It's December - time to eat, drink, be merry and enjoy some festive cheer. And mulled wine. And mince pies. And glitter and sparkle and general Christmas goodness.

To celebrate a creative Christmas, our student ambassador Hannah Dickinson wants to tell us how to turn empty bottles into festive decorations. It's fun, affordable and totally on board with our #MAKEXMAS call this year - so use what you've got and transform those empty bottles into shining Christmas beacons. 

What you’ll need:

Lots of empty glass bottles
Montana spray paint
Spray Mount
Glitter 
Masking tape
Newspaper

 

What to do:

1. Clean the bottles thoroughly with warm water and soap. To remove the labels from any wine bottles, soak them in hot water with a few drops of soap for about 20 minutes. Then simply scrape or peel off the label - it's oh so satisfying!

2. Cover your work area with newspaper. No mess allowed on a landlord's carpet...(or your mum and dad's.)

3. Spray either the top or bottom half of a bottle with your chosen colour spray paint. Make sure you do this in a well-ventilated area, and preferably outside if you can bear the December cold!

4. Once the paint has dried, spray the other half of the bottle with the spray mount.

5. Sprinkle glitter over the area with the adhesive on, turning the bottle round and working in sections until it is covered completely. (This is easier than sprinkling glitter over the newspaper and rolling the bottle in it). Using two different colour glitters gives a really good ombre effect. If you can't use glitter at Christmas then when can you?

6. Using masking tape is also really effective. Put strips of masking tape around a bottle to create stripes, and spray the bottle in your chosen colour spray paint. Once this is dry, you can remove the masking tape to reveal some funky patterns.

 

Top Tips:

If you leave any transparent sections, put fairy lights inside the bottle to bring some added magic! But remember to switch them off when you go to bed - safety first!

Put candles in the top of the bottles and let the wax drip down the side – this looks really effective and old-school.

As an alternative to glitter, Cass Art stocks intricate gold and silver flakes that would work really well instead of the glitter.

By Hannah Dickinson, Student Ambassador

Feeling inspired?

Shop our Decoration range and get making your Christmases this year!

Share any of your top tips or photos with us on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #MAKEXMAS. 

Lobsters, Chanel bottles, intricate patterns and flower-laced skulls - they all feature in the work of Mark Petty. The London-based artist and screen-printer gave a talk at Cass Art Kingston this November, and now his exhibition is open for one weekend in December.

His show, Beautiful Petty Things, is sponsored by Urban Spaces and is open to the public at 5th Base Gallery in London, from 11am until 8pm on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December. 

Our Student Ambassador Sian Dowell met with Mark to learn more about his work, and get down to the nitty gritty details of how he creates his flamboyant and unique images.



Beautiful Petty Things

Mark Petty has only spent the last year making screen prints and illustrations to get his creative juices flowing again, and boy is the ink flowing from his fingertips and squeegee bits.

His inspiration comes from every eclectic angle, and his portfolio shows an array of interests: Victorian deco, American history, and a menagerie of fantastical hybrid animals, like bees and hummingbirds, lobsters and octopuses. His prints are a literal interpretation so that the visuals of the print are clear and eye-catching instantly. His print of a shark Galeophobia is made up of doddles of sharks from his childhood, as he admits openly that he was obsessed with sharks as a child. 

Petty also works closely with the idea of positivity, using type and image to create an uplifting piece to inspire his own positive thinking onto others. His piece Yes demonstrates that positivity is associated with the word, and it's not simply an answer to a question.

 

He hand renders each illustration using black pen, and then scans and converts it to vectors on Photoshop to experiment with the colours; he wants to really think about his colour palette, since experimenting with actual inks in the studio takes up a lot of time. Although it can sometimes work for the better in the creation of a new colour, it is a lot easier to know exactly what colours to mix, as his printing time is limited to the weekends. 

Every print is registered using acetate and masking tape to line up the paper and positioning. It can take hours of preparation to create a single print, by the time he has designed it, printed it and exposed it onto the screen, and all the stages in between. It’s a matter of practice makes perfect; some days go really right and some go really wrong.  

The charm that surrounds screen-printing is created by the mistakes. No two are the same; there could be overprinting, misregistration or patches of missing ink where it didn’t quite make it through the screen.  Mark Petty doesn’t deliberately make mistakes, but he knows that one mistake can give a piece even more personality alongside his already colourful characters of animals and lettering. Yet this is the attraction, because people know with his work that they own a truly unique piece.

