act of mark making, I focused my perspective on the process of drawing during my degree. Using monochromatical palettes to compliment a primal sense of recording; understanding and inhabiting the world, not only by depicting it but also capturing its multi-dimensional atmosphere, both literally and conceptually.​ I have cooperated with several clients such as Atelier Swarovski, IBM, Derwent Pencils and WIRED Magazine. You can see my work displayed at 4 Cork St & 25 Soho Square, London. I’ve also collaborated with several schools; running art and drawing workshops.

TILDA SWINTON PORTRAIT 2016 Line-marker on 300g/m2 (140lb) Bockingford traditional watercolour paper 59.4 × 42 × 0.1 cm £2,000.00


TOM HARDY PORTRAIT 2016 Line-marker on 300g/m2 (140lb) Bockingford traditional watercolour paper 59.4 × 42 × 0.1 cm £2,000.00

MARGOT ROBBIE PORTRAIT 2016 Line-marker on 300g/m2 (140lb) Bockingford traditional watercolour paper 59.4 × 42 × 0.1 cm £2,000.00


EDDIE REDMAYNE PORTRAIT 2016 Line-marker on 300g/m2 (140lb) Bockingford traditional watercolour paper 59.4 × 42 × 0.1 cm £2,000.00


CATE BLANCHETT PORTRAIT 2016 Line-marker on 300g/m2 (140lb) Bockingford traditional watercolour paper 59.4 × 42 × 0.1 cm £2,000.00


LACHLAN GOUDIE Lachlan Goudie was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1976. After studying English Literature at Cambridge University he received the Levy-Plumb scholarship, a yearlong painting residency at Christ’s College. In 1999 Lachlan was awarded the R.S.P. Prize for painting at the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts, and in 2001 the N.S. MacFarlane prize at the Royal Scottish Academy. Lachlan graduated in June 2004 from Camberwell College of Arts with a degree in Fine Art and Painting. He exhibits with the Royal Portrait Society and regularly shows in London, New York and Edinburgh. Lachlan is a Contemporary Collective Artist AWARDS 2012 Royal Institute of Oil painters young artists award; 2nd Prize 2009 R.S.P. Prize for painting at the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts 2009 N.S. MacFarlane prize at the Royal Scottish Academy SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2014 These Precious Things, The Elizabeth Gallery, New York 2013 The Royal Society of Painters in Oil Colour 2013 The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2013 The Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2012 Still Life and the Opera, Glyndebourne 2011 Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery Glasgow 2010 The River Runs through it’, Roger Billcliffe Gallery Glasgow 2009 ‘The Royal Institute of Oil Painters’ The Mall Galleries


RECIÉN 2014 Oil on canvas 37.8 × 33.86 cm £6,000.00

LUNE DE MIELE 2015 Oil on canvas 103 × 128 × 3 cm £5,500.00


Marc HEATON Through the appropriation and mediation of found images my work aims to consider our fundamental need to interact with, and therefore make sense of the world we live in. I focus on polarising inaccuracies that corresponds directly with our inability to interpret both the individual and collective from a purely visual perspective. Historical photographic portraits, juxtaposed with similar contemporary compositions act as a point of departure to allow the removal of any tangible authority within the original archival piece. This dissociation of the familiar helps to encourage a receptive state of mind, to promote sensations that relate more readily with the instability of surrealism. The manipulated compositions demonstrate a capacity for narrative, albeit a variable narrative which is linked directly to the viewer’s own conscious, realised through a personal reassessment of the most instinctive of human needs: the desire to read and understand the human face.

MASS PRODUCED PERFECTION 2014 Acrylic paint on canvas 100 × 74 × 4 cm £2,500.00

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2015 Hung Drawn & Curated, Castlefield Gallery Manchester 2015 Neo:gallery27, Crook Street Collective, Accretion 2015 Signature Art Prize, Directors pick, London 2015 Pop Living, Schwartz Gallery, London 2014 Beep Wales International Painting Exhibition, Swansea 2014 West Lancs Open Exhibition, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk (Commendation) 2014 Short listed for the Threadneedle prize London 2014 Neo: gallery22, Arbitrary Ground exhibition 2013 Neo: gallery22, Neo: Winter Salon 2013 Short listed for the National Open Art Competition, London 2013 Neo: gallery22, Crook Street Collective, Palimpsest group exhibition 2013 Short listed for the Threadneedle prize, London 2013 West Lancs Open Exhibition, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk 2013 Fine Art Degree Show group exhibition, Bolton University

