Bernie's Paintings

Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Ballet

2012-01-27T09:41:00.001Z

We saw a wonderful production of this ballet yesterday at Bromley's Churchill Theatre. The production was by the Moscow City Ballet. It was a superbly choreographed version, extremely dramatic and beautifully danced by all the cast. The costumes were very good. The dancers were able to make full use of the Churchill's large stage. Talgat Kozhabaye was superb as Romeo and Alevtina Lapshina, an excellent Juliet, made a wholly convincing transformation from naïve girl to young woman and shone in her solo set-pieces, particularly in the final act.

The accompanying orchestra though not superb were more than adequate. A delightful nearly three hours of entertainment.

Moscow City Ballet

Why not Gouache ?

2012-01-22T12:49:00.000Z

Watercolour is the medium of choice for many artists and is invariably used by those starting to paint, but it is acknowledged that it is in fact the hardest medium to use properly. Gouache is also a waterbased medium, but to me has many advantages over pure watercolour, and I think is much easier to use. Gouache is opaque and therefore does not have the major drawback that watercolour has for me. That is one can correct mistakes by overpainting. For one who is more used to painting with oils, it also means that one does not have to work from light to dark, but can work either way. You can also use white to tone down colours, which to me is another advantage. The use of coloured grounds is also another advantage, which gives more possibilities of interesting compositions. It also seems to me that it is less fussy over the ground used, and one can paint easily on cartridge paper or even wallpaper backing paper.

"Alfriston" gouache on paper 22" x 16"

Gouache is used by most illustrators and designers and has been used by many classical painters through the ages, like Turner and Durer. It can be mixed with watercolour, and is often used to add highlights to a watercolour. One drawback used to be that it was not so colourfast as watercolour, but modern paints are fine. It also does dry slightly lighter than when wet, as do most acrylics. Unlike acrylic which once dry, cannot be activated, again, gouache acts like watercolour and so alterations can easily be made. It is also not as messy as acrylic, and so can more easily be cleaned off if you splash some on your clothes or other surfaces.

Sailing Boat 4" x 6" on card

So why not give gouache a go. I think that you will be easily impressed by its ease of use and flexibility.

Three Paintings in Gouache

2012-01-20T15:21:00.001Z

This is a view across the fields to Alfriston. It is 21" x 16" on paper. Sources were some photos that I took some time ago.

Delphiniums

This was done in acrylic ink and gouache, based very roughly on some photos. It is 16" x 18" on paper.

Dulwich Woods

A very quick sketch and semi-abstract of the view from the location where we paint every Thursday morning. Again this was done in gouache and indian ink.

By the way for those who do not know, gouache is like watercolour but is opaque. You can paint with it more like painting in acrylic but with the feel of watercolour. It is used a lot by illustrators.

Two new mixed media paintings.

2012-01-13T15:17:00.001Z

here are a couple of mixed media, gouache and ink, paintings that I did yesterday. They were based on reference photos and my imagination.
Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

See the full gallery on Posterous

Two new mixed media paintings.

2012-01-13T15:09:00.000Z

I guess these two paintings done yesterday qualify as mixed media, as they were painted with gouache and Indian ink.

Sunflowers (gouache and ink) 11" x 17"

Tulips (gouache and ink) 11" x 16"

They were both done quite quickly from reference photos and imagination, painted very loosely

A fairly new Still Life

2012-01-10T18:20:00.001Z

I painted this one late last year, but missed posting it or even taking a photo of it till recently.
Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

The Pitman painters.

2012-01-06T09:20:00.001Z

Yesterday we went to see the marvellous play The Pitmen Painters, I was going to write it up, but came across this really good review so have borrowed it for all to read. It really is a wonderful play and well worth seeing.

JOYCE MCMILLAN on THE PITMEN PAINTERS at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, and PERICLES at the Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, for Scotsman Arts, 28.7.11
__________________________________________________________

The Pitmen Painters 4 stars ****
Pericles 4 stars ****

EVER SINCE he wrote the script for the global stage and film hit Billy Elliott, a dozen years ago, the Newcastle-born playwright Lee Hall has been recognised as one of the leading voices in 21st century English drama, and a passionate advocate for the often unheard voices of ordinary working people. He has experimented with hard-edged surrealism in plays like Cooking With Elvis, and recently hit the headlines in a fierce dispute with Northern Opera over a glancing reference to homosexuality in an opera for performance by schoolchildren.

If you want a glimpse of the straightforward, passionate heartland of Hall’s work as a writer, though, then you can do no bretter than to head for the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, which plays host this week to the only Scottish dates in the current tour of his 2007 play The Pitmen Painters, co-produced by the National Theatre in London, and Live Theatre of Newcastle. Inspired by a book by art critic William Feaver, The Pitmen Painters tells the astonishing story of the Ashington Group, a collective of more than 30 miners from Ashington in Northumberland who in the 1930’s attended a Workers’ Educational Association art appreciation class in their village hall, and soon began to paint themselves, creating a remarkable body of work that, for a while, became the toast of the British arts establishment.

For the purposes of his drama, Hall reduces the number of miners involved to five, and spins a powerful episodic drama – in short, Brecht-style scenes introduced by projected slides giving date and location – around the story of their interaction with the art world, first in the shape of their tutor, Robert Lyon, and later of the wealthy art patron Helen Sutherland. From the start, the weekly art class at Ashington becomes a fierce and often sharply comic arena for debate about the purpose and nature of art, about the relationship between the figurative and the abstract (“That’s nowt but a blob, that is…”) and about the economic circumstances that support, shape or destroy creative lives. Hall’s point is that the pitmen, despite their fierce Northumberland accents and lack of formal education, are far from stupid; and more than capable – once the outlines of debate are made to clear to them – of joining in, on their own terms.

The dramatic crux of the drama, though, lies in the tension between the most talented of the painters, Oliver Kilbourn, and the patron Helen Sutherland, who wants him to give up coal-mining and live on her patronage, in order to develop his painting. At the core of this debate, there lie some aching questions about the tension between the individual and the collective, in the development of a creative life; and about the economic base for visual art in particular, in a market always shaped by the preferences of the rich.

In the end, Hall’s play begins to look like something of a tragedy, as the strong collective experience that gave the men’s work its mighty energy also places limits on their creative development; and as they express their high hopes for the nationalisation of the mines in 1946, mocked by the later history of strife, closure and economic decline which we all know. Hall himself says that the very existence of a story like Billy Elliott – which shows a former mining community still alienated from the idea of a career in the arts, fifty years on – demonstrates the failure of those hopes.

Throughout Max Roberts’s powerful production, though, every member of the play’s eight-strong cast – led by Trevor Fox as Oliver Kilbourn – acts as if the future of the nation still depended on their argument, with an intensity mirrored in Martin Hodgson’s fierce sound design, and in the paintings themselves, projected behind the action. And in the end, we’re left with an unforgettable sense of how old industrial communities were able to create a collective life, and reaffirm the humanity and potential even of the most battered coalface worker; as we try to navigate our way through a world so much richer in material goods and in its sense of individual freedom, and yet so relatively poor in the quality of its shared cultural experience, and in its confidence that the best in life can and should be available to us all.

MAKING A MARK: Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven - Review

2012-01-05T10:04:00.000Z

MAKING A MARK: Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven - Review

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T14:12:00.005Z

Here's wishing my followers a Happy New Year !

This is a painting that I am still working on, but I think it is a reasonable choice for this page.

Some Linux ramblings.

2011-12-30T18:08:00.000Z

I have been using Linux as my operating system for years, having got tired of all Windows faults. Have tried various distros, but have been using Mint for some time. However as my installation was playing up I decided to try some other distros. First was Xubuntu, which I found pretty good and easy to use, but having to download various items to get the same depth as Mint was a pain. Then I thought I'd try a KDE based distro, and after looking at various different ones and reading many reviews I tried Pardus. Easy to set-up, great looks, but such a small repository it was impossible to add programs like Picasa. So I tried PCLinuxOS.. Not as easy to set-up as Pardus, but a really good if slow repository. Tried various desktops and thought I'd got around how the Plasma screen worked, and then it just started locking -up for no apparent reason. I tried 4 reboots and each time it locked up after a few seconds, so good-bye PCLinuxOS, and here we are back in Mint 11.04.

Yet another flower painting

2011-11-28T11:55:00.001Z

This one is again from my imagination. I've called it "Daffs", which is basically what it is. This one is on canvas.

Pansies

2011-11-28T10:49:00.001Z

Here is a small 10" x 8" oil on board that I did from my imagination a few weeks ago.

Thelonious Monk Quartet - Monk In Denmark

2011-10-28T18:37:00.000+01:00

Listen to some fantastic Jazz !

