merry christmas and a most creative new year · essential to that. domestic duties, family...

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RGA Annual Review 2016

www.rga-artists.org.uk

This year, our team of two discussed, edited and published the fifth issue of RGA Annual Review to inspire RGAmembers in attending, organizing and promoting all RGA events, to make Reading a cultural hub. Many RGAmembers took part in all sorts of activities and sent their articles and images to Ksenija Krotin for page make-up asusual, ready for printing and distribution, organised by John Pumfrey. We hope that you will enjoy our summary ofthe old year and will have fresh ideas for New 2017.

Merry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry ChristmasMerry Christmasand a most creative New Yand a most creative New Yand a most creative New Yand a most creative New Yand a most creative New Yearearearearear

It’s just over six months since I took over the hot seat from John Pumfrey and in trying to build on the huge progressRGA has made in the last few years, I feel very much like the proverbial dwarf sitting on the shoulders of giants!However, with the support of a brilliant Council and with the encouragement and wisdom of our new President, CliveDuncan, I can honestly say I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I suspect that most of the things I am going to mention willbe covered in greater detail elsewhere in this review, but here are some of the highlights, together with plans we areexploring for the future.The Summer Show, was again a great success anda huge credit to the exhibitions team as well aseveryone who put work in, including the students fromthe University. Many people felt we achieved a higherstandard this year, and some of the workshops brokenew ground. However, we are never complacent, andthere are always lessons to learn and put into practicenext time. This exhibition was followed by our regularshow at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, which has justbeen hung at the time of writing. Already it has broughta measure of colour and comfort to people using thehospital, many of whom are very much in need of it.David Cotton has been joined by a new PromotionsTeam and Therese Lawlor has really hit the groundrunning in getting this initiative under way. I amconfident that this will result in a higher profile for RGAin the locality and will eventually result in increasedfootfall for our exhibitions and other activities.A number of interesting ideas were floated at a ‘Blue Sky’ session held during the Summer Show and the Councilhas been busy evaluating these. Some have been put into practice already including Linda Saul’s proposal for thewebsite RGArtevents which is now up and running for a trial period of a year. Others include building closer linkswith the Museum and with other departments of the University including the Fine Art Department and the newDepartment of Architecture. Watch this space!Summer painting days resumed this year and although we didn’t manage to take part in the Big Draw this time,plans are afoot to work with the Museum on this in 2017. Meanwhile, Earley Painters and RGA Fridays are flourishingthanks to the hard work of all involved. One thing that did emerge from the blue sky event is that any new initiativesneed to be accompanied by new people to implement them, backed up by a team of helpers. Therese and Lindawere both co-opted onto the Council because of this and I am hoping this will be the start of a trend..!!??It’s been a busy time!

PS If anyone would like to respond visually to the ‘Dwarfs and Giants’ thought in the first sentence, I’m sure theresults could be displayed somewhere!

The View from the ChairAnthony Wilder


Obituaries

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Born in October 1925, Pauline was the only child of Ernest HeberThompson, a professional artist from New Zealand whose printmakingpractice included engravings used as book illustrations. She was broughtup in London and in 1942 she attended the Harrow College of Art beforejoining the WRNS in 1943. After the war she went to the Central School ofArt and Design to study textile design. In 1947 she married Paul Mercier,a lecturer in the Reading University Education Department. They had sixchildren so family life was both demanding and fulfilling for her. Family lifewas central to Pauline’s philosophy and a comfortable and attractive homeessential to that. Domestic duties, family furniture and crockery, fruit andgarden flowers formed a useful yet beautiful background. This led to herchoice of subjects for sensitive oil paintings, often incorporating both stilllife and landscape. She joined the RGA, exhibiting for the first time in1962. Her friendship with another University wife, Angela Jewell, who joinedthe RGA a few years later, supported her in making time to paint.

In the 1970s Pauline served on the Council of the RGA. She was then teaching painting and pottery for Berkshireadult education. She also set up her own pottery studio and collaborated with a group called Intermediate Technology,designing a pottery cooking stove that used minimal fuel.

When I joined the RGA in 1972 it was because of my friendship with Pauline Mercier and Angela Jewell. When mychildren started school Wednesdays became sacrosanct for the three of us, meeting in each other’s houses orsearching the local countryside for landscapes and buildings to paint. Both Angela and Pauline were trained artists,Angela a Fine Art graduate of Reading University who had studied under Professor Anthony Betts, so I enjoyedexpert guidance.

