WINNING THE HAROLD RILEY SKETCHBOOK PRIZE AND SOME RECENT WORKSHOPS

WINNING THE HAROLD RILEY PRIZE!

As part of the Buxton Spa Art Prize this year, there was a unique prize sponsored by Harold Riley to award £2,000 to any of the participants in the Buxton Art Prize. I am so  happy to announce I won the prize! It mean the world to me! Getting great recognition for my addictive habit!

He (Harold Riley) mentioned this about the Prize, "I am sponsoring a prize which I think may be unique in the UK. All artists have sketch/workbooks which grasp initial visionary thoughts which aid competitors and capture the essence of a yet to be painted work. Such books are rarely seen publicly although they offer an insight into the creative instincts of the artist. The prize offers the opportunity to allow others an insight into the mind of an artist." 

Adebanji With Prize, Certificate and The Sketchbook at The Greenman Gallery Buxton, Exhibition runs till October 12th, 2014

Adebanji sketching as the official Sketchographer at a Wedding in London, The sketches at this wedding were part of the sketches in the Winning Sketchbook.

One of the sketchspreads in the Winning Sketchbook- I sketched these on my way to submit the sketchbook at Buxton

Below (on the Video) is how the inside of the whole sketchbook looked, I recorded it myself at the Greenman Gallery, Buxton.



WORKSHOP WITH FULHAM SOCIETY OF ARTISTS AND POTTERS

This took place on the 15th of August, 2014. There were about 13 in attendance and they all enjoyed the day with a real buzz.

This workshop was all about the Urban Landscape. I did a 90 minute demo on one of my favourite spots in London, Kensington Church Street! After the Demo they all got down to working out there urban Landscapes with assistance from me.

The Title of this workshop was the Urban Landscape, with the Fulham Society of Artists & Potters

WORKSHOP ON "EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT SKETCHING"

This was held on the 27th of August, 2014 at Harris Academy. There were 5 in attendance and we had a model for the day too!

Adebanji and the participants at the Workshop, "Everything I know about Sketching"

Participants working on the Sketching techniques, especially BLIND CONTOUR!

Highlights of the Ghosting Technique with Charcoal Dust, water and Oil Base Pencil.

Here I shared all my tips, secrets and techniques on Everything I know about Sketching!

Highlights of a more detailed sketch from beginning to end-Just like I would do it on the Train or Tube. This was done with a Black BIC ball point Pen and N75 TOMBOW ABT Dual wash Pen

Highlights of  painting  in colour from black and white sketches-I painted this from a black and white sketch.

2 WORKSHOPS AT MOLESKINE SHOP, COVENT GARDEN

This took place on the 6th of September. I held two Learning sessions at the Moleskine Store at Covent Garden. All Workshops were Sold out and the whole day was great and wonderful!

On the way to the workshop with the full Arsenal ready to sketch!

One of the sketches I  did on the day at Covent Garden.

Sketching a figure and the surroundings at Moleskine Store, Covent Garden

Showing some examples of past sketches at Covent Garden after the demonstration.

Sketching a figure and the surroundings at Moleskine Store, Covent Garden

During a demonstration at Covent Garden

This was a workshop done in collaboration with UrbanSketchers and Moleskine. I tried out their new Sketch Album which is great for pen and pencil work.

That's me and Olha, we both did learning sessions at The Moleskine Store, Covent Garden.

2 HOUR DEMONSTRATION WITH KNOCKHOLT ART GROUP

This was a 2 hour demonstration that took place on the 18th of September with The Knockholt Art Group, Seveoaks. There were 31 people in attendance and I did a Demo on a "London Street Scene" explaining my techniques and thoughts as I painted in acrylic.

Adebanji after the 2 hour Demonstration with the Knockholt Art Group

Participants at the Knockholt Art Group Demo.

After the Demo with the Palette.

WORKSHOP WITH SEVENOAKS ART GROUP

This took place on the 20th of September with the Sevenoaks Art Society. 12 people were in attendance. They were great and hosted a wonderful 5 star Lunch....I must go back there! It was exciting.

