MAKING A MARK

Portrait Award 2026: The 10 portraits I liked the most

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 17:42:20 +0000

This is a post about the ten portraits I like the best in the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery.

At the end I say which portrait will, I think, win the Visitors' Choice Award.

Portraits hanging in the HSFK Portrait Award competition
at the National Portrait Galllery

The Ten Portrait Paintings I liked the best

I've been reviewing the Portrait Award at the NPG since 2008 (see end) - which means I've looked at a lot of top quality portraits over the last 18 years.

After my first impression on the Awards Night Viewing, I generally know which portraits have made a big impression on me

Interestingly they are not necessarily the winner or even the winners.
It's something to do with being able to see the portraits in the context of an exhibition - and next to one another

The next morning I get to see them all over again at the Press View morning - which enables me to check out whether I still think the same
I then get to think about the portraits again while writing about the Artists with their Paintings (which used to be one very long post (eg Portrait Award 2025 - Artists with their paintings) but this year turned into five! (See the end for links to my blog posts). This always depends on whether the artist turned up AND wore their badge so I could spot them! (Some artists have not yet worked out yet that the buttons they are given to wear can generate them publicity!)

So what follows are:

the portraits which stuck in my head
the portraits which made me look more closely at them
portraits which include some clever composition and design
the ones with interesting sitters
the ones which generated an emotional response
a complete absence of prizewinners - except for one which I could not exclude

I should also mention that this list excludes some very good paintings which include things I really do NOT like - my classic example being tattoos - and hence got excluded simply because of that (given the title of this post!).

I've also noticed that a lot are by women artists - which is interesting. That's not why they were chosen though.

The Ten Portrait Paintings I liked the best

There is no rationale about the order in which they are listed - except I have ordered them by size - after the one which once seen can never be forgotten

The One which stuck in my head the most

Is your framer still in business?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 18:37:57 +0000

I'm writing this post because several notable fine art picture framing businesses and associated manufacturing plants have recently closed or entered administration due to high business rates, rising material costs, and economic pressures.

This post covers

why framers are going out of business and closing
how to protect your interests as an artist
how to find a decent framer for artwork

A bit of a shocker

My tulip wood frames from Picture Frames of Shaftesbury

I was casually looking through my Memories on my personal FB account yesterday - and the above pic came up in the context of an exhibition I was submitting artwork to in September - 12 years ago in 2014.

I idly put the name of the people "Picture Frames of Shaftesbury" who did an excellent job of my online ordered frames into Google - and nothing came up. Which I thought was a bit weird.

So I kept looking - and came across the announcement that they had closed down in 2025 and been dissolved (following voluntary liquidation) on 17 June 2026.

Being an accountant by profession, I went to Companies House and read the winding up documents and it was a very sad tale.

Then today I asked Google "framers going out of business" and they came straight back with yet more names and the reasons why

Google identified General Industry Pressures i.e.

Independent framers across the UK report that escalating business rates, minimum order thresholds for materials, and the cost-of-living crisis are making traditional high-street shops unsustainable.
plus highlighted...

Recent Picture Framer Closures

Picture Frames of Shaftesbury permanently closed in July 2025, resulting in six redundancies and the formal dissolution of the company on June 17, 2026.

The sudden closure left clients without their regular framing service and displaced local staff.

Darbyshire Ltd: Closed on May 8, 2026, after 34 years of operating as a prominent fine art framer for major artists and galleries.
Alec Drew Picture Frames Limited: This was a long-running specialist fine art framing business on Chelsea Green in London that closed and went into administration in June 2026 after 50 years in business.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Darbyshire Ltd (@darbyshireltd)

""Well that's all folks" After 50 years Alec Drew Picture Frames has closed"

Some like this chap have retired. Although his business had disappeared.

An extract from the Statement of Administrator's Proposal (i.e. the people who wind up the business under the Insolvency Act)

The Company is a long-established bespoke picture-framing business specialising in high quality custom framing, including conservation and museum-standard framing services. The Company built a reputation within the fine-art and framing sector for specialist craftsmanship, and its customer base spanned private individuals, collectors, artists and others seeking premium framing services.

Chelsea has experienced changes in recent decades, including rising property prices, changing retail patterns and increasing numbers of properties held as investment assets rather than occupied full-time residences. It is believed that these factors have contributed to reduced footfall for the business.

In addition, changing preferences toward digital photography and digital art display may have reduced the long-term demand for traditional picture-framing services compared with previous generations.

Macro-economic factors including uncertainty, inflation and pressure on household incomes can result in customers postponing non-essential purchases such as custom framing. Ever increasing costs for staffing, utilities and raw materials has resulted in tighter margins.

My recommendation

Final Call for Online Entries: RMS Annual Exhibition 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:15:00 +0000

The deadline for ONLINE ENTRIES for the 2026 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Miniature Artists, Sculptors and Gravers is Friday 28th August 6pm (GMT)

The Royal Society of Miniature Artists, Sculptors and Gravers is the world’s foremost organisation dedicated to the centuries-old tradition of miniature art.

What is Miniature Art

Although miniature art was considerably bigger when the society was first created, the current state of play is highlighted in this introduction to the art form by Anthony Lester (which comes from one of my earlier blog posts).

With a maximum size of 6 x 4 inches (15.24 x 10.16 cm), the painting of miniatures demands self-discipline, for where large pictures give some latitude in composition, miniatures are unforgiving of the least mistake; a tolerance of even a millimetre is hardly permitted.
The Gold Bowl Award winning work in 2025
plus the "Honourable Mentions"
which I had the honour of judging
with London art critic Tabish Khan
(bottom row second from left came home with me and now hangs in my hall!)

RMS Annual Exhibition 2026

Below is a quick summary of arrangements for

the exhibition
online entries
submission of selected artwork by non-members

Final Call: The Discerning Eye Exhibition 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:11:49 +0000

You have THREE DAYS LEFT to submit an entry to the Discerning Eye Exhibition which will be held at the Mall Galleries in November.
This prestigious annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London celebrates small-scale artworks by UK-based artists.

From call for entries by Parker Harris
amended by me to highlight the small nature of the artwork!

This is a very different sort of art exhibition - because it only contains small scale works - defined as a maximum diameter of 50cm in any direction.

In 2025, this exhibition featured

more than 730 artworks
by 529 artists,
selected from an outstanding 6,500 entries.
curated by six invited selectors

Parker Harris post

Below is what you need to know to enter

Essential Details

Deadline for Online Submissions ONLY: 5PM on Thursday, 27 August 2026 via https://artopps.co.uk/checkout/165
Exhibition: 13 to 21 November 2026 at the Mall Galleries in London.
Prizes: Over £9,000 available across multiple categories.
Who can exhibit?: emerging and established artists
Artwork Rules:

Small-scale works - This is defined as a maximum 50cm in any direction, INCLUDING the frame
in any medium
all pieces must be available for sale. (a commission of 40% + VAT will be charged on all sales)

How to Enter: You can submit your online application through ArtOpps https://artopps.co.uk/opportunities/discerningeye-26.

This the page with the RULES
This is the Page with answers to the FAQs
All entries must be entered online in the form of digital images and must be accompanied by the following information: Title, Medium, Year, Dimensions and Price.
all images must be either JPEG or PNG files, no larger than 5MB
if the work contains offensive material it's likely to be withdrawn from the exhibition (which is a new one on me - I can only assume Parker Harris has run into this issue on another exhibition)

Who runs/organises the competition?

The exhibition belongs to The Discerning Eye. (Note: The ING Bank which has previously sponsored the competition no longer seems to be involved)
It's organised by an art consultancy called Parker Harris
who use ArtOpps as the platform for dissemination of the rules etc and all digital submissions

Discerning Eye exhibition in the West Gallery last year
- which usually contains the exhibitions of four of the selectors

The Selectors in 2026

As always, this year's exhibition will be curated by six prominent figures from across the art world.

Each selector works independently, bringing their own distinct perspective to create six exhibitions within the whole. You cannot rely on looking at past exhibitions to know what sort of work would be suitable.

However you might try reviewing the selectors' instagram accounts....

Tributes to Anthony J Lester (1945-2026)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 11:11:30 +0000

To mark the passing of art critic, author and prizegiver Anthony J Lester on 19th August 2026, age 81.

I've known Anthony as an art critic and prizegiver and his wife Elizabeth Meek MBE PPRMS PPSWA for nearly 20 years, mostly from us all attending the same PVs at the Mall Galleries. However he's been doing what he was doing for the last 50 years. He was very definitely a constant of the national art society world in the UK and they were together one of the best known couples in it.