When Paul retired the Merciers moved to live in the Lake District, where Pauline was active in the Kendal ArtSociety. When they later moved to Moreton-in-Marsh Pauline adapted the second floor of their small house as astudio and joined the North Cotswold Arts Association.

To settle down with Pauline and concentrate on form, colour, usefulness and charm was always inspiring andgrounding. She was a lovable and admirable friend whom I shall never forget.

Pauline Mercier October 1925 – March 2016by Elizabeth Heydeman

News from RGA Council


Subscription reminder

pay by day 1 January 2017 RGA Upgrading

Carole Pembroke, UpGrade Secretary

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Promoting the RGADavid Cotton

Being part of the UpGrade team enables us to see first hand the art work being submitted to the RGA. Yet again thequality and varied submissions were exciting to see, a fact that bodes well for our future exhibitions.The number of people UpGrading during 2016 numbered 14 in total and congratulations have been extended toSusan Evans, Blinda Garner, Kate Ellison Bourne, Yu Takeuchi, Rosie Ellis-Unwin in January.In May - Andrea White, Sian Rae, Philip Alexander, Lorna Webber, Michael Garaway, and Mick McNicholson allsuccessfully Upgraded, and finally in October - Tracy Eisa , Ros Ingram, Carol Kettle all successfully UpGraded.I would also like to thank all those RGA Council Members who gave freely of their time to assist in forming theUpGrade panel.

RGA Council warmly welcome all new members !

How to promote your own eventLinda Saul

A new initiative that arose from the ‘Blue Sky’ session held during the Summer show was the idea that RGA couldhave a secondary website dedicated to members’ events. The members’ ‘what’s on’ section of the main website isreplaced with a link to this site: http://www.rgartevents.uk/The idea is that this website helps promote our members and their events and can be promoted in its own right. Atany point in time it will list current and future events, and help emphasise how active our members are. Afterdiscussions the council have decided to try this idea out.The site can be used to list exhibitions, open studio events etc in which exhibiting members are participating. It willlist the RGA exhibitions, but the primary source of information on RGA events will of course remain the main RGAwebsite.A key aspect of the website, one that I hope will enable us to get publicity for it in due course, is that there is a sectionwhere any of our exhibiting members who wishes to advertise that their studio is open to visits by appointment canhave an entry and make this website something different. Please if you have any events you want adding, email me the details. They don’t need to be local events. Also if youare participating in one of the events already listed and your name isn’t included let me know. Any event must haveat least one image to display - preferably an example of your work. I also welcome feedback on or questions about the site.Please email me at [email protected] - or you can use the form on the Contact page of the site if you prefer.

Some of you may remember my Report from last year:“Publicity…or is it Promotion or maybe Advertising?”Do we need to take a fresh look at how we do this?It has taken a while but I am pleased that this has been done. I am grateful for the help of Therese Lawlor inachieving this. Therese was coopted onto Council and a small Promotions Team has been put together. Council feltthat there was a need for a clear timetable of deadlines and that the Promotions Team need to be involved from thestart when organising any RGA event. Very early in the year I suggested we should consider what our objectives areand the order of them with a view to establishing exactly what we are trying to achieve. A small group of theCommittee did this and this is what they felt.

1. Promote the RGA2. Encourage art participation /appreciation for members and the wider public3. Provide an opportunity for members to sell work4. Provide a forum for members to meet/work together through workshops

The Order is very important and has a huge impact. At the same time the group also accepted that publicity is onlya part of the wider promotion of the Guild. It is hoped that we can discuss these Objectives at the AGM.A variety of new banners has helped advertise our annual exhibition in Henley and the Summer Show. Some illnessand a house move have restricted my involvement with the new plans and the promotion of the RBH exhibition.However Therese has worked very hard to crystalise these and find practical ways of achieving the clear objectivesthat have been established. With the help of a small Team, clear direction and early involvement in activities, I feelsure our promotion will improve in 2017.

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RGA FridaysCarole Pembroke

At the 2016 AGM Lucy Jenkins, who ran the Friday’s sessions for the pastseven years, has stepped down. On behalf of the RGA and all those whohave participated in Friday’s over the years, many thanks are extended. The Autumn 2016 workshops have been very successful and with numberson the rise, of both RGA Members and visitors. RGA Fridays has consistedof some tutored sessions, when we were able to welcome Anthony Wilder,Jenny Halstead, Emily Gillmor and Richard Cave, and with the sessioncontent ranging from watercolour, printing, life drawing and themed informalsessions. The spring term promises to be as equally popular as tutors CaroleStephens, Clare Buchta, Sam Knight and Jean Aust will be heading up someof the sessions. The full programme can be seen at www.rga-artists.org.ukI would like to take this opportunity to thank the Fridays team,and in particular Clare Buchta and Sam Knight.