After the demonstration with my palette at the Sevenoaks art Society

For this Workshop I did a 90 minute demonstration on how I paint crowded scenes. After the break they produced some great work too!

After the Workshop at Sevenoaks with all participants

MY NEXT WORKSHOP!!!!!!!!!
Watch out for my next Workshop which will be taking place on the 29th of October, 2014 (10am-4pm) at Harris Academy and it is going to be on the URBAN LANDSCAPE! Don't miss it
If you are in London or nearby in October please register now! Click HERE for details!

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PS-CLICK HERE for my WEBSITE and more about what I do.

Winning the First Prize at Pintar Rapido in London 2013

Adebanji painiting "The Summer Buzz at Kensington Church Street"

On Saturday we had a great Plein air Festival in London called Pintar Rapido. The Borough of Kensington and Chelsea hosted up to 400 painters who registered to take part in this one day competition. Roger Beckett, the founder of this event in London got the idea from Spain and did a brilliant job to put this altogether in London for the first time.

My Winning Painting! -photo by Roy Connelly

The rules were simple, choose a spot in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and paint it in a day! The Artists registered at 9.00am at the Chelsea Town Hall and got the painting surfaces stamped, then they all went to their favourite chosen spots around Chelsea to work on their pieces. We were all to come back by 8pm with the finished works ready for hanging. all the works were to be on display the next day at the Chelsea Town Hall, where all the paintings would be for sale and the winning painting would receive £1,000!

Prof Ken Howard (middle) announcing the winners and Roger Beckett (founder of Pintar Rapido in London) looks on. photo by Roy Connelly

I went to Kensington Church Street, and I painted it from Kensington High Street. I discovered this street while commuting on the 328 bus, once the bus got to this street, the trees looked great, they cast their shadows on the buildings and it really made a long lasting impression on me. I decided that I'll paint it as it was the place my heart really went out for!

This is the scene where I painted- Kensington Church Street

I started painting around 10am and finished around 4pm. It was hot, boiling but I enjoyed every bit of it! My wife and kids came around and Ruth did a short video of me speaking about the event.





I couldn't go for the Exhibition on Sunday because of my Church responsibilities, but I was  so pleased to have Prof Ken Howard call me to break the good news that I won! He said he thought it was a good painting! That really made my day!

For this painting, I used Winsor and Newton Artist Acrylics with all the mediums like slow dry medium, impasto heavy body medium and flow enhancer. I worked on a  Winsor and Newton 24" x 30" linen Canvas.

Here below are some stage shots at particular times of the day of how the painting developed.

STAGE 1

STAGE 1. 10:06am- I lay out all my colours, 15 colours in all. Titanium White, 3 yellows (cadmium lemon, cadmium pale and azo or deep yellow) , Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, a Sienna Red, 3 Blues(Cobalt, Cerulean and Ultramarine) and 3 greens (Hooker, Sap and Viridian).  I use three mediums-Slow dry, Impasto heavy body medium and Flow Enhancer. I also have a tear off disposable palette and  the main palette I used is from Daler Rowney, it has a cover to preserve the colours. I attach a little orange bucket for my water to rinse the brushes and a Cass Art bag for dirty rags.

STAGE 2

STAGE 2- 10.16am- Here I do my normal 'griding', dividing the ground into 16 squares and 4 diagonals. This helps me plan where things are going to be on the surface. It's almost like I have an imaginary square in front of me with these squares and diagonals. I measure the distances according to these squares.

STAGE 3

STAGE 3-11.30am- Here I paint very very quickly, plotting perspective lines, The sky and the initial underpainting for the buildings. Everything is carefully measured. My palette has a big patch of blue as you can see for the sky.

STAGE 4

STAGE 4. 12.03noon- I now begin to make impressions of every interesting shape under the tree. It's very hard to just focus on the shapes and not try to paint things! Once I get the right shapes they pop up well!

