Highlights of The Royal Institute of Oil Painters (Under 35 Category) 2012

Alex Cree, THERMOS STILL LIFE, 53 x 53cm- one of my best pieces in the show!  It's really full of colour! Rich applications, solid draughtsmanship and a solid composition. This painting won the Phyllis Roberts' Award of £2,000 in memory of Phyllis Roberts ROI, to encourage and support a young painter. I think it's worthy of the award and how nice to have such a support to an artist out there. Much needed and deserved in todays climate.

This is my second post on the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Exhibition 2012. I am concentrating on a few works from The Under 35 Category which is sponsored by Winsor & Newton. These are just a few of the works that caught my attention. I won the First Prize in this category in 2007 and ever since then I have always loved to see and discover some new and upcoming talent in this category. Although most of the artists here have been prominent in the art scene.

Alice Hall with her painting on top, I CAN SEE THE SEA, 78 x 108cm- Alice is a typical  outdoor painter, very  vigourous in her deft applications of colour and bold in the subject matter she embarks upon. This one was painted from the 13th floor of an office in Canary Wharf or somewhere in the city, if I can remember exactly what she told me and it is a very honest painting, I say honesty, because she makes no attempt to flatter the scene but as can be seen from her paintings, they have brushstrokes that are joyfully laid and true to life! This painting won the 3rd Prize in this category.

Andrew Hitchcock, LION DOG, 33 x 26cm- I have to confess my picture didn't do justice to this little gem.  I really like it when an artist takes an ordinary object and plays around with it under different light settings and is able to transform it into an enchanting piece which comes live and almost has a drama and mood of it's own!

Christian Newell, STUDY OF HUMAN SKULL, 30 x 40cm-I am a great fan of skull paintings, I think it's a great reminder  of what's inside us and what we'll end up being when the flesh we so much 'adore', rots and gets down to the bare bones. I almost feel that process taking place in Christians' painting, as his scratch-back technique almost feels like the scrapping off of flesh to reveal the skull. 

Christian Newell with his painting.

Daniel Shadbolt, SELF PORTRAIT, 46 x 41cm- I am a great fan of Mr Shadbolt's paintings, I think I first discovered his work at a Lynn Stainers' Exhibition. What I really love about this piece and all his work, is the manner at which he just lays down simple strokes of colour, with a keen interest in temperature than tone on a solid drawing. The result always has a kind of vibration and grand abstract quality to it! I would love to collect his work one day!

Graham Webber, TOWARDS THE PACKING SHED AT DUSK, 60 x 85cm-Graham is a painter that still surprises me! Under a short space of time he has been able to get himself up in some of the best representational Art shows in the Country and to me, he still hasn't reached his peak! Not that any artist does, but there is so much potential ahead of this guy, I just hope he keeps this momentum flowing. This painting reveals his courage! Many of us thought this was a small painting when we previewed the works on the Mall Galleries site, but were shocked to see the size of it when we got the exhibition. He has basically taken a very limited palette and attacked a very common subject with fluid, energetic strokes that bring out a silent beauty in this piece. He is surely one to watch in the years ahead! 

Graham Webber with his Award winning painting

Graham Webber receives his Award, The Menena Joy Schwabe Memorial Award for an outstanding Oil Painter

Leanne Rutter with her Award Winning painting, A NATURAL EDUCATION- This piece blew me off my socks! It's a self-portrait of the artist in her newly found life as a one who goes out for game. I did a little review in 2010 when she won 2 awards in this category and I was so pleased to see her progress this year. Again, my picture does little justice to this painting, every bit of it is an abstract piece, of paint worked into paint, a kind of pointillism, the effect brings out a piece that has no dormant spot. Everything is alive! I wasn't surprised to see it SOLD for £7,950! It's a painting that shows hard work. 

Leanne Rutter receives her award 

Nathalia Avdeeva Prov ROI, TANYA, 60 x 60cm-My picture does no justice, it was a painting placed high up in a  less illuminated room. I love the format, not common these days. I also like the softness. Tanya is a lady I know and even without much detail, this just reveals exactly who she is. it's also keen observation of interior light in an artist studio. I really like the overall composition, nothing shouts for attention.

Nathalia Avdeeva with her painting

Tim Galton, THE STACKS NEAR CASTLEMARTIN, PEMBROKESHRE, 100 x125cm- This is a large painting, almost entirely executed with a palette knife! I love it because the textures add a lot of feeling to the piece. I felt the real solidity of everything!

I think my next post would be on my entry into this exhibition-One of my Homeless Faces or a review of the painting evening on Monday. Stay tuned!