ArtCan 10x10 Anniversary Exhibition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANNIVERSARY 10 X 10

Curators: Day Bowman & Sandy Layton

Hansard Studio

10 Hansard Mews, London W14 8BJ

15 - 28 May 2023
We are delighted to announce our Anniversary 10 x 10 exhibition, curated by ArtCan artists Day

Bowman and Sandy Layton.
ArtCan is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2023 and artist members were asked to submit work on

the theme of Anniversary.

ArtCan is a not-for-profit organisation which over the past ten years has offered up numerous opportunities and support for artists to exhibit and engage with audiences in the UK and internationally. This exhibition celebrates the occasion with 2D artworks measuring no more than 10 inches on the longest side, and with 3D work no more than 10 inches in any direction.

Artworks in this collection include an awesome selection of 2D, 3D, in painting, photography, printmaking, collage, glass and ceramics.

A Private View of the Anniversary 10 x 10 exhibition will take place on Tuesday, 16 May 2023, 18:00 BST. Link to reserve a free entry ticket on the ArtCan Eventbrite page. Free Entry.

Hansard Studio

10 Hansard Mews, London W14 8BJ Exhibition run: 15 – 28 May 2023

Participating artists:

Adele Cloony, Alaa Shasheet, Alison Berrett, Am&lie - Hands' Wisdom, Anjali B Purkayastha, Anna Walsh, Ben Snowden, Caroline Banks, Caroline Lowe, Cat Coulter, Cathy Green, Christina Reading, Claire Cansick, Claire Chandler, Corn Shuk Mei Ho, Dawn Thornhill, Debbie Tearle, Desa Philippi, Donna Loiola, Emma Davis, Emma Price, Fran Fell, Gabor Gyorfi, Hannah Pratt, Harinder Sahota, Henrietta MacPhee, Hilary Rosen, Jan Lee Johnson, Jane Spence, Jess de Zilva, Jessica Dunn, Jo Angell, Judith Burrows, Julia Weston, Kate Marsden, Katya Kvasova,Kerry Zacharia, Kira Phoenix K'inan, Liliana Dobbs, Liz Whiteman Smith, Louise Dale Chalmers, Marc Bodie, Marcia Harding, Marie Connery, Maz Weineck, Miranda Lopatkin, Qin Yue, Rebecca Tucker, Réka Ritt Laklia, Rosemary Burn, Sal Jones, Sally McKay, Sandra Camargo, Sarah Pooley, Sarah Rawlins, Stathis Dimitriadis, Susan Clare, Susannah Weiland, Svetlana Atlavina, Sylvia Bahri, Teresa Schippel Hales, THE DnA FACTORY [MRSS], Tracey Elizabeth Downing, Wendy Brooke-Smith, Zuzana Krskova.

Link to press images

ArtCan is a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales: 10193210
Trustees: Kate Enters, Brian Harris, Deborah Henry-Pollard, Tabish Khan, Marine Costello, Spirit de la Mare, Rich Nicholls, Georgia Prowting-Lord, Amina Mona

About ArtCan

way.

**ENDS**

NOTES TO EDITORS

ArtCan is an artist-led, non-profit arts organisation with members across Britain and internationally.

ArtCan’s work is supported by the efforts of artist-member volunteers and contributions from Founder

Friends and Friends of ArtCan. ArtCan works with galleries, but also seeks new spaces where art

becomes a part of everyday life and with the aim of involving audiences in an organic and personal

ArtCan’s artist-centred ethos means that the model does not involve charging membership fees or

commissions on sales, to help artists focus on developing a sustainable practice.

For further information please contact:
Kate Enters, Founder and Director - info@artcan.org.uk

Contact/ Website & social media:
info@artcan.org.uk / www.artcan.org.uk / @ArtCanOrg

About the Curators Day Bowman

In the past few years Day Bowman’s work has gained first prize in the Anima Mundi International Painting Prize and was exhibited at the Venice Biennnale 2019; this was quickly followed by being awarded first prize in the Bath Open Art Prize 2019 and first prize for the inaugural Wales Contemporary 2019. Most recently, Day was awarded the Winsor and Newton Prize 2020 by the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and her work shortlisted for the 2020 Holly Bush Painting Prize and the 2022 Jackson Painting Prize.

