February BEA exhibition

I am very pleased to share with you 3 off my drawings that are currently on show at the BEA gallery in Basildon. My drawings reflect observations of places and happenings I have come across on various journeys. I use oil pastels and watersoluable crayons to create accessible images provoking the viewer to contemplate their own journeys, memories and thoughts of everyday life. I adore the quality of the mark you can get from watersoluable crayons on paper and next to glitter glue (oh yes you know who you are) has to be my favourite medium this year.

The three picture below were all inspired from a trip to Berlin last year.

 Brandenburg Gate Water-soluble Crayons on paper

 Bubble girl, Water-soluble crayon on paper

 Going nowhere, water-soluble crayon on paper

Drawings in situate at the BEA Gallery on Level 1, Eastgate Shopping Centre, Basildon.

London Art Fair 2012

Last week I went along to the 24^th London Art Fair based at the Business Design Centre. Over 100 galleries from around the world took part in this year’s fair and I am pleased to say it was nice to see some refreshing, amazing and interesting work on show. Even more so, for an artist that uses a lot of paper and collage in their practice – I found it quite inspiring the amount of paperworks of all forms that were exhibited.

I was invited to visit the fair by Caroline Kha from the dalla Rose Gallery, whose work consisted of some beautiful collage landscapes. Caroline draws inspiration for her collages from her experience of travelling and living far away from her native Australia. She constructs fantasy landscapes and panoramas that seem t o represent a real place, but a close inspection unveils subtle variations that confuse the perceptive eye.

15 galleries exhibited in the Main Fair  - while 30 galleries presented solo shows and curated group exhibitions in the Art Projects section. Artwork could be viewed and purchased by artists including Barabra Hepworth, Bridget Riley, Damien Hirst, Peter Lanyon, Robert Adams, Diarmuid Kelley, Lucy Lui, Grenville Davey, Richard Lin, David Bomberg, Walter Sickert,, Adam Birtwhistle, Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossof ,Kenneth Armitage, John Monks, Tessa Farmer to name but a few. All work displayed at the fair covered the period from the 20^th century to present day.

Here are a few of the pieces that caught my eye...

 Elizabeth Lecourt Les Robes Géographiques started as a series of studies and sketches in 2002.   As a cartographer depicts maps to understand the world we live in, Lecourt forces the maps to take the shapes of clothing, representing the wearer's habitat and identity, forming an intimate connection with the wearer.

 Anthony Green RA, "The Path III", 2003. Oil on MDF

 Tracy Stockwell, "Dance Hall" 2010, Photography and Mixed Media

 Salon Vert states -In Lucy Lui’s “Falling into Silence “ series embroidered and stitched skeletal totems sit alongside small found objects – wood, broken glass, butterfly wings or crumpled notes – in a monochromatic, minimalist field that is overlaid with criss crossing thread

 Jane Ward, "Garden City State" 2011. Digtal print on canvas with dissolved ink

The Cynthia Corbett gallery, "This is it, Sweet Compulsion" 2010-2011, romance novels, lottery tickets on panel, wood and chandelier.

Klari Reis, "Hypochondria", 2012. 150 piece installation, mixed media, petri dishes, tee nuts and steel rods

 Marcus Rees Robert, "Catalunya 22". Mixed media on canvas 2010-11

 Dale Devereux Parker. "The mysterious world of Dr Dog", 2011. Paper Sculpture

 Pierre Imhof, "Whizz," 2011. Mixed media on canvas 2011.

 Katharine Morling, "Case of Objects" 2011. Porcelain with black stain. 

 John Monks, "Atlantic Wall", 2011. Oil on canvas

 Zak Ove, "Heart of the Matter", 2012. Mixed Media

 Bridget Riley, "Series 12A, with its grey, in double reverse", 1979. Gouache and graphite on paper

 Damien Hirst, "Magnificent Cold Gold Sunset Head", 2011. Household on gloss on plastic skull.

 Grace O`Connor, " Winter Warblers", 2011. Oil on linen

 Peter Blake, "Paris Collage Series," 2010. Represented by The Paul Stopler Gallery

 Annie Morris, "Untitled Peg Piece", 2010. Watercolour on wooden pegs

 Close up of Annie Morris Peg Piece

 Side view of Annie Morris's Peg Piece

Andrea Mastrovito, "Gullivers Travels No 1", 2011. Collage and aniline, paper on canvas

To find out more about the London Art Fair, participating  galleries and artists have a look on the London Art Fair Website http://www.londonartfair.co.uk/

Talented Town

 This months new hang in the BEA Gallery based in Basildon Eastgate Shoppign Centre features some amazing new artists as well as some of the galleries established artists. Since the gallery opened in the summer last year, it has provided an outlet and a platform for the local talent in Basildon to showcase their work. It is astonishing that there are so many different styles- (amateur and professional) artists working away within the borough.

This month I have been lucky enough to have been selected to exhibit some of my sculptural works. The majority of my works in the gallery are small paper sculptures made from newspapers. I enjoy regenerating old papers and giving them a new life, reclaiming their history. I am fascinating by the properties of paper as a medium, how strong it can be and the limitless boundaries and process manipulation that you can encounter with this medium.

Alongside the paper sculptures I have placed a found object piece and one of my soft sculpture installations.

 Installation View of BEA Gallery January 2012

 Wall Graffiti by Lisa Smith, Felt fabric and toy stuffing, The soft sculptures are based on Graffiti tags from a project in Deptford. Each unit is made from the same tag and has been coiled up to represent a scorpion, referencing the old port based along the Thames.

 Side view of Wall Graffiti

 Ode by Lisa Smith, This piece is an old pair of boots that I lived and died in during a year of losing weight. On the side of my very worn boots I used a silver gel pen and wrote and Ode to my legs, thanking them for all the abuse I have given them and all the places and triumphs they have faced with me.

Below are a selection of some of my favourite pieces in this months exhibition. Why not pop along and let me know what catches your eye? email lisamart@hotmail.co.uk

 A Bryan's rendition of Van Gogh, Noon Rest from Work

 Rebecca Goddard fabulous Plastic Carrier bag weaved 'Love'

 'Paws for Thought' by portrait artist Christie Wickenden

 'Geisha', in pastels by Doreen Jefford

 'Manhattan' by Emma Henderson

 One of Graham Collins spectacular canvases

 'Boy Fishing' by James Holmes. Oil on Canvas

 A stunning Mediterranean Street scene by Jim Hammond

 'Close to the Gate' by J W Johnson, Oil on Canvas

 'Skin Deep iv' by Kirsten Burley, Oil on Canvas

 A selection of cartoon and fantasy drawing by Liz O'Brien. Check out more of Liz's work on www.bertsworld.co.uk

 One of Mark Asquith's amazing canvases that was inspired by his beautiful children

 'Red Circle' by Paul Butler

 'Waterfall' by Nanae Miller, Oil on Canvas

 'Dollier 1' by Pearse Hall, Acrylic on Canvas

 'Whiskers' by Peter Holmberg, Watercolour on paper

 Rob Coles organic installation of wall papers and cellular forms

 'Boys Don't Cry' by Sandra Taylor

 My favourite piece in this months exhibitions, Sarah Sigston's mixed media seascape

 'The Lake' by Steve Burdett, Oil on canvas

 Another formidable pop culture portrait  - 'Lady Gaga' by Sue Barnfield.

I adore Sue Cowley's mixed media piece 'Rose' made from glass, wire and metal.

If you live or work in Basildon and are interested in exhibiting yourself in the gallery, pop along to pick up an application form. You will find the gallery in the first floor of the Eastgate Shopping Centre, opposite New Look.