30 MINUTES of Jimmy Smith LIVE in '65!

2011-10-28T18:35:00.000+01:00

SWLA Exhibition

2011-10-27T18:07:00.000+01:00

As we were meeting some friends in town today, we thought that we would meet at the Mall Gallery and view the Society of Wild Life Artists annual exhibition.

We have not been to one of their exhibitions before and we found it a real eye opener. Though it is themed as an exhibition of wild life paintings and sculpture, the variety of styles was amazing. There was everything from the near photographic type of painting

to the very near abstract, but everything kept the wild life theme, even though this was not immediately apparent.

We were lucky enough to have been able to go on the President of the society's tour of the show, in which not only did she explain the methods and thinking behind some of the works, but also introduced us to a few of the artists featured, who were able to give very deep insights into their work.

We found it a most interesting exhibition and well up to the high standards set at the Mall Gallery. Very well worth a visit.

Vases

2011-10-19T17:30:00.001+01:00

This one is a still life oil on canvas 18" x 16". I used a selection of vases that we have positioned in what I thought was a reasonable pose. Initially I was going to have them in front of a window, but then I tried a background influenced to some extant by Mondrian, a painter whose work I admire. I'm not sure if it works that well, bur I think it makes quite an interesting painting.

Dancing with Degas

2011-10-18T18:40:00.000+01:00

Today we visited the new exhibition at the Royal Academy called "Degas at the Ballet" which is dedicated to Degas's paintings, sculptures and drawings of ballet dancers, as well as a look into the development of the photography of the moving figure.

We felt that far to much space was dedicated to the latter subject, and that it was added to the exhibition to flesh out what would actually have been a fairly small show.

The show was roughly in chronological order which we think is a good idea. The first room was of his earlier drawings and paintings, which included some of his best known works.

All through the exhibition it was very interesting to compare the working drawings with the finished paintings. This was particularly true of the room which concentrated on the drawings which he did as a basis for his well known statue of the young ballet dancer.

A few rooms then were more about the development of photography of the moving figure. These were very interesting, but we felt that there was to much of them and that they only had a peripheral connection with Degas painting. A whole room was dedicated to Degas own photographic efforts, which again were interesting, but we felt were only put in to flesh out the exhibition.

Finally we came to two rooms dedicated to his later paintings. The colour in these two rooms was much more powerful than that of his earlier paintings, and the pastels really stood out. It was very interesting to see his paintings of Russian dancers painted quite late in his life.

We enjoyed the exhibition very much, but felt that as I have said before to much space was given to photography. It would also have been interesting to see a few of his non-ballet paintings, and possibly even some of his contemporaries, particularly Those whom he influenced such as Mary Cassat.

Three Shapes

2011-10-14T15:09:00.001+01:00

Posted in About.com Painting Forum
Subject: Three Shapes

Click here to view this posting and others in About.com Painting Forum.

Another semi-abstract painting based on some glasses and vases. It is in acrylic on a 16" x18" canvas. It is a bit of an experiment. I painted the background using a squeegee and paint straight from the tube. I then added the shapes again using paint directly from the tubes and moving it around with a selection of painting knives.

I am quite pleased with the results, and would be pleased to read your comments. It was done partly to use up my stock of acrylic paints and to use a damaged canvas which I had patched, so in fact the left hand shape is a sort of collage.

Visit my blog at http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage for up to date news on what I am doing and thinking.

Jazz Royalty

2011-10-09T12:23:00.001+01:00

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

Jazz Royalty

2011-10-09T12:18:00.000+01:00

Experiment in Blue

2011-10-09T12:04:00.001+01:00

Last Thursday at our art group Rebecca set up a series of still lifes, with the emphasis on white subjects. The idea was to take the paintings of the Nicholson's as a basis for our compositions. Most people did conventional still lifes after the style of the older Nicholson, but I decided to try a more abstract approach, and work in a selection of blues. After doing a fairly conventional but loose composition I distressed it and used a palette knife to spread the paint around, resulting in this painting. It is 11" x 9" acrylic on canvas.

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

Experiment in Blue

2011-10-09T11:56:00.000+01:00

Croatia 2011

2011-10-03T11:22:00.043+01:00

Here are some small watercolours that I did whilst on holiday recently in Croatia. We stayed at the excellent Hotel Albatros, just outside the beautiful village of Cavtat, 18km from Dubrovnik.

We had an excellent holiday that was only marred by me tripping over on our first Saturday there and badly straining my ankle, which severely limited my getting around. However it did enable me to produce these small watercolours whilst sitting by the swimming pool.

Fort Lovrijenac , Dubrovnik.

The view from our balcony.

The ruined house next door to the hotel. the ground floor was used as a bar.

The Chapel of St.George at Mikulici in the Konavle Valley. The mound behind the chapel is an Ilyrian Stone Pile.

A view of Cavtat from the road leading to the village.

St.Nicholas Parish Church, Cavtat.

View across Luka bay at Cavtat.

Dubrovnik, the wall from the harbour.

The Landing Stage at the Hotel Albatros, where you could get a boat to Dubrovnik.

The Landing Stage Uvala Tiha. This was a sketch in my notebook with some watercolour added.

All the other sketches are on Khadi paper.

There was a small gallery on the way into Cavtat, where we spoke to the artist, who painted some very nice local views, far better than the normal tourist tat which was obviously mass produced and sold in Dubrovnik and Cavtat . We also visited a gallery in Dubrovnik which had some very nice loose paintings of Dubrovnik by an arist who's name I cannot recall.

Three Still Lifes

2011-08-30T15:37:00.000+01:00

Here are three recently painted still life oils.

Carnations, Vases and Bottle (13" x 21" oil on board)

Vases, Candles and Oranges (16" x 12" x 2" Canvas)

Jugs, Vase and Tangerines (30" x 20" Canvas)

The Dulwich Art Group.

2011-08-30T15:22:00.000+01:00

The Dulwich Art Group organises life drawing and painting sessions which are open to people of all abilities. With no tutor, artists are free to pursue their own approach to painting or drawing. A pose is usually set for a period of three weeks, each weekly session runs for three hours and there is a break in the middle for tea, coffee and biscuits. Each session is paid for on the day allowing flexibility, you don’t have to commit to a whole term for example. In fact we run throughout the year and stay open through the holidays too. Please note however that we are closed from the last Saturday session on the 13th August until Saturday 3rd September when we restart with a new model. Wednesday groups start again on the 7th September. The club is run by artists for artists and at £10 it is very good value compared to council run courses. The open structure is also a point of difference that many people find appealing. The timing of the group allows those with school age children to attend, some members slip away a few minutes early if they have to pick up at 3.30pm. Wednesdays 12.30-3.30pm – The Old Scout Hut – Greendale – Dulwich

Art into Life

2011-08-18T15:35:00.001+01:00

The session that we did was titled 'Ideas as Art' and concentrated on the works of the Cubists.

We first looked at a sculpture by the Italian Futurist Boccioni. This has a very long title but we were asked to come up with a one word title which would encompass our reactions to the sculpture.

We were then asked to do a pencil sketch of the sculpture, but not to try and copy it from one angle but to move round it catching our impressions. the results were very interesting, with different people capturing it in completely different ways.

We then moved onto the next room, and spent some time looking and discussing Braque and Picasso's Cubist paintings . Examining the way that they were painted, and the ways in which these two artists developed cubism. We were also asked to put shading into the drawing that we had just done, to see how this worked out.

We then looked at a group of sculptures by Jaques Lipchitz.

Again we were asked for our reactions and shown how Lipchitz tried to use cubist principles in making these sculptures. We followed this by again doing multi-angled drawings. We were then given sheets of cardboard and with some instruction tried to construct a 3-dimensional sculpture in the style . When we had finished these sculptures as far as we could we then flattened them out, covered them in tissue paper and went over them with crayons, *frottage, resulting in some very interesting works.

This was the conclusion of the workshop. The time went so quickly and we were all very engrossed in what we were doing, causing some amusement to other visitors to the museum. We all learnt quite a lot about the theory and practicalities of Cubist art. It was a very enjoyable and productive morning's work.

I have included my efforts for which I apologize.

* In art, frottage (from French frotter, "to rub") is a surrealist and "automatic" method of creative production developed by Max Ernst.

In frottage the artist takes a pencil or other drawing tool and makes a "rubbing" over a textured surface. The drawing can be left as is or used as the basis for further refinement. While superficially similar to brass rubbing and other forms of rubbing intended to reproduce an existing subject, and in fact sometimes being used as an alternate term for it, frottage differs in being aleatoric and random in nature.

It was developed by Ernst in 1925. Ernst was inspired by an ancient wooden floor where the grain of the planks had been accentuated by many years of scrubbing. The patterns of the graining suggested strange images to him. He captured these by laying sheets of paper on the floor and then rubbing over them with a soft pencil.