EMPIRICAL SUFFRAGE 2015 Acrylic paint on canvas 100 × 74 × 4 cm £2,500.00


RENOUNCED 2015 Acrylic paint on canvas 100 × 74 × 4 cm £2,000.00


SUBLIMINAL ORDER 2013 Reeves acrylic paint on hand stretched 9.5 oz cotton canvas applied onto a handmade softwood support. 100 × 74 × 4 cm £2,500.00


MEDIA SPECTACLE 2016 Acrylic paint applied in a non tactile, glazed manner onto 8 ounce cotton canvas, stretched over a soft wood support to achieve a photo realist painting. 100 × 74 × 4 cm £2,500.00


Marco VENTURA Italian born Marco Ventura comes from an artistic family and started early in his youth helping his father, a children’s book author and illustrator. A realistic vision with influence of Italian Renaissance, surfaces in his beautiful oil paintings, a magical mixture of old and modern. Drawing is an important starting point for his work, using silver point and pencil on paper. His work is usually small in size but extremely accurate and detailed. The painting Portrait of Christian in Profile was part of the exhibition: BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2015 at the National Portrait Gallery in London. He’s proud on receiving commissions from the Vatican, to paint and design for their stamps and his work is part of the collection of the Musei Vaticani in Rome.

PORTRAIT OF CHRISTIAN - £2,750.00

In the last few years he’s also working on making cyanotype prints an old photographic technique. AWARDS 2013 2007 1995 1988

Premio Internazionale d’Arte Filatelica Religiosa, San Gabriele. Work also selected by: Print’s Regional Design & Print’s European Design Annuals, Communication Arts Design and Illustration Annuals, Illustrators, Images (British Asso ciation of Illustrators), Graphis, Creativity, American Illustration, The Art Directors Club Annual and Lurzer’s 200 Best Illustra tors Worldwide. Merit Award Society of Publication Designers (2005) and Premio Internazionale d’Arte Filatelica Religiosa “San Gabri ele 2 Silver Medals American Society of Illustrators, ILLUSTRATORS 30 and ILLUS TRATORS 36 (1994), Silver Cone Prize Italian Art Directors Club

NUDE SWIMMER CYANOTYPE £300

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2015 2015 2011 2007 2004

ROYAL SOCIETY of PORTRAIT PAINTERS, Annual Exhibition 2015, Mall Galleries, UK BP Portrait Award, Finalist Exhibition, The National Portrait Gallery, London. The Art of the RECORD REVIEW, Rollingstone, New York. The ART of DER SPIEGEL, Shanghai THE ART OF THE NEW YORK TIMES, Museum of American Illustration - NY

THE SCULPTOR’S MODEL 2015 Oil Painting on board 18 × 18 × 0 cm £7,780.00


ILARIA CON TURBANTE OIL PAINTING 2016 Oil on gessoed canvas mounted on board 27 × 27 × 3 cm £11,500.00


SUBURBAN SWIMMER, PAINTING 2015 Oil painting on a gessoed prepared panel 42 × 32 × 2 cm £8,750.00


BIG SWIMMER, PAINTING 2013 Oil painting on a gesso coated panel 56 × 46 × 2 cm £9,750.00


Mark POWELL London-based artist Mark Powell reuses old envelopes as canvases to produce incredible drawings. His sketches are made using only a Biro pen, and they often incorporate original stamps and postage marks. By recycling the envelopes, he is in some way preserving a bit of history and the tales behind the sender. He says this is why his work, which is primarily portraiture, focuses on older characters that appear to tell their own stories from the very creases and wrinkles of their faces. Powell’s portraits are amusing in the way they incorporate the lines and postage stamps of the envelopes into the wrinkles and shading of each distinct face. Each portrait becomes as much about the canvas as it is about the person depicted, adding another layer to examine as the viewer gets lost in the eyes of the subject.

