Chapel resident Pete Jarvis has achieved his hat-trick in getting another watercolour into the Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition. Competition has become very stiff this year with a total of around 1100 entries and the judges selecting just 100 for exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. This year’s painting is entitled Hulk on the Itchen and portrays a rusting boat hull tied up on the bend in the river opposite St Denys in Southampton.

Pete took dozens of photographs over several visits to the riverside at different times of the day in order to get the right lighting and shadows: “It was just asking to be painted” Pete said, “The moment I happened upon the hull floating serenely alongside the west bank of the river I was hooked”. Pete can often be found with sketchbook in hand drawing from decaying and weathered architectural subjects in and around Southampton but very few end up as finished watercolours. “I was very pleased that the judges liked my subject matter and I am looking to producing similar work but in a looser style in future”.

Now in its 23rd year, the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition is the largest watercolour competition in the UK, and is one of the only prizes to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the undervalued medium of watercolour.

The competition celebrates all works produced in water-based mediums, whether they are abstract, figurative or landscape.

The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition offers one of the highest valued prizes in the United Kingdom by awarding a total of £20,000 to artists who demonstrate a high level of skill and creativity.

Prizes include: 1st Prize (£10,000), 2nd Prize (£6,000), the RI Turner Watercolour Award for Young Artists (totalling £2,000), the Smith & Williamson Cityscape Prize (£1,500), and the Penguin Classics Commissioning Prize for Cover Art (£500 and a commission to create the cover art for a Penguin classic).

The 2010 judges are Penny Johnson CBE, Director, Government Art Collection; Lucy Jones, Artist; Desmond Shawe-Taylor CVO, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures; Dr Kim Sloan, Curator, Department of Prints and Drawings, British Museum; and Frank Whitford, Critic and Writer, Sunday Times.

An exhibition of approximately 100 works will be held at the Mall Galleries from November 2 to November 7, 2010.

Need somewhere to be creative in Southampton… join the “Design Chapel”

Desk Space to Let giving individuals and small companies the opportunity to work in a wonderful creative environment with likeminded and inspiring fellow artists and designers.

The remainder of the open plan space has been divided up into desks/work stations – complete with desks and storage at an all-inclusive rent of £40+VAT per week on short-term flexible leases. Broadband and phone lines also available for rent at additional competitive price of £5 per week. Shared facilities include a fully fitted kitchen with fridge, microwave and dishwasher, toilets and meeting area with PC and large monitor and broadband access. Cycle storage is also included!

The Chapel is accessible 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and already houses designers, illustrators, artists, web programmers and video editors.

Last few spaces are available immediately and need to / will go soon! …. to arrange a viewing contact us now.

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Pete’s watercolour shows a detailed view of the door and windows of the Tudor Merchant Hall in Southampton. “It was the way the shadows were cast across the building facade that attracted me first of all” said Pete. “I’m really thrilled the judges selected this piece and it has spurred me on to do more of this type of work in the future”.

The book is called ‘For the poor children of London’, a brief  life and history of Sir John Cass and Sir John Cass’s Foundation. Pete was commissioned to illustrate the buildings. These were done from photographs in watercolour to show the buildings in their best light and in a style that reflects the historical period and in keeping with the design of the book.

Illustration shows St. Botolph-without-Aldgate Church. See further watercolours in illustration.

(Click on the image to see at larger size)

Need somewhere to be creative in Southampton… join the “Design Chapel”

Southampton’s exciting new creative space giving individuals and small companies the opportunity to work in a wonderful creative environment with likeminded and inspiring fellow artists and designers.

The Chapel itself is grade II listed, dates from the 1840’s, and is situated in Southampton’s Old Cemetery on the Common. The building has been converted, in recent years, from a derelict Chapel to an office space, all the original character has been retained alongside modern fixtures and fittings inside, creating a unique working environment.

Proud custodian of the Design Chapel is local designer Chris Orr (who has a small design business based there also). Chris says: “Its a great place to work… it never ceases to amaze me the impact the building has on visitors, and on me when I actually stop and take notice, usually when I am walking in on a nice sunny morning!”

Local illustrator Peter Jarvis is also based at The Chapel and commented “Its like my second home, I can come here evenings or weekends for peace and quiet and to paint, I love the atmosphere” “The thought of having other creatives based here sounds great, we could all benefit from each other’s presence and I know it would enhance further the atmosphere in the Chapel”.

Peter Spence, Director of South Coast Design Forum, recently visited the Chapel and commented on the Studio space saying how behind the idea SCDF are and that he believes it will encourage collaborations and growth of design and subsequent related business.

The open plan space is being loosely divided up into desks/work stations at an all-inclusive rent of £40 per week (plus VAT) on short-term flexible leases. Broadband and phone lines also available for rent at additional competitive prices. Shared facilities include a fully fitted kitchen with fridge, microwave and dishwasher, toilets and meeting area with PC and large monitor and broadband access. Cycle storage is also included!

The Chapel is accessible 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and already houses designers, illustrators, web programmers and video editors to name but a few.

Space is available immediately, all enquiries welcome – to arrange a viewing contact us now.

Also – residents get to publish their work and blog posts on the “ichapel” website for free!