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The RP Award

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James Hague 'Tom' (WORK IN PROGRESS) Winner of The RP Award (on the theme of 'Skin')

The £2,000 RP Award is made to the artist whose work best represents the year’s chosen theme – which for this inaugural year, 2019, is ‘Skin’.

The judges sought the most interesting and engaging interpretation of the idea of ‘Skin’ within the parameters of portraiture.

 

James Hague won this year’s prize with ‘Tom’ 

Category: Prizes
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Mafalda von Hessen, a fashion designer by choice, Mafalda von Hessen, a fashion designer by choice, but an heiress to aristocracy by birth, exemplifies a unique shade of the modern woman. It is appropriate that her hands lie centre to this beautiful photorealist piece by @Massimilianopironti as it is her hands which facilitate this unusually balanced lifestyle. They provide her with the means to cut, sew and sketch her designs, but they also instil the image with a sense of dignified command and an air of formality – a royal touch. Here, Pironti meets an interesting challenge: painting into a pair of hands both grit and determination but also a sense of grandeur and elegance. Without doubt, Mafalda’s perfectly manicured nails and glittering ring lend themselves to the latter, but perhaps what is more transfixing is Pironti’s use of light. The silvery-blue wash of light that reflects off her fingers forges a poised and beautiful sense of togetherness. This effortlessly distracts from the faint wrinkles and in a way that avoids a feeling of avoidance, but simply presents her character in its most idealised form, offering a powerful homage to Mafalda’s modern and impressive interpretation of womanhood. To read more about hands that featured in this year's annual exhibition, check out the full article by @Emmelinedownie and @Ellielachs here: https://therp.co.uk/dab-hands-at-the-rp/ !
For prestigious and award-winning cellist Guy John For prestigious and award-winning cellist Guy Johnston, hands are everything. This becomes evident in his portrait by June Mendoza. Her brushstrokes enliven the dexterous, strong and deft nature of his hands. June, having been both a daughter and mother to musicians, takes a special interest in painting them. As a former ballerina, she has a special appreciation for the music. She often requires her musical sitters to play for her as she paints to get a feel for their character. Guy Johnston’s portrait is no different as she expertly captures his light touch and relaxed hand position. She perfectly distills the vibrato in the piece he plays, yielding an unbreakable connection between bow and fingers, insinuating a mastery like no other. June pronounces the veins and thinness of Guy’s fingers to create a sinewy vulnerability to his hands which lends itself to Guy’s requisite intensity and dedication to his music. She creates a captivating performance upon the canvas. June’s use of colour also imbues life and musicality into the work; she offsets an underlying greenish skin tone with contrasting shades of red. This forms a more anatomical outline of his hands; his knuckles and carpal bones protrude out of the canvas against the neutral background. This stripped back and stark effect allows June to encapsulate the hard work that secretly prefaces Johnston’s effortless performance, creating a timeless love letter to music and his profession. To read more about hands that featured in this year's annual exhibition, check out the full article by @Emmelinedownie and @Ellielachs here: https://therp.co.uk/dab-hands-at-the-rp/ !
Professor Michael Scott’s hands convey a mischie Professor Michael Scott’s hands convey a mischievous sense of fun. Although Scott is Senior Dean at Blackfriars, University of Oxford, this painting rejects stuffy institutionalism, opting instead to prioritise a sense of merriment and whimsy. It is Scott’s personality that takes centre stage and this is conveyed not least by his hands. The artist, Daphne Todd, renders them animated, imbued with a sense of musicality. The white and pink flesh tones escape the confines of the hands, leaving a trace of where his fingers once were. Scott’s illustrious career shows that he does not sit still for long. He teaches Early Modern English Literature, is a specialist in Theatre Studies, and holds positions at numerous universities across the globe. Todd’s work is unusual in the sense that it is a portrait of one man but contains two sets of hands. Todd clearly felt that Professor Michael Scott and his alter ego were both deserving of canvas space. Rendered in more opaque strokes in the foreground is the serious, inquisitive-looking Scott. Appearing apparition-like behind him, is