RP show @royalsocietyportraitpainters closes this afternoon @mallgalleries
Here's my hedge layer with his portrait and a visit from the actor Edward Fox who has commissioned Russell to lay some of his own hedges at his Dorset home. We all ended up in @gordonswinebar and had a lively discussion and some colourful anecdotes from Edward. A very lovely way to wrap up the show. Thank you again to @thedorsethedgelayer Russell Woodham and his lovely wife Mandy.
A great show. All over too quickly....until next year.
#portraitdrawings
#portraitpaintings
#hedgerows
#nationalhefgelayingsociety
#acting
#thedayofthejackal
#art
I was surprised, delighted and honoured to recieve the Ondaatji Prize for Portraiture yesterday at the opening of the @royalsocietyportraitpainters annual exhibition.
@christopherondaatje
Amidst the preparations for King Charles coronation we made our way to @mallgalleries to see a really wonderful mix of contemporary portraiture.
Opened by our new president @anthonyconnollyrp and guest speaker the art critic, author, film maker and presenter@andrew.graham.dixon.
I only took a few pictures and not very good ones, but most importantly I include my amazing gold medallion which I shall put on a chain and wear with pride on the beach this summer.
Image1. 2. 3. My winning painting in the Threadneedle gallery
Image 4. Ondaatji GOLD
Image 5. The very cool @simon_davis_painter and sitters in front of his pictures and one by @miriam.escofet.artist
Image 6. Portrait of Charlotte by Saied Dai, recipient of this years William Lock Prize for Portraiture.
Image 7. @victoriajinivizian enjoying the small paintings wall.
Image 8. A memorial display of a lively portrait by Leonard McComb RA who was once my tutor.
Image 9. Podium with the shodowy figures of president and guest speaker and @miriam.escofet.artist 's striking paintings behind.
#portraitdrawings
#portraiture
#ondaatje
#christopherondaatje
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#andrewgrahamdixon
#paintings
#commissioningart
#colour
#likenesses
#schools
#atelier
#photorealist
#idiosyncratic
#unique
#contemporaryportrait
#thingstodoinlondon
My final picture of 4; a sketch in preparation for a portrait of the author Ronald Blythe 1922 - 2023.
To be shown at the @royalsocietyportraitpainters annual exhibition at the @mallgalleries, London
4th to 13th May
Ronald sat for me in his study, at the top of the stairs, his back to a small window overlooking the garden and illuminating an antiquated typewriter on the table at which he had worked for almost 40 years when I visited in 2008. Time was precious and you needed lots of it to yourself for writing, but also ‘just a few close and trusted friends’.
“Not for us covetous desires and inordinate love of riches. Nor for us inordinate affection, although quite how one is to keep this within bounds I have failed to understand. Some friends, the cat, some books, this landscape familiar to me since boyhood, are all in receipt of my inordinate affection and the cat would not be pleased with anything less. But if I am not covetous, it is because I have all I need.”
He gave me quite a bit of his precious time and was wonderful, mercurial company and incredibly kind.
I had intended to make a portrait of Ronald soon after my visit, but somehow 15 years passed and it didn’t happen and then Ronald died in January this year aged 100.
After hearing the news on the radio, I began to read his final publication ‘Next to Nature; a lifetime in the English countryside’ (John Murray 2022) having received it as a Christmas gift. To my surprise he had recorded my visit in an essay - it felt like a final gift from an extraordinary person.
I hope to exhibit the completed portrait next year.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/nov/05/ronald-blythe-at-100-a-watchful-curious-and-gratefully-amazed-vision-of-life
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/books/ronald-blythe-dead.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/01/15/ronald-blythe-author-celebrated-akenfield-classic-book-village/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001fd49
#portraitdrawings
#drawing
#mixedmedia
#portraiture
#writersofinstagram
#writingaboutnature
#pastoral
#churchtimes
#suffolklife
#essexwriters
#essexlife
#wormingford
#gainsborough
#constable
#benjaminbritten
#rogerdeakin
#richardmabey
A drawing in charcoal, pencil, pen and ink... Yes that man again!
Russell Woodham aka 'The Dorset Hedgelayer' @thedorsethedgelayer
Ill be showing this at the @royalsocietyportraitpainters annual show alongside pictures in previous posts.
4th to 13th May
@mallgalleries London.
The show features a wealth of portraiture from members and non members from across the globe.
Pop in if you're hanging around for that other event.
Russell has been laying hedges in the Dorset, Devon and South of England styles for over 25 years and works every season from September to April. He is a member of the National Hedgelaying Society and many times competition winner and has lain over 30 miles of hedges single handed in his career so far. Russell has won multiple competitions and notably for the regrowth of his hedges.
