Signature Art Prize 2015

I received an email from an organiser at DegreeArt who advised me that the previous years winner Claire Anscomb whom was in her final year at Winchester School of Art while I was on the MA had suggested me as an entrant in this years Signature Art Prize.

I was extremely flattered that Claire would nominate me as she is herself an extremely talented artist specialising in graphite drawing. Her work is absolutely astounding and awe-inspiring. I researched the prize and saw how prestigious it was, the fact that Claire had nominated me meant that I could enter for free. With this in mind I decided to submit the WSA Window View Series that I made for my final MA exhibition.

I soon received an email declaring that I had been long listed for the prize which felt wonderful. I then got the email that said that I was one of five finalists in the Drawing and Printmaking category, I was ecstatic! Once I saw who my competition was I quickly thought there must have been a mistake as the other finalists work was so brilliant. One of the great aspects of the Signature Art Prize is that entrants who do not make the final have their work submitted in a public vote via Facebook. The work with the most likes also gets a place in the Peoples Choice Award, the quality of work was amazing and I found myself voting for at least four pieces as it was so hard to choose!

My drawings were sent to London and DegreeArt arranged the framing of them for me to better suit the exhibition space. All of the work from each category including Painting, Photography and Film, Sculpture and my category Drawing and Printmaking is then brought together in a gala event. During the gala judges view each work in person and the winners are announced.

I was extremely disappointed that I was unable to attend the gala as it coincided with my trip to Iceland but I kept up to date with the announcements via social media. The winner of my category was Gareth Bunting, ironically the winning piece was inspired by his trip to the Golden Circle sights in Iceland! I really wish I could have seen the winning piece in person as the high level of detail really looked mesmerising.

It was a huge confidence boost to be chosen to be included in the Signature Art Prize and a wonderful feeling knowing that my drawings were on display in London alongside such fantastic work.

Iceland Inspiration

In order to celebrate the 30th birthday of my other half Craig, we decided to go on an adventure to Iceland. We invited his mum and dad along, we spent three weeks touring New Zealand together in a campervan and so we knew we would get on well for a week in Iceland. We stayed in the centre of Reykjavik in an apartment at Room With A View. 

On our first day we had a big Icelandic breakfast and we went out to explore. We walked down to the harbour and went inside the Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall. We walked to the Maritime Museum and went inside to warm up with a hot chocolate. After Tjornin and lunch at Bakari Sandholt we visited Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik's catherdral which you can see from most places as it is such a monumental building. We ventured to the top which was very windy but offered fantastic views of the city, the colourful buildings and the mountains in the distance.

Inside Harpa

Tjornin

On day two we decided to do a self-drive trip of the Golden Circle. As there were four of us it worked out cheaper to do the trip ourselves. We first visited Þingvellir National Park where two plates meet. Next stop was Geysir and then Gullfoss which was definitely a highlight of the trip though we did get caught in a heavy hailstorm. The weather in Iceland is so changeable, during our visit to Gullfoss there was perfect blue sky, then rain and a rainbow then a full on hailstorm. The guy at the car rental company recommended that we stop at Kerið, a huge crater which we walked around in the late afternoon sun. 

Þingvellir

Gullfoss

Day three was spent whale watching although in all honesty I felt completely sea sick and only glimpsed a minke whale and some dolphins. This was more than made up for when later in the evening we sighted the magical northern lights. They danced over our heads in Reykjavik and we saw them in all their glory on a tour to the outskirts of the city. 

Dolphins  

Northern Lights

After a busy few days we decided to spend the next day unwinding at the Blue Lagoon. It was such a surreal experience floating around in hot water while practically in a blizzard! 

Blue Lagoon

The next day we woke early to drive south. We visited three waterfalls including the mighty Skogafoss and the Eyjafjallajökull visitor centre. We watched a film about the eruption which affected the whole of Europe in 2010 and I practiced my pronunciation - "AY-uh-fyat-luh-YOE-kuutl-uh". After, we drove on to the black sand beach at Vik. 

Vik

At the top of Skogafoss

Our last full day in Iceland was spent driving to Snæfellsjökull National Park and was probably our highlight. We had an unobscured view of the partial eclipse in the morning and then drove round the peninsula stopping at beautiful sights. The roads were quiet enough to stop right on the tarmac to take photos and the towns on the south of the peninsula were completely deserted for winter. We met some lovely ladies in a town on the north of the peninsula while we stopped for snacks who were so excited to tell us what we should stop to see en-route. It's so lovely to meet people that are so friendly and proud of where they're from. 

Partial Eclipse

On the peninsula  

Kirkjufell

As our flight was later in the day we had plenty of time to visit the shops, the art museum and have a lovely lunch at a vegetarian cafe before making our way to the airport. 

Iceland was pure magic and I can't wait to return, in fact I loved it so much that I asked Craig if we could move there. The people were so wonderful, the landscapes incredible and we had some seriously great adventures. 

Cornish Blossom

I started a new drawing on Sunday afternoon but suddenly felt inspired to paint and use the linen canvas that I had bought a few weeks before. The light was fading quickly so I dug out my old oil paints and found the paints and brushes that a friend from my MA gave me before he returned home to China.  

I found a photograph that I took last spring on a trip to see my dad in Cornwall, pink blossom and blue sky. I mixed cadmium red with titanium white as a base for the painting before slowly adding in greens and browns. I used a stick of charcoal to scribble into the wet paint and to write on the linen itself. I built up a few layers of paint using thin washes and thick splodges of paint before wiping parts away to get the composition that I wanted. A gentle cascade of colour. 

Cy Twombly is an artist that I've admired for a long time, the book Cycles and Seasons highlights his painting process. Swirling colours with scribbles and writing, beautiful painterly marks. Twombly has been a big influence on my perspective as an artist but his influence hasn't been particularly visable as I've been making detailed drawings in pen. With oil paint I've been able to channel artists like Cy Twombly and Tracey Emin as well as artists from the Impressionist movement. 

This painting is 30cm x 30cm and is the first in a planned series of floral 'impressions'. It's my first attempt at painting since I gave it up in the second year of my BA in 2009 when I felt uninspired with paint and decided to focus on drawing. Since my MA I've realised that as an artist I don't need to specialise, I can have freedom to use any medium that fits my vision.