David Firmstone Wins Turner Watercolour Laurels 2013

David Firmstone MBE RWS has won the Turner Watercolour Award 2013.  This is an honor which honours the most distinguished work inwards watercolour which tin include pen as well as ink or gouache on paper.

This is a prize which used to hold upwards awarded at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, but the Presidents of the 2 Watercolour Societies managed to wrest it away as well as each twelvemonth it is straight off awarded to 2 watercolour painters - from the Royal Watercolour Society as well as the Royal Institute of Painters inwards Watercolour.  This year's judges were: Rosalind Turner (a relative of Turner's), Ronald Maddox President of the RI as well as Andy Wood RI.

I'm afraid the photograph below of his 2 paintings inwards the RWS Spring Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery are fighting amongst lights as well as reflections - but I tried my best.  They await much meliorate inwards the gallery!

Winner of the Turner Watercolour Award 2013
David Firmstone
(top) Penna - watercolour (Sold)
(Bottom) Honed - watercolour watercolour (£3,000)

Unsurprisingly the operate displayed inwards this year's Spring Exhibition of the Royal Watercolour Society is inwards watercolour.  I'm to a greater extent than used to seeing David pigment inwards acrylic or tempera as well as convey to tell I really much similar the effects he achieves when icon inwards watercolour.

Below is a video of David talking nearly his operate as well as how he started out inwards art.  It's non the common variety of story.  Nor is the mode of his icon - this video reveals or as well as therefore of his techniques for creating paintings.   It reminded me that Turner used to practice all sorts of things to his paintings that nobody else always did.

At Work: David Firmstone

a cinema yesteryear Harry Brayne

Technique is critical to my aesthetic. I constantly search for novel technologies to brand paintings: I purpose tempera, watercolour, oils as well as gesso to practice wall-like textures amongst a sanding machine, I scratch as well as gouge out the pigment until the surface reflects the agency the nation has been layered through time, as well as or as well as therefore of the in conclusion compositions are the termination of pouring paint, allowing it to come across as well as stain the surface. And I tin never quite recall my previous approach, as well as therefore each icon is an human action of learning to pigment again.
David Firmstone

David has won many other prizes inwards his career including the International Painting Prize, Lord's Day Times Watercolour Prize as well as the Hunting Prize. His operate tin too hold upwards constitute inwards several prestigious collections - including the British Museum.

Incidentally, I see from his biography that David was a winner of 1 of the categories of the National Exhibition of Children's Art inwards 1956.  Which sparked memories for me every bit I was a winner of the youngest historic catamenia category piece inwards Top Class Infants simply a few years later!

Tomorrow I'll hold upwards posting my review of the Spring Exhibition of the Royal Watercolour Society - which I recommend.

Links:

• BBC - Your Paintings - David Firmstone
• David Firmstone… on painting, Island living & Island light

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