Saturday, October 17, 2009

Winning "The Artist Magazine/Royal Institute of Oil Painters Competition" 2009

This is some good news I've had and will be having this month. This time it would be having the opportunity to exhibit with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters this year at the Mall Galleries, London.
The exhibition opens on the 28th of October, 2009 and will run till the 8th of November. If you are in London during that time, it will be worth viewing!



Summerlight, Clapham Common 24" x 18" Oil on Linen 2009


In Summer this year the advert came out in The Artist magazine for an oil painting to be submitted no larger than 36" x 24" for a winning place in ROI exhibition this year and for a mini profile in the November Issue of The Artist Magazine. I gave it a go and I really thank God, I WON! You can read about it in the November Issue of The Artists Magazine and also the interesting article of 100 years of the Royal Charter of the ROI and what to expect this year!

The painting I entered is called Summerlight, Clapham Common it was painted on a 24" x 18" Winsor & Newton linen Canvas and took me almost a week working on the figures from left to right, making sure each section was finished as I worked mainly focusing on the shapes, drawing and values. My mission was to make sure the figures retained a glowing play of summerlight on them and also that the whole piece showed a vibrant, lively, sketchy feel of the excitement and childlike drama that scenes like this invoke on our memories of childhood and those great times.



Painting showing left to right sequence and underpainting


I discovered I won the prize at the Mall Galleries, as there were 5 shortlisted candidates(James Willis, Rizwan Pradhan, Catherine Gow, James Hirst and Michael Robson) and also 5 judges namely, Dr Sally Bulgin(Editor The Artists Magazine), Peter Wileman (President of ROI), Ian Cryer (Vice President ROI), Dennis Syrett(Past President ROI) and Malcolm Allsop of Townhouse Films. We all came with our paintings and while judging was going on we got to preview the Threadneedle Figurative Prize exhibition which was still being set up. After a while we were called back and the judges said they had unanimously decided that my painting won! All other shortlisted candidates agreed too!



The whole set up in my studio including reference picture/palette.

More pictures during presentation(below)



Judges, shortlisted candidates and winning painting




Dr Sally Bulgin (Editor, The Artist Magazine), Peter Wileman (President, ROI) and Adebanji

32 comments:

Mark Bridges said...

Well congratulations on a great painting and win.

adebanji said...

Thanks Mark!

Candace X. Moore said...

Fantastic win for you and an important artistic milestone, Adebanji. Just wondering a bit about your method. Was the theme dictated by the competition or was this subject your own choice. Also, was this a composite image? How did you collect the source material. TIA. Best regards.

Elena Malec said...

Congratulations! Well deserved!
Your art is inspiring.

adebanji said...

Thanks Candace!

This was my choice- any painting was to be submitted as long as it was in oil.

I got the image way back in 2003 when I used to enjoy the pool at Clapham Common and also take shots to remember the experience. I didn't have much composing to do but I did crop this to make a more exciting cpmposition from a bigger boring shot.

adebanji said...

Thanks Elena!

David Larson Evans said...

I also think congratulations! And well deserved!

Isabel said...

Congratulations and hope there are plenty of visitors. Your painting is beautiful and it was really nice to see the photos of how you tackled the work.

adebanji said...

Thanks David and Isabel!

Gabriel Campanario said...

that's awesome news Adebanji, well deserved! what a fabulous painting!

Edward Burton said...

Fantastic painting, Adebanji - congratulations!

Unknown said...

Well done Adebanji!

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

congratulations

Unknown said...

Again...Awesome...Blessings upon Blessings....

Victoria on Okinawa said...

Congratulations and what a great painting! Lots of energy and love the colors, of course it was unanimous! Thanks for sharing part of the process too.

Lucie G said...

Bravo for this well deserved prize!

Cathy Gatland said...

A really wonderful painting, Adebanji - not surprising that it won the competition. Congratulations!

Sjamesportraiture said...

Well done, and well deserved. I spotted this in The artist magazine. Its a beautiful painting.

David said...

Excellent news, excellent work! Great to hear of your success. Maybe see you at the ROI preview?

Remi, United Kingdom said...

oh wow! congratulations... wow... the start of great and bigger things. Your paintings are so inspiring...

well done!

adebanji said...

Thanks Gabi, Edward, Bjorn, Andrea, Frank, Victoria, Lucie, Cathy, SJames, Dave(congrats too-2 works in the show), and Remi(God is working)!

dominique eichi said...

Oh what a fabulous piece Adebanji. Congratulation, God is working indeed.

adebanji said...

Thanks Dominique!

Unknown said...

You are reaching such great new heights. Beautiful painting:) Well done on another well deserved win!

adebanji said...

Thanks Sheona!

Myne said...

I'm so happy for all your continuous good news, it inspires me. Congratulations and I wish you more laurels and recognition of your work. Kudos.

Pierre Raby said...

Congratulations Adebanji for this well deserved prize and beautiful achievement! We can hear the kids playing!

adebanji said...

Thanks Myne and Pierre!

R K said...

I always like to hear how an artist describes their process and it is particularly fun when the artist's own words-as descriptive and informative as they are-are greatly exceeded by the work itself...such is the case here.
Congratulations, and keep the paint (and the words!) flowing. It's always a pleasure to check in.
Now...a mundane question(!): the figures at the pool seem to be holding the fence and looking at their feet. What's up?!

Edcooper_art said...

Well Done Adebanji, Just dropped and & saw your good news!....Brilliant painting, I loved the turqouise of the pool against thw warm tones of the figures!....great stuff!

Alice Thompson said...

Awesome painting Adebanji! You are in motion, don't slow down the momentum. Your painting says so much about a moment seen by an artistic eye. I'll have to get a copy of the magazine when it appears. I am smiling for you.

Ann Rogers said...

I stopped by to leave a comment on your City Rooftops (which is a great entry, as usual), but instead ran across this winning entry of yours! Fantastic, your paintings never cease to amaze me..congratulations on this honor!!!