‘THE BODY IS A PLINTH’ BIC BIRO DRAWING ON TWO ANTIQUE ENVELOPES 1 2016 Ballpoint pen and original antique envelopes 50.5 × 20 × 0.01 cm £800.00


‘ALONG THE SEINE’ BIC BIRO DRAWING ON A ANTIQUE ENVELOPE 1 2016 ballpoint pen and an original antique envelope 22 × 10 × 0.01 cm £650.00


‘PORTRAIT OF EVOLUTION’ 2016 Ballpoint pen and original antique envelopes Dimensions variable £900.00


‘JOKES ARE SYMPTOMS’ BIC BIRO DRAWING ON TWO ANTIQUE ENVELOPES 1 2016 ballpoint pen and an original antique envelope 40.5 × 20.5 × 0.01 cm £1,100.00


Nick LORD I am a painter. For me it is very important to understand the medium. It a constant struggle to work with paint, It’s a love hate relationship! I find I have to engage with the paint on a new level every time I start a painting. I’m frequently exploring new possibilities and outcomes with the paint using what I’ve learnt before as a solid background. I try to paint unconsciously, painting without a clear idea or outcome. Allowing me to just let the painting happen. I work within a tight time limit that helps aid this process, preventing time wasting, forcing me to make decisions there and then. It’s an exciting process, as I never quite know what’s going to happen. At the same time its one of the most frustrating things ever! I run out of patience far too quickly and find that I have to constantly re-invent myself as a painter. I can’t just do what I’ve done before, I want to advance and move on. This is the hardest and most enjoyable part of my practice, that notion of re-invention and constant development.

Nick Lord © Sky Arts | Justin Downing 2013

AWARDS 2013 Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Winner 2012 Signature Art Prize Finalist Exhibition London 2012 Signature Art Prize Finalist 2012 SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2015 Realising the Truth, Solo Exhibition, DegreeArt.com, London. 2013 Winner of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2013- Sky Arts heat portraits exhibitions, National Portrait Gallery, 2012 Signature Art Prize Finalist Exhibition, Spitalfields, London 20122012 20:12 exhibition, DegreeArt Gallery, Vyner Street, London 2012 2011 Art Haus, DegreeArt Gallery, Vyner Street, 2011 Final Degree Show, Kingston University, London 2011 Everybody Talks About The Weather We Don’t, Kingston Market house, London 2010 Intensify, Devon, UK 2010 Condemned, Dead Wallace Gallery, London 2010 End of 2nd Year Degree show, Kingston University, London 2009 Identity Group Show, DegreeArt.com gallery, Vyner Street,

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN 2014 Acrylic, Spray Paint, Wood Stain, Emulsion, Oil Pastel on Canvas 60 × 90 × 4 cm SOLD COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE


SOPHIE DAHL 2014 Acrylic, Spray Paint, Acrylic Pens, Oil Pastel, Wood Stain on Canvas 180 × 150 × 5 cm £15,000.00


HOLLY 2016 Acrylic, spray paint and oil pastel on canvas. 110 × 90 × 7 cm £8,500.00


DANNY 2016 Acrylic, spray paint and oil pastel on canvas. 110 × 90 × 7 cm £8,500.00


Paula WILKINS Originally from Essex, I now live in London and work from my studio in Wimbledon. I am currently Artist in Residence at The Printing Tree Studio at Wimbledon Art Studios. Along with new projects and collaborative work, I intend to explore further the ‘Tracing the Future’ body of work. The ideas I explore through my work cannot be constrained to one particular medium. Throughout my practice I have found that through research and focus on an initial idea a particular medium presents as the best way to move that idea forward. A process of learning and exploration commences, with the idea evolving along with my increased understanding of handling and managing a new medium. Much of my work is experimental, pushing boundaries and techniques. The ‘Tracing the Future’ series evolved through experimentation with camera and screen. What happens with the image on the internet? What is the future of the image constantly reposted and remediated? This project explores the potential of the continuous mediation of the image through mechanical processes, and the altered relationship that this creates between the viewer and the image. The image repeatedly reproduced evolves, resulting in the separation from its original context and intention eventually forming a new narrative.

