Leicester Sketch Club has been named Art Club of the Year 2016 at the inaugural Art Club of the Year competition, which proved a huge success, with 50 UK art clubs entering five works from different members to reperesent them.
On the final day of the exhibition, artist and regular contributor to The Artist magazine, Hazel Soan, selected the overall winners as Leicester Sketch Club, and the two runners-up as Gateshead and Guildford Art Societies.
Hazel explained the reasons for her choices saying:
‘Our new annual competition was looking for the art club that could show, with just five paintings chosen democratically by the group, the ethos, variety and level of ability that they felt best represented their group. I am used to judging artists’ work on individual merit and artists tend to work alone, but within art history many groundbreaking movements became valued because a group of artists worked alongside each other with common goals and created something bigger together than the sum of their parts. The paintings in this competition were submitted by the team members fielded by the art groups, each revealing their individual strengths and expertise in ways that enhanced each other and created a strong and cohesive whole. To win they needed to work together.’
The winning art club, Leicester Sketch Club win £500 of Jackson’s Art Supplies vouchers, to spend on art materials for the clubs use, as well as a sponsored demonstration by an artist tutor of their choice.
We also asked visitors to the exhibition to vote for their favourite selection of work for the People’s Choice Award, this was also presented to Leicester who receive an additional £100 worth of vouchers from Jackson’s.
Leicester Sketch Club
The Leicester Sketch Club was founded in 1898 and is one of Leicester’s oldest art clubs. The Club has over 100 members ranging from professional full time artists to developing part time artists and aims to encourage the artistic development of each.
It meets on the first Wednesday of every month for a programme including demonstrations, talks and critiques. Throughout the year, it has a full schedule of workshops, indoor and outdoor sketching days plus an annual exhibition.
Despite its name, its members’ main activity is painting in every possible medium.
Several of our members belong to nationally recognised bodies such as the Royal Institution of Water Colour Painters, the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) the Leicester Society of Artists. Many exhibit their work locally, regionally and at venues such as the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal West of England Academy and the Mall Galleries.
More information can be found on our website: www.leicestersketchclub.co.uk
Hazel said; ‘Leicester Sketch Club won first prize because the five paintings entered worked together perfectly as a team. They showed a wide variety of media, a broad range of styles and each represented different subject matter. Each emphasised a different aspect of painting: Boats at Blakeney, the power of line and perspective; Red Alert, colour and harmony; Exit, tone and form; Poppies and Scuttle, shape and texture; the portrait of Anna, character and expression.
‘The inclusion of each painting, excellent in itself, enhanced the others and made the whole group stronger. The artists in the art group obviously enjoy observation, drawing and challenge and they demonstrate a spirit of adventure.’
Posted on Painters Online 17 June 2016