Mark says that he finds it surreal knowing that people are hanging his prints in their homes, and that it will never be printed again. He keeps the ones with mistakes, but the perfect ones are all limited numbers. So you're lucky if you get your hands on one!

By Sian Dowell, Cass Art Student Ambassador

Feeling inspired?

Want to give screen printing a go yourself? Then try our Speedball Value Screenprinting Kit or the Speedball Deluxe Screenprinting Kit to create your own unique prints.

Mark Petty's exhibition is showing at 5th Base Gallery, 23 Heneage Street, London, E1 5LJ, on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December. 

Feeling Christmassy? Need to buy those Christmas gifts sooner rather than later? Want to buy some presents for the artists in your life? Then it's your lucky week, because Cass Art will be hosting a MAKE XMAS Shopping Day in all stores on Wednesday 10th December.

For one day only, we will be offering 10% off everything at every Cass Art shop. And if you fill your basket with £40 of art materials, you'll get 20% off everything - just because it's Christmas!

There will be other festive treats awaiting you too...

A Golden Ticket will be given away every hour to one lucky winner - they'll be randomly selected to get 25% off everything.

If you spend £30 then you'll automatically receive a free Limited Edition 'Art in a Bag' tote bag.

What's more, the Liquitex Basics Acrylic 22ML Set of 48 Assorted Colours will be on offer for the day at the excellent price of £19.95, when it usually sells at £26.95. It's the perfect paint set to sit under the tree this year, and at a great price.

Don't forget that all of our staff are artists themselves, so if you need any advice on buying creative gifts this year - whether it's for an illustrator, painter, student, professional or little artist - they'll be on hand and more than happy to help. 

Our Make Xmas Shopping Event will be hosted in all shops: our Islington Flagship, Charing Cross, Soho, Hampstead, Kensington, Kingston and also in our new shops Glasgow and Bristol.

Join us on Wednesday 10th December for a day of festive fun and get that Christmas shopping done! (Unintentional rhyming is another speciality of ours this December.)

Please note that the Xmas Shopping Event is only in-store and discounts will not apply online. We look forward to seeing you in our shops!

There was just one place left in the semi-final with the sixth episode of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2014 last night. The sitters this week included Divine Comedy sinsger-songwriter Neil Hannon, Star Trek actor Colm Meaner, and The Corrs violinist Sharon Corr.

The final heat took place at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The next episode will be the semi-final on the 16th December, with the finale airing on Tuesday 23rd December - what a pre-Christmas treat! 

One painter, Aine Divine, returned after competing in the Glasgow heat last year, and she was so happy she did. She was crowned the Dublin heat winner for her portrait of Neil Hannon, and we wanted to know how it felt to be there a second time round. 

Can you describe the day to us? How was it painting on a time limit with so many people watching again?

The Dublin heat was a fantastic day. I had been part of the Glasgow heat last year and so I felt more relaxed and knew what to expect. This mattered hugely as I think maintaining an even state of mind is crucial! 

I was determined to paint as I normally would, and my primary purpose was to be relaxed, and not get swept away by the excitement. To this end I did a grounding meditation in the morning; I had headphones on to tune out the hype a little! They were a Godsend and when I got going I ended up listening to my sister's fast paced running music, which helped me stay in the flow and keep active.

I have never minded painting in front of people/ I demonstrate a lot in my classes, and actually I felt really good vibes from the crowd because they were willing us on! I have lovely memories of members of the public coming up to congratulate me and saying lovely things about my painting. All in all it was a brilliant experience.

I am used to painting a model in a 4 hour sitting as I go to a class every week in Edinburgh (run by a fantastic tutor Damian Callan) where we paint well lit models for the day. So four hours was good. 

Were you satisfied with your final portrait?

I was satisfied with how I felt at the end of the day. I loved painting Neil's portrait and I wouldn't have done it any differently. I liked it when i looked at it in the end, but it's hard to see it clearly after working on it all day. It was a real privilege to take part, and I felt I could let go of the outcome, as I had enjoyed the day so much and painted as I wanted to. The fact that I won the heat was a huge bonus.

Why do you use watercolour over other types of paint – what is it you like about its quality?