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

Art into Life at Tate Modern

2011-08-18T15:29:00.000+01:00

Today eight of us attended an Art into Life workshop at the Tate Modern museum. The purpose of these sessions is to introduce people to modern art, with sessions including discussion and practical work.

The session that we did was titled 'Ideas as Art' and concentrated on the works of the Cubists.

We first looked at a sculpture by the Italian Futurist Boccioni. This has a very long title but we were asked to come up with a one word title which would encompass our reactions to the sculpture.

We then looked at a group of sculptures by Jaques Lipchitz.

I have included my efforts for which I apologize.

* In art, frottage (from French frotter, "to rub") is a surrealist and "automatic" method of creative production developed by Max Ernst.

In frottage the artist takes a pencil or other drawing tool and makes a "rubbing" over a textured surface. The drawing can be left as is or used as the basis for further refinement. While superficially similar to brass rubbing and other forms of rubbing intended to reproduce an existing subject, and in fact sometimes being used as an alternate term for it, frottage differs in being aleatoric and random in nature.

It was developed by Ernst in 1925. Ernst was inspired by an ancient wooden floor where the grain of the planks had been accentuated by many years of scrubbing. The patterns of the graining suggested strange images to him. He captured these by laying sheets of paper on the floor and then rubbing over them with a soft pencil.

The RA Summer Exhibition

2011-08-08T16:52:00.000+01:00

This year we paid rather a late visit to the Summer Exhibition, which in fact seems to have been a good idea, as it was not to crowded, so we had ample room to view the exhibits.

Once again it was a veritable 'Dogs Dinner' good in parts. We thought that the hanging was much better than in previous years. The quite heavily hung room 3, worked well for us, giving plenty of space to the non-abstract works, and room for the abstract works on the opposite wall. It was pretty obvious which the general public preferred, with very few people looking at the abstracts.

The Small Weston Room was also far better hung than in previous years with fewer paintings and so far less crowded. The main prints were exhibited again in two rooms, giving much better viewing conditions .

The remaining rooms exhibited mainly abstract and conceptual works , with a scattering of representational works throughout.

I particularly liked Anthony Green's exhibits this year, they showed his stupendousability as a painter combined with humour in his presentation. I am quite fond of the late Ben Levene's work and was not dissapointed by those works shown. Christopher LeBrun's large semi-abstracts took my eye, and i thought them very painterly. Two abstract that I really liked were by Ron Sims.

In all I thought that it was a much more interesting and better laid out show than those in recent years.

Miro

2011-08-02T10:53:00.001+01:00

Last night I attended a special private view of the Miro exhibition at Tate Modern for Seniors and community group leaders based in Southwark. It was extremely well attended.

We were first given a guided tour which was extremely good. Our very enthusiastic lecturer, introduced us to Miro as a person, and then took us around the exhibition showing us and explaining in great detail some of the key pictures. When I was a youngster I really liked Miro, but in more recent years have gone off his work. I understand now that the problem was that I did not understand how political a person he was and the meaning of the symbolism that he used. This talk made it all very much clearer, and I was able to enjoy looking at his paintings again.

The first room showed how he developed quite rapidly from a fairly conventional painter to a surrealist. This was followed by a room showing the paintings that he did against Primo de Riviera's dictatorship and supporting Catalan defiance using the symbolic red barretina cap worn by Catalan peasants.

The next rooms explore the ways in which Miro reacted to the various changes of government in Spain culminating in the work he produced whilst in exile in France, escaping from the civil war started by France. This work " Still Life with Old Shoe" is regarded by many as his greatest masterpiece and second only to Picasso's "Guernica" as a protest against the horrors of war.

The next three rooms show his reactions to the eventual outbreak of WW2, with a series of 50 lithographs which we can see as well as some of the original drawings and some impressive paintings. These lead on to the series of small paintings called the " Constellations". These extraordinary paintings show his reactions as the war progressed culminating in the his delight at it's conclusion. They are not paintings to be glossed over with a quick look , but paintings that need to be studied closely. I felt that these paintings and "Still Life With Old Shoe" were the best works in the show, and a good enough reasonn for an extended visit.

In 1947 he and his family made a long visit to New York, where he was feted and became one of the inspirations of the American art movement the abstract impressionists. He himself was very struck by their work and borrowed ideas from them resulting in the painting of two huge tryptchs.

His final major contribution to the art world were the paintings that he did called the Burnt Canvases. These were inspired in part at his reactions to the students protests that were happening across Europe and particularly in Spain. In these he started burning the canvases and then throwing paint on them. They can also be taken as a confirmation of his surrealist leanings in the abolition of anything of value.

Though I still do not particularly like Miro's paintings, this exhibition did open my eyes as to why he painted as he did. I have only given you a small cross-section of the work displayed which also includes some of his sculpture.

I think that this exhibition is one that anyone with the remotest interest in modern art and its development should not miss.

Cy Twombly and Nicholas Poussin at Dulwich Gallery

2011-07-23T17:09:00.000+01:00

To my mind this must beone the most misconceived art exhibitions ever. I can see little orno connection between these two painters whatsoever, except that theyboth spent their final years in Italy, and that Twombly gave some ofhis paintings mythical titles.

Stylishly there is nocomparison. Twombly's development of abstract expressionist paintingto my eye is very poor and gimmicky. Critics have expressed theirdelight as to the way he used paint, but I cannot see this in thesloppy way he used paint on his canvases. The paintings using scriptare a bit interesting but to me mean very little. The phrase “ theking's new clothes” comes to mind. I do not think he is in the sameleague as Mark Rothko or Barnett Newman. He has been compared withJackson Pollock, but I think comes off very poorly. I can see him asan influence on Tracey Emin, but do not think that this is much of arecommendation.

Poussin is just theopposite. Though his paintings to me are rather lifeless, I canappreciate the care and precision that went into his painting. Theyare beautifully composed with every placement of figure and objectcarefully thought out. His use of paint is beautiful, with verysubtle use of tone and colour.

If you want to see somebeautiful Poussin paintings certainly go the Dulwich Gallery, becauseas well as their own paintings they have on loan his paintings of theSeven Sacraments which are certainly worth seeing.

Sydenham Artist's Trail

2011-07-18T19:01:00.001+01:00

I have been exhibiting with four other artists at a house in Princethorpe Road, Sydenham the last two weekends, as part of the Sydenham's Artists Trail. Though we had quite a lot of visitor's , sales were poor, and in fact two of us did not sell anything. I've attached a few photos taken there, including some of our host's lovely garden.

These three are of my paintings.

These are some of Ruty Benjamini's Ceramics.

John's Ink Drawings

Cathy's Lino Cuts.

The wonderful garden with the sculpture by Hussein on show.

Not very good photos I'm afraid, but they will give some idea of our show.

Friends of Horniman Art Exhibition.

2011-07-09T17:33:00.002+01:00

Yesterday was set-up day for the annual Friends of the Horniman Art Exhibition, followed by the evening private view.

Here is a photo of me standing next to my stand. Hopefully I will get some sales !

A busy weekend.

2011-07-07T12:39:00.002+01:00

This weekend I am exhibiting at two local art shows.

The first one is The Friends of the Horniman ART EXHIBITION to be held in the beautiful conservatory in the Horniman Museum Gardens 100 London Road * Forest Hill * London SE23 3PD Saturday 9th.July 10.00 - 5.00 and Sunday 10th. July 10.00 - 4.30
All works for sale supporting the Museum * Paintings * Sculptures * Prints * Ceramics * Admission Free.

I will be showing still life paintings at this show.

I am also taking part in the Sydenham Visual Arts Trail , an event which is part of Sydenham Arts festival. For full details go to http://visualarts.sydenhamartsfestival.co.uk/.

I am showing marine and still life paintings at 6 Princethorpe Road, Sydenham SE26 4PF along with 4 other artists including photographer Rebecca Wilde (www.rebeccajwilde.com) and ceramic artwork by Ruty Benjamini (www.rutybenjamini).

Come along and see our work Saturday and Sunday 9th/10th and 16th/17th July 11.00 -17.00.

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

A Busy Weekend

2011-07-07T12:13:00.001+01:00

This weekend I am exhibiting at two local art shows.

I will be showing still life paintings at this show.

I am also taking part in the Sydenham Visual Arts Trail , an event which is part of Sydenham Arts festival. For full details go to http://visualarts.sydenhamartsfestival.co.uk/.

Come along and see our work Saturday and Sunday 9th/10th and 16th/17th July 11.00 -17.00.

The Red Sail.

2011-06-20T18:17:00.001+01:00

Here is an oil on canvas 6" x12" painting I have recently finished.

It shows a Thames Sailing Barge with it's typical red sail.

For sale at £95.00 plus p&p.

The Cult of Beauty

2011-05-29T16:04:00.000+01:00

Last week we paid a visit to this much vaunted exhibition at the V&A museum. The exhibition is about the Aesthetic Movement in England between 1860-1900.