I've known for a while about his stage 4 pancreatic cancer for a while - he shared the news on his instagram

I'm borrowing the text from

except I've bullet pointed his contributions to the art world.

I'll miss seeing that red trilby hat which often came to the PVs too!

ANTHONY J LESTER
1945 - 2026

My beloved wonderful husband Tony, who was my best friend and soul mate, has very sadly passed away after a hard battle against pancreatic cancer. He was the very best and brilliant of men and will be very much missed by those who knew and loved him.
Art Critic, journalist
Curator,
Picture Expert on Antique Roadshow
Expert on BBC 'Flog it'
Radio Broadcaster,
Author of many books
Creator of the Anthony J Lester Award, presented at various charity art societies,
art researcher, and much much more.

This is the post by the Mall Galleries with which he has been much associated over the years

For over forty years Anthony has given massive support to the Federation of British Artists at Mall Galleries.

He curated several exhibitions on behalf of the FBA, including the much-acclaimed Pure Gold: 50 Years of the Federation of British Artists (2011), The Art of a Nation: Irish Works from the Allied Irish Banks and Crawford Art Gallery Collections (2015), and Winners: Award Winning Artists 2020-2022 (2022).

In 2011 he created the Anthony J. Lester Art Critic Award, which he presented at several exhibitions at Mall Galleries, including those of the New English Art Club and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. Such support resulted in Anthony being made a
Companion of the Pastel Society and
Fellow of the Royal Society of British Artists.
In addition to this, he was
a long-time Member of the International Association of Art Critics and The Critics’ Circle and
a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and
Life Member of Chelsea Arts Club.

What I hadn't realised, until researching this post, was quite how many catalogues for both art societies and artists he'd compiled and written.

This tribute also goes on to mention something I didn't know.

Anthony was introduced to Elizabeth Meek at the Mall Galleries in 2004. He was organising and selecting the works for Not the Turner Prize, a £20,000 award for painting, while Elizabeth was arranging the annual exhibition of the Society of Women Artists. Their relation blossomed and in 2008 they married. Elizabeth introduced him to colourful hats ranging from blue to red to pink to yellow, and zany, multi-coloured shirts. The couple certainly stood out from the crowd and were frequently spotted at the gallery’s Private Views.
Commnts from those who knew him

I am so sorry to hear this Liz. He was such a lovely man and a great support to artists. His generosity, kindness and enthusiasm will be much missed. Sending you love. X Harriet Mead PSWLA

He was always so generous in chatting to artists at Mall Galleries PV’s, I always enjoyed talking to both Anthony and Elizabeth.
The Art World will miss him, what a wonderful, colourful character he was. Felicity Flutter RI

I am so sorry to hear this. He was so well loved and respected and did so much for artists. I send my love and thoughts. Lilias August RI

A final thought - I'm passing on

A few years back Antony and Elizabeth "retired" and went to live on the coast in Sussex.

However, on meeting them at subsequent PVs, I learned from them an invaluable tip about the wisdom of keeping a place in London.

You want to be living somewhere with very good hospitals within very easy reach as you get older and your health starts to cause concern.

Anthony was supported by the Royal Marsden Hospital at the end. I'll let him have the final word.

I am being treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital and cannot praise the consultants, doctors and nurses enough for their professionalism and kindness. My message to everyone is enjoy every day - it's precious.

Call for Entries: The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2027

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:45:41 +0000

The Call for Entries for the 128th Exhibition by the Pastel Society in January 2027 has been published on the Mall Galleries website.

Artists working in pastel and contemporary dry media are invited to submit their work for the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2027

This post summarises what you need to know.

Submissions are ONLINE ONLY and
open from 17 August to 20 November 2026

Benefits of Exhibiting with The Pastel Society

This is an OPEN ART EXHIBITION. If you submit and are selected for the exhibition your artwork will be

included in the catalogue
seen by visitors to the Mall Galleries - and it gets a LOT of visitors
viewed online via the Mall Galleries website and that of the Pastel Society - before, during and after the Exhibition
eligible for a number of prizes & awards - and some have significant cash awards (see below)if you want to become a member, you first need to get exhibited via the open entry
may well sell - but ONLY if you pay attention to what I have to tell you below about pricing and sales!!

Pastel Society | Annual Exhibition 2027 | Key Facts and Dates

What drew me to the Pastel Society was the thought of being surrounding by other people fascinated by dry media in particular
Curtis Holder

Venue: Mall Galleries, The Mall, London
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 27th January - Saturday 6th February 2027
Private View (invite only): Wednesday 27th January 2027 - 5pm to 8pm, official opening at 6:30pm

Submissions: ONLINE ONLY and open until 12 noon Friday 20 November 2026
Notification of selection: Friday 4th December 2026, 12 noon
Receiving Day (if selected): Saturday 16th January 2027 10am to 5pmCollection of unsold work: Thursday 11 February 2027 10am to 5pm
Awards and Prizes - see listing near the end of this post

One of the walls in the Pastel Society's Annual Exhibition in 2026

Call for Entries

What you read below is most - but not all - the terms and conditions of entry and information about what and artist must and must not do.

It's down to you to read the Full Details, Entry Terms & Conditions

Find out more about how to enter:

The return of the visitor map!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 18:26:58 +0000

I've been using counters for visits and pageviews for the last 20 years. I like quick information - but I also want indepth information.

A Quick Look - on the blog

For many years, I have used clustrmaps.com to provide a visual map in my side column of where visitors to my blog come from.

I've always been completely amazed that I can sit typing at home in East London and the words that get published on my blog get read by people living all over the world - literally on every continent (bar Antarctica).

However, very sadly Clustrmaps has died.

Hence I was very pleased today to find a product which seeks to replicate it. Indeed I think it might even be the same team with a different name as they seem to have the same ethos - which is one I like and very much approve of.

Map My Visitors was created by a small team — just three guys working together. We are passionate about making web analytics accessible to everyone. We understand that tracking website traffic is essential for businesses, bloggers, and individuals, but the cost and complexity of existing solutions can be extremely overwhelming. That's why we set out on a mission to create a hit counter service that is not only accurate, fast, and responsive but also user-friendly and affordable.

You can find out more about them and what they do here.

Introducing MapMyVistors

MapMyVisitors

MapMyVisitors has a real time visitor map widget - and produces

either a map of where all your visitors come from (unless they are blocking their location)
or a Globe widget (which moves!) I'm not a fan of things which move!

Visitors are either a red dot ie past visitors) or an amber or green dot ie visited recently

You can see the map near the top of the right hand side column.

Today - with just a few hours of stats on it, it looks like this

ON MY BLOG - as a widget

MapMyVisitors Widget
This is an enlarged version of the widget in the side column
after a few hours (i.e. installed on 19th August)

ON MY DASHBOARD

MapMyVisitors: This is the map on my screen re the dashboard.
Below it lists all the various locations

Statcounter

I cannot remember when I first started using Statcounter - but my stats suggest it must have been nearly 20 years ago.

I also use Statcounter to provide an incredibly detailed map - which allows me to drill down to region and city and ISP - and allowed me to identify I was being absolutely hammered by visits from people in South East Asia earlier this year when my stats went totally wild for two weeks.

This is today's map for the last 7 days

Statcounter: Visitor Map for the last 7 days
- with lots of the countries labelled

HOWEVER they don't have a nice widget sized one for my blog which I can look at really easily - hence my use of MapMyVisitors

The Big Deal - a programme about selling art

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:58:46 +0000

The Big Deal with Steph McGovern - Media Release

A new programme about art was broadcast last week on BBC1. It's a novel idea - about seeing whether complete novices can become art dealers!

The Apprentice for the Art World?

My questions as I started to watch concerned what is it actually about and what is it trying to do. Specifically:

Is it educational or not?
Is it going to be informative about the business side of the art world?
will it help artists understand better how to deal with the business side of art?
Or is it just a game show with a spin?
Or as characterised on the programme is this "The Apprentice for the Art World"

The proposition seems to be "art is no different to any other business".

How would you describe The Big Deal?

It’s like The Apprentice for the art world, but the deals are all real, and it’s as much about the hustle as it is about art.

So maybe educational about the sort of knowledge and skills you need to do well - much the same as happens with Sir Alan Sugar in in "The Apprentice"?

According to the media brief

Seven pairs of trainee art dealers from around the UK are putting their creativity, negotiating and profit-making skills to the test in the highly competitive art world

The bottom line is the seven pairs compete to win £50,000 of "brilliant British art" (I spotted a David Shrigley)

The Seven Trainee Dealers

Back row: Bella, Ollie, Liam, Gavin, Phil, Ellie
Middle row: Charles, Darren, Steph McGovern, Cordelia de Freitas, Claire, Aaron
Front row: Deborah, Rebeckah, Daisy, Rebecca

Now realistically, none of them are actually trainee art dealers! Their backgrounds seem to be completely random.

