Archive for the Artist News Category
Excellent artist Chris Down has produced six fabulous Giclee prints of his work such as the one above that are now available to buy at Artists UK.
Click on it and you’ll see the rest of them.
Born in 1963, Chris Down was brought up and has spent much of his life in rural Wiltshire. The wooded valley, where he lives, is walking distance from Stonehenge. The route, along an ancient green lane carving through rolling fields, is a journey he has made from school age. It was the 1970’s and the time of the Stonehenge free festivals. Once a year in June, to celebrate the summer solstice, a gathering on the plain occurred which stirred the interest of his young mind. He had spent much of his childhood avidly reading books along with making and painting things. Always lost in some project or another. His grandfather had been both a writer and artist, who first earned money from art, aged 15, by creating caricatures of tennis players and then went on to write for BBC radio and television. Chris’s uncle also wrote for television. Including the cult series Dr Who in the 1970’s and was responsible, with his writing partner, for bringing the world the robot dog K9. With childhood influences like these, to spend a life being creative was a natural progression. At Stonehenge, he would find much of the inspiration and roots to his way of life. Chris achieves a traditional feel to his art. He has been asked many times whether he works in oil or acrylic and the questioner is surprised to learn the pictures are digitally created. Inspired by the works of the Pre-Raphaelites, 19th century symbolists, art nouveau, late 20th century fantasy artists, 9th/10th century illuminated manuscripts and dark age craftsman, Chris’s eclectic work is constantly moving forward as he finds new ways to work and refines those techniques he has developed over the years. Maybe it is only a matter of time before his talent gets recognised and massive fame beckons. Who knows? But if it does then these early Giclee prints could end up being collector’s items.
WOW! Just look in our Miscellaneous section for information on this incredibly huge statue. The cost of the Nataraja statue is currently Rs.7500000 and at the time of writing £1 is around 70 Indian Rupees. The Dance of Siva statue is bigger than anything currently in the Guiness Book of Records and Joseph Palackal is currently applying for it to be registered in the Guiness Book of Records as the largest statue of its type in the world. So; if you want to buy it before it gets too expensive take a look and let us know.
Fans of artists Peter Pracownik and Nicola-Clare Lydon might like to know that they have opened a new gallery in Tintagel called Another Green World. It opens on Saturday 21st March. If you are not familiar with their work then you’ll see lots of Peter Pracownik art here and some Nicola-Clare Lydon art here. We wish them every success in their new endeavour. We’re sure Another Green World will be a high point of anyone’s visit to Tintagel.
Around October of this year Ed Org’s long-awaited book should finally see the light of day, This promises to be one of the most spectacular art books published for quite some time. As you probably know, Ed Org’s work, especially his incredibly well-drawn pencil sketch work, has been growing in popularity by leaps and bounds. Of course, if you don’t know what I’m talking about then take brief detour and have a look here. The commonest reaction to Ed Org’s artwork is WOW! His skill and attention to detail are phenomenal. If you are interested in getting hold of a lovely, hot off the presses SIGNED copy of Ed Org’s book once it is published then drop us an email and we’ll put your email address into our WANTS file so you’ll get notified as soon as it goes up for sale on our website.
If you love graphic art and you haven’t yet got hold of a copy of FLIGHT then something is clearly and desperately wrong! Mind you, not living in Canada is a hindrance as it is published there. I should have been writing this five years ago but by god time flies faster than flight that is now in its fifth year. Every Christmas I get a new copy of it from my brother who lives in Canada and I’m always amazed by the sheer variety of talent and inventiveness contained in it. Flight showcases many different graphic artists ranging from wonderful painters to sketchy cartoons. The stories can go across all five issues or just be a one-off and the variety of ideas and characters is staggering. The first one is always about a fox-like creature with a crystal horn called Rex and you really get to love this little alien creature as he goes on his long voyage of self-discovery in a bizarre world of alien life forms. One particular cartoon style strip that only started in issue four is so funny I almost cry. It has the bizarre title of ‘Igloo-head and Tree-head’ who are the two main characters and the artist-writer of this one really has a strange and wonderful sense of humour with the innocence of a child thrown in for good measure. Some stories are moral messages, others are just fun. Some make you think, others make you feel, but given the variety it is hard not to find something you like and to be able to enjoy such a wide range of artistic and writing talent is a real joy. Even if you don’t manage to find a copy in your own country it is certainly worth sending off to Canada for. The only reason I haven’t name-checked particular artists here is that it would seem a shame to name some and leave others out as they are all doing such a wonderful job of contributing to this project. But let’s give a mention to Kazu Kibushi who is behind the whole Flight project. Let’s hope it soars on for many years to come.
The Battle of Pelennor Fields by Alan Lee