Sophie Ploeg

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!

For the last leg of the tour the BP PORTRAIT AWARD EXHIBITION 2013 opens at Wolverhampton Art Gallery 1 March - 14 June http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/events/bp-portrait-award-2013/ which includes my ‘Self Portrait with Lace Collar' Wolverhampton Art Gallery  Lichfield St  Wolverhampton  West Midlands  WV1 1DU  Monday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm Closed Bank Holidays  Café open Monday – Saturday: 10.30am – 4.30pm  Admission free

Some more pictures of the BP Portrait Award Exhibition My little painting on the left, next to Paul Oxborough's Ved Mehta, and Daan van Doorn's huge Philip Glass portrait

I am honoured and excited to announce that my Self Portrait with Lace Collar has been chosen to be included in this year's BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Self Portrait with Lace Collar, oil, 24x30cm "The BP Portrait Award showcases fifty-five of the most outstanding and innovative new portraits from around the world. From informal and personal studies of friends and family to revealing paintings of famous faces, the exhibition features a variety of styles and approaches to the contemporary painted portrait. These include the two shortlisted artists – John Devane for "The Uncertain Time" and Susanne du Toit for "Pieter" – as well as the work of the BP Travel Award 2012 winner Carl Randall. Now in its thirty-fourth year at the National Portrait Gallery, and twenty-fourth year of sponsorship by BP, the Award is the most prestigious international portrait painting competition and the popular exhibition continues to be one ...