Newsletter #21, August 2019

After a summer that whistled by, we're suddenly just 4 weeks away from the first art fair of the autumn season - the new Fresh: Art Fair at Ascot Racecourse. It promises to be a good one and I've begun collecting work ready for that, and for the events that follow. I spent some time last week visiting Michael Praed in Penzance and Terry Whybrow in a very rainy St Ives and selected some fantastic paintings from each of them. I also paid a visit to the studio of a new artist - more about her next time when her paintings are back from the framer.

After Ascot there are two long-standing fairs at Battersea and Edinburgh. No Cambridge Art Fair this year. Problems with the venue have led to the 2019 version being cancelled. Hopefully that will be re-launched next year. In November I'll also be back at the A&D Gallery in Marylebone for our 11th Winter Show.

I'll be putting the new paintings, sculptures and ceramics on the website over the next 2-3 weeks. Please keep an eye on this page where I post recent additions to the site. Hopefully I'll see you at one of the fairs or exhibitions.

Best wishes,

Matt

New work: Michael Praed

My first visit in Cornwall was to Michael Praed's studio in Madron, just outside Penzance. It's always a fascinating place to visit. Michael is forever working and re-working his paintings. At the moment he's going back over sketches made several years ago and producing some very geometric work. These should be ready later in the year. I chose work completed over the last 3-4 months and was delighted with the selection. A personal favourite is Harbour blues, greens, and yellows (left) which also happens to be the smallest painting. I must work on my selling skills!

You can view all Michael's paintings here.

New work: Terry Whybrow

Terry Whybrow will be 87 later this year but there's no sign of him slowing down yet. During my visit last week he explained how ideas for paintings pop into his head as he takes his daily walks around St Ives and the local coastline: new compositions to experiment with, new techniques to try out. Terry still paints every day or the year, without fail, from his studio in the heart of the town, overlooking the harbour.

All the new paintings can be seen here including Painting 0311 (right).

Fresh: Art Fair, Ascot, 20-22 September

I'm very much looking forward to this, the first edition of the Fresh: Art Fair, Ascot. The organisers, Ellie and Anthony, have done an amazing job establishing their fair in Cheltenham over the last three years and look set to hit the ground running at Ascot racecourse. They've certainly attracted an excellent line-up of galleries from across the UK.

I'll be on stand D12, showing a selection of recent paintings by ELEVEN AND A HALF regulars Ben Catt, John Piper, Michael Praed, Iona Sanders, Terry Whybrow and ceramics by Colin Caffell. It'll also be a first showing of paintings by our new artist, Sophie Carter. I'll be sending tickets to anyone who lives in the Ascot area this week but if you live further afield and want to visit, please let me know asap. I've kept back a few spares. More details here.

Newly acquired work: Brenda King

Brenda will always hold a special place at ELEVEN AND A HALF - she took part in our first ever exhibition back in December 2009. While she is sadly no longer with us, we still see frequent interest in her paintings from buyers and sellers alike. Over the summer I was contacted by a private seller who had inherited a couple of Brenda's paintings from 1977, most likely originally sold through the art gallery at Heals on Tottenham Court Road, just a mile from our first Marylebone show. A couple of days later the paintings were with us.

The new works are House in the Loire Valley (right) and Yorkshire fishing village. These, along with 3 other works from that period, can be seen here.

Dates for later in the year

• 20th-22nd September - Fresh: Art Fair, Ascot
• 17th-20th October - Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
• TBD November - 11th Annual Winter Show, London
• 21st-24th November - Edinburgh Art Fair

If you see something on our website that you'd like to take a closer look at in person, please give us a shout. You can come and visit us in Spitalfields to view the work or, if practical, I can bring it to you instead.