June 2024

Pinch punch first of the month. Welcome to June, sadly not a Flaming June, which I visited at the Royal Academy of Arts last month, well worth a visit, but a cold and grey visitor to London which lets face it, needs as much sun as it can get.

On reflection, May was also cold and grey, but my mood was lifted by a visit to the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art. The exhibition, Pasquarosa: From Muse to Painter was mixed, I think the best part was the actual name of the exhibition, plus some portraits by her husband, the better known Nino Bertoletti. But any visit to the Estorick is worthwhile, it’s a beautiful building in a lovely part of London and the homemade Italian food in the cafe is great. At least I hope it is homemade. And there is always a visit to the permanent collection with its paintings by (exclusively male! What?) Modigliani, de Chirico, Morandi and others.

At the end of April we visited the exhibition marking the re-opening of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Unfortunately, the actual Art Gallery, which has been closed for years, was not open. We did visit it and there seemed a distinct and palpable lack of activity on the site, a sign perhaps of the bankrupt state of the council. The exhibition, Radical Victorians, was held in the nearby Gas Hall, and had the feel of a temporary exhibit. Although Birmingham has a wonderful collection of pre-Raphaelite art, perhaps the best in the world, there were very few on show, and the the exhibition tailed off into examples of twentieth century art produced at the local art school.

I also fitted in a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to see the wonderful William Blake’s Universe exhibition. This was a really proper exhibition, lots of context, lots of work, thorough, deep and varied, with a great catalogue. Some may prefer Blake’s poetry to his art, but there was more than enough on show to  make this the highlight of the month.

I promised an update to my Portrait Challenge, and have to admit that what with the cold and grey weather, the visits to galleries, plus a mildly disappointing trip to the Decorative Fair in Battersea Park, I never completed 31 portraits in 31 days. But I did get to around 20, and it was a wonderful experience. I’ve learned so much about using pastels and chalks, and even more about portrait painting. I’ve posted some of the portraits on my instagram page, (link at the foot of each page)

I’ve now returned to oils, and am turning some of my pastels into larger more formal oil portraits. So there is more to come.

April 2024 - Portrait Challenge Update

I have now completed 9 portraits in 10 days, and posted them on my Instagram. I have badly underestimated the difficulty of the challenge I have set myself. I am coming face to face with the problems of finding suitable subjects, and have resorted to using a couple of AI generated faces. My first reaction was very positive, but as I worked on my portraits I began to realise the severe limitations of AI.

People often say that creating a portrait is not an exercise is transferring a realistic likeness to canvas (or any other support) but is more about capturing the soul of the sitter. AI images do not have a soul, they are artificial. Further more, it became more apparent that these so called likenesses were not real humans at all, often the eyes weren’t quite right, the shadows were there for effect, wrinkles were in the wrong place, the colour was way out. So I’ve stopped using AI generated faces and turned to the self portrait.

Another difficulty I am facing is my limited ability with pastels, graphite and chalk. I’m getting better, and messier, gracious, using soft pastels is a messy business! But sitting at my table every day is helping me to get better, and sharpen up my skills. Dealing with facing my own limitations is also……. interesting? But the whole exercise is certainly helping me understand the craft of creating portraits, and I am almost happy with one or two I have created. So I have decided to share a self portrait. I will produce another update at the end of the challenge.

April 2024

I recently went to the Frank Auerbach. The Charcoal Heads exhibition at The Courtauld. The exhibition focused on a series of hauntingly beautiful, huge charcoal drawings. Auerbach spent ages on each drawing, often going right through the paper, repairing it with patches of fresh paper glued in place, and then drawing over the repairs.

This visit inspired me to dig out my charcoal, graphite, pastels and chalks which I have not used for years. One box of Conte soft pastels still had the price sticker on it and cost the princely sum of £1. I’ve added to my collection and bought some new chalks and graphite sticks which cost considerably more!

I have set myself the target of creating a portrait every day in April, using just these media. I am hoping to understand this medium better, and perhaps produce some half acceptable portraits. I’m also hoping that I understand the craft of the portraitist better, and that this will transfer over to my oil portraits.

I’m posting each one on Instagram, until someone tells me to stop! There is a link to my Instagram page at the bottom of each page on this site.

December 2023

In response to comments and feedback, we have made some changes and refreshed the website. The pictures of the paintings have more room, the navigation is clearer, and the header has been updated. We also updated the social media links and reorganized the galleries. These updates prepare the site for the next development, which is adding a series of portraits I've been working on in 2023. I hope you enjoy the changes and keep an eye out for the new artwork!

September 2022

I’m delighted to say that I shall be participating in an Open Studio event from Saturday 10th September till Friday 16th September. We have taken over the former Next store in the Howard Centre, Howardsgate, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6HA, so there is plenty of room to browse my paintings and the work of other artists too. I will be there most days, painting a landscape of Lake Como!

I hope you can come, I’d be delighted to see you.

UPDATE

The Exhibition and Open Studios is proving to be a huge success. So do come along.

August 2022

It has been over a year since I last posted some news here. I have found it very difficult to get back to normal after being so ill with Covid 19, but I am much closer to being the way I was before the pandemic. I have recently exhibited two paintings at The Natural Perspectives Exhibition at the wonderful Mill Green Museum and Mill just outside Welwyn and Hatfield. It has a small exhibition space and my local HVAF group put on a wonderful show there, which gave me the opportunity to enjoy their splendid cream tea, with scones made from the flour milled on site, www.millgreenmuseum.co.uk

May 2021

I wanted to let you know that I’ve made a new video and added it to my YouTube channel. In it I look at the work of the American Impressionist artist William Merritt Chase, and at the very beginnings of Impressionism in Europe and America.

