It’s every artist’s dream for their work to be exhibited to the public. Leading fine art supplies company, , ran an international competition encouraging artists of all ages and abilities to paint, draw or print to their art’s content for the chance to win their share of £10,000 in prizes and the opportunity to exhibit their work at the Affordable Art Fair Hampstead in May.
There were six categories under which artists could submit their entries: Animals; Landscape/Cityscape/Seascape; Non-representational/Abstract; Portrait/Figure; Scenes of Everyday Life and Still Life/Botanical. This gave artists working across a variety of media and styles the chance to display their unique works of art on an international scale. The finalists were judged by an exclusive panel of 6 leading figures in the art community from across the globe.
This year 5,366 entries were submitted, and the overall winner was announced as Iain Nicholls, from Darfield, South Yorkshire, for his piece entitled “Elsecar Canal”.
Iain studied painting at Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art. In the mid 1990s he began making and designing computer games in the UK and California before returning to being a visual artist full time in 2007. Iain has worked on two painting/poem crossover projects with the poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan and has twice been artist in residence at The Lookout Tower Aldeburgh. Since 2007 Iain has recieved two Arts Council funded grants for painting projects related to the landscape of South Yorkshire where he lives and has had three solo painting shows in London, Barnsley and Dublin. In 2016 Iain was elected a member of the Royal Watercolour Society.
‘I have been painting and drawing all my life and apart from 10 years making computer games I am a freelance artist painting full time and in the last few years also creating my own Virtual Reality art which is connected to the painting sometimes.’
Iain then went on to discuss his winning painting ‘The painting “Elsecar Canal” was painted in about 5-10 days and was one of a series of 8 paintings that were shown together at the Herrick Gallery London in 2015, all based on a walk I made one morning along an old disused canal near where I live. South Yorkshire is a post industrial landscape and the subject matter that attracts me isn’t particularly ugly or beautiful but for whatever reason after walking the same paths hundreds of times over the years some things “stick” while other things don’t. I also paint more abstract paintings and so what “sticks” when I am out walking are colours and shapes rather than any narrative interest. The subjects neutrality could be called boring by some e.g. weeds and pond scum on an old canal – but that for me is a positive thing, it gives me room to play. The painting then becomes as equally important as the subject and this room to use my imagination as I paint hopefully allows me to make a beautiful painting that elevates the ordinary and easily overlooked into something special.’
He also talked about his artistic inspirations ‘I like art that is positive and honest, where the medium used is the most effective possible to express the artists intentions and the intentions are clear (even if that means clearly ambiguous). Lately I have been looking at Alex Katz, Neil Welliver, Sidney Nolan and Chantal Joffe. But never far away in my mind are Phillip Guston, Malcolm Morley, Georgio Morandi, Thomas Nozkowski, Tal R, Roger Hilton, But in all honesty there a many many more as they say!’
Since its inception, Jackson’s Open Painting Prize has grown immensely over the last few years and this year Jackson’s are proud to announce that they are offering the winners £10,000 in prizes, an online showcase and the incredible chance to exhibit their stellar works at the Affordable Art Fair Hampstead in May*.
The panel of expert judges consisted of Andrew Bick (artist and curator), Kerry Ann Lee (artist, designer and educator), Tom Down (winner of Jackson’s Open Painting Prize 2018), Haidee-Jo Summers (artist and author), Yves Blais (curator and producer) and Jennifer Conner (director, curator and publisher).
One of the expert judges, Tom Down from Birmingham, is last year’s competition winner. His work entitled, ‘frontier’, was chosen out of 3,327 international entries and made it through multiple rounds of judging by a panel of art experts. His success meant he received £5,000, a placement at the Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, a seat on the exhibition panel discussion and amazing exposure across social media sites, newsletters and more. His paintings are currently held in private collections across the UK and USA.
The three overall winners can be seen here, and the six category prize-winning artworks can be seen here.
“Jackson’s Open Painting Prize is an excellent opportunity for artists internationally to share their talents with the rest of the world,” says Gary Thompson Director of Jackson’s Art Supplies. “We are very pleased to see a wide variety of media used this year, as well artists of all ages and abilities submitting their pieces.”
*Affordable Art Fair Hampstead: A selection of the winning pieces will be on display as part of the Jackson’s Open Painting Prize 2019 finalist’s exhibition at The Affordable Art Fair Hampstead. The Fair has something for everyone, exhibiting an expertly curated collection of contemporary artworks by new and established artists.
