Sophie Ploeg

Last Sunday I went back to the National Portrait Gallery to join in their first “Next Generation Taster Session” which is aimed at 14-19 year olds who want to have a go at portrait drawing. There were tutors on hand who had come up with some really fun drawing exercises and I and two other BP artists (Alan Coulson and James Hague) were coming along to chat and encourage the youngsters. It was really fun and although my drawing was probably very embarrassing, I think everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. The BP artists each gave a very short talk about our work and the kids could ask us endless questions. All in all a great event and there are plenty more to sign up to. Really great they organise this. Their website Twitter:  #BPnextgen Photography by Marysa Dowling

Pleating Time, oil on linen, 60x40cm Travel Award work - The Lace Trail For an organised list of ALL blog posts that I wrote during the BP Travel Award project (2 years), please  see this page on my blog!

You can buy my book direct via this link The Lace Trail - by Sophie Ploeg | Make Your Own Book

The BP Portrait Award is now open to the public! I’ve had some crazy busy days but most enjoyable days in London, and I am pretty tired so will just post a few pictures. More info to follow! photo Katherine Tyrrell / Making a Mark My book is for sale in the shop!

with just over a week to go before the BP Portrait Award 2014 opens to the public here is a summary of what I have been doing and what to expect within the exhibition. The Lace Trail, BP Travel Award 2103 will be exhibited within the BP Portrait Award 2014 exhibition. ◊◊◊◊◊◊ 17th Century Old Master paintings and sumptuous Jacobean styled costumes are some of the associations had and the inspiration for a series of paintings displayed at the National Portrait Gallery as part of the BP Portrait Award 2014 exhibition.  After winning the BP Travel Award in 2013 Sophie Ploeg set out to research how lace and fabrics were represented in early 17th century portraiture. Inspired, she created a series of 10 new paintings which tries to connect women and style from the early 17th century with women of today. Her book tells the story of her year and catalogues the paintings. For an organised list of ALL blog posts that I wrote during the BP Travel Award project (2 years), p...

Yesterday I attended the private view of the annual exhibition of the Pastel Society, held at the Mall Galleries in London. It was very busy and hot but there was (and still is) a huge variety of pastel (and other dry media such as pencil, charcoal etc) on show.  I met up with my Facebook friend Merrie Curtiss-Fuller Dadd   which was lovely as I only knew her via facebook - until now. She has a wonderful pencil portrait in the show.  She also told me that, after I had left, my painting ‘Lace Lines’ received the ‘Red Dot’ - sold on opening night. Brilliant! Pastel Society annual Exhibition Mall Galleries The Mall, London http://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/index.php?pid=2&subid=198 10-21 June 2014 Open 10-5 every day. Admission £3 Here are a few pics Lace Lines, pastel, hanging wonderfully in the West Gallery at the Mall Galleries. Merrie’s portrait top left, my pastel painting bottom right. The crowd when I came in - it got busier and busier! ...

I actually went to see the BP Portrait Award 2013 on the very last day it was on in Wolverhampton Art Gallery. It was sort of silly to have left it so late, but also felt a bit silly to go and see my own painting. But there are so many great works there and it was the very last time the BP 2013 class would have been together! It was also very nice to see the show in a different ‘hang’; Carl Randall’s Travel Award work had its own area and the lighting overall was really great.  And so this is one of the little milestones that mark the end of the BP-2013. We can look forward to the 2014 show - starting in just over two weeks! - that will include my works - probably 7 of them..... Honoured to hang next to Saied Dai’s work. That man is a wizard with paint. A Selfie of a Selfie I love dramatic lighting. The works were hung quite low so I could have a real good  look close-up!

As usual....I am painting lace...in a box...

Alathea Talbot I recently came across this portrait that usually hangs in Ingestre Hall in Staffordshire but which is currently on exhibition at Wednesbury Museum, near Birmingham, as part of a small exhibition. I was interested in the portrait as soon as I saw it online and soon after decided to visit it in Wednesbury to have a closer look. What struck me immediately was the beauty of the painting, it certainly deserves to be let out a bit more often! It was also immediately apparent that this painting belonged in the Jacobean period, as it fits in perfectly with the portraits by Larkin, Gheeraerts and others which I have looked at in the past year. The lady in the portrait is wearing typical dress of the period, with an abundance of lace, jewels, silk and feathers.