Winter/ Spring Programme 201720 Jan Experimenting with Acrylics with Carole Stephens 3 Feb Sea & Sky with Clare Buchta17 Feb Printing with Karen Carter 3 Mar Layers & Masks mixed medium with Sam Knight17 Mar Life Drawing - untutored31 Mar Mark Making in Black & White with

Jean Aust & Carole Pembrooke

Print and draw with Emily GillmorFish with Anthony Wilder

Summer postcards, first session on memories of the summer break

Life drawing with Jenny Halstead

Water colour with Richard Cave

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RGA Tuesdays, Earley PaintersClare Buchta

Winter / Spring Programme 201710 Jan Feathers and Gardening24 Jan Chairs14 Feb Looking Through Window28 Feb Landscapes14 Mar Everything Wood28 Mar Veg Talk11 Apr Spring/Summer Buds & Flowers25 Apr Spring Cleaning9 May Garage Tools23 May Baking Day

Well, what an interesting Autumn programme so far this term. We have hadquite a few new people trying out the workshops this season. The subjectsfor the programme have been developed from suggestions from theparticipants, plus some extra novel ideas thought up by the organising group.The topics are many and varied, never quite what you expect, but certainlystimulating. Everyone is inspired by each other’s way of working so althoughwe are not tutored as such, there is plenty of encouragement. Illustrationsby other artists and ideas are suggested for ways of working at the start ofeach session just in case anyone needs a bit of impetus.

I have just come home from thisafternoon’s workshop titled “Holey,Holey Holey”. Now, this could be takeas a typo and as its getting nearChristmas, we might have beenpainting a seasonal scene! But no,we are looking at holes! Holes incolanders, lace, grids, sieves,graters, fruit baskets, all set againsta dark ground. This is typically thedifferent view of things that is takenon these afternoons, pushing us tolook differently at sometimesordinary items. The work producedis always stunning, varied andcreative, produced using collage,print, watercolour, gouache, pastel,acrylic, pencil .........

There was a figure drawing session,this was an equestrienne character, with riding attire and all the horseequipment, alas the horse was not allowed in as not house trained!Collage was used with a twist, cutting up postcards and scenes to reinventour memories from the Summer break.“Posh and Shiny” gave us a chance to study colour in reflections using itemsof serving ware that were in regular use in days gone by, dug out fromcupboards and display cabinets and discovered in charity shops.With thanks to Hilary and Jean for all their support to make this such a livelyand popular workshop.Look on the RGA website for details.

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RGA


Small Works SaleReading Museum, 6th February 2016 Annual

Our grateful thanks to the Reading Museum Curator Elaine Blake, for onceagain hosting our Sale, in the splendid setting of the Atrium Gallery. A wideselection of small paintings, prints, sculptures and artists’s greetings cardswere ‘for sale’. Plenty of footfall and a good atmosphere ! More buying visitorswould have been appreciated but we were still able to make a small donationto the Reading Museum.We are now looking to our 2017 ‘Small Works Sale’ on February 11th.Work for this next sale must be based on the theme specified by Elaine Blake. Thus paintings, prints, and sculpturesmust, however loosely, reference ‘Reading’. This is because our ‘Small Works Sale 2017’ is to be held in conjunctionwith the 2017 exhibition featuring the work of Ray Atkins. Atkins was an artist who taught at the University ofReading and painted the changing face of the town of Reading.

Spring into Action - RGA 86th Annual Exhibition 2016The Old Fire Station Gallery, 66 Market Place, Henley - on - Thames, 19 - 29 March 2016

Marie Dyson Award

Marie Dyson led a group of members to expand the range of Guild activitiesin the early 1960s with long-lasting contributions and influence. After heruntimely death in 1967, the generosity of her husband, Dr J. Dyson FRS andof her friends created this award which is given for a work of outstandingmerit.

We must thank Martina Hildebrandt for the evocativeposter image for ‘Spring into Action’. A difficult title towork to, but it seemed a suitable one for the springtime!