the jovial, playful Scott, arms raised and fingers waving. Todd’s treatment of hands imbues the portrait with a sense of movement and excitement. Perhaps one could read the two “Scotts” as an allusion to his preoccupation with theatre and acting; the image contains a performance of solemn gravitas and a cathartic display of blithesome relief after Todd, presumably, granted him permission to be silly. We don’t have to reconcile these two “Scotts”. They are equally important and both offer insight into the infectious personality of the Professor. Ultimately, this is an unconventional portrait perfectly suited to an unconventional sitter. To read more about hands that featured in this year's annual exhibition, check out the full article by @Emmelinedownie and @Ellielachs here: https://therp.co.uk/dab-hands-at-the-rp/ !
Alongside faces, chairs and frames, Mall Galleries Alongside faces, chairs and frames, Mall Galleries played host to an assembly of hands during this year’s annual exhibition. There are, on almost every portrait, a set of perfectly/ ruggedly/beautiful hands. Whilst focusing in on hands is not a particularly new practice for art enthusiasts, it’s always worth reminding ourselves of how much hands are really capable of. A pair of hands is, in many ways, one of art’s oldest subjects. In the Medieval period, hands were frequently portrayed in a flat, often elongated style. Their rendering slowly changed to become more anatomical and detailed, thanks to the influence of Leonardo Di Vinci and other renaissance artists. Due to the rapid developments and varying artistic movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there are now endless ways to portray a beautiful pair of hands. This was chiefly and excellently evidenced in this year’s exhibition... Stay tuned as @EmmelineDownie and @EllieLachs take a deep dive into some of this year's most striking pairs. Portrait by Tom Dearden, 'Andrew Pomfret at Granville'.
This snapshot from @Jaysonsingh 's piece, ‘Extra This snapshot from @Jaysonsingh 's piece, ‘Extracting the Goodness of my Roots’ offers us a beautiful and vibrant insight into his life and unbringing. The bird central to this photo creates a fantastic sense of motion which perfectly acompanies the rest of the portrait. To find out more about portraiture and the details therein check out the full article here: https://therp.co.uk/its-all-in-the-details/ . Comment below which details captured your attention the most!
Here we have the clothing and curtains featured in Here we have the clothing and curtains featured in @MassimilianoPironti 's piece Mafalda von Hessen. The details are equisite. To find out more about portraiture and the details therein check out the full article here: https://therp.co.uk/its-all-in-the-details/ . Comment below which details captured your attention the most!
This piece, by @melissa.scottmiller RP NEAC RBA fe This piece, by @melissa.scottmiller RP NEAC RBA features Adam and his dog Joey, but what happens when Joey becomes center stage? Did you notice the fine brush strokes and doey eyes? To find out more about portraiture and the details therein check out the full article here: https://therp.co.uk/its-all-in-the-details/ and Comment below which details captured your attention the most!
Whether it be jewellery, food or clothing, our art Whether it be jewellery, food or clothing, our artists this year have really gone to town on the details. Here we enjoy breakfast with 'Mr Peter and the Rev Martine Oborne' by Anthony Oakshett. Did you notice what they were spreading on their toast when looking at the image at large? To find out more about portraiture and the details therein check out the full article here: https://therp.co.uk/its-all-in-the-details/ and Comment below which details captured your attention the most!
Part 4 from our series 'Timeless Art for When the Part 4 from our series 'Timeless Art for When the World Stood Still': Children, although possessing enigmatic metaphysical qualities, also pose logistical complications. @toby_wiggins_painter set about trying to capture his four-month-old son but, due to the constant movement of his sitter (or, rather, lie-er), ended up capturing something that never was. Wiggins adapted his usual method, drawing his son for five to ten minutes every day for a fortnight. His son would squirm, waving his arms and legs, and so Wiggins drew small sections at a time, never attempting to capture the whole body in one session. The resulting drawing is a composite of movements and gestures; a non-linear temporal unfolding. The faint traces of pencil marks show where Ezra once was, the history of his movements held within the image. Had Wiggins decided to draw from a photograph, the resulting image would have been unrealistically static. Instead, Wiggins’ method contains the animated essence of his son even if the moment captured in the final composition may never have quite existed. To read more, you can find the full article by @emmeline_downie at https://therp.co.uk/timeless-art-for-when-the-world-stood-still/