He has worked at Highgrove, Sandringham and has conversed on the subject of hedgelaying with HM King Charles who is also the patron of the National Hedgelaying Society (NHLS) of which Russell is a committee member.
He is currently involved in an advisory capacity with The Great Dorset Hedge, an initiative by Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN)to link hedges in one continuous wildlife corridor across the county.
#portraitdrawings
#drawing
#mixedmedia
#portraiture
#hedges
#hedgeyourbets
#thewrongendofthestick
#dorsetwildlifetrust
#thenationaltrust
#Dorset
#hedgelaying
#nationalhedgelayingchampionships
#nativespecies
#nativehedgerow
#ancientcrafts
#conservation
#preservation
#actingforbiodiversity
#biodiversitycrisis
" I’m rejuvenating old and neglected hedgerows, potentially saving them, bringing new life back to them, hopefully making a difference for both the hedgerow and the nature living in and around it. No matter what state or where the hedge is I will do my upmost to produce the best I can with it.
You can’t just rip out hedges, so my work will be there for tens of years, maybe even making it into hundreds of years.
Being outdoors, there’s no better office, as I say “some days the roof might leak” but it’s ever changing and no two hedges are the same or the surrounding countryside. I see and experience the changing of the seasons, which so many miss." Russell Woodham 2023
The ancient art of hedgelaying is a practise almost unique to the British Isles. It is most prevalent in England and Wales. It is a skilled craft and sits alongside ‘coppicing’ as work to be done when the sap is down in the roots during wintertime. The idea is to strip out the old wood, clear bramble and ivy and so on and then by cutting, bending and weaving each stem or ‘pleacher’ of the trees within the hedgerow into a particular pattern ( there are many recognised regional styles) , to make it stock-proof and promote vigorous new growth in the coming spring. This new growth develops a density of cover that increases its usefulness as stock-proofing and also provides a vital habitat to a large variety of bird, mammal and insect life.
It is interesting to note that 80 % of our birds, 50 % of mammals and 30% of butterflies rely on hedgerows for their survival. Vital for biodiversity.
@mallgalleries
@royalsocietyportraitpainters
@thedorsethedgelayer
@national_hedgelaying_society
#portrait
#portraitpainting
#dorsethedgelayer
#countryskills
#conservation
#biodiversitycrisis
#rejuvenation
#ancientskills
#preservation
#billhooks
#chainsaws
#wildlifecorridors
#landscapepainting
#figureinlandscape
#rp23
#painting
"Winter's Work; Russell Woodham at rest while laying a hazel hedge in the Dorset style"
(121.5 x 151cm) oil on canvas
I'm showing this alongside my last post and two drawings at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries
May 4th to 13th.
Come along if you're near by.
@royalsocietyportraitpainters
@mallgalleries
@thedorsethedgelayer
#portraiture
#oilpainting
#dorsethedgelayer
#russellwoodham
#dorset
#countrysideandfarmlife
#hedgerows
#savingournativewildlife
#birdlife
#mammals
#insects
#pollination
#protectingancientcrafts
#countrycrafts
#regeneration
#conservation
#royalacademyalumni
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#winterlight
#winterwork
#billhook
#eccotools
#chainsaw
#highviz
#landscape
#figureinlandscape
#2023
#collectingart
This little portrait will be part of my contribution to the Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London.
4th to 13th May.
A lively and eclectic mix of the best portraiture currently being made in the UK, Europe and beyond.
There is always something unexpected. Guaranteed to raise a smile, a frown and all sorts of other expressions! so come along and feast your eyes.
@royalsocietyportraitpainters
@mallgalleries
'Richard' oil on gesso panel
approx. 30 x 25 cm
#portraiture
#portraitstudy
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#oilpainting
#facesobsessed
#exhibition
#heatherleys
#royaldrawingschool
#portraitcommissions
#commissioningart
#colour
#light
#tone
#space
#likeness
#springvibes
#mallgalleries
#london
#coronation
#drawing
#painting
@drawingpapershow
'Precipice' pencil, charcoal, chalk, pigment on paper
76x53cm
Dorset. UK.
#drawingpapershow23
A few spaces still available for my rescheduled 2 day drawing course at St. Lawrence Village Hall, Church Rd, Stone Street.
TN15 0LL. Kent.
All welcome. Experienced and beginners alike.
Sat 22nd and Sun 23rd April -
10am to 5pm.