The Annual Exhibition was opened for us, with greataplomb, by our new President, Clive Duncan. Clive isa highly regarded sculptor with years of experience asa practitioner, and an educationalist, and we aredelighted to welcome him to the Reading Guild ofArtists. Clive’s first task, prior to the official opening,was to visit, and assess, the whole exhibition in orderto chose the winner/s for The Marie Dyson Award. As itturned out, Clive was quickly drawn to the etching of‘Freddie’ by Martin Andrews, and the monotype‘Shetland I’ by Clare Buchta. For the work of theseartists he jointly gave The Marie Dyson Award.Clive then went on to chose ‘Solva Harbour, WinterSunshine’ (watercolour) by Richard Cave and ‘Into theblue’ by Nina O’Connell ( batik collage) for joint secondplace. It was an exciting and diverse selection of pieces,highlighting the wide range of work currently beingmade by Reading Guild artists.

‘Freddie’by Martin AndrewsEtching

’Solva Harbour, Winter Sunshine’by Richard CaveWatercolour

’Into the blue’by Nina O’ConnellBatik collage

’Shetland I’by Clare BuchtaMonotype

The work of this years’ winners is shown hereand by visiting the RGA website you can viewprevious winners.

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RGA 23rd Royal Berkshire Hospital CorridorExhibition6 November-18 December 2016

Summer ShowUniversity of Reading, London Road Campus

Our RGA amazing team of volunteers assembled yet another splendidexhibition and all 77 works handed in for the exhibition were up on the boardson the walls by the Eye Clinic and South Entrance corridors in record time ofone Sunday afternoon, to cheer the patients and visitors with our display.

This year, RGA Summer Show atthe University of Reading LondonRoad Campus was absolutelystunning, presenting all aspects ofRGA activities in that amazingenvironment of the Art EducationDepartment, where it all began 86years ago.The Summer Show was opened byDr Cathie Tissot, the head of theInstitute of Education of theUniversity of Reading, Dr GillHopper, the head of the ArtDepartment and by new RGAPresident Clive Duncan FRBS RBASPS NDD in front of his sculpture“The fall to Earth, Icarus IV”

65 artists filled the long main gallery with nearly 300 pieces, including a great variety of new works from bold oil andacrylic paintings to delicate ceramics, pastels, sculpture, watercolours and every style of printing technique. In thesecond gallery BA Ed Art students of the Art department at the Institute of Education showed a selection of theirdegree work.We introduced two new awards for the favourite work of the exhibition;; one chosen by RGA members and the otherby the public. See RGA website for details and winners.

Well attended workshops ran throughout the Summer Show including Silkscreen Printing withChris Mercier and Emily Gillmor, Costume Figure Drawing with Jenny Halstead, WatercolourPainting with Richard Cave, a taster session of our Earley Painters Workshop, Batik Workshopwith Claire Drew and The Art of Architecture – capturing space and delighting in detail withJohn Pumfrey and Sam Knight. Although ‘RGA Summer Show’ ran at a loss, due to the cost ofholding ‘Workshops’ in the venue during the exhibition, I feel very strongly that these workshopsare part of RGA remit to educate. Apart from this, they draw an enthusiastic crowd to ourvenue, and spread the word about the exhibition. Plus I was particularly pleased that we wereable to hold the workshop for ‘ Young People with Dementia’ and have two days of school‘workshop visits’.

Two Special Events took place Sat 25 June 2016:An Illustrated Talk “Being the Artist in Residence at Silchester – The Final Dig” by Jenny Halstead, followed by RGAMembers’ Discussion “Blue Sky Thinking” hosted by RGA Chairman Anthony Wilder.

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Exhibitions 2016l Report by Exhibition Secretary

Carole Stephens


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Summer Painting Days

As I had only once or twice been on a RGA PaintingDays in the past, I was unfamiliar with the format, soperhaps should not have let myself be persuaded totake this on. So, 2016 was a difficult one for us all, but Iam still happy to continue into 2017 and hope to talk toNina very soon and discuss our next year’s programme.

We had three sessions in conjunction with my gardenclub; at The Priory in May, which I believe the RGAmembers that came on this did enjoy, and another oneat Beale Park which Nina very kindly ran.

The Beale Park event was very interesting with lots offamilies present and a challenge to find animals thatwould stay still long enough to capture. It was anexceptionally hot day, so we had to chase the shade.Rather expensive entry price, but worth it if we find lesspopular times to go. Lots of refreshment and loo places!

There was also a very successful day’s painting atShiplake Church and by the river, people enjoyed thisbecause of the variety of scenes to paint from: theriverside, golden corn field and of course the beautifulchurch and grounds, it was a lovely sunny day whichwas a bonus.