The Aesthetic Movement was an attempt to breakaway from the hidebound and over materialistic way of furnishing and decoration which typified the Victorian era. The idea behind it was 'Art for Art's Sake'. Pictures, decoration and artefacts that existed purely to delight the eye without offering any moral message. Artefacts were to be designed purely for their looks and artistic worth.

The artists behind this movement were as dissimilar as Gabriel Rossetti, the leader of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and Whistler, who was influenced by the changes in painting being pioneered in France. The movement was also supported by grand classical painters such as Frederick Leighton and G.F.Watts. All these painters painted ,within their own styles ,women whose looks were at odds with the usual Victorian ideas of feminine beauty, but were luscious and what would have been to Victorian eyes extremely sexy.

The wealthy followers of this movement even had houses built and decorated to confirm to the Aesthetic ideals. Amongst the designers involved were William Morris and William DeMorgan. Amongst the exhibits was a very clever emulation of a room designed by Whistler, where you got the impression of actually being in the room.

The movement declined in the 1890's partly because it became the butt of satire from Gilbert and Sullivan in their opera 'Patience' and by George DuMaurier's cartoons, but mainly because of the scaling down of the objects and paintings to cater for the up and coming likes and dislikes of the middle classes.

Two Small Paintings

2011-05-24T17:26:00.001+01:00

I did these two small 7" x 5" paintings the other week, at one of our Thursday morning painting sessions.

This painting was done from a photo sent to me by my good friend Jim Haugh, who lives in Yreka, California. It is of a lighthouse in Oregon, just south of Bandon.

This one is done purely from my imagination. I've called it Sails at Sunset.

Either of these paintings is for sale at £50.00 each.

New Dulwich Art Group

2011-03-24T19:53:00.001Z

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dulwich Art Group <info@dulwichartgroup.co.uk>
Date: 24 March 2011 17:36
Subject: New Dulwich Art Group
To:

DULWICH ART GROUP

Hi Everyone

There is a new art group opening on 30^th March in Dulwich on Wednesday afternoons from1pm – 4pm.

Locally there has been a lot of interest in starting such a group focussing on Life Drawing sessions with poses over 3 weeks.

Our first model is the dramatic flamenco dancer – Alexa Nuscis. She is a highly professional model and brings to her work all the experience of the Spanish dancer and the fluidity of pose that such dancers achieve.

The cost is £10 per session including such art equipment as boards, easels and protective floor mats, and includes tea, coffee and cakes at the half-way break.

The group will be running at the Sea Scout Hut in Greendale, part of JAGS site and neighbouring their primary school – JAPS. More directions and information can be found on our Website – www.dulwichartgroup.co.uk

Why not come and try us out?

Alison

Alison Packer

Group Organiser

Women Painters Part 4

2011-03-17T17:43:00.003Z

The flow of modern artists such as Mondrian and Hans Hoffman into the USA fleeing from Nazi oppression, gave American artists the stimulus to develop a new school of abstract art, which came to be called abstract expressionism. In these paintings artists tried to express their innermost feelings through the use of paint in a completely free and abstract but very painterly way. Most of these paintings are on big canvases, and perhaps surprisingly there were a few really outstanding women artists painting in this style. Foremost is possibly Lee Krasner, Wife of Jackson Pollock she produced her own individual highly emotional works, which reflect the difficult life she led with Pollock.

There is a very good novel by John Updike based on her life called "See My Face". Her painting is obviously influenced by the turbulent life that she had with Pollock,

Helen Frankenthaler was another very influential painter, she helped devise a style called Colour Field. Color Field is characterized primarily by large fields of flat, solid colour spread across or stained into the canvas; creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane.

The movement places less emphasis on gesture, brush strokes and action in favour of an overall consistency of form and process.

Joan Mitchell is also highly influential in modern painting. Her paintings are expansive, often covering two separate panels.

Landscape was the primary influence on her subject matter. She painted on un-primed canvas or white ground with gestural, sometimes violent brushwork. Her paintings are highly expressive and emotional.

Agnes Martin developed a much gentler style of painting; working on smaller canvases her works are soothingly delicate but full of a gentle emotion. They need to be seen in a quiet gallery where they can have a very soothing effect.

Probably one of the most influential painters to come out of Great Britain is Bridget Riley.

She is one of the greatest exponents of the form of abstract painting called Op Art. Her very intense large paintings use stripes and blocks of colour to create sensations of light and space. Reproductions of her works do not do them justice. You have to be physically in front of them to get the impression that she is trying to give.

There is currently a small exhibition of her work at the National Gallery, which I found quite overwhelming.

Another influential English painter is Gillian Ayres, basically an abstract expressionist; her large exuberant paintings dominated last year’s Royal Academy summer exhibition.

It is strange that in the field of surrealist painting, British women have made such a great impact. Another onne of these is Paula Rego. Born in Portugal, Paula Rego went to school in Kent and to the Slade in the 50s. Drawing and painting dramatic emotional stories, she is praised for presenting a female point of view.

Elisabeth Blackadder is the first woman to become a member of both the RA and the Scottish RA.

Influenced by William Gilles and Anne Redpath she has become one of the most popular figurative artists today, though her works reflect abstract leanings from her earlier career.

Finally I will conclude my article with a woman, who I think would be regarded as the grand old lady of British art, Mary Fedden, who is still painting at 96.

Mary Fedden’s subjects are often executed in a bold, expressive style with vivid and contrasting colours, although her work of 2005-6 uses a narrower tonal range. Her still-life paintings are often placed in front of a landscape, and she enjoys the contrasting of disparate, even quirky elements. When using watercolours she emphasises the rough texture of her favourite Indian papers.

I hope that this has introduced you to some of the outstanding art produced by Women painters in the last two centuries, and I have not ignored your own favourite painters. Women continue to to play a very important part of the art world, as can be seen in the work of members of the South London Women Artists group. I'd also like to suggest that you visit the 150^th annual exhibition of the Society of Women Artists at the mall Gallery from 30^th June until 9^th July.

Watteau Drawings at the Royal Academy

2011-03-15T17:53:00.001Z

Just opened at the Royal Academy in London is an exhibition of drawings by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721. Probably better known for his paintings of rather bucolic imaginary parties, his so called fetes galante, he is supposed to have preferred his drawings to his paintings. Many of these drawings were used as a basis for his fetes galante, but a lot were done as stand a lone works.

He started drawing in red and white chalk and later added black. It was not till much later that he started using graphite and then only in very small quantities. The amount of feeling and detail that he obtained using just the three chalks is amazing. His figures are so natural and really come to life. They have a timeless quality that has rarely been matched , and have been an inspiration to many of the artists who have followed him.

I particularly liked his drawings of children's heads and musicians. Though he did not do very many nude studies, and actually destroyed the majority of those he did do, there are still some outstanding examples in the exhibition.

I really recommend a visit to this exhibition if you have any interest in the art of drawing, a fundamental skill for any artist.

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

See the full gallery on Posterous

Women Painters Part 3

2011-03-15T17:25:00.000Z

In England these new paths in art had not made much impression, and impressionist inspired art was still the vogue. One of our finest artists at this time was Laura Knight.

In 1913 she made a painting that was a first for a woman artist, Self Portrait with Nude, showing her with a nude model. She later became the first woman to be elected to the Royal Academy and was made a Dame in 1929

Two other British painters who made a name for themselves in the 20's and 30's were Vanessa Bell and Dora Carrington. Vanessa was a leading member of the Bloomsbury group, who lived a very unconventional life style, based on their house Charleston in Sussex. They helped introduce the works of modern painters like Matisse to England. She experimented with abstraction but generally painted in a more impressionist manner.

Dora Carrington a real eccentric was probably the better painter of the two, but committed suicide in 1932 after the death of her long term friend the writer Lytton Strachey. She was another member of the Bloomsbury group.

The Scots have often been at the forefront of art, and in Anne Redpath they produced a painter who could well hold her own. Though she lived for a good part of her life in France she became a strong influence on the Scottish and English art scenes with her loosely painted landscapes and still life’s.

England was the home of two leading surrealist painters. Eileen Agar was probably the best surrealist painter to paint in England, though she lived for a long period in France.

Another not so well known surrealist in England but much more famous abroad is Leonora Carrington, The partner of Max Ernst she fled with him from France in the 1940's and ended up living in Mexico where she is still alive. Her later paintings were influenced by her dabbling with the occult.

America was now gaining stature as a producer of great art. Georgia O'Keefe was a very influential artist in the between wars era. Her very erotic semi-abstract paintings of the interiors of flowers and animal skulls are quite unique. She was trained by Arthur Worsley Dow who encouraged artists to express themselves through harmonious compositions and contrasts of light and dark. She was discovered by the photographer Alfred Steiglitz, whom she later marrried.