You can watch it by heading over to the Videos page or by clicking the button below

February 2021

It has been a long winter, and at times it has been difficult. But, it’s coming to an end and there is definitely a foretaste of spring in the air, and that’s good news. In early February, I had my vaccination! The vaccination centre was in a tent, in the back garden of a local surgery, in the rain, with lots of jolly volunteers. It was so reassuringly and typically English, I asked for some strawberries and cream.

I promised to show the storm paintings I started last year. I’ve just signed them, and they are ready to be varnished. They are available for sale in the shop.

I’ve also made two new videos which I’ve added to my YouTube channel. I made a mistake with the first one, and accidentally uploaded it in standard definition, and low quality audio. So I shall re-edit it later in a much better quality, I may even split it into two videos. I’m much happier with the second video, although there is still a tiny bit of hiss on the audio. I’ve done a lot of testing of various settings and think I have a solution, so hopefully the next one will be perfect! In this video I look at the Russian Avant-Garde, and touch on its interaction with Western European modernist art movements.

I do this through the work of three artists, El Lissitzky, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Liubov Popova. Their work is absolutely sensational, and I know you are going to love it. It lasts nearly 18 minutes, so grab a cup of coffee, and sit back and enjoy. My YouTube channel which can be found HERE!, or on the Video page of this site.

November 2020

It’s definitely the end of summer and I have moved my studio into my house, to keep warm and dry. The end of summer saw a flurry of activity, inspired by the amazing images of the storms, especially Storm Dennis and Storm Hugh. These brought flooding, destruction and damage to many people, and my sympathies are with those who suffered at their hands. But there were also any number of amazing photographs, often highlighting the strange meteorological effects they created.

I have painted three large oils, on canvas boards inspired by these images ,and they are currently drying. As soon as I am able to photograph them, I will post them here, and in the shop. Meanwhile, here is an image of one of them as a work in progress.

September 2020 - Open Studios Update

Following the launch of my YouTube channel which can be found HERE!, I have now uploaded THREE new videos, as part of my contribution to the #HertsOpenStudios.

Video 1, Welcome to My Studio, where I introduce many of the features, tools and techniques I use in creating my paintings. Watch here

Video 2, Welcome to my Gallery, in which I take you on a virtual tour of my paintings. Watch here.

Video 3, Welcome to my World, where I share my Beliefs, Attitudes and My Process as an artist. Watch here.

August 2020 - New Work

I’m very happy to announce that I have added 4 large new oil paintings! I’ve been working on these for a while, the Thames Nocturne has taken two years to paint! You can find them in the shop, and you can contact me for more information about them at art@ginsburg.co.uk

July 2020 - Open Studios

2020 is the 30th Anniversary of the Herts Visual Artists, and I’m excited to be a part of this year’s ‘Open Studios’ which, for obvious reasons, is a virtual event.

#HertsOpenStudios 2020 is from 1st-30th September, taking full advantage of the web site, social media and other digital assets to make it a fantastic virtual celebration of visual artists in Hertfordshire. 

It will be a great experience for visitors and it is a key component of the Hertfordshire Year of Culture 2020 #HYOC2020.

I’m excited to be taking part. Please visit my YouTube channel, watch some of the videos, (new ones will be launched over the coming weeks - I’ll let you know here -) and if you like them, please hit the Like button. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel, thanks. To find out more, here are some useful links

Visit my YouTube channel

Visit HVAF.org.uk

Visit Creative Hertfordshire

June 2020 - YouTube Channel Launch

I’m excited to announce the launch of my YouTube channel which can be found HERE!

This launch coincides with the great news that I am part of the HVAF Open Studios this September, a key part of the Hertfordshire Year of Culture 2020

Please visit my channel, watch some of the videos, (new ones will be launched over the coming weeks - I’ll let you know here -) and if you like them, please hit the Like button. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel, thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7WZb4k0qXpCVyJOK9sTNhA

May 2020 - Set Free!

I am delighted to be able to report that the two paintings which have been locked down at the New Maynard Gallery have been set free! The gallery reopened one day last week to allow artists to retrieve our work, and now they are back home safely in my studio, I have put them back on sale in the shop. The Divine Hero, Heracles and Alexander the Great are oil paintings on wooden panels, finished with ink and 24 carat gold leaf.

May 2020 -New Work

I have added three new paintings. They all use gouache and ink, and one has 24 carat gold leaf gilded onto the background. They are semi-abstract fantasy skylines in an oriental and eastern style. They can be seen in the Shop.

Also, I am preparing three new large oil paintings and they will be ready for sale very soon.

March 2020 - Current Exhibition Closed

I have two works on exhibition at the New Maynard Gallery in the Herts Visual Arts 2020 Big Art Showcase. The Covid-19 virus is affecting all of us and our daily habits. One consequence is that the Trustees of the Gallery have closed the building until further notice.

This means that my work is now locked safely in the building and cannot be retrieved. I have therefore removed the works from sale on this site. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The online catalogue of the exhibition can be viewed here

Information is available online from the Government

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
and the NHS
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/.

Future Exhibitions

I will be exhibiting again at the New Maynard Gallery in Welwyn Garden City from Friday 28th February to Saturday 28th March.

This part of the #bigartshowcase run by the #hvaf www.hvaf.org.uk. I will post more news nearer the time

Sale Ended

This year’s sale has now ended. A big thank you to all who looked at the sale, and especially to those who bought paintings. I will shortly be adding new work from the studio.