However they do, of course, cover all the demographic and diversity bases. (Do you get as bored as I do ticking all the boxes for every dimension covered? Disability - tick; Gay - tick; Black - tick)

Their media profiles suggest very little involvement in the art world in terms of making, reviewing, buying, selling, collecting or anything else.

UPDATE: After I published - and after I got some odd comments on Facebook from Art Dealers who seemed very offended by the programme - I went looking and found what are "said to be the criteria used" for those who were selected to be trainee art dealers

The production team selected contestants who met specific criteria:
No professional experience: None of the participants had a background or professional history in buying, selling, or trading art. [1]
Walks of life: Producers recruited ordinary people from diverse backgrounds across the UK who showed a strong competitive drive, natural curiosity, and a willingness to learn. [1, 2, 3]
Auditioned pairs/individuals: They were chosen through standard casting processes handled by production company Stellify Media to test how well their interpersonal dynamics and business instincts translated to the high-stakes contemporary art market. [1, 2]

So is that clear? NONE of the participants had any experience or history as art dealers. They are complete amateurs.

This, of course, is where the competition starts for the viewers - spotting those likely to go to the end!

Darren (43) and Charles (40) - characterised as the "go getters". They reminded me of second hand car salesmen. I'm not expecting much of them.
Ollie (26) and Bella (29) - siblings who are trying to get a business off the ground. Seem to be tuned into what young people like
Claire (59) and Aaron (36) - Welsh friends Claire and Aaron are from Pembrokeshire and have a background in sales and the building industry. She's obviously the mover and shaker. I think he's along for the ride.
Gavin (32) and Liam (28) - Best friends Gavin and Liam from Belfast have an interest in graffiti art and want to learn more about the art world. I'm expecting them to leave early.
Deborah (42) and Rebeckah (42) - Friends Deborah and Rebeckah, from London, hope their eye for fashion can would translate successfully into selecting and trading art pieces. I think they may go far - possible winners.
Phil (74) and Ellie (28) - the Dad and daughter team from the West Midlands love visiting art galleries together.
Daisy (27) and Rebecca (61) - Mother and daughter Rebecca and Daisy from Warwickshire work together on the family farm – which specialises in camel hire. I also think this couple could go far. They seem to have a good eye.

The programme has two constants throughout the series.

Portrait Award 2025 - Artists with their paintings (men and couples)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:54:13 +0000

This is my final category of portraits hanging in the the HSFK Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery - and it's about portraits of men.

This one revisits three prizewinners!

In my series Artists with their Paintings I have so far written about

Portraits of Children (and Parents)
Portraits of Older People
Self Portraits (which has been updated with two new entries since published)
Portraits of Women

Two more posts to come:

Review of Portrait Award 2026: What's changed and what's not
Portrait Award 2026: The 10 portraits I liked the most - and I'll be going back to pay another visit to the exhibition before I write this one.

Portraits of Men

I'm starting with the winner of the Young Artist Award and then moving on to the overall winner before returning to artists with their painting - in alphabetical order by surname of the artist.

Those I don't have a photo of the artist with the portrait are listed at the end.

Young Artist Award: Joel Nichols

In Our Borderlands

Oil on canvas, 2025

This is what the Judges had to say about his portrait.

The judges admired the painting's distinctly mysterious atmosphere and the technically accomplished use of light, which shapes both the psychological depth of the sitter and the spatial complexity of the composition.

TIP I've noted the Judges can often be won over by a technically complex design and rendition which speaks of layers within it. The sort of portrait that many people never think of doing.

Nichols says:

For me, the portrait's main value comes from the process of its creation rather than the final image itself. In this way, it becomes less about producing a fixed image and more about exploring identity, agency and the dynamics of looking!

Joel Nichols (Instagram) (b 2000) was born in Birmingham, England and raised in Winnipeg, Canada. They graduated from the University of Manitoba in 2024 before returning to the UK as a Rhodes Scholar to complete an MFA degree at the University of Oxford's Ruskin School of Art. Nichols is currentlv following an MA in historv of art. This is a link to his 2025 degree show.

Themes of identity, connection and vulnerability run throughout Joel Nichols's creative practice, which spans portraiture and ceramics. Joel connects various themes within his work, many stemming back to his roots in his dual nationality and biracial Jamaican descent.

This portrait originated in an Oxford University dorm room where Nichols would join with fellow students to 'foster community' by cooking or watching films. One evening, Nichols noticed how a mirror in the room refracted light in multiple colours across the face of a friend, Jo, and suggested they meet again to revisit the moment in the artist's studio.

Overall Winner: Marc Dalessio

Don't skip this because you read Mark Dalessio wins £35,000 Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 - Mark has offered us some more insight into how he went about this painting.

Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their Paintings (Women)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:26:26 +0000

Portraits of Women is my fourth category of the different types of portraits seen at the HSFK Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

My series Artists with their Paintings is organised according to the nature of their subjects.

This excludes all portraits which were self-portraits by women artists. These can be seen in my last post about Self Portraits - see below.
It does however include portraits of daughters which I missed when doing the Children and Parents post!

My other published and planned posts are

Other posts are:

Portraits of Children (and Parents)
Portraits of Older People

Self Portraits (which has been updated with two new entries since published)

COMING SOON: to be published

Portraits of Men and Groups

Portraits of Women

In general, the portraits of women are either full body or upper torso - painted in a variety of styles. Their artists are mostly women - but there are also some men painting women.

This post starts with two adult daughters missing from the children post. I think because both seemed so grown up it didint occur to me that they could also be children. It is however interesting that yet again, this first parent painting a child is a woman.

Zena Assi

I'm not gonna straighten my hair

Oil, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2025

This is another child that I missed from the Children and Parents post! I will add this one in to that as well. (I'm only just reading some of the labels in detail as I'm working through the posts).

Sitting in a meditative pose, Zena Assi's daughter returns the viewer's gaze with a calm defiance. This portrait by the Lebanese painter celebrates her daughter's choice to no longer straighten her naturally curly black hair; 'a small gesture' that 'speaks volumes about embracing difference and celebrating one's origins'.

Zena Assi - Born in Lebanon, in 1974, Zena Assi now lives and works in London. She graduated with honors from l’Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA), worked in advertising and taught in different universities.

Her artwork has long explored urban tensions, memory, exile, interior architectures, and fragmented identities. There are not many portraits on her Instagram account.

Many of her pieces are repeatedly shown in different international auction houses and are part of various public as well as private collections. Her work has been seen

in solo and group exhibitions in Europe, the Middle East and the USA including at the 57th Venice Art Biennale (2017), the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London (2020, 2022, 2024, 2025), and the MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in Saudi Arabia (2025).

I like the full on uncompromising steady gaze of the sitter - which feels right with the age her daughter appears to be - and her mode of sitting.

TIP: One of the aspects which make a portrait very effective is when the posture and attitude of the sitter seems to sit well with the age they appear to be.

Paul Aston

The Costumer

Oil on board, 2025

Paul Aston Instagram (b.1966) undertook a BA (Hons) degree in fine art from Leeds University. He is now a figurative oil painter working in Cambridge

His portraits of people stammering have helped to broaden the debate around speech diversity and have been used by speech and language therapists and stammering support groups to challenge preconceptions about stammering. He has spoken at conferences about his work and appeared on podcasts.

In 2023 he was a contestant in the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year competition using a portrait about stammering. Aston also took part in the stammering pride exhibition Wouldn't You Like to Talk like Us? jointly with Conor Foran at the City Lit, London, 2024 and the Space to Stutter joint exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2025.

Strictly speaking I should have spotted this was a portrait of his child, but rather than amend yet more posts, I'm including her here.

In this portrait, Paul Aston depicts the 'resilience' of his child, who is a costume

designer.

The abstract shapes in the background of the portrait are taken from cut out patterns of eighteenth-century men's coats. These reference his subject's profession.
What's also interesting is the significant contrast between the very fine brushwork used to depict the intricacy of the tattoo and the loose brushwork used for her clothing.

It is also a good portrait of his daughter!