Another unique stylist was the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo whose paintings reflected the emotional and physical damage that affected her life. Using her own unique "folkloric" style of painting, Frida painted the diary of her life. Each painting, whether it be a self-portrait or a still life, captures a moment in her life. They reflect the emotions of her turbulent relationship with her husband, the famous muralist Diego Rivera, the life long physical and emotional pain she endured as a result of a tragic bus accident and her inability to have children

Part 4 to follow.

Celebrating Women Painters part 2

2011-03-11T16:56:00.000Z

In Germany an important group of painters had sprung up, inspired by the post-impressionists such as Van Gogh, They painted with bright colours, bold outlines and deliberately unsophisticated techniques. Amongst the group were three important women painters.

Gabrielle Munter who was Kandinsky's mistress painted some outstanding bold, expressive landscapes and still lifes. After breaking with Kandinsky in 1917 when he returned to Russia, she gave up painting, and id not resume until much later in her life. She saved many of Kandinsky's paintings from destruction by the Nazis, for which she won an award.

Then there was Marianne Von Werefkin who was of Russian descent. Though trained by Repin, Russia's finest painter at the time, she gave up painting for almost 10 years so not to compete with her partner Alex Jawlensky. When she resumed painting she painted in a manner highly inspired by Gauguin and Munch.

Paula Modersohn-Becker was another fine artist who unfortunately died young in childbirth. Strongly influenced by Cezanne, and Gauguin she painted some very fine still lifes and portraits of great intensity.

There is something ironic that the artist who painted this strong mother and baby painting should die in childbirth.

Back in France painting was moving on with the invention of Cubism by Picasso and Braque and the increasing development of abstract painting.. One woman who was inspired by these methods of painting was Marie Laurencin.

While her work shows the influence of Cubist painters Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who was her close friend, she developed a unique approach to abstraction which often centred on the representation of groups of women and female portraits.

Her work lies outside the bounds of Cubist norms in her pursuit of a specifically feminine aesthetic by her use of pastel colours and curvilinear forms.

Another painter who was attracted to these new methods was Sonia Delaunay, another Russian immigrant. She with her husband developed an early approach to abstraction using geometry and colour, which they called Orphism

She later moved more into the field of textile design.

She even painted her car and had a dress to match in one of her designs. Some of her patterns are still in use today.

Also attracted by cubist methods was Tamara de Lempika, a Polish émigré, She adapted cubism to her own unique style of portrait painting, which epitomized the cool yet sensual side of the Art Deco movement. In the 20's she was the most popular portrait painter amongst wealthy Europeans.

She led a very dissolute bisexual life with many lovers of both sexes.

Less well known but of much more influence was the Swiss born painter Sophie Taubeur-Arp. Married to the Dadaist painter and sculpture Jean Arp she developed her own influential and minimalist style of geometric abstraction in the early Modernist period, reflecting a subtle understanding of the interplay between colour and form.

Part 3 To Follow .

C elebrating Women Painters

2011-03-08T18:43:00.000Z

In celebrating women painters I am going to introduce you to the work of women painters, who I feel have contributed to the art of painting in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. I am concentrating on painting and not sculpture, performance arts or photography.

Before the 19^th Century professional women painters were very few. There had been Artemsia Gentileschi back in the 17^th century and Angelica Kaufmann a great portrait painter of the 18^th century but very few other women painters who made a name for themselves.

The 19^th Century saw many changes in the world of art. One of the most significant was the gradual entry into the world of painting by women artists. Most upper class women painted in watercolour some of them extremely well, including Queen Victoria herself , but hardly any commercially. The main reason that women were not able to break into the professional art world was the lack of training. Art school training revolved very much around the drawing and painting of the nude, and women were forbidden to do this, by the conventions of the time. The type of paintings favoured by the academies were primarily historical or allegorical paintings and secondarily portraits. Landscapes and still life were regarded as very second rate.

In 1837 the Royal College of Art opened up a 'female School' but women still could not paint from the nude model and in France women were not allowed into any of the art schools, until after 1850 when some schools allowed women at separate sessions from men. Here is a painting of a typical women only studio, by Marie Bashkirtseff, a Russian painter who travelled widely in Europe with her mother. Educated privately, she studied painting in France at the Académie Julian, one of the few establishments that accepted female students. Unfortunately she died of TB at 25.The Académie attracted young women from all over Europe and the United States, but only wealthy young women could afford the fees.

The 19^th Century also saw the beginnings of new artistic movements in which women played a small part. The first of these was the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in England which championed a return to the artistic values from before Raphael. Two women played an active part in this relatively short lived movement which actually had little influence on the course of art history.

They were Lizzy Siddall, who started as a model, but was taught by her lover and later husband Dante Gabriel Rossetti, This watercolour shows Rossetti's strong influence on her style of painting, and the sort of subject which they painted..

Later Evelyn DeMorgan, who had trained at the Slade but broke away to paint in her own very much pre-raphaelite style with her typical Botticelli influenced subjects.She was the wife of the celebrated arts and crafts potter William deMorgan,

A far more important movement was the impressionists, a group of young mainly French artists who broke away from the conventions of the time, painting scenes from everyday life, portraits and still lifes in a much looser manner than that practised by the conventional painters of the day. Two women played an active part in the development of this movement, taking part in their exhibitions and their social life.

Berthe Morisot, was trained by Corot and had all ready exhibited at the Academy de Beaux Arts, the principle annual exhibition but she threw in her lot with the breakaway impressionists and even married Manet's brother. She specialised in domestic scenes, as of course her background forbade her from visiting the dance halls and brothels favoured by the male members of the impressionist movement.

The other one was Mary Cassatt an American who though trained in America joined the avant-garde impressionist movement, when she came to live in Paris. She became a great friend of Degas, whose influence shows clearly in her work.

Again she painted mainly domestic scenes , particularly featuring mothers and children, often using her own family as models.

Later member of the impressionist group were Blanche Hochede-Monet, stepdaughter of Monet, and Suzanne Valadon. Blanche acted as assistant to her step-father carrying and setting up his equipment particularly when he grew older. He taught her to paint, and his influence is very clear in her paintings, which are mainly of landscapes around their home in Giverny.

Suzanne Valadon started as a circus acrobat, but after an accident became a model and then was taught to paint by Degas for whom she modelled . She was most famous for her strongly painted nudes.

She was a very eccentric woman and the mother of Maurice Utrillo, but by whom she never told. She had many lovers including Renoir, Puvis de Chavannes and the composer Satie .

.In England the Slade School of painting was opened in 1868 where women were welcomed and were taught side by side with men. This was followed shortly by the formation of the New English Art Club, which started a rival exhibition to that of the Royal Academy, and attracted new and more progressive artists. One of these was Gwen John , sister of Augustus John, who after she graduated moved to Paris, where she first worked as a model and became the sculptor Rodin's mistress. She painted small intense and rather neurotic paintings in a manner inspired by the impressionists. Many people consider her a better painter than her brother.

PART 2 to follow.

A Cloud Study

2011-03-03T17:54:00.001Z

I did the 10" x 12" oil on board this morning. I based it very loosely on a painting by Eugene Boudin, one of my favourite painters and a master at painting clouds.

Bernie Victor

A new still life.

2011-02-23T14:36:00.001Z

Here is a new recently completed still life. It was done using jugs and vases we have around, arranged in my imagination. it is 20" x 30" biggest still life that I have painted. Originally it was just the jugs, vase and coffee pot, but I added the tangerines later which seems to have livened it up.

The Mall Galleries exhibitions.

2011-02-22T14:32:00.000Z

This week the Mall Galleries are hosting three separate exhibitions, "Silver Apples of the Moon" a retrospective of work by the Society of Landscape Painters, The Wapping Group's annual exhibition and a retrospective of the work of the late Rhoda Pepys, a South African artist who died in 2004.

I went with great expectations of the first exhibition as it featured work by some of the best known figurative painters of the day. I was rather disappointed by this show, and came away with the impression that they were not showing the best of their work. Amongst the works that i liked was a painting of Marennes by Sir Roger de Grey , past president of the RA, and some paintings of Greece by the late Colin Hayes. I also like Victor Willis's St.Pauls and the River by Night. Overall I thought the paintings not up to the standard I expected.

The Wapping Group is a group of 25 plein-air painters, who meet once a week to paint on the banks of the Thames, central London and the Kent and Essex paints. there are some very good and well known artists in the group, such as Geoff Hunt, Trevor Chamberlain,Roger Dellar and Ronald Maddox, so you can see that a very high standard is expected. The expectations are well met. I was particularly impressed by the watercolours of Rick Holmes, particularly one done with pastels as well. Another wonderful watercolour was by Paul Banning RSMA, RI, AROI, entitled Looking out, looking in west door Westminster Abbey, which showed a very clever use of reflections. I also very much liked Robin Mackervoy's "St Osyth creek", a really unusual composition. I really enjoyed this exhibition of mainly small and affordable oils and watercolours.

