Getting the Blues The beauty of many Renaissance Madonnas would be seriously diminished were it not for a certain coloured rock that found its way to Europe from the mountains of Afghanistan. Lapis lazuli is, technically, not a mineral but a rock that contains several minerals within it, including iron pyrites [...]
Period Pieces I was recently shown a private art collection belonging to some people I know, that included a number of rare Edwardian paintings by leading members of The Newlyn School. As a family legacy dating from a period before the first world war, these pictures represent a direct link with [...]
Life Drawing Group My life drawing group, Sevenoaks drawing Academy, has been running in Sevenoaks for twelve years. It's a friendly, informal mix of amateur and professional artists and always open to new members. Life drawing seems to be popular amongst people of all age groups, with several classes in my [...]
Black and White On leaving art college, one of my first jobs was as a portrait artist on Fleet Street, where I produced line illustrations of the leading political figures of the day. I drew portraits for the Daily Express, the Daily Telegraph, the Sun and the Guardian as well as [...]
Art Teachers If painting can be taught, where do you go to get tuition? I‘ve been taught and continue to be taught by a number of teachers. Whilst they each have their own individual strengths and abilities, they share one common characteristic. They’re all dead. I don’t like to single anyone [...]
Andrew Marr A few years ago I was at a major exhibition of bronze Sculpture in the Royal Academy. Going around the exhibition and Looking at each of the pieces in turn, I came upon a large bronze copy of Laocoon. Laocoon was the Trojan priest who tried to warn his [...]
Kidnapped A few years ago I exhibited a portrait of my wife in a gallery in Dartford, Kent. I was showcasing the painting as a sample portrait in the hope of generating commissions. After a couple of weeks I got a call from the gallery. Thinking it might be a commission, [...]
Interesting Commission Not so long ago I received a call from a lady enquiring about a portrait commission. Her overriding concern seemed to be the size of the finished painting. I explained that, as I stretch my own canvases, I can work to any size, so the only consideration really needed was [...]
Time Travel Knole House in Sevenoaks is an Elizabethan stately home set in acres of beautiful parkland with herds of roaming deer. The house is owned bythe National Trust and is home to the Sackville family. Few visitors to the house, passing the art, furniture and ornament of the Tudor rooms, [...]
Caught Red Handed On a day such as this, about 40,000 years ago, in a cave on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi, an artist made a statement. It was one of many and one by which this particular individual, probably a young girl, was able to express herself in a language we recognise today. She representented her [...]