Paul Benney

Fiona
Oil on canvas, 2025
© Paul Benney

Paul Benney (Instagram) b.1959

Currently holds the mantle of "most selected artist never to have won the Portrait Award (when sponsored by BP). Previous exhibitor nine times: 1994,1996 (Winner – BP Visitors’ Choice),1997 (Winner – BP Visitors’ Choice), 1998, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2010, 2014.
He has worked as an artist and musician in both the U.S. and U.K.
He has painted many prominent political and cultural figures. His work is represented in public collections world wide including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Australia, The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Collection, and a plethora of other prominent private and corporate collections.
He is also the artist who was chosen to paint the State Portrait of HRH Queen Camilla. (see my blog post The Coronation Portraits and The King's Tour Artists - at Buckingham Palace

His sitter Fiona is pictured below with her famous big brother ex-politician / podcaster Rory Stewart.

Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Self Portraits)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 05:43:00 +0000

"Self Portraits is my third category of portraits seen at the at the HSFK Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

This is always a very popular category - but you have to do something different to get noticed!

Other posts are:

Portraits of Children (and Parents)

Portraits of Older People

Self Portraits - this post

COMING SOON: to be published

Portraits of Women
Portraits of Men
Portraits of Groups

As I have previously stated, one of the purposes of this NEW APPROACH is to enable artists intending to apply next year to look at what got selected this year in relation to one of these groups.

You get to check out size, style and levels of proficiency - and how they frame!

This year, in this category we have:

2 men and 6 women
3 UK artists and 5 International Artists
women appear to be less afraid of hands - from a variety of perspectives
most portraits are head, shoulders and hands with just one fully body self portrait

I'm also posting larger images os some of the portraits to my Making A Mark Facebook Page with shorter profiles.

All my photographs were taken at the Private View and Press View associated with the opening of the exhibition back in June.

Self Portraits

Remigijus Gataveckas

Genealogical Deformation (2025)
Oil and mixed media on canvas
© Remigijus Gataveckas

The portrait plays with distortions in space and degrees of resolution. Visible traces of the process by which paint has been applied, scraped away and reapplied make the image appear active.

Algirdas and Remigijus Gataveckas (Instagram) are identical twins and First time exhibitors.

They were born in 1985 in Alytus, had a difficult childhood spent at the Alytus state orphanage (1993-2004) and now live in Vilnius.

The identical twins form an inseparable creative duo - and the portrait is a self portrait of the twins. (Don't ask me which is which!)

Algirdas Gataveckas studied

at Alytus Art School and earned a Bachelor's (2004-2008) and
a Master's (2008-2010) in monumental art (fresco-mosaic) at the Vilnius Academy of Arts.
He's recently been awarded a Doctor of Arts (fine arts).

Known for their hyperrealistic large-scale colored-pencil drawings and their socially engaged murals, the Gataveckas brothers tackle themes such as child abandonment, poverty and family memory.

Growing up in a children’s home was not a distant biographical background. It was a daily reality that shaped how we think, work, and relate to others. From this experience comes our focus on time, attention, and the relationship between the one who depicts and the one who is depicted.

Many of our works demand slow, uncomfortable looking. This responds directly to the emotional absence and institutional coldness we experienced as children. We want to create situations where the image cannot be quickly consumed. The viewer is asked to stay (Interview)

Their work has been seen in exhibitions including Figurativas at MEAM Barcelona (2025) and Why Is It So Hard to Love?, at MO Museum, Vilnius (2020).
In 2019 they were invited to paint the official portrait of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite and, in 2017, received Medals of the Order of Merit for Lithuania.

The Gallery Label says this about the artwork

Visceral and compulsive, the raised texture of this canvas is sculptural, making the surface of the painting key to understanding its meaning. The product of a collaboration between identical twins Algirdas and Remigijus, who after a difficult childhood lived in an orphanage in the Lithuanian city of Alytus, the work is an examination of 'inherited experience and relational dynamics'. The portrait plays with distortions in space and degrees of resolution. Visible traces of the process by which paint has been applied, scraped away and reapplied make the image appear active.

Hannah George

Mummy needs a break
Acrylic on Board, 2026
© Hannah George

Hannah George-Long (Instagram) - b.1988, she works as Senior Talent & Community Manager @ Hermès. She undertook a BA (Hons) degree in fashion, media and promotion at Huddersfield University but is self-taught in relation to art. and is an artist on the weekend. Her work has been seen in the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition in 2021 and in group exhibitions in London - but not, as yet, on a website!

However her portrait got to be on a poster on the Underground - specifically Platform 5, Westbound Central Line, Liverpool Street station

I could have included this in the "Children and Parents" category.

The label says

Closely cropped, this inventive self-portrait offers an intimate window into the complex emotions experienced by a mother, sixmonths postpartum. The composition, in which Hannah George dramatically casts her hand across her face, is vulnerable pressing her eyes shut as she navigates a significant transition.

"The distortion of my face reflects how unfamiliar I felt in my own body, caught between who I was and who I was becoming. Through this altered perspective, the work became a way to explore a different view of myself."

"Mummy needs a break" by Hannah George

on Platform 5, Westbound Central Line, Liverpool Street station

TIP: One of the major bonuses of this art competition is if your painting gets chosen for the postcards (sold at the Gallery) or the advertising posters hung around London - with a lot on the underground.

Haley Hasler

[THIS IS AN UPDATE DUE TO OMISSION]

Pieta with Home Life
Oil on canvas. 2025
© Hayler Hasler

Haley Hasler (Instagram) (b.1971) is an American artist who works exclusively in self-portraiture.

Her art education included a Bachelor Fine Arts (BFA) degree in painting at Indiana University followed by an MFA in painting from Boston University. Her work has been seen in solo exhibitions in the United States and the West Indies and in numerous group exhibitions in the US, winning the Alexander Rutsch Painting Award 2023 and in the Colorado Contemporary Award 2021.

Her self portrait paintings are very theatrical / allegorical and quite unlike any other contemporary portrait paintings I've ever seen - and I like them! I recommend a viewing of her website! She seems to have a thing about holding hens and cockerels. I am also a big fan of her portrait "Portrait with Fire Chief"! ;)

Haley Hasler works exclusively in the realm of the painted self-portrait and represents herself as a central point in an endlessly revolving domestic drama. Hasler illustrates the joys, fantasies, theatrics, realities and challenges of being both a devoted mother and an artist in a world that tells women that they can have it all with a flourishing career and parenthood.
In this particular portrait, the artist returned to it several times across two years. Initially inspired by the idea of grasping a rooster while baring one breast, the composition gradually evolved to include a swarm of household objects, creating an increasingly ambiguous setting.

To capture the floating objects, Hasler suspended items in the air with strings and painted them from life.

Karin Neijenhuis

Useless, Part II, 2024 by Karin Neijenhuis
oil on linen, 60 x 60cm
© Karin Neijenhuis

Karin Neijenhuis is a Dutch artist and one of the many international artists who enter this competitiom. She was born 1974 in Breda in the Netherlands, where she still lives. She studied applied sciences at the University of Breda. In terms of art

Her focus is on portraits. She primarily paints portraits in oil on canvas or panel.
Her work is realistic, often colorful, and narrative in nature.
She draws her inspiration from everyday life - her own and that of those around her.
She likes to expose those parts of daily life which others would like to hide!

Her self portrait is described as "Domestic Drama as its finest". I particularly admire the design and composition with the viewer looking up past the underside of the ironing board - which is incidentally imacculately painted!

I'd recommend taking a look at her other self-portraits on her website

Her work has been seen in group exhibitions including

the Dutch Portrait Award (2021, 2023),
the Almenara Art Prize, Spain (2023, 2024, 2025) and was
a finalist in the Figurative Art Amsterdam Award, 2025.

(For the record, I gave up ironing years ago after I discovered that a 1600 spin speed, a jolly good shake and the use of a hanger for drying makes most creases drop out!)

Caroline Pool

Dark Passenger

Oil on canvas, 2024

40 x 30cm

Caroline Pool (Instagram) b.1985. She grew up in Bangkok, Thailand before moving to England. She now lives who now lives and works in South Shropshire. Her art education comrpises

foundation studies at Central St Martins, London,
followed by a BA (Hons) degree in illustration at the University of Brighton.

She is now a a multi-award winning Artist. Her work has been seen in numerous group shows including the annual exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts, the Society of Women Artists, the Discerning Eye and the Royal Society of British Artists. More recently, she has participated in this year's series of Extraordinary Artists

Some of you may also remember her from Series II of Portrait Artist of the Year. and my post Review: Episode 3 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2024 (Series 11).

