BP Portrait Award - review (sort of)
I went to see the BP Portrait Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London yesterday. I met up with two facebook friends and fellow artists and had a wonderful day. The BP exhibition is an awesome show and I came back wanting to paint. So, very inspiring indeed. Although I found there were quite a few paintings that used modernist gimmicks and invisible concepts, there were some paintings that showed the work of some of the best painters around at the moment. I feel the term ‘portrait’ was sometimes taken in a very big and wide manner but the majority of works were good-ol portraits indeed. The highlights for me: Alan Coulson. This painting is just so impressive in real life. The picture does not do justice to the real thing. It oozes character. You can feel the bloke in the picture. Technically it is amazing, the tiny brushmarks in his face make the whole thing sing. Richie Culver, 85x59cm. ©Alan Coulson www.alancoulson.com Another highlight was Mary Jan...