It is SO nice to get a note or postcard in the mail, especially if it has some fun or exciting art image(s)! And while I can’t pin it to my studio board … I can savor an e-message or even a digital post about art almost as much.
That was why I was happy to get a post from Mari French today.
Mari is an English artist whose blog I follow. Her quick sketches are forcefully simple, very direct, and often really spot on; joys to see!
Old landing stage and channel markers. Sketchbook, Mari French 2016
Mari’s more extended works seem to flow out of her mode of sketching and making studies. To me the larger pieces are rich and sophisticated in terms color and design.
Salt & sand series,#2. Mixed media on paper, 70x50cm. © Mari French 2016
Ms. French’s blog today showed some of her pieces and other’s works included in the 2016 Royal Institute of Painters of Water Colour exhibit. She focused on several artists, especially those working in minimalist or boldly conceived abstraction; styles which she obviously enjoys/has a deep interest in … her work show an obvious affinities for those approaches. [Get a look at her post by clicking here: Mari French’s most recent blog ]
You might also consider linking to the exhibition of that show’s website too. [a link to the 2016 R.I. WC Exhibit] There you can peruse the other watercolour (watercolors), gouache, and acrylic paintings that members of the Royal Institute are displaying this year. It was a wonderful treat for me to see some very exciting new work by folks that frankly, I never meet … even if I travel to Britain again any time soon.
Now, any group show has a few works that are completely and totally respectable efforts, but sadly … way too predictable. However this is a really fine show; there really are large percentage of works that are absolutely exquisite in their craftsmanship, design, or handling of content. And a few are so amazingly simple in their execution that they astound.
Sails across the Marshes, Norfolk, by Fred Beckett
Mountain Village, by Ralph Dalzell
One or two (look for pieces about topiary prisons by Karen Charman) are even funny; beautifully fresh takes/touches on the best visual traditions in early and mid 20th century illustrations, comics, and cartoons. That type of work intrigued me as a kid; Ms. Charman’s pieces do the same today.
Ultimate Humaliation Topiary Prison, Karen Charman
Take a digital trip, Fares are low. The rewards are really high!
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