The gallery label says

Intensity reverberates through this self-portrait, from the flexed arm to the steadfast stare beyond the picture plane. In this unusual work, Caroline Pool is off centre. Instead, the shiny, wrinkly texture of her oversized green jacket consumes the canvas and sitter, offset by an orange woolly beanie. Pool holds the coat over her chin, drawing further attention to her unblinking gaze outward, her defensive stance suggesting the focus of this portrait is beyond what we can see. 'There's an element of metaphorically standing on a precipice', the artist says, with past shadows cast whilst also staring into the abyss to start something new.

TIP: SMALL PORTRAITS - Size and Framing

The Support is slightly bigger than a sheet of A4. The head and hand only is probably no bigger than 10% of the total support which is 40x30cm. The main area of interest is maybe no more than 20% of the support

This means if you are going to paint small you need to be very confident and experienced in your technique. Going smaller is never easy. In some ways it's far more difficult that painting life size.

Frames are VERY important for small paintings. You can kill a small painting stone dead by choosing the wrong frame. This frame is what I would call "masterful restraint" It does the job and complements the colours but in no way does it overpower the portrait

Anji Richards

Red shoes,

Acrylic on canvas, 2026

61 x 76.3cm unframed

Anji Richards (Instagram) has entered twice before, once in 2022 when she did not get shortlisted and this year - when she was.

Born in 1967, she gained an HND in fashion design from the London College of

Fashion and a National Diploma in fine art from Central Saint Martins. Her work has

been seen in solo exhibitions in the Tate Library and Chelsea Arts Club, and in group exhibitions at the Mall Gallery, Bristol Art Gallery and the Camberwell Arts Festival.

Red Shoes explores the longstanding evolution of Black style through dandyism - a rebellious fashion movement formative of Black identities and rooted in resistance across African diasporas in Europe and the Americas.

Anji Richards inserts herself into this complex, longstanding history as a

female dandy, boldly pairing a tailored suit with red platform heels, gazing outward in quiet defiance. Taking inspiration from the 2025 Met Gala Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, she painted this self-portrait from photographs taken by her husband, settling on this seated pose as the most dynamic composition.

TIP BOLD COLOUR

Never ever be afraid to use bold colour. Just be careful not to use so much in such a way that it hurts our eyes. I love colour, but go OTT r use it in an inexperienced way and I can't look at your painting - and you won't be getting any comments from me beyond "Ouch!"

Angie gets it just right.

Doris Rose

[THIS IS AN UPDATE DUE TO OMISSION]

Stripes
Oil on copper panel, 2025
© Doris Rose

Doris Rose Instagram (b.1991) is a Canadian contemporary-realist portrait painter based in Ontario. She has a BA in fine arts from Ontario College of Art and Design, University, Toronto, Canada. She has 250K+ followers and 150M views, she shares her art and process with a global community.

This is how she shared what the opening week of the exhibition was like for all the artists

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Doris Rose Art🌹 (@dorisroseart)

Her work has been seen in the annual exhibitions of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2024 and 2026, the Self-Portrait Competition of the Portrait Society of Canada (Online), 2025 and the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, 2013.

This is a portrait which is both distorted and absolutely fascinating.
The approach to developing it as a self portrait is also fascinating. Her aim was to visually convey her personal experience of living with chronic migraine disease and ADHD. She wanted to explore the internal distortion caused by her neurological and sensory symptoms, and so deliberately chose a striped shirt to add to the dizzying nature of the portrait.

The portrait

combines painterly technique and themes of double exposure, a photographic process where two images are layered onto a single frame.
is painted with oils onto a copper panel, which highlights the layering and opaque qualities of the material.

Ran You

North Wind

Acrylic on canvas, 2026

50 × 60 cm

Ran You (Instagram) was born in Beijing, China, in 1991.

Graduated with a BA degree in oil painting from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
Now lives and works in Hamburg, Germany.

His works have been seen in institutions including the Today Art Museum and the National Exhibition Centre of China National Academy of Painting, both in Beijing, and Group Global 3000, Berlin.

North Wind depicts Ran You and his partner against the backdrop of a snowy,

mountainous landscape. He is strongly influenced by Northern Renaissance paintings, and thus captures the psychological conditions that he and his partner, who is a composer of classical music, face as Chinese artists living in Europe.

The artist notes that

'set against a turbulent global political climate, the painting conveys a shared sense of pessimism, as if winter were approaching.'

also a very sage remark about his portraiture and this painting

To me, portraiture is not simply about presenting a face, but about making visible something beyond appearance — the presence of the human spirit. What matters is how a person bears the weight of their own existence — not merely in a psychological sense, but in a way that makes both reality and painting worth looking at.My next post is

My next post is about portraits of women - which was the point at which I realised I'd missed two self portraits out of this post!

REFERENCE: HSFK Portrait Award 2026

A LOT of artists have told me over the years - in the Private/Press Views - that they know who I am - "You're Making A Mark!" and have read a lot of my posts - and that in short is why I do them....

These are the posts I've published this year so far - there's more to come (in italics). You may think this is totally OTT. However this has been a very popular international art competition for very many years - and I think it's worth it!

to be published:

Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Women)
Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Men)
Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Couples and Groups)

Review of Portrait Award 2026: What's changed and what's not
Portrait Award 2026: The 10 portraits I liked the most

Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Older People)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 06:19:42 +0000

This is my second post about artists selected to exhibit at the HSFK Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

This post is about portraits of Older People.

Portraits of Older People

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Three of the four artists shown below have known their subjects for very many years. In two instances they are painting parents.
Two of the four portraits below include two people. It's unusual for a portrait selected for this competition to involve more than one person - although that might say more about what is submitted rather than what is selected.
It's not unusual for there to be paintings of older people in this competition and those who paint older people seem to do well.

The first portrait in this post is by the second prizewinner, Chloe Cox - who painted two people she did not know before she painted them! Just to prove that an observed association does not always apply!

Chloe Cox

Judges Note: Second Prize

Chloe Cox's "What's Mine is Yours" is a beautifully painted and life-affirming double portrait, notable for its exceptionally accomplished technique and sensitivity of handling.

The judges were particularly struck by the sense of joy and uplift that the work conveys, as well as the palpable connection and love between the sitters.

What's Mine is Yours

Oil on canvas (2024)

90 x 60 cm | 35.4 x 23.6 in

Chloe Cox (b.1997) is a self-taught artist who studied English literature with creative writing. She was invited by His Majesty the King to create a new portrait for the Royal Collection Trust for the exhibition Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation, seen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the National Portrait Gallery, London (2023-24). She was included in the Jackson's Art Prize 2025, winning the People's Choice Award.

This portrait is of two people that Chloe Cox did not know.

She was invited to take part in the BBC television series Extraordinary Portraits and this led to Chloe Cox being paired with Marva and Lionel Warmington to create their portrait.

The couple have fostered more than 200 teenagers over the past 30 years, providing culturally sensitive care for vulnerable young people from a variety of backgrounds. Cox was filmed meeting the Warmingtons for their sitting as their conversation helped her decide on a format for the portrait. She says:

'What struck me most was the balance between Marva and Lionel as a couple. She is more outgoing and full of ideas. He is the quiet, steady presence. I felt the portrait needed to show that harmony. Their love story hasn't just sustained their marriage, it has created stability and belonging for hundreds of young people."

The emotional content of the relationship between these two individuals also reads extremely well - and is unusual in the context of this competition. Question: Do you need two people to convey emotional content?

Also, I note from the photo above that the heads are both close too life size, maybe a tad larger, which means on the wall they "speak to you" very easily.

In addition to the Judges Comment above, I think the Judges may well have also been rather impressed by her handling of their heads, hair and their hands. So here's two close-ups that I took! I also thought the careful consideration given to the tonal palette was very helpful. Nothing jarred the eye.

Marva and Lionel Warmington - Heads
from

What's Mine is Yours

Oil on canvas (2024)

90 x 60 cm | 35.4 x 23.6 in

Marva and Lionel Warmington - Hands
from
What's Mine is Yours

Oil on canvas (2024)

90 x 60 cm | 35.4 x 23.6 in

TIP - Be sure to pay particular attention to the skin of older people and their heads and hands. Heads, hair and hands are basics which you must get right. Those grey hairs, saggy bits and wrinkles have all been hard earned over the years and deserve to be rendered both faithfully and sympathetically - which Chloe did extremely well!

I'm not in the least bit surprised that Chloe Cox was a prizewinner. She deserved it. After the third prize announcement, I really did not know which portrait was going to get the top prize.

Rosie Phillips

Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Children and Parents)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:48:46 +0000

Posting my photographs of artists with their portraits selected for the the HSFK Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery is an absolutely mammoth exercise. This year I confess I found it daunting!

