Artist of The Week - Naomi Rae

The Artist of the Week this week has been Naomi Rae. Naomi grew up in an artistic family in the thriving art colony of St. Ives and drawing and painting has always been part of Naomi's life. A move to New Zealand provided the opportunity to develop her skills and on her return to St Ives she began painting full time. Although abstract in form, and painted in the studio, the canvases originate from close-up photographs of the surrounding landscape. Naomi is drawn to her subjects by texture and colour; surfaces that have decayed and weathered, such as peeling paint, rotting wood and corroding metal. Back in the studio these photographs provide the basis for the finished pieces. Acrylic is sometimes combined with stitching and textile work, to produce vibrant and textured canvases.
To see more of Naomi's work click HERE

Artist of The Week - Nick Pilatis

Our new Artist of the week is Nick Pilatis. Nick was educated to the level of "Doctor of Philosophy" in Engineering Science....and he says of his work "the push for creative thinking and innovation constitute two of the major components of my character. The need of self-expression through oil paintings appeared rather unexpectedly in 2004 and the result was the painting of "Nike (Victory) and its many forms". Painting has now become an obsession of mine. Being self taught, I have been inspired by the brush strokes of Van Gogh, the concepts and shapes of Picasso, the expressionism of El Greco and romanticism of Delacroix. "

Of all Nick's figurative works , I think my favourite is the one shown - appropriately named "The Suffering". For me...the handling of colour, tone and the texture of the brush strokes all help to describe the feeling of the piece in what is essentially a very simple composition....very emotive.

To see more of Nick's work on the Affordable British Art gallery, click here

Update on the Jamtastic Painting......

(Theo Pahitas, Lindi Kirwin & Richard Duerr)

Well, I thought you folks might like to know the outcome of the charity auction for Lindi Kirwin's jamtastic painting "Manchester Preserved". The auction ended last night with the winning bid of £5,000 by the painting's new owner, Theo Paphitas (of Dragon's Den fame).
What a fantastic purchase he's made, and a fantastic amount to have been raised for the charity.
Well done to everyone involved.

Artist of The Week - Kosana Marton

Artist of the week is Kosana Marton. Kosana is a Scottish artist based in Fife. Originally from East Kilbride, she studied art and design in Glasgow after completing her secondary education and, after a break from the arts, returned to study fine art at Edinburgh College of Art in 1991.

She takes her inspiration from nature; surroundings, colour, light and texture all play a part in helping her to create contemporary paintings using acrylic, mixed media and watercolour. Her subject matter varies dependent on her mood at the time, ranging from landscapes to abstract. She also enjoys figurative work.

She doesn’t work from sketch books, preferring to work from reality, photographs or memories. Her paintings start as a rough idea in her mind’s eye when a basic colour palette is also decided. However, from that point on, the rest of the painting evolves spontaneously on the canvas until completion.

Kosana has her work in private collections throughout the UK, Europe, USA and New Zealand. The NHS also purchased 9 paintings for permanent display the Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline. She exhibits throughout the year at various venues/galleries.

Click here to see more of Kosana's work on Affordable British Art

Absolutely Jamtastic......

.....one of our artists, Lindi Kirwin has been busy producing an unusual painting for charity. Working with Duerr's jams and sauces, Lindi has managed to come up with this beauty:

Its a painting of Manchester's Central Library and is entitled "Manchester Preserved". The painting will be auctioned to raise money for Manchester Children's Hospital, which is now the largest children's hospital in Europe!!
Some of you might have heard of booth hall and pendlebury hospitals...well they amalgamated into this new hospital and they started transfering their poorly children over last week into the new hospital. Here's a Youtube Video of Lindi talking about her experience of painting with Duerr's products.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYHaiHCNoR4&feature=channel_page

If you would like to bid for this high profile, original artwork, which has been initiated by the "Dragon's Den's" Theo Paphitas, it is being auctioned to raise funds for the Hospital, on ebay....here's the link.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Manchester-Preserved-jamtastic-charity-painting_W0QQitemZ220440533335QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Art_OtherArt_RL?hash=item3353479957&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1683%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Congratulations to Lindi for coming up with such an original work of art.....and here's hoping it raises lots of money for the Children's Hospital.