More Summer Painting Activities

Hilary Penrose and Nina O’Connell

Carole Pembroke

During the summer holidays the Tuesday’s groupcontinued to meet once a month to paint together. Forthose who were able to attend these informal gatheringstook place in their gardens or allotments, followed bydelicious cakes and tea !It was certainly productive and fun way to spend sunnyafternoons. Many thanks to all those who were able toprovide these painting locations.

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Studio Talk with Nina O’Connell

I have used this slot for a few years now, recording conversations with eminentRGA members, summarizing an interview. Not all the conversations havebeen so “site specific” but to sit in Nina’s studio is to know Nina. I took aphotograph of it but, in spite of the mounds of creativity could not capturethe full breadth of her interests.From winning the Mabel Lucy Atwell prize as a girl to exhibiting at the RoyalSociety of Marine Arts at the Mall Gallery, Nina in her teens studied windowdisplay (at a College of Distributive Trades), a foundation course at CroydonArt College, vocational fine art with John Hoyland, gained Dip A.D at West ofEngland College of Art and a B.A.Hons (2/1 in Fine Art at Reading).

Nina says she is now a painter but much of her work has been in illustrationand with and without a London agent she has been published by MacMillan,M&S, NewWay, and the Guardian among others. The work has rangedthrough storybooks for children, educational series natural history and politicalpublications.

‘Painting’, for Nina, involves brush occasionally! Batik wax resist, woodblock,dyes, spatulas, fine cotton, sized board, collage tissue, ink dribble, ceramicclay and glaze are added to conventional acrylic, watercolour and oil. ‘Added’not just as items on a list but added literally in mixed-media productions.Throughout, the hand of an illustrator shows a natural love of line. Always,fluid. Her current work comprises, therefore, collages and collagraphs,watercolour and oil landscapes, vibrantly coloured ceramic fantasies, batikabstract and figurative work. Textile work is her latest passion with light andcolour her inspiration.

Returning to a previous role of Art Therapist and alsoa Classroom Assistant at a Special Needs School inthe past, Nina’s latest work in this realm is at aReading primary school.

John Pumfrey

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Some years ago I decided that I needed to reach a bigger audience if I intended to produce art on more than acasual basis. As a first step to this I decided to submit some works to the Royal Society of Marine Artists for theirannual show, on the basis that I have always enjoyed marine painting and had some works that I thought might besuitable. In this first submission I had one work selected and one rejected. This first work was sold and I wasenthused to try in subsequent years. In my next submission I had two works accepted, both of which sold but thefollowing year I had no paintings accepted.

This year I again had two works accepted, which are illustratedhere, and again both were sold. Over the years I have been do-ing this, I have gleaned a few facts which may be useful to any-one who might care to make a submission to the RSMA or othernational art organization. 1. Every artists’ society has members and these members havean automatic right to submit and exhibit in their annual show.Number of works may vary but is generally at least three. This willtake up the majority of space in an exhibition and in the case ofthe RSMA leaves around 200 spaces for non-members – thisused to be less but the recent works at the Mall Gallery haveincreased the number of works that can be accommodated. Giventhat the number of works submitted by non-members is generallybetween one and two thousand you will realize that competition issignificant.2. The issue for me was how to produce work which was not justcompetent but had an appeal which would make it stand out insome way. From the first work which was accepted (a detail of abuoy being craned onto a Trinity House boat in Harwich) and analy-sis of the non-member works that were accepted, I determinedthat an element of detail and a relatively realistic approach mightsuit my way of working. It was evident that many people submitsmall boats in harbours, on beaches etc. and to succeed withsuch images as a non-member one has to be very good.

3. The approach outlined above proved successful in my secondannual submission but not the following year. Although I cannotbe dispassionate about the quality of work submitted, I do notbelieve it was significantly different. From conversations with cur-rent members it would appear that the judging committee, whilstoften comprising members from preceding years, is always chairedby a different member who has the deciding vote. The works se-lected in any year are likely to reflect the preferences of the chairof the judging committee, and regrettably this is an obstacle thatone can do nothing to avoid. It should not, however, put anyoneoff from submitting in successive years.