I've been doing photos of the artists with their portraits in the Portrait Award exhibition for very many years - and it's not a post I want to give up on doing. However this year

I took more photographs than ever more
and was posting in the June Heatwave which then became the July Heatwave - so starting this post has been somewhat daunting for me as I don't function at all well in heat (I've no thyroid and the medication for normal times does not seem to be so effective in constant very hot weather)

That's why why I've taken so long to start it in this heatwave which has been running since the exhibition opened!

In the end I've decided to go with the same format as last year - which has been amended to make it more manageable. Each group now gets its own post

Portraits of Children (and Parents)
Portraits of Older People
Self Portraits
Portraits of Women
Portraits of Men
Portraits of Groups

This also allows people intending to paint a subject akin to one of those groups to look at what the competition which got selected looked like this year.

I'm also posting larger images to my Making A Mark Facebook Page with shorter profiles.

The profiles are part based on those developed for my two former posts and part based on the labels in the gallery

You can vote for the People's Choice Award at the Gallery and also online.

The exhibition continues at the National Portrait Gallery until 7th October 2026 - and then goes on tour.

Portraits of Children (and Parents)

One of the things I noticed about this year's exhibition was how many more portraits there were children and parents. There are eight portraits of children (and parents) in total in the exhibition.

I'm used to seeing the odd child but not this many. Interestingly

they make for some of the most relaxed looking portraits
they also seem to be connected to the artist wanting to record forever a time that is passing - which is a jolly good reason for a portrait

TIP: Note that, with the exception of one portrait, the artist is painting their own child / children.

Adebanji Alade

Copycats, 2025 by Adebanji Alade
© Adebanji Alade

Adebanji Alade PROI - (First Time Exhibitor) B. 1972 in Nigeria. He did an HND

in fine art at Yaba College of Technology, in Nigeria followed by a diploma in portraiture at Heatherley's School of Fine Art, London.

Adebanji is a professional artist, teacher, author and television presenter (BBC One Show). He has a studio on Lots Road in Chelsea, London. He is also the founder of The Addictive Sketcher movement, seen on television and in books. His work has been seen in numerous exhibitions including the annual exhibitions of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (2007-2026) and he is now the current President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.

I first met Adebanji years and years ago. I think I've known him almost as long as I've had this blog! I've also seen this portrait before - and I think it's wonderful. It was exhibited at the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters last November and it just blew me away.

His family have always been a very big part of who Adebanji is and this is a really great record of his two kids painting with him at home when they were small.
The viewer's eye darts across the canvas, delighting in details such as the translucent drapes, the glossy reflection on the television screen and the range of colour cluttered across the domestic interior. Portraying himself and his children engrossed in the act of painting, Alade 'reveals how children copy their parents, whether good or bad, they are copying what they see more than what they are told!'
I expect his next submission to be of his lovely wife!

Frances Bell

HEADS UP - HMRC Self Assessment: Payment on Account due 31 July

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:36:29 +0000

I find that tax is a matter that few artists become expert on as they are starting out - or sometimes at any point of their careers!

This is a HEADS UP for British artists! If you are

EITHER: self-employed as an artist
OR are employed AND earn more than £1,000 from your art,

then you have a tax payment coming up!

The deadline for your second payment on account is 31 July each year

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) requires individuals to make advance payments towards their next tax bill if you are self-employed or have untaxed income. (HMRC - Payments on Account)

How do "payments on account" work?

Payments on account based on your estimated tax bill and are

advance payments towards your next Self Assessment tax bill (including Class 4 National Insurance if you’re self-employed).
split into two equal instalments due each year on

31 January (final payment for previous year plus payment on account for current tax year) and
31 July

Each payment is worth 50% of your previous year's total tax bill

So if you completed and submitted your HMRC Self Assessment Form by 31st January this year, then you know how much you paid in tax and hence how much you have to pay (ie half of less years' bill)

How payments on account are calculated
Payments on account are calculated based on your estimated earnings (usually the amount you earned the previous year). Each payment is usually half of the tax you owed the previous year.
If you actually earn more than estimated, you may still have tax to pay on top of your payments on account. This is known as a ‘balancing payment’.
If you earn less than estimated, you may be able to claim a tax refund. (HMRC - Payments on Account)

Am I automatically exempt?

However, you are automatically exempt if either of the following apply:

Your last Self Assessment tax bill was £1,000 or less
80% or more of your total tax is already deducted at source (e.g. through PAYE on an employment income)

If your income has dropped, then you can apply to reduce these payments via

your HMRC Online Account
or by submitting form SA303 to HM Revenue and Customs

How to pay HMRC

They spent a lot of money developing the HMRC app
- and they're rather keen you should use it

TIP Speaking personally, the only way I ever make a tax payment is via a device which allows me to print off the payment details and create a PDF for my tax files.

That way you then have a precise record of the date and time you made the payment - and how - should there be any dispute

You can pay HMRC via

REFERENCE

My "Art Business Info for Artists" website

UK Tax Tips for Artists - Tax Tips for Artists | Art Business Info for Artists

HMRC

Self Assessment - Includes filing, deadlines, pay and tax records | HMRC

Paying your tax bill
Pay your Self Assessment tax bill
Understand your Self Assessment tax bill
If you cannot pay your tax bill on time

Diploma Graduates Exhibition at the Heatherley School of Art

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:36:11 +0000

I was at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in Lots Road, Chelsea yesterday evening for the PV of the Diploma Graduates Exhibition.

You can visit this for free between now and Sunday afternoon (10.30am-4.00pm) at the School at 75 Lots Road, London, SW10 0RN. The nearest tube is Fulham Broadway and then it's an approx. 12 minute walk - right past the entrance to Chelsea Football Club!

I'd been invited by Sarah Jane Moon (who teaches there) to come and see what those following the Portrait Diploma Course had been producing. There are also other courses exhibiting their work.

I often come across Heatherley graduates doing well in other exhibitions and art competitions so I made the trek from East to West London!

You can

I was very impressed by four of the artists who were producing portraits which looked like they will be followed by even better in the years to come.

As it happens they were all women!

One of the very interesting aspects of Heatherley's is the number of middle aged women students it attracts - which I find a very refreshing aspect of its student body.

Akiko Saiko with me
Her portrait had been commended by Andrew James RP

Standout artists for me were:

Akiko Saiko (above) who has a very refined approach to painting a portrait which reveals the tonal light and shade and hence the form - which was something of a weakness in some of the portraits by some other artists. I also really liked her profile text which was engaging, simple and direct. That's the kind of effective communication which gets through to the most people. She does however need a website!
Amy Roberts is a former fashion designer who works primarily from observation. She is very obviously not phased by either large groups, complex compositions or more complex dress. I've been waiting for somebody brave enough to take on group portraits for a long while - and it looks as if we might have somebody at long last!

Amy Roverts won the Worlds End Studio Prize with this group painting

Marlies Forster (Instagram) - who last year won The Composition Prize 2025 awarded by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and consequently had her painting hung in the RP Annual Exhibition

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Forster London Art (@forsterlondonart)

I also really liked Janet Marsh's Holbeinesque self? portrait of a women with a squirrel (see my blog post The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein by Franny Moyle for the original) which won the Susan Engledow Portrait Prize

By Janet Marsh

Note to the School: Please update your galleries with the artwork from the show so it's online at the same time as it's on show at the school. Everything on the website seems to relate to 2025.

PS My five year old post about Favourite Quotes about Portraiture has been attracting a lot of visitor of late - so I'll include it here as well to share the love some more!

Major LS Lowry Exhibition in the autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:09:39 +0000

There is to be a major exhibition of the paintings of LS Lowry in the Autumn.

The exhibition L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life marks the 50th anniversary of Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887 – 1976) and opens at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes in October. It represents a culmination of a nationwide celebration and features over 140 works, including A Football Match (1932).

The new exhibition is the first major career survey of his work in over a decade. In addition to iconic “matchstick men” industrial scenes, the showcase will explore lesser-known works such as portraits and surreal pieces.
a rare overview of his career, bringing together lesser-known aspects of his practice, including pencil and charcoal studies from the antique and life, detailed urban drawings, and works in pastel and watercolour that reveal the breadth of his practice (MK Gallery)
A key theme of the exhibition is a re-examination of the myths that grew around him, situating his life and career within the wider transformations of twentieth-century Britain, as the mills, terraced streets and working communities he depicted were bombed, cleared and replaced.

L.S. Lowry, Our Town (1943). Oil on canvas.

Purchased from the artist, 1944.

Basics:

L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life
When: 24 October 2026 – 28 February 2026
MK Gallery, 900 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 3QA
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm. Closed Mondays
You can book tickets on the MK Gallery website.