MOTHER AND CHILD 1540-2015 2015 Limited edition photographic print. Face mounted with acrylic and backed with aluminium 40 × 50 × 2.5 cm Edition of 30 £350.00



‘MADONNA 1540-2015’ 2015 Limited edition print, face mounted with acrylic and backed with aluminium 50 × 40 × 2.5 cm Edition of 30 £350.00


THE LETTER 2015 Limited edition print, face mounted with acrylic and backed with aluminium 60 × 60 × 2.5 cm Edition of 30 £375.00

‘TRACE I’ ACRYLIC PRINT 2015 Limited edition print, face mounted with acrylic and backed with aluminium 56 × 40 × 2.5 cm Edition of 30 £350.00


Sophie DERRICK My work very much focuses on portraiture, but with the use of both painting and photography this genre is skewed and manipulated, and the transformative properties of paint are pushed to the limit. I photograph the act of painting onto my skin and then paint on top of the photographs, creating a layering of image of paint and painted image, blurring the boundaries between the two. My ‘Self’ is lost, buried beneath the paint and the notion of portraiture is questioned. The body becomes both object and subject within the work. There is a constant shift between dualities within my work; painting and photography, absence and presence, and reality and fiction. The painting, photographic and layering techniques, and bold, vibrant colours used within the work become obstacles to reality, distorting and creating absurd and abstracted portrait. AWARDS

SEIZE - PURPLE £2,500.00

2009 Best of the UK competition 2009 2008 Boundary Gallery Prize for Figurative Art SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2013

Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts Shifting States, Contemporary Collective Affordable Art Fair Singapore Affordable Art Fair Battersea Affordable Art Fair Hampstead 2013 - Residency at DegreeArt

SEIZE YELLOW #5 2016 Digital print face mounted on Perspex and overlying acrylic paint 100 x 70 cm £2,500.00


FEINT YELLOW PINK #2 Digital print face mounted on Perspex and overlying acrylic paint 150 x 100 cm £4,500.00


JANET 2016 Oil on primed wooden panel 50 × 40 × 3 cm £1,695.00

JANET 2016 Oil on primed wooden panel 50 × 40 × 3 cm £1,695.00


JANET 2016 Oil on primed wooden panel 50 × 40 × 3 cm £1,695.00


THOMAS FOWLER I’m 23, from Sheffield but I live in Liverpool. Apart from art I’m interested in films, music, sport and science/nature. My goal is to see as much of the world as possible and to generally have an unusual life. My art is influenced by many things such as people, films, East Asian brush painting, photographs, animals, surrealism and psychedelia. I use mainly black indian ink and brush but also pen, water colour pencils and graphite pencils. AWARDS Unleashed: Best in the North Competition SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2015 LJMU Degree Show Exhibition Unleashed: Best in the North


STARING CONTEST 2016 Acrylic Ink painted on Arches Aquarelle hot pressed 300 gsm watercolour paper 27.3 × 24.6 × 0 cm £3,000.00


JOHN CARPENTER 2012 Black Ink 42 × 29.7 × 0.1 cm £500.00


GROWING UP- COMMISSION 2016 Pencil on water colour paper 45 × 60 × 1 cm COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE



COMMISSIONING


To be painted, sculpted or captured by an artist

in any format can be considered a great honour but you don’t have to wait to be asked! Commissioning a piece of portraiture of yourself or someone important to you, from a family member to famous face, is a deeply rewarding process that results in a unique representation to build or add to your personal legacy. In this instantaneous 'selfie' obsessed culture there has perhaps been no better time to step back and commission an artist to create

a considered portrait that will endure the tests of time, lasting significantly longer than a post in our social media feeds. In anticipation of our July Portrait exhibition, here are our tips for commissioning portraits.

OUR TOP 5 TIPS FOR COMMISSIONING PORTRAITS: 1) Capturing Likeness and Personality Artists are skilled at capturing personalities as much as likeness in portraits and often have a ‘style’ for painting people. Be clear when commissioning an artist on whether you are expecting a mirror image or for artistic licence to be exercised. Choose an artist whose style you admire and ensure you have seen examples of previous portraits painted by the artist. 2) Think about the Setting What will the setting be for your portrait? What do you want in the background? Are there particular objects that represent you or mean


something to you that you would like to have incorporated? Special jewellery, books, or clothing can be carefully curated to help build up your portrait. 3) The Preparation Will you be able to commit to sittings with the artist or will you supply a photograph for them to work from? Often artists ask to take their own photographs so that they have a set to work from. You can always send the artist further material though to help them build up the ‘picture’ of the subject. 4) Documenting the Journey Often you will be able to agree to purchase sketches or preliminary work the artist undertakes as part of your portrait. Keeping a record of correspondence you have between yourself and the artist and gallery help build up the provenance of the work. Often clients choose to create a small book to depict the process they went through in creating the portrait to accompany it and allow others to enjoy and understand the process. 5) Displaying Your Portrait Portraiture acts to capture and immortalise the sitter or sitters and thinking about how you will display the piece is important. Talk to the artist and gallery about framing and display that will finish off your masterpiece