Sandy Layton

Sandy Layton is a sculptor working principally in clay. As well as her own art practice, which builds on post-Modern influences, she has had experience as a curator of exhibitions of artworks in a variety of media. Having retired early from a career as a psychotherapist, which gave her a particular interest in the role of the unconscious in art, she turned first to working as a ceramicist before pursuing further studies. She obtained an MA in Fine Art at Kingston and then an MA in Ceramics at the Royal College of Art. She is currently part of the Turps Mass sculpture programme with an enthusiastic group of sculptors.

About Hansard Studio

Hansard Studio is a new and exciting gallery space in West London offering great opportunities for individuals and art groups who are interested in furthering their career or making a statement beyond the ordinary. It offers a flexible working space for exhibitions, projects and events.

ArtCan is a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales: 10193210
Trustees: Kate Enters, Brian Harris, Deborah Henry-Pollard, Tabish Khan, Marine Costello, Spirit de la Mare, Rich Nicholls, Georgia Prowting-Lord, Amina Mona

Rising Tide Exhibition 2022

It was a true delight to spend a week at Round Hill Resort, where my exhibition was hosted from 19-25 January, 2022.

Sunset at Round Hill Resort

After two years delay, due to COVID, I was very excited to be exhibiting at this exceptional venue, with my solo exhibition called ‘Rising Tide’. The collection featured many water scenes or water themes, including underwater creatures, seabirds and some sea-inspired mini abstracts, as well as some of my more established genres of landscapes and tropical flowers.

The piece I chose for my invitation was ‘Ironshore Splash’, a semi-abstract seascape which I thought had just the right balance of realism and abstraction, energy and texture, that I was trying to achieve.

For the quote on my invitation, I chose a few short words from Derek Walcott,

“You want to know my history? Ask the Sea!”

It seemed relevant on so many levels, for a collection inspired by the ocean, its conservation and inhabitants, both as the story of the human race and my own personal history. It was my first career in scuba diving that brought me to Jamaica, over 40 years ago.

Restrictions on attendance were imposed, limiting the possibility of invitations being issued to the local community and of course we had to forego the usual splendid opening cocktail party, in order to safeguard the visitors in residence at the resort (due to COVID). However, despite low house count numbers, I am happy to have sold nine paintings and various little prints, tote bags and coasters. I also had the pleasure of meeting three prestigious new collectors and completed a commission whilst on location, too. (See below, the painting and the view, from one of the cottages.)

Huge thanks go to Linda Sunderland for helping with the hanging and taking down of the show and support during the week, Issia Thelwell, Linda Lawrence, Josef Forstmayr and the team at Round Hill Resort.

And a huge thank you to everyone who supported the exhibition in any way - I’m immensely grateful.

If you missed the opportunity to view it in person (as most did) you can still view the entire collection online here:

https://www.susanclarefineart.com/rising-tide-exhibition

Thanks, as always, for your interest in my art,

Susan

PS: Please note, if purchasing, these prices do not include any shipping. Delivery for sales in Jamaica can be arranged as priced, but for any overseas shipping, please contact me first for a quote, before making the purchase. (Contact me here.)

The Tricky Lines of Boats

Whilst we are all sitting out the COVID-19 crisis at home, I thought I would share some little snippets of tricks and tips to help with your art projects at home, whichever your medium of choice, you may find some of these helpful. Do let me know if there are any particular things you find challenging and I’ll see if I have anything up my sleeve to help.

Today, here’s a little five minute video about how to improve your drawing of boats and how getting the lines right can be helped by your understanding of simple perspective.

I hope you are staying well and keeping busy with creative projects.

Take care and enjoy:

Painting for Hanover Charities, to honour Sir Christopher Hohn

The Sugarcane Ball, held in mid-February each year, is the largest fundraising event for the Hanover Charities. It is hosted at Round Hill Hotel & Villas and organised by a dedicated team, led by Katrin Casserly, who donate their time and expertise almost year-round. This glittering event is well-attended by home-owners and guests at Round Hill and Tryall, and all the ‘movers and shakers’ from the local community. The charity has for many years, been well-supported by certain celebrities whose contribution has gone far beyond the norm. Last year, Ralph Lauren was honoured for his continued contributions with a watercolour painting of his favourite spot at Round Hill, by Jannette Eyles, and thus began a new tradition.

This year’s recipient of the award was chosen to be Sir Christopher Hohn. So it was an honour and a privilege for me to be asked to paint a beautiful scene from his favourite spot in Hanover, Jamaica; a view of the sea through a glade of palm trees.

