I'm honoured to be one their front cover this year. I have a lot of new work, and as we invested in a gallery hanging system for the studio last autumn it will look great when it's all up. There's a fresh team at the helm of the HAT committee, and a few new venues, so let's hope for a weekend of fine weather!
I've been totally hooked on this series, and can't wait to see who wins. My money is on Paul or Claire. I've also been surprised at the general low standard (these 10 were the best from 6000 entries?!?) and the outcry over the judges critiques. I realise I also now sound critical, but drawing and painting is as much as skill as any other discipline and some of them have not the slightest grasp of perspective, proportion or composition. To use an example, we would expect a competition featuring Britain's best amateur musician to feature people who have a reasonable grasp of playing an instrument. I think it demonstrates the fairly dire state of many of our art schools in this country, the loss of basic draughtsmanship, with a few notable exceptions, (
lavenderhillstudios.com,
drawpaintsculpt.com) elsewhere the trite view 'art is subjective' is parroted. So is music subjective, but I doubt you'd want to listen to a musician who had never practised the basic skills of playing.... Believe me you don't. My daughter is learning the recorder, she thinks she sounds amazing. I've rediscovered the joys of earplugs.
But perhaps you don't agree? Maybe art is best left untaught, and everyone should develop at liberty, free from from the constraints of the past? Let me know....
 |
| Work in progress 400x500mm |
www.catherineingleby.com
Twitter @inglebyart
Facebook www.facebook.com/inglebyart
