Paint Out Cambridge 13-17 May 2019

Artist Sarah Allbrook, February sunshine on King’s Parade

Paint Out comes to Cambridge

The inaugural Paint Out Cambridge takes place 13-17 May in partnership with Cheffins Fine Art. Dozens of experienced plein air artists used to working on the streets will paint Cambridge’s classic colleges, chapels and beautiful bridges, River Cam, Market Square and other views as seen on this map.

Clare Hall and King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, from the Banks of the River Cam, JMW Turner, 1793
Clare Hall and King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, JMW Turner, 1793

Founded in 2014, the immersive outdoor art event has already run a dozen events across Norfolk and Suffolk and has been keen to come to Cambridge for a while. Partnering with Cheffins Fine Art has finally made this possible and the Paint Out team are excited to be running the competition, encouraging artists to capture and immortalise Cambridge’s iconic views.

Who could resist a city that drew JMW Turner to its banks to paint Clare Hall and King’s College Chapel, whilst also being home to the Fitzwilliam and Kettle’s Yard and a series of famous art collections at several Cambridge colleges?

“Cambridge has long been on our radar but with new partners Cheffins Fine Art now on board, the realisation of a central exhibition venue as well as other potential sponsors lining up to host various parts of the Paint Out, we see this is an event that will have multiple opportunities for artists to paint both town and gown in one of the most vibrant and fast-growing cities in the UK.” – James Colman, founder of Paint Out

Artist Sarah Allbrook painting plein air, February sunshine on King’s Parade, Cambridge
Artist Sarah Allbrook painting plein air, February sunshine on King’s Parade, Cambridge

Home to the Cambridge School of Art (now part of Anglia Ruskin University) and the Cambridge Drawing Society the team from Paint Out are keen to see local and national artists casting their creative eyes over the city and bringing their art skills to bear in classical and contemporary styles and various media that can be applied to canvas.

Artists can enter and find out more through our website www.paintout.events.

Sarah Flynn, head of paintings at Cheffins, said:

“Following the plein air painting event’s success at Paint Out, Norwich, last year, we are excited to support Paint-Out’s inaugural competition in Cambridge. Cambridge has long been an inspiration for artists such as Gwen Raverat, Edwin La Dell and Elisabeth Vellacott and with its iconic and world-recognised architecture and views such as the Mathematical Bridge, King’s College, Rose Crescent and The Backs, we are sure that it will provide endless inspiration for the artists taking part. Plein air painting is an essential part of learning to paint landscape from life and anything to encourage its proliferation within the artistic community is well supported. As the leading fine art auction house in the region, Cheffins is proud to support art events locally and is pleased to support the growth of Paint Out throughout East Anglia.”

The juried painting competition is open to amateur and professional artists alike and features 3-hour and 2-hour painting sessions around the city in full public view during the days and evenings (‘nocturnes’) of 13-15 May. Three eminent judges from the world of fine art (Sarah Flynn, Alice Hall, James Horton) will select the winning pieces with circa £2,000 worth of prizes awarded at the Private View and Awards evening at Cheffins on Clifton Road, on the 16 May (more information email pv@paintoutcambridge.org). The finished artworks will remain on display until 17 May and typically range in price from £150-£850.

Paint Out Cambridge 2019 Judges

Sarah Flynn is Associate Director of Fine Art and Head of Paintings at Cheffins. As an auctioneer and valuer she also once discovered a Rembrandt lying in a homeless charity’s box and secured them £1000s for their work at auction by spotting it. Sarah was a judge at Paint Out Norwich 2018.

Alice Hall is an en plein air painter focusing on landscapes. When she sets out to paint, she looks more like a vagrant than an artist: Wearing many warming layers of paint-encrusted clothing and carrying a rucksack full with paints, pallets, brushes and much more essential clobber besides. She sets up her impromptu studio and starts to work, first sketching the composition and then building up areas of colour. The aim being to capture character and mood, while being truthful to the subject. “Hall sets out to distill that moment when even the mundane can be magical. As you look at her paintings, you can travel to another land too.” – Rachel Campbell Johnston, Art Critic, The Times

James Horton works continually from life whether at Portraits, landscapes or interiors. Since leaving the Royal College of Art in 1974, the Cambridge based artist has travelled, worked and exhibited on location all over the world. Since 2000, he has concentrated on trips to India, Tuscany, North Africa and Jordan. His plein air work is rarely adjusted back in the studio, preserving the essence of time and place. He has written numerous books including the well known ‘Pastel techniques’ (Chrysalis) and ‘An Introduction to Drawing’ (DK in association with The Royal Academy).