STAGE 5

STAGE 5 12.48noon- For the next 40 minutes I just determine to play with the trees! It was such a delight! I have always longed to paint these trees and ever since I read a book by Norman Battershill on Trees, I have fallen in love with painting trees. I painted the cool shady areas first, with mixtures of Green with Alizarin Crimson and Cobalt blue and for the light areas I added Yellow Ochre and the warm yellows.

STAGE 6

STAGE 6 13.43pm- I then make sure I focus on the roads and shadows around the roads. The roads look easy but they took a long time to sort out. A few cars and buses line up down the road and I'm lucky that each time the bus stops for the traffic to pass, it stops at the same place, so I was able to use so many buses for the same one in my painting.

STAGE 7

STAGE 7- 14.11pm- I still worked on the roads adding middle platforms and leveling the area for things to work out.  I also add details on the buildings along the road that vanishes under the trees.

STAGE 8

STAGE 8 16.13pm- Finally I do the detailing and make sure there are figures moving about, there were loads of people but I was beginning to get tired here, so I just added a few in strategic places to help the composition. I added a bit more flicker highlights to the trees and then I just left every other thing that might do- out, so I don't work it to death!

While on my way back to my studio on Lots Road, I met a group of Painters around Lots Road painting.

Some painters around my Studio on Lots Road.

 If you are interested in seeing how I use Acrylic to Paint, I have a DVD available with TOWN HOUSE FILMS, Click HERE for the details.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"I'm always constantly sketching, this is the secret to painting rapidly, keep a sketchbook and sketch everyday!!!"-Adebanji Alade
 

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career ( 21 and 22)

NUMBER 21

AFRO XXII

AFRO XXII, Charcoal/Graphite, 10" x 8", 2009



This is one of my drawings that show the beauty of natural hair. It's one of my favourites! The model I used was a very good friend of mine. Because it was purely one of those pieces that I chose to do, I altered her facial features a bit to suit the purpose of the piece. Sometimes I do this especially if the person doesn't want to be seen as the model or if I don't want the person to be seen as the model, in this case the later was the reason. Again this work celebrates one of my best used techniques when it comes to drawing. It's my charcoal wash technique, which I create on a self-sanded watercolour paper to create textures. I mix charcoal dust mixed with water to start off the piece as if it were a pure watercolour, the charcoal dust acting as a pigment. Once I get satisfied with the forms and shapes in the build-up, I then introduce graphite for the areas where I would like to add more texture and do a bit of writing into the drawing, a technique I call "calligraphic mark-writing into the drawing"-Looking closely at this drawing would reveal words that have to do with the beauty and way I felt while working on this piece.

Funny enough when I posted this piece a while back. Someone made a comment, that the work looks exactly like her. Now that's what happens when faces get altered. I couldn't agree less.





NUMBER 22

RUSH HOUR I

RUSH HOUR I, Oil on Canvas, 24" x 36", 2006

This was a painting that was going to launch me into a world of the unknown! Looking back at this first Rush Hour piece brings me pure joy! I was only out to experiment and this is one reason why artists just need to keep trying new things. This was a time in my life that I was experimenting a lot. Just trying to find out things that were interesting to me and things that gave a buzz! Naturally I always found myself getting intrigued by peoples faces, this is what keeps me sketching people on public transport all the time. But then, I also love to see a variety of faces at once, I love pictures that reveal so many different faces and people in one solid composition. I buy all kinds of books and magazines to influence my artistic appetite and I remember buying this book illustrated by Glenn Farby. In one of his illustrations for a magazine cover for the "PREACHER" Number 56-which can be seen HERE I saw loads of faces of different people all merged into one whole setting, and I was like, "WOW! I love that! I wish could do a painting that would have all those qualities!" So, this image kept on 'haunting' me, and then one day on a hot summers day probably in 2004 or 2005, I was at Clapham Common Station in London and I was approaching the escalators when I saw all these people during the peak of the Rush Hour period. Thank God I had my digital camera, it was the first one I had ever used, a 1.5 mega pixel. I just snapped this- "almost out of focus image" of the scene unaltered. I never knew I was going to use it for a breakthrough painting until I got inspired by Glenn Farby.