This landscape, in acrylic on a box canvas, is a large format (75 x 115 cms) and painted in a blocky style with large brushes and heavy body acrylic paints. The painting was also to have some very special inscriptions on the back…

Katrin invited me to attend the Hanover Charities Scholarship Recipients’ Lyme, which she hosted, at her home in Kempshot, just after Christmas. I went along, with my half finished canvas, not knowing what to expect, but having been told, ‘I might offer some encouragement and inspiration’ to this group of young people. In fact, the opposite turned out to be the case. Over 150 scholarship recipients attended, some in their first year of university, some having just qualified as fully fledged professionals. Mingling amongst them, I was touched by their appreciation for the opportunities they have been given for tertiary education: pharmacists, doctors, accountants, media, IT and a host of other arenas. Those who spoke publicly to the group were eloquent, confident, accomplished, and inspiring. Their stories touched my heart, each of them so very conscious of where they would have been, now, without the scholarship’s aid and of their commitment to ‘give back’, uplifting, not only their families, but their entire community, with the benefits of their learning.

During the afternoon, they each added a note of thanks or, at least, their name, to the back of the canvas. Coming back to work on that canvas, I could feel the precious messages, the energy of gratitude that was being given, along with the piece of art. As I painted, I thought about how much good can be accomplished by the generosity of one individual, let alone a whole community, when those donations are put into the right hands. The cumulative impact that Hanover Charities has been having on this traditionally impoverished parish, over the years, must be positive indeed.

The painting was presented to Sir Christopher Hohn’s parents at the Sugarcane Ball and will be shipped to his London home for him to enjoy, along with many heartfelt messages of thanks.

If you feel inspired to donate to Hanover Charities, you can visit their website and go here to donate:

https://www.hanovercharities.com/donate/

Yellow-billed Parrot

This lovely Yellow-billed Parrot was painted from a photo taken by Wendy Ann Lee, scientist, photographer, birder, game keeper and proprietor of the Seven Oaks Sanctuary for Wildlife, in Runaway Bay, Jamaica. 

Wendy is passionate about rescuing both species of these parrots, endemic to Jamaica (this and the black-billed), which are protected under law. However, it is a long uphill road in educating the public and keeping the young birds out of the hands of unscrupulous pet traders.

I painted the parrot, both because its beauty and friendly look appealed, but also to raise awareness of the important work that Wendy undertakes, pretty-much single-handed. I am donating 50% of the proceeds to her Sanctuary and if you feel inspired to do the same, you can contact Wendy by email at

<sos-wildlife@cwjamaica.com>

or make a donation through Paypal.com with that email as her account information.

or follow her FB Page: Seven Oaks Sanctuary for Wildlife, Jamaica

https://www.facebook.com/sevenoaks.jamaica/

To watch a live painting time-lapse of the Yellow -billed Parrot Painting, go here:

https://youtu.be/2Vmeu4V7QRA

PS: I am happy to say that the painting was sold to a very eco-conscious young man in Kingston, who even knew the Latin name for the Parrot, Amazona collara. A huge thank you to you for supporting Wendy’s efforts at SOS Wildlife Sanctuary.

Further Update:

I am happy to say that I have been invited to lead an acrylic painting workshop, using Wendy’s lovely reference photo, at the SAA HQ in Newark, on August 15th, 2019. Painters wishing to attend in person can book at

https://www.saa.co.uk/

or SAA members can watch the workshop live-streamed across the UK, or on replay from the website.

How to travel light when painting 'en plein air':

Sometimes, the opportunity arises for a spot of painting outdoors and the weather even co-operates, but by the time I've thought about what to take out of my normal painting equipment, half my painting time has gone.  To get around this, I keep a light-weight rucksack ready to go with just 10 items already packed:

• watercolour travel palette, with colour in pans and space to mix
• brush, squirrel hair round, size 12 (an elastic band holds this against my palette)
• black ink, fine tip felt pen, for sketching (optional watercolour markers)
• A4 watercolour pad or block
• a few sheets of kitchen paper towel
• a refilled, litre plastic bottle of water (for painting and drinking)
• a recycled plastic yogurt pot, (or collapsible water pot)
• small spray water bottle
• sunhat
• small towel, to sit on

My 10 bare essentials, for painting 'en plain air'.

With these bare essentials ready to grab and go when the chance appears, I no longer waste any time collecting what I need, when I could be painting instead!