EXHIBITIONS
THE CHRIS BEETLES GALLERY The Chris Beetles Gallery holds the greatest stock of original illustrations and cartoons for sale in the world, with extensive collections of original artwork by great British illustrators, including Louis Wain, Arthur Rackham, William Heath Robinson, E H Shepard and Ronald Searle, and such contemporary greats as John Burningham and Michael Foreman. It was cool to see E H Shepard and W H Robinson’s work in person as these are two illustrators who particuarly inspired me growing up. They have an exhibition that is related to Britain which I found interesting. There were a few illustrations relating to the colective experience of the British seaside holiday, and seeing how it has been represented by illustrators in the past informed my work and inspired me.
Some illustrations I liked from the Chris Beetles Gallery
SEASIDE: PHOTOGRAPHED I visited this exhibition before I decided on my subject for the FMP. There was some interesting and engaging photography. It wasnt just like pictures of the beach, but more about the experience and memories of holidays, good and bad. The exhibition hepled me to form my idea of the culture around seaside towns and the changes they have gone through throughout the years.
Some photographs I liked from the Seaside exhibition
Anna Fox (UCA photography lecturer!), Hayling Island (1986)
Raymond C Lawson, Down to the Beach (1959)
Jane Brown, Southend-on-Sea (1954)
THE DRAWING ROOM I’ve been to the Drawing Room in Elephant and Castle twice now and it has been inspiring both times. It’s good to see how much variety you can have within the practice of illustration. It wasn’t directly related to my FMP but seeing the different styles of illustration on display definately informed my practice.