£240
For details please DM me or go to :
stonestreetart@yahoo.com
Call: 07717317138
#drawingclass
#artclasses
#fineartdrawing
#arttuition
#kent
#drawingofteday
#kentlife
#stonestreetartgroup
#aprilartclass
#figuredrawing
#learntodraw
#drawing
#theroyalacademyofarts
#theroyalsocietyofportraitpainters
#theroyaldrawingschool
#heatherleysschooloffineart
Bit of Hazel before it all bursts into leaf.
Still pretty damn cold for standing about for hours with a paintbrush, but there's a change in the air and of course celandines, snowdrops, primroses, violets and even the daffs opening up round here.
#springvibes
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#oilonboard
#countrylife
#march
#hazel
#dorset
#pleinairpainting
#freezingmyassoff
Study for a posthumous portrait of Ronald Blythe 1922 - 2023. Author.
This is the first step towards a fairly large portrait of Ronald in his study at Bottengoms Farm, his house on the Essex Suffolk border, inherited from his friend the painter John Nash, brother to Paul.
I visited Ronald for a few days back in 2008 and drew and painted him. These will be the basis for the portrait. He was then in his mid 80s and was writing beautifully and profoundly well into his nineties. He passed away in January this year aged 100.
I will be showing this preparatory study at the @royalsocietyportraitpainters
annual show @mallgalleries in London.
The exhibition runs 4th May to 13th.
Please come along. All details to be found @mallgalleries
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#pencilonpaper
#portraiture
#ronaldblythe
#suffolkwriters
#essexwriters
#englishauthors
#naturewriting
#robertmcfarlane
#rogerdeakons
#gilbertwhite
#richardmabey
#greatage
#greatlives
Ilay's kettles on the wood stove in his caravan. He used these for all hot water needs for many, many years. Alas he's been upgraded to an indoor tap just in time for his 80th birthday! @ilaycooper
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#oilonboard
#february
#countrylife
#caravanlife
#theydontmakeemlikethatanymore
#dorset
#paintingfromlife
#stilllife
Little sketch of our model 'V' from my portrait class @heatherley_school_of_art
Having a fun time working with both 'open studio' classes and diploma students. Always a lovely atmosphere in this school and great to be back in #chelsea by the Thames in #london in crisp cold sunny weather.
#painting
#kunst
#peintre
#collectingart
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#drawing
#lifedrawing
#heatherleysschooloffineart
#londontown
#thames
#chelsea
#drawingthemodel
#studentlife
#artstudent
#teaching
#tutoring
A very good morning from Cyril Stapleton and his orchestra on the latest device... For 1910 anyway!
Have a great day.
#music
#theelephanttango
#cyrilstapletonandhisorchestra
#grammaphone
#78s
#decca
Happy New Year!
Back at the studio and pleased to be here.
#2023
#freshstart
#newyear
#contemporarypainting
#contemporarybritishart
#painting
#drawing
#drinkingcoffee
#drinkingtea
#commissionedportraiture
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#oiloncanvas
#january
#heatherleys
#kunst
#peintre
#collectingart
#blablabla
Wishing everyone a little sweetness this Christmas and a peaceful New Year to come.
#painting
#kunst
#peintre
#collectingart
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#oiloncanvas
#autumn
#seasonal
#fruitingbodies
#pears
#pinecones
#puffballs
#apples
#berries
#christmas
#winterlight
#naturetable
#fragilelight
#happychristmaseveryone
Underway, grouped objects on a table. Various found bits of nature. Trying to organise a body of late autumn colours. Musty grey violets and warm woody reds. Fruiting bodies of one sort or another in what has quickly become a cold, low winter light.
#painting
#kunst
#peintre
#collectingart
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#oiloncanvas
#autumn
#seasonal
#fruitingbodies
#pears
#pinecones
#puffballs
#apples
#berries
#oldtable
#regencytable
#winterlight
#naturetable
#fragilelight
Wardour Apples. 30x40cm oil canvas
They were kindly provided for a painting workshop I was teaching at #summerleasegallery @josephineaconnolly
@thejacgallery
I stole them away afterwards. These are Belle de Boskoop apples from a mature orchard in Wilts. Large, fragrant and taste a bit like sherbet. Good in a pie I've since found, but less easy to paint. They are part russet, part flushed with red, orange and yellow... Plus a few bruises. No easy, but at least they register as appley if nothing else
#appledaily
#appleday
#belledeboskoop
#applepie
#oldvarieties
#saveourorchards
#orchards
#wiltshire
#wardourcastle
#artoftheday
#paintingoninstagram
#royalsocietyofportraitpainters
#oiloncanvas
#autumn
#seasonal
#fruit
#painting
#stilllife
#anappleaday
#cider
#cidery
#produce
#buyartonline
#collectart
#kunst
#peinture