Rhoda Pepys,was a South African born painter, classically trained, she later adopted a more painterly approach and was influenced by Kokoshka. She latterly lived in Italy and many of the paintings were of Italy, as well as still lifes and figure paintings. I found her work rather uneven. there were some really nice paintings, but also quite a few rather poor paintings. She appeared to have peaked in the 1960's and then rather went downhill.though she was still painting until she died aged 90.

Of the three seperate shows I enjoyed the Wapping Groups show most of all, and came away rather disappointed by the other two shows.
Bernie Victor

Mall Galleries Exhibitions.

2011-02-22T14:20:00.001Z

Of the three seperate shows I enjoyed the Wapping Groups show most of all, and came away rather disappointed by the other two shows.
Bernie Victor

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Animal Farm at Alleyn's School

2011-02-18T16:58:00.001Z

Last night we were amongst those lucky enough to be in the audience for Alleyn's Middle School production of Peter Hall's adaption of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'. We were enthralled by a really imaginative production which really captured the menace and cruelty that manifested itself in the course of this play, The play is about animals taking over the farm and overthrowing the humans who ran it. Gradually the pigs take over control and finally become as bad as the humans. It is a very sharp attack on Communism and other forms of despotic rule, and shows how what starts as an ideology for freedom for everybody gradually is taken over by a dominant group.

The staging of this play was really inventive and made full use of the space in the school's own Michael Croft theatre. The acting was an amazingly high standard topped by the young actor, Harry Hancock , who played Squealer, the second in command to the eventual dictator Napoleon. I thought there was another very good performance from the actor William Durgan, playing Boxer, the easily hoodwinked horse. I must also mention the girls who played the hens who kept up their cackling for the whole performance and really added to the atmosphere.

All in all a wonderful performance from these teenagers who were directed ably by Rebecca Baxter, who I presume teaches drama at the school.
Bernie Victor

Pure Gold

2011-02-16T09:44:00.000Z

The Federation of British Artists is currently holding an exhibition at their Mall Gallery to celebrate their 50th anniversary. All the member societies are represented, but what makes this exhibition unique is that not only are there works by contemporary members but they are shown side by side with works by past member, going back to the beginnings of the various societies existence. For instance the portrait painters were not only represented by modern portrait painters but were alongside works by Augustus John and James Guthrie. We even had a Degas drawing amongst the pastellists. One room was dedicated to historical works which included paintings by Singer Sargeant , Walter Sickert and Lucienne Pissaro, which I think gives some indication of the extremely high quality of the works shown.

There was also a special display showing Sir William Orpen's studio, which is now used by Ken Howard. There we saw a contemporary painting of the studio as it is today, by Ken Howard alongside a photo of how it was when Orpen was using as well as some of his artifacts, including a mirror which features in an Orpen painting which was on view.

One of the outstanding paintings on view was a work by Paul Nash which has not been seen in public since 1918.

It is called 'The Mack'

A painting by current member Peter Kelly

A John Minton Portrait

Sir Gerlad Festus Kelly PPRA "Sow Ohn Nyun V"

We really enjoyed this exhibition and it was fascinating to compare the works by Victorian and Edwardian painters with ones by contemporary painters.

Pure Gold

2011-02-15T17:06:00.001Z

We really enjoyed this exhibition and it was fascinating to compare the works by Victorian and Edwardian painters with ones by contemporary painters.

A New Still Life

2011-01-25T17:03:00.000Z

I am rather pleased with this new still life, called Carnations and Vases.

It was based on a photo that I had in my collection plus quite a lot of imagination. It is an oil on a panel 340 x 520 cm. I stated drawing it out in charcoal, when I had decided on the layout I blocked it in roughly in acrylic, and then finished it off in oils.

It is for sale at £200.00 plus carriage.

Norman Rockwell at Dulwich Gallery.

2011-01-25T14:24:00.001Z

This morning my wife and I visited the Norman Rockwell exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery. This exhibition is quite a triumph for the gallery as it is the first major exhibition of the works of Norman Rockwell, an iconic American painter.

As well as a good selection of his paintings they are also showing all 323 covers that he did for The Saturday Evening Post magazine between 1916 and 1963. Norman Rockwell was a very prolific artist and produced over 4000 works in his life. He also illustrated many books and did countless paintings for use in advertisements.

The impression that I got from this exhibition was that though he was a very technically accomplished artist and a very diligent and hard working craftsman his paintings lack that vital spark that makes the difference between a good painting and a great painting. His work reminds me in some part of the work of Jack Vettriano, though obviously lacking the overt erotic feeling that is in Vettiano’s work. Like Vettriano he is regarded in a very poor way by the majority of art critics and the rest of the art world,, and yet is extremely popular with the general public. Many people would consider him America’s greatest painter. However when you compare his work with that of Edward Hopper, you can see what is missing. To me generally from what is on show, they lack any depth of feeling, except for one work ‘Charwomen’ which we are told was a subject that he really wanted to paint. A great number of the paintings are overly sentimental. He was very clever in the ways that he used the formats of other greater painters, to produce works which are extremely clever in their execution.

When you see the paintings as magazine covers, you can see where his true worth lies. He regarded himself foremost as an illustrator and this comes out over and over again. A painting which to me seemed very maudlin, when reproduced as a cover comes into its own. As a portraitist of middle class white America he really makes a mark, and as a provider of patriotic posters he is first class.

In all I think that this is an exhibition well worth the visit, but do not expect to see great works of art. These you will see in the main body of the gallery. The contrast I think will strike you when you emerge from the Rockwell exhibition.

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

2011-01-11T14:54:00.002Z

There have been a number of books fictionalising the lives of real painters like 'The Girl With A Pearl Earing' by Tracey Chevalier or stories of fictitous painters like John Updikes wonderful novel 'Seek My Face' based on Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock's partner, but this book portraying the life of a young woman working her way up in the milieu of New York Art dealers covers new ground to me. She starts as an assistant at Sotheby's and gradually works her way up the ladder. It purports to be written by an art journalist friend of the main character and it shows how he gets caught up in the machinations that go on in the aworld of art dealing. The book is interspersed with references to real painters and art world personalities, and it is quite difficult to tell which are real people and which are fictitious.

It uncovers some of the scams which go on in the commercial world of selling paintings, and explores the way that contemporary art worms its way into making vast sums of money for the dealers. The author, I think make sit quite clear where he stands as far as 'contemporary' art is concerned and makes one realize what a con a lot of contemporary art is, and how unscrupulous are those who deal in it. It helps one to track the various movements that have come and gone.

The story has some quite unexpected twists to the plot and I found it a very gripping book to read and very hard to put down.

If you are at all interested in the wheeling and dealing that goes on in the art world, I recommend that you put this book on your reading list.

Eugène Boudin

2011-01-11T09:27:00.001Z

Here is a link that will take you to a site showing some paintings by one of my favourite painters, Eugène Boudin .

Boudin was a huge influence on Monet, and in a way actually got Monet painting. His sky's are magnificent, and really capture the feel of sky over sea.

lines and colors :: a blog about drawing, painting, illustration, comics, concept art and other visual arts » Chardin: Painter of Silence

2011-01-02T11:02:00.000Z

lines and colors :: a blog about drawing, painting, illustration, comics, concept art and other visual arts » Chardin: Painter of Silence

Vegetable Soup

2010-12-09T12:23:00.001Z

Here is a still life that I did recently in oils on paper. It was inspired by the excellent vegetable soup that my wife cooks. I'm quite pleased with it, and now wish that I had painted it on a canvas instead of the primed paper that I used.

Cezanne's Card Players

2010-12-07T18:25:00.001Z

London's Courtauld Gallery might be one of the smaller London galleries, but as well as having a unique collection which includes some of the most important paintings of the 19th and 20th centuries, but it often hosts small exhibitions of a very high standard. At present they have an exhibition on which I would consider a very important exhibition which should be visited by every artist or enthusiast .

This exhibition is about Cezanne's iconic paintings of the card players. The Courtauld all ready owns two of these paintings and has borrowed others from galleries all over the world. The exhibition gives one a unique opportunity to not only compare the versions on display, but also to see some of the oil and watercolour sketches and drawings which Cezanne did in preparation for painting these seminal works.

The exhibition also includes a selection of the related paintings of local peasants, most of whom are also featured in the card player paintings. One wall is dedicated to three paintings of the same man, and it is fascinating to see the way he developed the subject. In the first one he incorporates part of a still life which he had painted. The last one has passages in it which to my eye show the way he was moving to a more abstract way of painting. It also shows to me how Picasso was influenced by this painting and others in his way to the introduction of cubism.

In all I found this an extremely educational exhibition. The exhibition is complimented by a small show of much earlier drawings of peasants by Dutch artists which I feel show the way that Cezanne though a great innovator, was still influenced by work done before his time.

