As far as you can get!

As is with every year, there are particular months in which deadlines and results of art competitions come in. The last few weeks have been the results! I submitted work for various competitions and Open Art exhibitions, of which I have had some (but not all) success.
Of the ones which were successful, they are as follows:-
UKCPS (UK Coloured Pencil Society) Annual Exhibition at Nuneaton in October with 'Cressbrook Dale'.

AppArt Open Exhibition at Milford, Guildford in October with  my contemporary floral's 'Nymphae Ishwata' and 'Solo White'.

The one I am particularly excited about is the International Cricket Art Prize. 'The organisers invite artists to submit a painting or composition that depicts life in and around the game and sport of cricket, in settings of backyard, park, beach, street, village green or social-cricket.' 
I absolutely love watching and, when I can, playing cricket, so this was a great subject for me to have a go at. I actually submitted last year, but was not successful. But this year I managed to get into the shortlist. It is now winging it's way to Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia, hopefully in time for the exhibition at the beginning of October. There is a substantial cash prize for the winner, so keep everything crossed for me!
The title is :- 'Going for a Catch' and is done in my Fractured style. I tried to evoke a feeling of movement and speed. The judges obviously got it too!

I have also just finished being part of the organisation committee for a new Arts Festival, which happened on Saturday. I was the main exhibitor as the Rector initially invited me to exhibit, and it sort of grew from that! We had a potter, glass designer, watercolourist, oil painter and a jewellery maker. It was a great success and raised £900 for the church! Here are a few photos from the day and the displays.

My next project is to begin a collection of miniature paintings. Whilst on my holiday in Dorset I popped into a beautiful gallery, and after purchasing some items, I ended up having a great chat with the owner and suggested I try some miniatures, which she may, or may not take for the gallery. In any event, I'm doing a little collection. Watch this space!

Cranleigh Exhibition begins!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are settled into 2012 with vigour! I do love the festive season, but there's something very cleansing about tidying up the decorations and taking down the tree. I like getting back to normal.....but no, I don't wish it could be Christmas every day!
I have been thrown into January with a flourish, this being because of my new solo show 'Fracturing the Flow'.
There are 40 paintings and drawings in all, 28 framed and 12 unframed, but mounted and put into a browser. The prices range from a very reasonable £40 up to £450 for the biggest painting, 'Flame Runner'.
I have just got back from hanging the show today. Climbing up and down a VERY tall ladder, wasn't the most enjoyable of experiences, but it had to be done.
I was sent an exhibitors pack which had the sizes of the gallery, and this meant I could plan out where each piece needed to go before I arrived. Preparation saves you ALOT of time!
I first laid out each painting on the floor as to where I wanted them to go.

 

Note the scary ladder! I did wobble on it a few times, and tried not to look down too much, there was a different climate up there!
The hanging system was the reason I had to go up there, each painting had it's own wire with an adjustable hook on the end. It worked really well.
The space is wonderfully light, with gorgeous big windows letting in lots of light, they also supply spotlights which could be moved to light up the paintings.
It took me 3 hours to get them all up, cleaned and ticketed. I met some lovely people too, and look forward to going back tomorrow (Wed 11th), Thursday and Saturday to do a bit of 'in situ' painting.
I hope some of you could spare a couple of hours to come and visit my exhibition.

'Fracturing the Flow' begins on the 11th January and runs until the 28th. Opening hours are 10am until 4.30pm. Address is 1 High Street, Cranleigh, Surrey. GU6 8AS.
I am painting there on the 11th, 12th and 14th, 21st and 28th. I hoped to be there more, but I have been called up for Jury Service, and can't defer it again. (Talk about timing eh?) If I don't get picked, I will be there. If you want to call me to find out, my number is 07870 293424 or e mail tiffanybudd@wall-power.co.uk

Results are in!

It's that time of year now, where results from the competitions I have entered start to dribble in!
I was unsuccessful in the deckchair competition and the Battle Contemporary art fair this time, however I was pleased to find out that 2 of my coloured pencil drawings were accepted into this years UKCPS exhibition which is being held in Westminster. The Millennium Wheel and The Gherkin (topical, yes) were chosen. I painted these in Derwent Coloursoft Pencils on Fabriano Artistico paper. That paper I find to be very resilient to layers of pencil, and it's also very smooth, which is what I am after.

Millennium Wheel

The Gherkin

These will be hung and I will also be able to sell some greeting cards. I will be attending the show (dates to be confirmed) where I will be demoing this style of work. It'll be great to see everything hung altogether!

I am still waiting for results of the Hahnemule Calender watercolour competition, but there were ALOT of entries, so I don't think I'll be in the running. This is the painting I submitted.

I tried to make it stand out and as bright and colourful as I could!!

Now, I am a bit of a cricket nut. I used to play until I fell pregnant. (not a good idea to run around chasing after a very hard ball if you are) but I was bitten by the bug and watch all the England games I can.
This is my homage to Jonathon Trott, one of our finest batsman at present. I tried to evoke the movement of the bat and swing which I think works quite well with my Fractured technique. I hope you like it! I completed it in Derwent chalk pastels on black pastel paper.

Jonathon Trott playing in a one day International.

One last thing. I have a wonderful client who keeps coming back for more paintings for her lovely house. She is a fan of my floral collage paintings and she commissioned me to paint a pink tulip to co ordinate with her armchairs. This is the painting in situ, and it looks great!! It was completed in acrylic with tissue paper collage in the background, and is 80cm square on a chunky canvas.

I am now undertaking a very big commission, which I cannot say too much about until next week! It's certainly keeping me busy.