POLL: Photography in Art Galleries and Museums

There's been a lot of discussion about the photography of art in art galleries of late. However today you've got an opportunity to express your views.



Tourists photographing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, in Paris

This is a POLL to identify what people think about photography in art galleries.

You can vote up to three times to express your views (but be sure to choose all three options at the

How pencils are made

This is a very informative video about how pencils are made today made by Derwent Pencils. It tells the story of how pencils came to be made in the Lake District - in Cumbria - where Derwent (also known as the Cumberland Pencil Company) and the Cumberberland Pencil Museum are located.



This is a link to the history of pencil making in Cumbria on the museum website.

Note the reference to "

Sophie Ploeg and The Lace Trail - BP Travel Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

Sophie Ploeg's BP Travel Award exhibition 'The Lace Trail" can currently be seen at the National Portrait Gallery in London - until 21 September 2014.  It then tours to Sunderland and Edinburgh in 2014-15.



Sophie Ploeg with part of The Lace Trail
the exhibition for the BP Travel Award 2013
at the National Portrait Gallery - 26 June - 21 September 2014


The exhibition follows on from Sophie

Bruegel to Freud - Prints from the Courtauld Gallery

Dr Rachel Sloan, the Curator of the Bruegel to Freud - Prints from the Courtauld Gallery - the summer showcase exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery is giving a talk tonight which I'm not going to be able to attend. However here she is introducing the exhibition which spans 500 years of printmaking and including works by Mantegna, Bruegel, Canaletto, Picasso, Matisse and Freud.

I've got to put

BP Portrait Award 2014 Exhibition - review and video

Read about my review of the BP Portrait Award 2014 Exhibition in which I highlight the portraits I particularly liked  and focus on key themes and points to note for those aspiring to enter.
View my latest walkabout film of the exhibition in the gallery. 





A walk around the BP Portrait Award 2014 Exhibition

Followers of my previous videos of the BP Portrait Award exhibitions (see a list of

A video interview with Thomas Ganter, Winner of the BP Portrait Award 2014

Thomas Ganter, winner of the BP Portrait Award 2014
with his winning portrait "Man with a Plaid Blanket"
oil on vanvas 1600mm x 600mm

Thomas Ganter kindly gave me a video interview about winning the BP Portrait Award 2014, the morning after the Awards Ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery

I'm very grateful to Thomas for giving me an interview when English is not his first language - and

BP Portrait Award: From 2,500+ entries to just three artists

Tonight we go from over 2,500 people who entered the BP Portrait Award 2014 to three prizewinners - and just one person who wins the top award. This year the National Portrait Gallery which organises the exhibition has filmed the artists shortlisted for an award.

In a few minutes time I start getting reading to go to the Awards Ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery which is this evening.

Cochineal and Carmine

One of the really interesting parts of the Making Colour Exhibition at the National Gallery is a wall of clear boxes which contain the raw resources for the Lake colours used in painting.

If you've ever wondered what the raw materials look like this is very definitely an exhibition worth visiting!

Which brings me to Cochineal. This is an insect that produces a brilliant crimson red dye and was

Summer Exhibition 2014 at the Royal Academy of Arts

I visited the 246th Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts today. Below you'll find a photoessay about exhibition plus two sections about
facts about the Summer Exhibition 2014
changes in the Summer Exhibition
I'll be doing another couple of posts - about artwork I liked and who won the Prizes - with the big one being announced on Saturday night.
I wasn't blown away by any of the rooms or

OASC for Metropolitan Museum of Art Images

I do like to look at images in high resolution - there's an amazing difference between high resolution images online and those you see in books or low resolution images online.

You can now access some 400,000 high resolution images belonging to the Metropolitan Museum of Art through their Open Access for Scholarly Content (OASC) initiative.

That basically means they are for educational use.

The Threadneedle Prize 2014 - what's changed and how to enter

Some important changes have been made to the Call for Entries for the Threadneedle Prize 2014 for figurative painting and sculpture with a prize valued at £30,000

This post 

highlights the changes in process
unpicks and summarises the "call for entries"

highlights the key dates in the processes for submission, selection and exhibition
highlights my blog posts about the Threadneedle Prize last

4 May 2014 - Who's made a mark?

Society of Botanical Artists Exhibition Invitation


I'm back "on the book" this month - we're now at the editing / design / layout stage and refinement re images.  For those involved I may be getting back to you!

As before this post is a recap of:

recent posts on this blog
things I've seen and highlighted on my Facebook Page. Many thanks to all those who have 'liked' my Facebook Page in the

Van Dyck self portrait saved for the nation by most successful fundraising campaign ever

The Save Van Dyck's Self Portrait  fundraising campaign jointly run by the National Portrait Gallery and the Art Fund has proved to be the most successful campaign run in the last 100 years. A substantial Heritage Lottery Grant supplements funds already raised and the iconic Van Dyck self portrait will now stay in Britain.

It will also be made much more accessible to people around the country

21st April 2014 - Who's made a mark?

This is the first of my "Who's made a mark" posts in a while.  It's a round-up of my posts on this blog and on Facebook PLUS it's interspersed with other news I've noticed as I get back to more normal life.

During my time writing the book I've had a couple of major milestones



The Making A Mark Facebook Page yesterday - with 2,001 likes


Making A Mark achieves 2.5 million visits came in March

Grayson Perry on television in 2014

Grayson Perry CBE RA - artist and contemporary social anthropologist is set to wow us with more of his fresh insights into contemporary society and the place of artmaking within it with two new television programmes due to be aired later this year. They are:

a brand new three part series about portraiture and identity called Who Are You? and 
a one off programme Grayson's Great Design

This

Fridge Magnet Art

This is what the bottom half of my (eyelevel) fridge door looks like - decorated with fridge magnets from various top art galleries and museums.



My Fridge Magnets

There's something of a colour theme coming through - and also an indication of which artists I like. There are more artists I like but who are not as yet represented and that's only because I haven't got hold of any of their fridge