If you are in London, do not miss this exhibition, which runs until 16th January.
Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Canaletto and his Rivals Exhibition.

2010-12-06T18:08:00.002Z

We visited the National Galleries exhibition 'Canaletto and his Rivals' the other day. One of our friends is mad on Canaletto, so this exhibition was a real must for her. Personally though I admire the technical ability of Canaletto, I do find his views of Venice rather boring and lacking in life, whilst I find some of his other paintings which it would seem he did for his own gratification much better.

This exhibition compared his work with some of his contemporaries, who painted the same subject. We first were shown his work compared with some of his predecessors, and in most cases his work early showed an improvement on what had come before in the genre. Much better composition and his use of sunlight to highlight areas were most impressive.

We next moved on to a comparison of his work and that of his nephew Bellotto, who worked in his studio. Belloto generally painted larger canvases and attempted to emphasise the grandeur of the buildings. To my eye to many were just larger near copies of Canaletto's work and lacked the depth of Canaletto's work. His figures which one learned were painted by another painter all together were very poor.

The last two rooms compared Canaletto and his greatest rival, Guardi. I very much prefer Guardi's interpretation of what in some of the works shown was the same or a similar subject. Guardi's painting is much freer than Canaletto's, with much looser brushwork and in some cases looks far more modern and advanced, heralding in a way the changes in landscape painting that took place in the 19th century.

In all I found it quite an intriguing exhibition, which though it did not show any new aspects of Canaletto's work, did give you a good comparison with what was going on in Venice at the same time. One thing that intrigues me, is actually how much of his painting, particularly the larger works was actually painted by him.

The Glasgow Boys

2010-10-29T09:26:00.001+01:00

Today we went to a "Friends" private view of this new exhibition at the Royal Academy. It was an exhibition that we really enjoyed.

The Glasgow Boys were a group of painters originally based in Glasgow,around 1850 but not all Scottish. They were originally influenced by the works of the more progressive French painters,such as Corot and Basien-Lepage,as well as Whistler, but not by the Impressionists, and broke away from traditional Scottish genre painting, into a looser more natural realist style.

Though in no ways innovative, they were all exceptionally talented painters and produced some really beautiful work. I was particularly struck by the paintings in Gouache on linen by Joseph Crawhall. There were some remarkable watercolours by Edward Walton and Arthur Melville, who must rate as some of the best painters in watercolour from any period.

I was also very taken by the pastels of James Guthrie and Arthur Melville.

In all an exhibition well worth visiting if you appreciate god painting.

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Two Small Marine Sketches

2010-10-11T18:13:00.001+01:00

These two watercolour and ink sketches were done recently as possible basis for future oil paintings. having just sold one of my marine paintings I'll probably do one very soon.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Paul Gauguin at Tate Modern

2010-10-05T15:07:00.001+01:00

A new exhibition at Tate Modern features the art works of Paul Gauguin. I visited this exhibition today, and by going early managed to avoid most of the crowds.

This is a very big exhibition and covers the whole period of his paintings. Unfortunately for me, the curator has decided that instead of showing the works in chronological order they hey have decided to show the works by themes. To me this fails to give any idea of how the painters work developed and results in a rather chaotic show. At times there seemed to be little real reason for the groupings of paintings and other art works.

The first room was devoted to self portraits, and I felt showed that Gauguin was not a great portrait painter.

We then moved on to his still life paintings. I feel that in many ways Gauguin’s still life’s paintings were of more influence to other painters than most of his other works. They certainly show the influence of Cezanne, and I am sure them selves influenced Emile Bernard, Matisse and the Cubists.

Paul Gauguin at Tate Modern

2010-10-05T14:41:00.002+01:00

A new exhibition at Tate Modern features the art works of Paul Gauguin. I visited this exhibition today, and by going early managed to avoid most of the crowds.
This is a very big exhibition and covers the whole period of his paintings. Unfortunately for me, the curator has decided that instead of showing the works in chronological order they hey have decided to show the works by themes. To me this fails to give any idea of how the painters work developed and results in a rather chaotic show. At times there seemed to be little real reason for the groupings of paintings and other art works.
The first room was devoted to self portraits, and I felt showed that Gauguin was not a great portrait painter.

We then moved on to his still life paintings. I feel that in many ways Gauguin’s still life’s paintings were of more influence to other painters than most of his other works. They certainly show the influence of Cezanne, and I am sure them selves influenced Emile Bernard, Matisse and the Cubists.

A room was dedicated to his drawings, and showed how Gauguin who was primarily a studio painter, used his simplified drawings were the basis of his paintings.

The next theme was Landscapes. and I felt that in some ways this was the most successful room. Here at least one could get some idea of how his painting developed, his use of imaginative colour, and the way he integrated the local people into his paintings.

We then moved on to his Sacred paintings and here things got a bit confused, with his great Pont Aven paintings being mixed with his South Seas paintings. I feel that the symbolic religious paintings that he did in Brittany were some of his greatest paintings, and do not really mix with the Tahitian paintings.

From here on to my mind things got more confused, with paintings ,sculptures and wood carvings from all eras being mixed up with no firm themes. There are some beautiful pieces of works, but they seemed to me mixed up higgledy piggledy with out any real reasons for their groupings.

The selection of paintings in this exhibition is very good, but I would have liked to have seen at least one work from the time he spent with Van Gogh in Arles, a short period I know, but I think of influence in his development. It would also have been nice to have been shown some works by painters who he influenced, such as Emile Bernard.

All in all I found this a strangely disappointing exhibition, which would have been so much better if the works had been shown chromatically. but still well worth visiting.

Cavtat, Croatia

2010-10-04T18:22:00.001+01:00

Cavtat is a small town about 10K from Dubrovnik. It has two rather nice churches and a long harbour front occupied by 'Billionaire' type motor yachts. Here are some photos taken on a recent visit.

The Balkan War

2010-10-04T12:02:00.000+01:00

These photos were taken at Srebeno, Croatia. They show the group of luxury hotels, shelled and bombed by the Serbian and Montenegrin armies during the siege of Dubrovnik during the Balkan war, over 10 years ago. Lack of funds has meant that these hotels are still in the state that they were left in after, the rocket and missile offensive against a virtually un-armed Croatian army.

Dubrovnik and Mlini, Croatia

2010-10-02T09:56:00.001+01:00

Follow this link to see some of the photos that I took on our holiday in Mlini, Croatia.http://www.flickr.com/photos/33045563@N00/?saved=1
Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

A Limited Palette Still Life

2010-09-07T11:36:00.001+01:00

This painting is rather an experiment. I only used a very limited palette of Cadmium Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Ultramarine and Cobalt Blue, plus white, with just a touch of red for the icing. I also did it in oils on pre-prepared paper, whereas all the paintings that I have done in this style before have been in acrylics.

The painting is titled ' Tea for Two' and is actually brighter than the photo shows. I am quite pleased with it.

It is for sale at £75.00 plus postage.

Sargeant by the Sea.

2010-09-02T14:45:00.001+01:00

I have long been an admirer of Singer Sargeant's paintings, and was
really looking forward to seeing the exhibition at the Royal Academy
called 'Sargeant by the Sea'. Well this morning we went to see it and I
must say I was really disappointed in it.

The main problem was the lack of material. The first room was just a few
photographs of his family, a big map of where he went, one early
painting and a few sketches. the second room was called Waves, and
centred around his painting 'Atlantic Storm'. This is a very fine and
unusual painting, though smaller than I expected. This was padded out
with some of his other paintings of seascapes, very well done for a
young man, but not outstanding.

The next room was dedicated to 'Setting Out To Fish', his entry for the
Academy exhibition in Paris. This was by far the most interesting part
of the exhibition, as it showed most of his preparatory sketches and oil
figure sketches for the figures in the painting, It also showed a
smaller and more loosely painted version of the painting which he did
for an American exhibition. It was very interesting to see all the work
that he did before painting the major work.

The next room , was just extracts from his sketchbooks. There were some
very competent drawings, but it hardly justified a whole room. this was
followed by another room showing his paintings of Neapolitan children
bathing. Very lightweight stuff !
Finally we had a room dedicated to his later watercolour paintings. I'm
afraid I was less than impressed. You can see better watercolour
paintings at any of the Watercolour Societies exhibitions and at many
amateur shows. He was a competent watercolourist, but no more.

To sum up, I thought that though quite interesting, there was not really
enough material on view to warrant this much publicised exhibition. It
would have been more suitable for a smaller gallery such as Dulwich Art
Gallery.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Watercolour Academy

2010-08-24T16:01:00.001+01:00

Today we visited the Mall Gallery for the annual Watercolour Academy in which members of the different societies which have the Mall Gallery as their headquarters show works on paper.

