This year the Royal Society of Portrait Painters awarded a new prize for the best small portrait. This prize attracted a cohort of diverse and intriguing submissions as well as an increased amount of attention from our visitors. Not only did they pause to spend time with this collection of small portraits, but they also…
DetailsThe Royal Society of Portrait Painters would like to extend a warm welcome to Martin Brooks who has been elected a member of the society. Martin, whose work has featured in the RP’s annual exhibition since 2014, says that the show is always at the back of his mind as something to aspire to…
DetailsThe Royal Society of Portrait Painters would like to extend a warm welcome to Miriam Escofet who has been elected a member of the society. Miriam has exhibited every year at the RP annual exhibition since 2012 when her work ‘Anthony’ was selected. She describes the annual exhibition as a ‘highlight of the calendar’…
DetailsIn almost every portrait at this year’s annual exhibition there was a pair of interesting hands. Manicured, rugged, wizened or spritely, hands often reveal a lot about their owner. Whilst focusing in on hands is not a particularly new practice for art enthusiasts, it’s always worth revisiting this topic and analysing all that hands have…
DetailsThe notion of portraiture traditionally makes us think of solemn faces, straightened posture and a severe sense of formality, but such a notion is bound to short change us of the boundless possibilities that portraiture offers. Whilst a person may lay centre to the painting, it is rare for them to be uninterrupted. What is…
DetailsEmmeline Downie takes a look at the works in this year’s annual exhibition that challenge and manipulate our traditional notions of time. The last few months have been extraordinary. The global pandemic forced us to press pause and adapt to a “new normal”. We spent more time than ever before in the confines of our…
DetailsPainting and drawing became a therapeutic way to distract us from the unprecedented role that Covid-19 assumed in our lives. However, whilst picking up a paintbrush for the first time may seem like a newfound hobby for some, it is a grueling, albeit rewarding means of income for others. So what happened when lockdown…
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Emmeline Downie in conversation with Sylvia Mac (@love_disfigure)
Videography by Callum Hale-Thomson
‘Love Disfigure’ by Alastair Adams
Upon initial viewing, Tomas Clayton’s “Worlds End Lane” is strikingly uncanny and enigmatic. It is not an innocuous scene. There is palpable tension and discomfort existing between the characters and the viewer. We are left forging imaginary relationships, trying to make sense of this odd triple portrait. Despite the Edwardian dress, for Clayton this…
DetailsSuzanne Gibbs on her painting ‘Facing It’ Interview by Emmeline Downie ED: Hello, Suzanne. Thank you for agreeing to speak to me about your portrait ‘Facing It’. To begin, I am interested in the specific reason you chose to paint your sister in this way – is it to challenge preconceived ideas of female…
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