INTERVIEW WITH NICK LORD

To coincide with the opening of Portrait 16, DegreeArt.com exclusively interviews portrait artist Nick Lord. Nick Lord discusses winning the Sky Arts Award in 2013, the reasons behind his unique artistic style and sheds light on his commissioning process. WHAT’S THE MOST AMBITIOUS COMMISSION YOU’VE WORKED ON? Where to begin?! Each commission is so different from the previous; I’ve definitely got a top 3! The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lance Sgt Johnson Beharry VC’s commission for the Tower of London and Professor Peter Kopelman’s commission for St Georges University London. Each commission had its own briefs and challenges. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE PROCESS OF COMMISSIONING, FROM THE INITIAL SITTING TO THE FINAL OUTCOME, WHAT CAN A CLIENT EXPECT? A commission totally depends on what the client wants. Whether they want me to create a paint-

ing for them from my personal work and ideas, or whether they’re commissioning me to paint an idea that they have in mind. For me, the most important aspect to any commission is getting to know the client on a personal level. The more I get to know the person the easier it becomes to build up a personality and character. I’m always looking out to create a personal portrait of the client. DID YOUR JOURNEY THROUGHOUT THE SKY ARTS AWARD INFORM HOW YOU NOW WORK? Being a part of and winning Sky Arts Portraits Artist of The Year, has had a massive influence in how I work. The competition forced me to work in ways and in surroundings I’d never worked in before. The most influential aspect of the competition was the ability to go out to Paris and paint in one of the art world’s most iconic cities. It was there that I discovered Courbet’s work in the flesh. The sheer size and detail meant I felt like I could just get up and walk into them. That sense of escapism is becoming more and more of a focal point in my work as well as the importance of body language and the notion of modern day realism.



DID YOUR JOURNEY THROUGHOUT THE SKY ARTS AWARD INFORM HOW YOU NOW WORK? Being a part of and winning Sky Arts Portraits Artist of The Year, has been and has had a massive influence in how I work. The competition forced me to work in ways and in surroundings I’d never worked in before. The most influential aspect of the competition was the ability to go out to Paris and paint in one of the art world’s most iconic cities. It was there that I discovered Courbet’s work in the flesh. The sheer size and detail meant I felt like I could just get up and walk into them. That sense of escapism is becoming more and more of a focal point in my work as well as the importance of body language and the notion of modern day realism. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR UNIQUE AESTHETIC OF MARK MAKING? The way I paint stems from when I first started to paint. Throughout my time in school, I always wanted to paint. It wasn’t until I was on my foundation that I had time to learn how too. I’ve always been inspired by the expressionist artists like Schiele. His way of mark making and drawing started it all for me. When I paint I like to see the marks I’ve made. It’s like a construction of flesh on canvas. I’ve never had the patience for photo realism-I like to work quick and boldly, which acrylic allows me to do. I like to be able to see the paint on the canvas, it tells the story of the painting. I love making the confident marks. WHY DO YOU USE A PASTEL BLUE FOR THE BACKGROUNDS OF YOUR PAINTINGS? The pastel blue background seems to have become an unintentional signature colour and process within my work! It’s purely for practical reasons. Before the canvas is primed it’s creamy white in colour. The blue background allows me to paint these lighter colours in and makes them “pop out” against the blue. Because I work in layers and build the paint up,