It was a very good show with many well known artists represented. There was perhaps rather a high proportion of landscape paintings and very few florals, and only two abstracts. It is difficult to pick oyut the outstanding painting, but I would highly recommend this how.

Bernie Victor
Website:http://bvpainter.googlepages.com/homepage
Blogs http://berniespaintings.blogspot.com or http://bvpainter.posterous.com/

Jug, Bottle and Fruit

2010-08-19T17:41:00.000+01:00

It is sometime since I did a still life in acrylic, in the style that I developed over the years, so I thought I'd have a go at doing another one. I'm quite pleased with the result.

It was based on a drawing that I did of a still life set up by Rebecca Allen at one of our Thursday Painting group meetings.

It is for sale at £150.00, acrylic on 12" x 16" deep canvas.

Three Flower paintings

2010-08-15T14:14:00.001+01:00

I have done these three small oils recently. They are all on primed paper.

Wallflowers ( 7" x 9.5")

Roses in a Grey Vase ( 9" x 12")

In this one the flowers were painted with a painting knife as an experiment.

Irises in Brown Vase (9" x 12")

These are all for sale at £50.00 each

A visit to the Print Room at Tate Britain

2010-08-12T14:50:00.000+01:00

Today a party of nine of us, visited the print room at Tate Britain for an introduction to the Oppe Collection. This is a collection of over 3000 works of art on paper from the 'golden age' of British watercolour, mostly notably landscapes.

Francis Towne

After a short introductory talk we went round to look at the works which had been sorted out for us to see. They were all displayed on easels in their original mounts, and we were able to see them very closely. Our guide gave us a few details on each artist, and we were able to discuss them amongst ourselves.

J.R.Cozens

One thing that came out were how advanced some of these works were, for the time when they were painted. It was easy to see how Turner was influenced by some of those that preceded him, and how he has influenced the whole field of painting.

Thomas Girtin

Peter de Wint

We were then shown some works by David Cox, a very fine watercolourist, who lived in Dulwich.

Finally we were shown two of Turner's sketch books, one of sketches done in Switzerland, as preparation for his Rigi paintings, and the other one just of sky studies. These were truly amazing.

The time went so quickly and we only scratched the surface of the collection. I am sure that we will be going back again, either as a group or as individuals. Possibly even to paint or draw there as this is allowed if you pre-book.

More old Water Colours and Pastels

2010-08-05T18:59:00.000+01:00

Flowers in Vase ( Ink and watercolour)

Old Boots watercolour

Chair and Table pastel

The Sussex Farm pastel

Some old drawings

2010-08-05T18:49:00.000+01:00

Whilst having a tidy up the other day, I came across the old drawings that I did a few years ago, which I thought that you might find interesting.

Two drawings of the Barbara Hepworth sculpture in Dulwich Park.

Pineapple, bottle and glass.

These three drawings are all in charcoal.

The Courtauld Collects.

2010-07-14T20:15:00.002+01:00

I visited the Courtauld Gallery today to see their "Courtauld Collects" exhibition, which shows some of the works they have acquired over the last 20 years.

The first wall was dedicated to some of the watercolours that they have acquired. It stated with a very fine Constable of Stanway Mill in which Constable captured an oncoming storm with marvelous effect. Next to this was a typical Bonington of fishing boats, showing what a fine watercolourist he was. Next came two Turners, one painted in 1820 of Rome and the other a later work of 1843 painted in Germany. This showed how using a subdued range of colours Turner captured the atmosphere most beautifully. There was also a very fine watercolour by Girtin, a painter of whom Turner said, that he would have surpassed him in every way if he had lived longer. The wall was completed by two paintings by Edward Lear, who though more famous for his nonsense rhymes, was actually a very fine painter.

The next wall was dominated by a Reynolds painting "Cupid and Psyche" in which Reynolds experimented with catching nocturnal light effects. A very beautiful and arresting painting. Another wall contained a really beautiful study by Ingres of an odalisque. The simplicity of line was wonderful, and this painting was once owned by Degas, who really admired it. next to this was a very simple but expressive watercolour by Pissarro of a winter landscape, which demostrated how well he captured the effect of snow by using the plain white paper against a gentle yellow wash for the sky.

A typical Peploe still life, showing the strong influences of Matisse and Cezanne on this first rate Scottish colourist, started the final wall, followed by an unusual print by Cezanne of his friend Guilliame, one of the very few prints that he made.

Finally were two pochade oils by Seurat, very quick oils painted by the Seine, but still showing the beginnings of the pointillist technique which he developed.

The centre of the room was occupied by four small sculptures, one a typical Degas ballet dancer, and the other three by Rodin, including a superb staue of the dancer Nijinsky.

I found this small exhibition a very satisfying experience and well worth the visit, particularly as it gave one a chance to see again the Courtaulds very fine collection of Impressionist and Post-impressionist paintings, which are always worth visiting.

Horniman Art Exhibition

2010-07-10T10:02:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was setting up day, and private view for this excellent exhibition, held in the Conservatory at the Horniman Museum, London Road, SE23.

I have given my space over to mainly flower paintings.

There is the usual very good variety of paintings, prints and sculpture. It is well worth a visit, and must be one of the best open shows in South London. Open from 10.00 till 5.30 today Saturday and till 4.30 tomorrow Sunday.

Auction results.

2010-06-23T09:07:00.000+01:00

I thought that you might be interested in the prices realised at yesterdays auction of Impressionist paintings at Sothebys.

The Manet went for £22,441,250 , the Matisse for £11,801,250. and the Derain for £16,281,250..

The Impressionist Auction at Sotheby's.

2010-06-22T18:42:00.000+01:00

Today my wife and I paid a visit to Sotheby's Auction rooms in new Bond Street to see the display of Impressionist and Modern Paintings being auctioned today and tomorrow.

It was a very impressive show, with many superb paintings, some from the Vollard Collection, which have only just come on the market, owing to the law suites regarding their actual ownership.

The most important painting is probably the almost unique self portrait by Manet. This is the only one left in a private collection and is a very striking painting.

Another important painting on auction is a wonderful landscape by Derain, This is one of the seminal Fauve paintings. There was also a wonderful 'odalisque' painting by Matisse.

There was a very large selection of Picasso drawings to be sold from all his periods, which confirmed that whatever you might think of his paintings you have to admit that he was a superb draftsman. Also to be auctioned was a good selection of Matisse's drawings and a unique collection of drawings by Mary Cassatt.

A rather unique painting in the day sale was a landscape by Monet's step-daughter, Blanche. This was only the second of her paintings that I have seen. She is clearly heavily influenced by her step father but a fine painter nevertheless.

With over 300 paintings, drawings and sculptures on view, it was quite an exhausting morning, but well worth the time, giving one a chance to see many paintigs which have never been on public view, and probaly never will again.

The Blue Vase

2010-06-14T12:13:00.000+01:00

Here is another small flower painting, oil on board. (6" x 9") £25.00

Two Flower Paintings

2010-06-13T11:28:00.002+01:00

Orange Flowers in Vase

The Blue Vase with Vegetables.

Here are two small 10" x 8" oil painting on board that were done recently.
They are for sale at £35.00 each.

Dave Brubeck Trio spec. Guest Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan all the thi...

2010-06-09T18:12:00.000+01:00

Google Mail - Monthly Talk Dulwich Library - bvpainter@googlemail.com

2010-06-01T16:27:00.001+01:00

Dulwich Library Talk

Tuesday 8 June 2pm

‘There’s No Business Like

Show Business’

A talk on legendary composer and lyricist Irving Berlin.

Using many musical examples and photos, I will explore the works and life of Irving Berlin - a composer George Gershwin called " the greatest songwriter that has ever lived".

Free Entry Free Refreshments

Dulwich Library 368 Lordship Lane, Dulwich SE22 8NB

Nadia Reclining

2010-05-20T18:19:00.000+01:00

I did this quite quick watercolour painting yesterday at my life group. I have been experimenting with doing these quite large watercolours using a large brush and a fairly restricted palette.

Nadia is a fantastic model with a superb figure, and can pose for considerable periods without moving. She is a pleasure to paint or draw.

A Charcoal Nude

2010-05-20T18:09:00.001+01:00

Here is a charcoal drawing done at my life group last week

Nudes in watercolour

2010-04-14T17:23:00.000+01:00

Recently I have been experimenting by painting from the life model in watercolour. I have been trying to get a loose and colourful painting with a touch of abstraction.

I am reasonably pleased with these initial efforts, but obviously there is a lot of room for more experiments. I am using a limited palette, and painting with large brushes.

Nudes in ink and watercolour.

2010-02-25T15:36:00.000Z

I painted these quickly at a life class that I go to every Thursday. Trying out a new technique , using ink and watercolour. In the top one I used a marker pen. I'm quite pleased with these.

I would be interested in reading any comments that you wish to make.