I remember painting this piece for close to 6 months, I used to work full time at St Mungos and I had just married 2 years from then and had my first child a year from then, so it was a busy time for me, yet I wanted combine all this with my art, something that I couldn't just leave. So I'd paint a little go to work, paint a little, go to work...and I think this continued for 6 months. When complete, I put it into the Patchings Competition organized by the The Artist Magzine and it won the Daler Rowney Award, which entitled me to £250 worth of Art Materials from Daler Rowney! Now that was so encouraging, and I got publicity in The Artist Magazine but the work didn't sell.

Then a year after I discovered a lady called Sharmina Karim! Now, sometimes you just happen to meet the right people. She was organizing a competition to give exposure to upcoming artists in the contemporary scene. The good thing was that the selected works would be exhibited at the Barclays Headquarters at Canary Wharf! And I thought to myself, "Even if I don't win the any of the Prizes at least I'll get some exposure!" So I gave it a go and the work was selected, and for the first time in the UK, I was going to exhibit a painting that would SELL!!!! The exhibition day came and even before I got to the venue on The Private View Day, the work had a red dot on it! I was happy, I remember going with my wife and my baby son and they so proud of me! I must say I was happy with myself! That first Rush Hour painting sold for £875, It meant a lot to me then but continuing this series has seen some works go as high as £7,500! But there's always a beginning! So, the greatest thing I keep reminding myself everytime-whether I'm up or down is to KEEP ON KEEPING ON! There's a lot of power in PERSISTENCE, I mean real DOGGED PERSISTENCE, I mean sometimes, you want a change so badly, you are ready to sacrifice anything to get the results you are looking for. Well, that's enough said on this piece!


SPECIAL QUOTE
"There comes a time when you will be the only one who can judge your paintings. you can not rely on what has been done in the past or what is accepted now. It is up to you to set your own standards and understand how to judge"-Angela D'Aleo from her BOOK, The Purpose of Painting

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career 8

Number 8- Evening Light Charing Cross Road






This piece highlights a road, I can almost, if it was possible, walk through it, blind-folded! It has hosts the very popular Leicester Square station, National Portrait Gallery and a number of theatres. The Theatre I captured here with its artificial lights interposing the late evening light in the atmosphere of a busy London Street is Wyndham's Theatre, which was then hosting Jude Laws' Hamlet.



Evening Light Charing Cross Road, 14" x 10", Watercolour with hints of Mixed Media, 2009.

This piece began purely as a watercolour, then as usual I get into the sketching mode to make up for the areas the unforgivable watercolour denies me freedom and access. I added gouache, acrylic, a bit of colour pencil effects, wax crayons and pastel.

I first submitted this piece for the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition in 2009, it wasn't accepted, then I submitted it for the Chelsea Art Society Annual Open Exhibition and it won the Agnes Reeve Memorial Award for a Painting of London. Now, that was a great feeling! I normally share this and many other artists have the same experience about submitting works into juried shows-And it's never to be discouraged by rejections, the people on the jury are humans and not machines. I have been on a jury before, judging the Bath Prize and I can relate to this fact clearly-The decisions made during that judging period are all based on the circumstances surrounding that particular exhibition and the taste of the judges at that particular selection. This sometimes does not mean the work isn't good. So, I'll encourage all to keep submitting work into juried shows as far as they are willing to risk rejection and have a good budget for it. It's a great way to get exposure and some good contacts and sales.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"The last piece of advice I try to leave with students is that they have to be positive about themselves and their prospects. No one wants to be around depressed, self-indulgent artists, least of all collectors who want to know the paintings they buy today have the potential to be worth more tomorrow"-Camille Przewodek

MAKING A MARK AWARDS-Adebanji wins The Painting Plein Air Plus Award 2010

Painting in the cold snow around Chelsea- painting in progress, notice the bits with sketchy marks-once I got the sketch right, I just painted shape by shape till I covered the whole piece. I'll be posting the full details of this piece in the New Year.