Click here to view Lindi's work on Affordable British Art

Love is in the air......

....for one of our Artists, Angie Gow and her new husband Jim Livingstone.

The new Mr & Mrs Livingstone were married on 12th June 2009....and as the photo shows, it looks like the sun shined down on the fortunate.

We would like to take this opportunity to send our congratulations to the newly-weds, and our best wishes for a very happy future together.

You can see some of the new Mrs Livingstone's work on Affordable British Art. But just for Angie & Jim....here's my (very appropriate) favourite:

Although she hasn't yet changed her name from Gow to Livingstone, just click here to see some of Angie's work

Our new Artist of the week is Claire Losada.
Claire says about her art:
"I use my art as a vehicle to convey my emotional states and well being, through use of colour and application of chosen media. Vivid hues translate to give a representation of moods that enlighten the onlooker, where no explanation is necessary.

The paintings, of varying subject matter are set to convey messages through the very essence of their simplicity. The use of subdued ochre hues, appear unsettling purely through the use of colour but a sunset or a sunrise can depict a sense of harmony and serenity and an enviable state of emotion.

These paintings are intended to communicate and reach out to the onlooker, invoking a real emotion. At that moment they are influenced by the artwork, it is having an effect on their mood and state of mind. It is communicating with the onlooker by the very essence of its existence, borne from the emotions and mood of its creator.

The vehicle of paint has been used as a way of expressing myself and venting emotions experienced through the stresses of everyday life. Experiencing a roller coaster of emotions, I sought a vehicle for communicating and retaining my sanity that turned sometimes negative emotions, into something productive and positive.

Some of us have seen sanity, if only in a vision but for me, my vision is communicated through my work."

See more of Claire's art on Affordable British Art by clcicking HERE

Our Group on LinkedIn

Well, we've started the Affordable British Art group on LinkedIn. We hope to be able to use it as a networking group, and also as a discussion/advice group. Its a chance for artists, art lovers and gallery owners to meet, exchange views and generally get to know each other.
Why not have a look, and we would be delighted if you were to join.....it's free, it'll be interesting, and, no....it's not just another Facebook. It's a more serious way to get your work out there if you are an artist, and a better opportunity for networking with other artists and thise interested in art.
You could simply got to the main website and do a seasrch for Affordable British Art , or you can click on this link to go direct to the group: Affordable British Art on LinkedIn

Look forward to meeting you and getting to know you better.

Artist of The Week - Lindi Kirwin

Our artist of the week this week is Lindi Kirwin. Lindi's contemporary paintings are inspired by many of the Old Masters, and of today’s artists, Jenny Saville, and in contrast to her style, Pino Daeni. Egon Schiele is also a firm favourite for inspiration.

Lindi’s paintings hold a broad spectrum of content and mixed media, from her passion of figurative work which is tastefully provocative and sensual, to her dry-brush acrylic [with no water] land and seascapes, to her humorous illustrations. She uses her photos and sketches for reference and is also inspired by proverbs, quotes, poetry text, which she will successfully interpret into abstract paintings.
I particularly like this painting of Lindi's...it's called "Bald Crouching Man" .

To see more of Lindi's work on Affordable British Art, click here

Artist of The Week - Diane Jennings

Diane Jennings is a self-taught, ptofessional artist who has work in private collections all over the world. She says: "I am in the process of painting several series of paintings-my ''monochrome collection'' which speaks for itself consists mainly of birch tree scenes which have proved very , very popular over the past year and my ''Manic Collection''which consists of brightly coloured designs on a black background.
The latest of this collection "Get A Wobble On" has been featured in an interior design magazine, House and Home Ideas magazine April 2008 edition.
I work in several different mediums including oil, acrylic and encaustic wax and love to paint bright, bold paintings to brighten any wall, although I also paint quieter,calmer, more relaxing paintings too!
I am at my happiest when creating art,to see the painting develop before me is exciting each and every time! To be creative is the very essence of who I am and it is my passion! "

Diane also teaches oil painting to beginners, and you can see more of her work by clicking HERE, with some pictures of her art classes HERE