L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life is also accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.

Why people like Lowry's art

London is the best city for art! (Time Out Survey)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 17:55:32 +0000

London has been declared to be the best city in the world for art galleries - according to Time Out’s latest guide to the planet’s top places for culture.

This conclusion arises out of a survey of more than 24,000 people around the world about culture in their cities.

An impressive 81.1 percent of surveyed Londoners said that the city does art galleries better than it does anything else. London was a clear gold medal winner in the category, scoring much higher than Paris (which came second with 67.9 percent) and New York (third with 67.7 percent).
Of course, one of the main reasons for this is that so many are free to access - which is a very significant bonus for both residents and visitors alike.

In addition, 88.4 percent of London’s residents backed London’s museum venues. That put us third, only behind Paris and Madrid.

Below is a summary of Time's Out View - based on its survey - of:

the top 50 art galleries in London
the top 25 museums in London.

I really out to get back to doing my twice a year overview of what's on where at the major art galleries....

The Top 50 Art Galleries in London

This is the Time Out Guide to The 50 best art galleries in London

Frankly, I don't think they're in any order of "best".

Rather this is a collection of what they think are the best.
I guarantee that the majority of Time Out Readers will not have heard of the majority of them - which makes it a very odd list in that sense.
It also excludes rather a lot of very active art galleries which are well worth a visit - mainly because they forgot to say.....

There is a VERY STRONG Contemporary Art bias

Hence they EXCLUDE:

any of the long running and very respectable art galleries (eg Cork Street and associated area) which a lot of artists would give their eye teeth to get into
anything to do with art societies - which is sad, because it basically indicates that anything associated with an art society is of no interest. Which is very far from the truth.

As such I'll tell you which I think are the best!

Plus all the ones I have never visited

They are listed in a very odd order - so I have reordered into my particular order of preference

The Sainsbury Wing is now effectively the main entrance to the National Gallery
- and all temporary exhibitions

Would you like to win a medal for your art?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 08:15:00 +0000

One group of artists have the scope to win a medal for their art.

Every year, leading botanical artists and illustrators from across the world come to London to see if they can win a coveted RHS Gold Medal.

The Royal Horticultural Society's Botanical Art Show is the most prestigious botanical art exhibition in the world.

Nothing else even gets near - because to exhibit in this exhibition

you first have to be assessed as good enough to exhibit - without having seen what you propose to exhibit!
you get five years to prepare your exhibit
which comprises a minimum of six artworks on a botanical or horticultural theme/topic which might be:

Family or Genus Names (of Plants)
Exhibits related to specific locations/habitats
Habit / Lifecycle / Growth
Common and Generic Names
Medicinal Plants
Theme names related to botanical history

Raucous Glaucous: Lichens of Texas Hill Country 16X 2026
Christiane Fashek (New York, USA)
these are shown in wet and dry mode magnified 16 times
It won a Gold Medal.

Medals are assessed by an expert panel according to strict and defined criteria

This is a brief characterisation of what each medal represents, written after a discussion about the meaning of the colour of the different medals, back in 2018.
A Gold medal exhibit has to be outstanding in all areas and really have the ‘wow’ factor.
A Silver-Gilt medal is a very high award and still an exceptional achievement. In many cases a Silver-gilt will have only been missing a couple of elements that meant it was not quite a Gold.
The Silver medal will usually have numerous areas for improvement.
A Bronze medal is rarely awarded as the standard is generally so high, but it may be awarded if the artist has really only achieved one or two elements from the criteria.
EXTRACTED FROM: RHS Botanical Art Show #3: Medals Awards and Feedback (2018)

Jenny Hyde-Johnson (South Africa) achieved a "first"
She was awarded Best Exhibit, Best Artwork and a Gold Medal for
"Fynbos Diversity of the Coastal Limestones on Grootbos"

The RHS Botanical Art Show 2026 can currently be seen at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea until 2nd August.

open 10-6 daily
admission FREE to those with membership of the RHS or Saatchi Gallery
£6 for everybody else

I've been writing posts about this and the Portrait Award in tandem as they both opened at the same time!

Here are the posts relating to this year's show - which have been posted on the blog on my Botanical Art and Artists website (#1 in the world for botanical art!)

AND

How to exhibit at RHS Botanical Art Show 2027 (Part 1: How to get approved to exhibit)

I've got another couple of posts still to write....

Service is interrupted due to the heatwave

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 19:07:02 +0000

I feel a bit like the train people who announce that the heat has warped the railway lines and you can't get to where you want to go.

In my case, my blogging has completely tailed off because I'm finding it difficult to focus on writing.

I'm afraid I'm really suffering with the heatwaves and seem to be entirely focused at present on

how to stay cool indoors - I'm living in semi darkness most of the time.
how to be able to get some exercise outside when it's so very hot.
how to eat without using any heat!
changing what I'm wearing about three times a day!
buying more hats with wide brims
sleeping with my feet up on a wedge to reduce the swelling in my ankles!

Me at Knole last Monday.
We spent most of the time trying to find shade....

Part of the explanation is that I have no thyroid - which is what regulates your body temperature - due to it being surgically removed back in 2005 after hot soup made my throat close up so much I couldn't breathe properly! I had a goitre which was growing fast.

I now take medication to regulate instead - but that can get out of whack.
So making sure that my body is responding appropriately to the excess heat feels a bit like a full time job at the moment.

I went for my blood test for my annual thyroid check-up this morning and hopefully we'll know soon whether an adjustment needs to be made.

I'm hoping to get back to normal blogging - just as soon as this heat retreats!

The Tale of the Portrait Award Catalogue 2026 - and two major mishaps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:27:16 +0000

This is about the debacle of The Portrait Award Catalogue 2026 - and why I do not have a copy.

Portrait Award Catalogue 2026 - as advertised on the NPG website

Every year I usually get the catalogue of The Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. I use it when writing my review of the exhibition. You'll note no review to date....

However this year there have been two major mishaps

The Printing Error
The "ready to ship" date.

The Printing Error

This year, 2026, the catalogue, sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, was found to have a serious error in the original printed version.

Now printing errors in museum publications are not unheard of

many are relatively minor (eg a name spelt incorrectly) and
they are normally corrected in the next print -
and an errata slip put in the edition with the error.

My guess as to why the original catalogue was NOT released at all is that it the error is too significant/important - and this most likely reason is it involves the sponsor's name.

The name that keeps changing. It started as "Herbert Smith Freehills" - and last year it became "Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer".

That's important enough to stop the release of a catalogue.

The alternative might be that the colours were badly wrong. Except, as somebody who used to be responsible for producing marketing material for my professional qualification, I know that sort of error gets caught very easily at the proofs stage. So long as you have somebody competent doing the job and piping up as soon as they spot a problem.

Approving proofs is the signal to "go to print".

When I did it, my publications lady did all the checking - but the proofs were signed off by me after I had checked them carefully too. It's much too expensive to get wrong hence all mistakes have to be spotted!

So I can only assume that whoever was responsible for collating, drafting, designing and checking - and double checking and authorising - the catalogue proofs did not do their job properly.

That's a very expensive mistake. That's because once you have approved the proofs, you are agreeing liability for the costs of the print run. Which means NPG will be charged for that error and in effect will have paid for the catalogue twice.

For the record, I did ask what the print error - but was nobody knew and/or was prepared to say.

The "Ready to Ship" date

I was thinking of going into the NPG today to pick up a catalogue. However I wasn't optimistic it would be there (I know how long print runs take - particularly if a job is contracted out to Asian printers as many are - ships take a long time to dock!) so checked the website first.

That's when I found the page related to the Portrait Award Catalogue for sale in the shop.

Which states

Expected to ship from 29 July 2026.

That's seven weeks late - given the exhibition opened to the public on 25th June.

Which leads us to the next issue.....

Details of the Portrait Award Catalogue

The cost of the mistake

The RA Summer Exhibition and AI: Submission to Display to Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:46:09 +0000

I think I've uncovered a bit of a problem relating to the legislation and regulations which apply to all info provided to buyers in art exhibitions (who have protected rights) - from Submission to Display to Sale.

Earlier this week, I wrote about how the Royal West of England Academy allows AI into its Annual Exhibition

There have been a lot of comments on the post on Facebook as a result - which you can see here. Mainly this has been confined to whether or not AI should be eligible or only serves to undermine the original work of artists.

What I didn't realise at the time, is that the RWA were not the first.

The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition and AI

This year's Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition indicated in its Frequently Asked Questions that it was OK to use AI as part of an artwork

Can I enter an AI work?