Part 3 from our series 'Timeless Art for When the Part 3 from our series 'Timeless Art for When the World Stood Still': The depiction of children seems to intrinsically imbue works with a distinct sense of timelessness. @miriam.escofet.artist puts this down to their mighty, boundless imaginative faculties. Her work, “Childhood Consecration – Childhood Ontology Series”, skillfully communicates the power of play. A marble takes on a sacred dimension, lying in the girl’s heart like a hagiographic reliquary. We are forced to acknowledge that this hyper-connectedness to seemingly menial objects is often lost when one enters adulthood. Escofet’s work can therefore be read as a reminder to re-engage with our naive, awe-inspired, inventive selves. The plastic toys on the table are a mixture of the little girl’s own and some kitsch, vintage figurines Escofet picked up in charity shops. This results in neither a precise aesthetic nor an identifiable time frame. This portrait, therefore, is not simply a painting of a child but an homage to the very essence of childhood in all its fleeting playfulness. To read more, you can find the full article by @emmeline_downie at https://therp.co.uk/timeless-art-for-when-the-world-stood-still/
@MassimilianoPironti on his portrait of Mafalda vo @MassimilianoPironti on his portrait of Mafalda von Hessen: “My first impression of Mafalda was informed by her energy and strong personality. She is elegant and beautiful but at the same time easy-going. I wanted to combine the figure of a princess, hence the aristocratic bond, with the image of a contemporary, artistic woman. I decided to use the clothes and fabrics she created as a fashion designer as the background to create a sort of modern canopy for a modern princess whereas the baroque and gilded chair on which Mafalda sits represents her roots, and her history. The painting took many months to finish. The preparation for the "scene" was wonderful, I had total freedom to choose the clothes, colours, objects. I like to think that the colored channel in the center highlights Mafalda's face, her delicate skin and the light shirt, while the white fabrics on the sides and the drapes at the corners reveal the central figure. From a chromatic point of view I wanted to give the image of Mafalda brightness and brilliance, for this I use aluminium instead of canvas; I do not like to see the texture of fabric. If you look closely you can also see the reflection of the park of Villa Polissena in Mafalda's eyes. This was a very important detail for her but also for me and my Roman origins. My greatest source of inspiration has always been the great Italian masters of the Renaissance. Leonardo Da Vinci has always enchanted me with his way of painting; the nuance, the composition, the poetry, but above all the soul that his paintings emanate. Botticelli, with his elegance and refinement. Michelangelo, with his dynamic and irrepressible strength. Surely the common denominator among all of these painters is their extraordinary pictorial technique and the search for formal perfection. I think, when looking at this painting, I would like people to be immersed in a dreamy atmosphere, made of history and modernity.”
Part 2 from our series 'Timeless Art for When the Part 2 from our series 'Timeless Art for When the World Stood Still': Tomas Clayton looks to the historical in his imaginative work ‘Worlds End Lane’. The title, somewhat aptly for the current moment, refers to “a place of isolation”. Clayton rejects capturing the present in favour of creating a psychologically ambiguous portrait. He believes the present day is “far too quick for accurate interpretation”. The past offers more readability and a sense of quiet. His triple portrait is Edwardian in its content but modern in its rendering, complicating our relationship with its temporality. Clayton suggests the young girl has “lost the freedom of childhood”. We are left to reconcile her mature poise and stern expression with the uncanny doll he cradles in her arms. This curious, unsettling image denies us any comfort. Although we are invited to project our own mythic narrative onto the work, we may still struggle to make complete sense of the scene. Clayton subverts conventions of traditional portraiture and the obscured representations of age and time in the painting become fascinating collateral. To read more, you can find the full article by @emmeline_downie at https://therp.co.uk/timeless-art-for-when-the-world-stood-still/
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