4. Finally, the issue of pricing and selling work. The Mall Galleryimpose a minimum price of £300.00 and take a commission of 40% plus VAT which equates to 48% - nearly half theproposed price. My attitude has always been to sell the works that I submit and I have always priced them at a levelwhich is likely to sell. Setting a price level that I might get when exhibiting with RGA I have made an allowance forthe commission, the submission costs and travelling to deliver (and possibly collect) the works, which gives me aprice somewhere between £300.00 and £400.00. On querying the purchaser of the first work sold from the RSMAexhibition, he admitted that it was one of the few works within his budget and this, rather than a good financialreturn, has always influenced my approach. I have a medium to long term view about submissions to such societieswhich involves becoming a member, but this cannot be achieved without having works accepted in at least sixexhibitions. Outside of this there is an element of recognition of ones work at a national level which gives somereassurance to the work that we produce and I would encourage anybody to submit for this reason alone. If someof the comments made above seem rather cynical this would be to misread my intentions. Knowing the circum-stances surrounding any exhibition will give you a better chance of success and an understanding if you get arejection, as it should encourage you to try again.

Experience of exhibiting with the Royal Society of Marine ArtistsRichard Cave

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Artists’ InboxMaria Teresa Molner


The mobile media stops people looking around at the real world of colourand light and that is then we, with our gifts, bring the attention of our audiencesto it. I came to this conclusion after having a successful exhibition in Spainthis year. Artists. We communicate with our tools and when someone looksat our works of art they can read our thoughts, we have an internationallanguage which does not need translation and speaks for itself. For myexperience of talking to people, l have come to this point.

What a fantastic year of choices it has been,showing a wide range of RGA artists in a broadrange of styles and media. “Picture of theMonth” is a way for members to get involved,stay in touch and see what other members areproducing, by choosing a work from the RGA“Online Art Gallery”.It’s great also for those who may not be able tojoin in other activities due to busy lives or livingfurther afield. For me it’s a joy to email thecurrent months artist with the news that theirwork has been chosen, and then theanticipation, as I wait for the next choice to bemade. I know that everyone feels such anhonour to have been chosen and I can feel thegreat care and thought that is given to the nextchoice. Thank you to all those who kept the“baton” going this year. If you are an exhibitingmember, why not take the opportunity submit4 works to the RGA “Online Art Gallery”, it’s atreat to see something new.For all you need to know on how to submit, goto the “Online Art Gallery” at www.rga-artists.org.uk and click on Gallery Submissions! Or email Martina at [email protected]

Picture of the MonthMartina Hildebrandt

Prices Formula

With thanks to the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, here is their formula:(amount you want x100) divided by 58 = retail priceNote from Tom HeydemanThe ‘Prices Formula’ seems to be calculated for a commision rate of about 42%.Where the commision rate is only 25% the relevant formula would be close to this:(amount you want x100) divided by 75 = retail price

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Although the Small Western Room at the RoyalAcademy’s Summer Exhibition is famous for tradi-tionally cramming in as many small paintings asthe walls can hold, most small galleries are forcedto do the same in order to show as much work aspossible. The Fire Station Gallery is a case in point.

The RGA Summer Exhibition however housed atthe University of Reading’s Department of Educa-tion was an opportunity for art to breathe. Not onlywas it a shared space with the University studentwork but it was designed and hung with imagina-tion and displayed in such a way that each artisthad his or her own space.

Although we are conditioned to look at art inisolation, it can be remarkably revealing to see acollection of works placed together by eachindividual artist thereby involving the viewer in theartist’s personal creative journey. Such was thesuccess of the Summer Show.

Word by RGA PresidentClive Duncan

I was concerned that my first contribution to the RGA newsletter is too brief and isn’t paying enoughattention to the individual artists or their work.After only two shows, one in Henley and one at Reading University I am getting a feel for the workproduced but I can’t as yet, remember names. My overview is that the Guild has some remarkablytalented members. The work as a whole is vibrant and distinctive both in approach and medium.The presentation in the Summer Show gave each artist a personal space displaying work in progressand finished pieces, a combination which really engages the viewer. The opportunity to place individualstudio environments in a gallerysetting is not only an exciting wayof looking at art, it reveals themind, eye and hand of the artist.When such space is available, theuse of larger canvases ought tobe encouraged as many subjectscry out for larger formats. Largerworks tend to be made with oneswhole body, smaller works withthe hand and wrist. I would very much like to seesome life size drawings in thenext show as one learns so muchabout form and shape on thatscale. We forget that theconvention that most of us useminiaturises everything we see. I look forward to the next showand thank you to all the members.

merry christmas and a most creative new year · essential to that. domestic duties, family...

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