If your work is generated, partially or entirely, using artificial intelligence, then you must declare it on your artwork form by adding ‘AI’ to the medium field.

Extract from RA Summer Exhibition 2026 - FAQs

In other words, the RWA appears to have just copied what the RA did!

Omission of fact / poor descriptions of art for sale

So I went to look at all the artworks - to find the clearly displayed "AI" in the medium field

I found 59 entries were listed in "all the artworks" when I searched the database for "AI".

I didn't sample everyone. But of all the ones I looked at in detail, not one declared the AI as having contributed to the image or the artwork.

So the RA may know that AI contribute to the artwork - but they aren't sharing that information with the general public.

I then did another sample - of all those that were available to buy online.

This time I got 54 entries.
I looked at a few more - and still could not find any exhibit which openly declared that AI was used in its creation.

AI Findings: Submission to Display to Sale

The Royal Academy of Art required all artists to declare AI on their form If your work is generated, partially or entirely, using artificial intelligence, then you must declare it on your artwork form by adding ‘AI’ to the medium field.
The Royal Academy of Art appears to have chosen NOT to disclose the use of AI in any of the information provided to the buying public.

it's not listed in the catalogue under the medium
it's not listed on the Sales website for any of the artworks which were triggered by the search term "AI"

I wonder why.

I'm also wondering if anybody asked the RA Solicitors for their advice as to what needs to be disclosed within the context of the range of legislation and regulations which are pertinent eg see "How to sell art" on my website Art Business Info for Artists

Trading Law and Regulations - see my Trading Law & Regulations for Artists (mainly UK) page
the various regulations relating to selling online and consumer rights - see my E-Commerce for Artists page

One of the requirements of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is that

Every contract to supply goods by description is to be treated as including a term that the goods will match the description.
In other words, when describing the medium for an artwork, if AI was used then AI needs to be highlighted.

I am sure this requirement is essentially what is behind the RA requirement for the artist to spell out AI in the medium box if relevant.
So why has that info not translated through to the description of the artwork for the purposes of sale to the public (ie the people protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015!)?
My conclusion is that we appear to have "a left hand and a right hand within the RA who are not talking to one another"!

Clearly, use of AI is new and mistakes may be made at the outset.

However I personally would expect that an organisation like the Royal Academy of Art which has, over time, been absolutely exemplary in its highlighting of changes in legislation (eg re VAT registration for overseas artists; new money laundering regulations for art etc) and spelling out what that means for artists entering the Summer Exhibition SHOULD have picked this up and dealt with it better.

I have frequently highlighted RA advice contained in its T&Cs and FAQs to other art societies as "this is the way to do it" (whatever "it" was)

I'm now expecting that all mistakes made this year will be corrected for 2027.

I also expect to see next year that the same standard of exemplary guidance produced by the RA in the past will now be also applied to EVERY ASPECT OF AI where people (i.e. ALL THE BUYERS!) have a "need to know"

In other words - that next year all relevant legislation and regulations will be covered by all necessary parts of the T&Cs and FAQs and any other guidance the RA sees fit to issue.

Royal West of England Academy allows AI into its Annual Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 22:25:43 +0000

The deadline for entries to the Annual Open Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) closed at midnight yesterday.

I'm wondering how many entries they got this year.

That's because they have this year allowed people to submit AI entries.

I gather a lot of artists have been very upset about this - as one might expect given that, by definition, AI means an artwork cannot be the original work of the artist.

Some ventured to comment on the error of the RWA's ways - and promptly got banned from commenting on their Instagram account!

I notice social media posts about the RWA Open latterly have had no scope whatsoever for comments.

I then went back though Instagram looking at other posts inviting entries for the RWA Open and not one of those I looked at had comments.

I rather think they may regret the notion of inviting AI artwork.

Should any other art society think it might be a good idea to be cutting edge and introduce AI as an option for acceptable media, I'd highly recommend you look at the RWA Exhibition when it opens

The 173rd Annual Open Exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol will run from 12 September 2026 to 3 January 2027. It showcases over 500 contemporary works—including painting, sculpture, and photography—across historic galleries, with all featured art available for purchase. Google AI
Plus maybe have a look at some of the other posts about this

For any other society anticipating doing similar, consider for a moment how you can possibly have a rule which states that this is all the artist's own original artwork - AND that the society allows AI to play a part.

By definition, the latter is NOT "all the artist's own work"!

It's a complete nonsense!

What I liked at the Society of Women Artists 165th Annual Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 17:07:40 +0000

I was mentally sending good wishes to the Society of Women Artists who had their 165th Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries last week. That was because last week was ridiculously hot weather wise in London (c.35°C / 95°F) for most of the week)!

Anybody who went would have actually enjoyed a very pleasant air conditioned gallery - with refreshments on tap!

However I was busy with other prebooked / prior commitments for the first half of the week.

Then my brain started to fry because my 18" thick brick walled home had heated up! I was struggling to keep the temperature inside below 30°C - while my brain fried.... despite having all the windows closed and all the blinds down!

The incentive to go out - where it was even hotter - was minimal!

Which is by way of explanation as to why no visit on Tuesday and why no review.

I am eventually going to work out who painted this....

However, I did get there on Saturday afternoon, when it was a few degrees cooler, and managed to photograph the artwork in all the Galleries just before it closed.

Interestingly one comment I saw about the exhibition online was "better than the RA Summer Exhibition" and - having visited that particular exhibition with my sister (who was over from Australia) on Tuesday - I can confirm that comment was very far from fanciful in nature.

You can see my albums of photos of the exhibition on my Making A Mark Facebook Page

10 things I liked about the SWA Annual Exhibition 2026

I thought a lot of the art was very much better than a lot of the open entries and some of the RA artwork in the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Below was one of the standout pieces.

What I noticed in particular was there was a very strong entry by the open artists. You really need to raise your game to get selected nowadays!

"Suffer the little children" by Penny Hardy
(mild steel)
who uses her sculpture to raise money for UNICEF

The hang was excellent - and one of the best I've seen in the Mall Galleries this year so far. Parts of the hang were definitely superior. It came across as very considered.

Mark Dalessio wins £35,000 Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:57:21 +0000

American/French artist Marc Dalessio has won the £35,000 Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026. He was presented with at an Awards Ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery in London on Tuesday night.

Marc Dalassio with his award-winning portrait

With a notably restrained and economical use of paint, Marc Dalessio’s Jean-Denis achieves a striking immediacy, where every mark carries weight. The judges enjoyed the subtle sliver of white from the sitter’s shirt that becomes a focal point, activating the composition. The portrait offers an empathetic depiction of its subject, conveying a timeless presence that feels both regal and understated.
The Judges Comments

For the record, all my guesses of who would win what were CORRECT!

The two youngest award winners
- just before they announced the prizes!

Below you can see

photos of the artists with their portraits which were taken Tuesday evening.
Plus a photo of them receiving their award. Apologies for the side on view. I usually pick a better spot.

[I was hoping for access to the NPG ones being taken by the photographer who was in prime position - but for some unfathomable reason, rather than being available Wednesday morning (as they always used to be) they're not likely to be available until the end of the week.
So these are the only photos of the Awards Ceremony online so far!!]

Below are the profiles of the artists and the portraits which won the prizes.

Words about the painting and what the Judges thought are from the press release - hence quotes.

Review: New English Art Club Annual Exhibition 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:58:38 +0000

This is a very late review of the 2026 Annual Exhibition of the New England Art Club (NEAC) - which celebrates the 140th Anniversary Exhibition, which also remembered some of its past members.

NEAC 2026: The end of the West Gallery

I particularly liked the way that they included the surnames of past members on the title page of the Catalogue and also had paintings in the show by past member Paul Nash.

Title Page of the NEAC 140th Exhibition Catalogue

The 140th Annual Exhibition has 396 artworks and is on at the Mall Galleries until 20th June.

the catalogue is available online on Issuu
you can also view the 396 artworks online on the Mall Galleries "Buy Art" website

For some reason I didn't have the PV in my diary last week and since then my diary has been packed with hospital appointments.

However, on Monday, after the first physio date this week, I got myself to the Mall Galleries early and managed to see the exhibition with very few other people there - which is the way I like it. I can then see the art rather than people looking at art. PVs are a dreadful time to try and take pics of an exhibition!

You can see the results in the three Facebook albums I've created on my Making A Mark Facebook Page

First five photos in the album about the NEAC Exhibition
in the West Gallery

Observations

Overall, I thought this was an exhibition which included some really excellent artwork - but could also have looked better than it did. It impressed - in part.

This is a review which reflects my likes and dislikes. I find I'm repeating myself each year. So this year my review is shorter than usual.