A Cacophony of Colour at the Lynne Strover Gallery

The Summer Show at the Lynne Strover Gallery opens on Saturday and features a fab range of new work from favourite artists Ann Armitage, Henrietta Dubrey, Maggi Hambling, Rachel Budd and Rosemary Vanns and new artist Belynda Sharples whose work is shown below. I’m really looking forward to seeing what looks like an amazing show – hope to see you there!

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RCA Secret

I have the same dilemma every year – do I queue for this brilliant event or not? This is one of the best ideas ever thought up in my opinion but the fact that you have to have the patience of an extremely determined art lover and the best thermal clothing on the market usually leaves me staying at home wondering what I could have come home with had I been stronger willed.

Each year the Royal College of Art holds the RCA Secret event with all proceeds going to the Fine Art Student Award Fund. Over 1000 artists in 2010 donated 2,800 works of art that are the size of a postcard and all cost £45. You do not know until you have selected your purchases whether they are by an unknown student or a famous artist or designer. There is a maximum of 4 purchases each and you can view the postcards in the run up to the sale but on the day (it is the 26th November this year), it is first come, first served and there is always a long line of keen people who are willing to get up early to get in line. If you are one of those people, save me a place in the queue, will you?

Not to judge art on a purely financial basis OF COURSE, but here are just a few of the well know names works that were bought by someone for just £45 last year.

Nick Park

James Dyson

Maggi Hambling

Manolo Blahnik

Mary Quant

Paul Smith

Quentin Blake

Ron Arad

Tracey Emin

Yoko Ono

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20/21 International Art Fair

I briefly visited the International Art Fair at the Royal College of Art of Saturday and was amazed at the number of stands and the range of work there. As ever, it reminded me how difficult it is to choose art, particularly when confronted with such variety, and just like shopping, much depends on the quality of the stand and the way that the work is presented. My golden rules with picking art, both for myself and as part of an interior design project, is to know your style before you start looking and to ensure that you really LOVE the piece before you buy. Try not to buy a piece based on size of space you want to fill or colour of the room – you run the risk of ending up with a compromise.

Of course I would say that my friend Lynne Strover, who runs the truly wonderful Strover Gallery in Fen Ditton had the best stand but I was also delighted to see that she has found a wonderful new artist Rosemary Vanns and I was/am sorely tempted by her work.

Clive Blackmore                                               Peter Joyce

Rosemary Vanns                                             Maggi Hambling

Other stands that for me were worth noting were the Lime Tree Gallery based in Suffolk (Long Melford) and Bristol

Lime Tree Gallery – Gareth Thomas           Lime Tree Gallery – Robert Newton

and Dominic Kemp who has a great range of good prints.

Dominic Kemp Prints – Terry Frost         Dominic Kemp Prints – Edward Dawden

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