I'm so happy to end the year with an Award that I really cherish. Earlier this year I won the Chelsea Riverside Competition, organised by Heatherley's School of Fine Art, Chelsea and The Cheyne walk Trust- The whole exhibition was put in place to raise funds for the Schools Bursary Award Scheme. I also won the prize for the Best London Scene at the Chelsea Art Society's 100th Annual exhibition- This Award is donated annually and it's called The Agnes Reeve Memorial for a painting of London. To end the year I got an Award called The Painting Plein Air Plus Award- by MAKING A MARK-This award is for excellence in plein air painting plus a strong commitment to sharing information. I was nominated for this award by Sheona Hamilton Grant, who said, "I would like to recommend Adebanji Alade for the Painting Plein Air Plus Award. His talent, enthusiasm and sustained sharing are brilliant. For these reasons, I really do believe he merits winning this award with flying colours."- You can read the full article on the award by clicking HERE


It's been a wonderful year for me indeed and my heart goes up in praise and thanks to God for keeping me HEALTHY all year through- no one can buy that with money!



Adebanji painting No 97.-Rainy Day, London Road, Reflections from Grosvenor Place




No 97.-Rainy Day, London Road, Reflections from Grosvenor Place



Evening Light, From Battersea Bridge, 24" x 30", Oil on Board, 2010- Won the Chelsea Riverside Competition.




Evening Light, Charing Cross Road, Watercolour with hints of mixed media, 2009-Won the Agnes Reeve Memorial Award for a Painting of London.

Evening Light, Charing Cross Road wins Agnes Reeve Memorial Award at the Chelsea Art Society Centenary Exhibition

The Chelsea Art Society , Centenary Exhibition came to end over the weekend and I would just like to highlight that My piece, "Evening Light, Charing Cross Road" Won the Agnes Reeve Memorial Award for a Painting of London.



Evening Light, Charing Cross Road, Watercolour with hints of mixed media, 2009

This piece highlights a road I can almost, if it was possible, walk through it, blind-folded! It has hosts the very popular Leicester Square station, National Portrait Gallery and a number of theatres. The Theatre I captured here with its artificial lights interposing the late evening light in the atmosphere of a busy London Street is Wyndham's Theatre, which was then hosting Jude Laws' Hamlet.



I couldn't attend the Awards Ceremony at the Private View on the 15th of June as I was "locked up" in Exmoor with the BBC filming my adventure with sketching and painting Wild Ponies!

Awards and Special Mentions towards the end of 2008

Its always great to get a little bit of recognition here and there.

First I got The Special Mention for a Portrait Drawing Portfolio - Award presented by Making A Mark- A Blog I refer to as "Art Manna"- Its like an art breakfast, you go there in the morning everyday and you are sure to get fresh "art manna" from Katherine. Her commitment and passion to the art world is second to none!

Adebanji Alade (Adebanji Alade: My Art, My Passion for Sketching) for his portfolio of drawings of people on buses, tubes and trains in London. Adebanji shows a firm commitment to drawing from life at every opportunity despite the fact that drawing on a moving bus/tube/train is not easy and your models are always apt to exit at the next stop!


This special mention was nominated by Adam Cope (Dordogne Painting Days)His sketches of people on the London Underground are fascinating. Sketch-blogging at it's best as they unroll & continue to unroll...I start somewhere to get the feeling that there's just no end to this 'exposition', this presentation of an endless subject. Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Particularly like the accompanying text for this page: "More people............ I saw so many interesting faces today, sometimes they leave just before I could finish..............Life goes on! "





Also I got into the Ten top Art Blog Posts by The Colorist-New School Color - Casey Klahn- A very interesting art blog- you just have to see the variety of stuff he comes up with!

Adebanji Alade, Adebanji Alade: My Art, My Passion for Sketching, Afro XIX, December 9, 2008.
Jaw-dropping honestly and authenticity in portraiture with a pencil.