November 2015
Autumn has been an exciting time this year for multiple reasons. As well as becoming a father for the first time, I also held a solo show in London and have recently released some gorgeous limited edition prints (as you may have seen from my last blog post).
On top of this, I was honored to be invited down to the Holborne Museum in Bath this month to take part in a fundraising auction for their Sir Thomas Lawrence Aquisition campaign.
Sir Thomas Lawrence (who's paintings I have referenced before - see left) lived in Bath. An oil sketch has become available and the museum have been raising the funds needed to buy it. There are more details including an image of the Lawrence sketch on the museum website here.
I was asked to create my own interpretation of the original oil sketch - producing one oil and one conté on black drawing. Both pieces were then included in a charity auction and dinner held at the museum one evening in early November. To see my work lit on easels next to an original Sir Thomas Lawrence was quite something.
The room was hung with paintings by greats including Gainsborough and Zoffany, with Rachmaninoff's piano standing stately in the corner. Definitely the best group exhibition I've ever been part of! I'm pleased to say both pieces went under the hammer and contributed a good chunk to the museum.
During October I was also invited to run the brilliant Paintguide for a week.
It's a great Instagram page, full of inspiration for artists and art lovers alike. It has been taken over by some brilliant folk in the past, including Bret Amory and Christian Rex van Minnen, so I was honored to take part.
If you don't already follow I'd highly recommend it. Each week a different artist will post images that have inspired them and share insights with the many followers of the page. I really enjoyed my time there - scroll down the feed to see my week of images which begin with my name.
Coming up I will be taking part in a Paintguide exhibition at The Unit London. At the show, pieces by 60 contemporary artists can be seen under one roof - send me an email or contact the gallery for more details if you'd like to come along!
Paintguide are also putting together a gorgeous limited edition book containing 5 images by each participating artist. You can help fund the book and order your copy by visiting the Kickstarter page here.
Last but not least, several of my works are making their way stateside for the Scope Miami Art Fair in December with Lawrence Alkin Gallery.
Wishing you a happy christmas and new year. More news coming in early 2016 with my next solo exhibition on the horizon...
Jake