 

Artist Sarah Allbrook, Boathouses on the Cam, Midsummer Common
Artist Sarah Allbrook, Boathouses on the Cam, Midsummer Common

Paint Out Great Yarmouth, Norfolk 2018

Paintings created at Paint Out Great Yarmouth, Norfolk 2018

Paint Out Great Yarmouth took place in the historic Norfolk coastal town on 1 September 2018. Yarmouth has featured in historic paintings and its history in art was portrayed during ‘Drawn to the Coast: Turner, Constable, Cotman‘ which explored the identity of Great Yarmouth and its surrounding landscape through the artwork it has inspired. J.M.W Turner and John Constable, Norwich School of painters such as Joseph Stannard, John Sell Cotman and John Crome were all drawn to paint here.

 

Paint Out Great Yarmouth – 1-9 Sept 2018

Yarmouth Jetty John Crome 1768-1821 Bequeathed by Miss Harriet Higginson 1917, Tate

Seaside to Quayside

Paint Out Great Yarmouth takes place on 1 September 2018, on the East Norfolk coast, during ‘Drawn to the Coast: Turner, Constable, Cotman‘ which explores the identity of Great Yarmouth and its surrounding landscape through the art work it has inspired. J.M.W Turner and John Constable, Norwich School of painters such as Joseph Stannard, John Sell Cotman and John Crome were all drawn to paint here. Now you can too!

Our one day, two sessions, open-air art event celebrates the practice of en plein air painting and ends with a PV of the artworks created on the day, and week-long exhibition.

Jetty, Great Yarmouth, G.S.Stevenson
Jetty, Great Yarmouth, G.S. Stevenson

Paint Out is thrilled to be working with the Norfolk Museums Service and particularly the Time and Tide Museum to bring artists the opportunity to paint some scenes from Great Yarmouth for this one day event and display of them in a museum setting for a week, at the same time as such renowned painters Turner, Constable and Cotman are being exhibited to the general public.

Paint Out Great Yarmouth gives artists the chance to retrace the steps of Turner, Constable and Cotman, taking inspiration from the artworks on display in the exhibition, allowing them to create their own contemporary scenes of Great Yarmouth life which will be displayed in the museum during the final week of the ‘Drawn to the Coast’ exhibition run.

Drawn to the Coast: Turner, Constable, Cotman. Exhibition open at the Time and Tide Museum until Sunday 9th September including works from the Paint Out Great Yarmouth event.

Throughout the 19th century Great Yarmouth attracted artists to its shores. Its prosperity as a port meant that wealthy merchants collected and commissioned artworks. Some became patrons to artists and helped them to establish national reputations. This was also a time when the town’s popularity as a leisure resort was growing and the wealthier tourists provided additional sources of income for artists. These circumstances helped to support the development of a thriving artistic scene in Great Yarmouth.

Firing Rockets at Great Yarmouth, Possibly Related to 'Life-Boat and Manby Apparatus Going Off' c.1831 Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851 Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/D35977
Firing Rockets at Great Yarmouth, Possibly Related to ‘Life-Boat and Manby Apparatus Going Off’ c.1831 Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851 Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/D35977

Artists ‘drawn to this coast’ include three of the UK’s most important landscape artists. JMW Turner (1775-1851), John Constable (1776-1837) and John Sell Cotman (1782-1842). This exhibition, co-curated by members of the Great Yarmouth community, explores some of the most dramatic local works created by these artists. It includes significant loans of their work from major national lenders including two loaned works by J.M.W Turner from Tate – a watercolour of Great Yarmouth, and, on display in the county for the first time since he sketched in it, his Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex sketchbook.

Join our mailing list to register interest in future Paint Out events and a return to Great Yarmouth and other East Anglian locations if you can’t make this one.

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Paint Out Great Yarmouth entry form

Paint Out Great Yarmouth 2018 Submissions
Your first name
Your family/surname
Transport options - make sure to include your hometown if offering/requesting a car share
Required if under 35, Optional if not!
Your website or a site where your work is displayed, include the http://
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Artist's or personal facebook page where you share your art, include the http://
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Image size: Horizontal images should have a width of 1000-1600 pixels, and vertical images should have a height of 800-1200 pixels or so. Resolution no greater than 300 dpi, max image size suggested 1-2MB as 10MB is the total max for all images via form submission. You can use https://bulkresizephotos.com/ to edit your photo sizes (use pro settings to adjust to exact dimensions) Format: Images can be in a .jpg, or png format. File size limitation: Save your images with as little compression as possible (i.e. choose the best quality) while maintaining a file size less than 2 MB for each image. File name: Please use the surname, title of the work, and year completed. Example: 'Artist, The Blue Boat, 2015, Media, Size etc'
Please supply as PDF or Word doc a minimum 250 word description of your artistic style, experience, any notable awards or achievements, and reason for wanting to take part.
Please tick here to acknowledge that you understand PaintOut's Rules & Regulations and agree to abide by them. (In brief: 50% event/25% online commission structure, keeping to competition maximum painting times, strictly plein air painting, non-framing preferred, max 16"/40cm canvas, appearance in photos etc)