it helps add depth and tone to the lighter creamier flesh tones. COURBET HAS GREATLY INFLUENCED YOUR WORKS, IN TERMS OF REALISM. WHAT CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS INSPIRE YOU? Courbet and the French realists have been major influences in my recent work, especially the way they painted everyday scenarios and people. I’m inspired by a huge range of artists working in all sorts of different mediums and styles, with different thoughts and concepts. Artists like Peter Doig, Gregory Crewdson, Eric Fischl and Grayson Perry have majorly inspired my new work even though they’re not all painters. I take different aspects of their work, from every artist or image that inspires me, and jumble them altogether to help with my own ideas and work. For me I love the idea of working from past experiences and memories, I get this sense of nostalgia and memory exploration from Doig’s work. Crewdsons photographs create a great sense of drama and unnervingness, which I’m really drawn too, as well


as the technicality! The narrative and painterly quality in Fischl’s work is his biggest influence. Similar to Crewdson, Fischl’s work grips you with suspense and the effect that you’re not 100% sure on what’s going on or what’s being depicted. I love Grayson’s ability to take note of his surroundings and take influence from what he sees and experiences. This notion of being inspired by your surrounds is becoming more and more evident and important in my work. FOR ANY ASPIRING ARTISTS, WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE IN THE FIELD OF PORTRAITURE BE? I think being a portraiture artist at this time, is one of the most exciting and developing fields to be in. It disappeared for a bit, but now it’s coming back with vengeance! My advice to new and aspiring artists doing portraiture would be to crack on! Get experimenting, develop your

own style and be confident with how you paint. Just go for it. Research artists that inspire you, try different styles and find out what works for you. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU IN THE NEAR FUTURE? My work in the future is going to consist of the constant exploration of paint, painting portraiture and making it relatable to me. It’s still early days, but my new self-portrait in the water is where I can see my work heading. Incorporating more scenes and backgrounds, playing with narratives and hidden narratives. It’s still going to be inspired by the realist artists of the past, but it’s also going to be connecting with occurrences, events and things that I see- tying in travelling, escapism and nostalgia.It’s also a massive case of me just painting what I want to paint and what I see! If that makes sense!



INTERVIEW WITH ELLIE YOUNG WHAT’S THE MOST AMBITIOUS COMMISSION YOU’VE WORKED ON? The most ambitious or difficult commission was two double portraits of a couple each holding a chihuahua. It was challenging painting the dog and the people in the same painting, I find painting dogs fun and tend to be more relaxed in this, and so giving the same kind of value to both figures was quite tough. ARE THERE ANY CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN CREATING PORTRAITS WITHIN A TIME RESTRAINT? The challenge with working to such tight time restraints is always stopping when the time is up, sometimes I can see how to fix a painting but often don’t get the chance. You don’t have the chance to revisit anything or labour over it, so it feels fresher but sometimes unresolved. COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOU WORK IN COLLECTIONS? I tend to work in collections because I like to see how work evolves one from the other and how the pictures relate to each other on the wall (or in my head.) I like to find different ways to paint the same subject. I am a collector of things myself, my house is full of stuff, I think this way of working has always been instinctive to me.





INTERVIEW WITH JOSHUA BRYAN WHAT’S THE MOST AMBITIOUS COMMISSION YOU’VE WORKED ON? The most ambitious commission would have to be the piece I did for Soho Square. The sheer size of the image threw up a lot of unforeseen problems I’d not faced when working on a smaller scale before. As well as taking almost a week, I would say this project definitely pushed me the most. The commission I did was for a company called Bandstand; a brand driven design and marketing agency based in London. I was commissioned to bring some energy to the reception area. YOU’RE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY REFERENCES, COULD YOU LET US KNOW WHAT INSPIRES YOU WHEN CHOOSING THE PORTRAITS? I think my inspiration comes from being able to bring a face or character to life in my own style. If I like a movie or particular role, I’ll have to find a photograph for my reference that captures the atmosphere I felt while watching the film. I guess I want to create an image with enough depth in aesthetic that matches the personality and energy of the actor/character to do itself justice. COULD YOU LET US KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS OF MARK-MAKING WITHIN YOUR TRIANGULATION SERIES? The process is relatively simple, I wrap each of the triangles around the different areas of tone in the photograph and then I proceed to fill in each triangle with a number of parallel lines inside determining the eventual contrast of the image. It’s easy to get lost in a trance drawing thousands of almost perfectly straight lines and find out a few hours have flown by, it’s very therapeutic.




SILENCE - JEAN-LUC ALMOND £1,495


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