I use watercolour but also oil and acrylic, really any media I think suits the subject. I enjoy watercolour paint because there is the possibility to be incredibly loose and expressive, and then the chance to achieve great detail. I love to go between these two ways of working throughout the painting. I love watercolour because the water allows the paint to move around the painting with very little manipulation with the brush; you create a channel and the paint flows into it. It's really exciting and freeing. 

Metaphorically, if you had to save just one famous painting from a burning building, which would you choose?

I think I would save Rembrandt's self portrait as an old man. It feels to me as though his paintings are so full of the human spirit and his self portraits in particular are so full of soul. It would be the death of something very rich were it to burn.

 

What motivates you to paint?

I am motivated to paint by the feeling it gives me, by the way it allows me to be grounded in the present moment and respond to what I see. I can be myself totally and paint out whatever's inside. As Van Gogh said: 'a painting to ease the mind'  

I am inspired by colour and light, and by the beauty in nature. I never tire of painting people.

Would you recommend the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year experience to other artists?

I would! I was very grateful to have had the chance to be a part of it, it's such a great opportunity. I loved being part of the Dublin heat as my parents and sister were there to support me - and they were delighted when I won!

Feeling inspired?

Catch Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2015 on Tuesdays, from 8-9pm on Sky Arts 1. The semi-final airs on the 16th December, with the finale on the 23rd December, so make sure you don't miss it!

Read our interview with the winner of last year’s Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2013, Nick Lord, here.

Stock up on your own painting supplies here to perfect your own portraiture painting, and browse our watercolour paint here.

You can visit Aine Divine's website here to see more of her artwork.

Is it that time again? Another Exhibition Evenings has come and gone with a whirlwind of student talent to go with it! As we approach the darkest depths of winter, what else would you rather be doing than soaking up colourful creativity fresh from undergraduate artist scene?

Students from across London gather together with HTB students to present a collection of works each month at House Gallery Camberwell. Taking part couldn’t be easier: simply submit your work via email to Exhibition Evenings and they’ll contact you for the following month’s exhibition. Oh, and it’s free!

Without further ado, let’s get on with November’s chosen creatives…

 

Fine Art second year student at Central Saint Martins, Emma Day's work extends an intriguing invitation to viewers to explore the animals that relate to their own human selves. Following small paper signs throughout House gallery, the audience are gradually led into a smaller room, where the narrative concludes. Emma uses animals and their relationship to humans to express thoughts on everyday encounters and decision making. Her furry friend of choice for November’s Exhibition Evening? A city fox. Emma’s encourages her audience to react to her work even interpreting it as a personal adventure or game - ‘Remember you are an animal. Follow your natural instinct’.

Lucy Crump, who featured in May’s Exhibition Evenings, has been hard at work with plenty more to show. Continuing her theme of video installations, although she dabbles in a whole range of mixed media, this final year Kingston Fine Art student Lucy’s work is influenced by documentary, the everyday, the forgotten and the unseen. She’s inspired by real life situations: overhearing conversations and observing actions. Her use of colour and carefully crafted footage will keep you absorbed until you become a part of her experimental and intriguing artwork. Video piece, 'Peeping Tom' loops endlessly and silently, inviting the viewers’ participation and interpretation, experimenting as two becoming one. As with everyone who takes part in Exhibition Evenings, Lucy is a diligent and driven creative worth checking out.


Radoslav Topalov's work is exquisite, there’s no two ways about it. Using white chalk and black charcoal, his poignant detailing is best showcased in high contrast figurative drawings. Studying at the London Atelier of Representational Art, Radoslav’s work encompasses elegance and power, his work is definitely worth your attention. On show were three classical cast studies, following his current interest in representational art and providing viewers with a refreshing nod to humanistic art.

Second year student of Photography at London College of Communication, Anne Erhard showcases a delectable range of her imagery taken on a variety of film cameras, both 35mm and medium format. Her forthright approach to capturing images portrays the world with an unapologetic hue, these images are real, and it’s hard not to be captivated by such work which is relatable and genuine. Her first piece, 'Shine forth' deals with ideas of knowledge, wisdom, circles, cycles as well as reflection and refraction. Following this, 'Ohne Titel' is an ongoing exploration of space and place and photography's ability to extend, multiply, re-arrange and re-connect the world as we first physically and privately experience it. Other areas Anne works in are zines and prints – we recommend you take a peek at her full portfolio!

 

View the full works of student artists on their personal sites: Anne, Lucy, Emma and stay tuned for more talent from Exhibition Evenings next month!

Feeling inspired?

Submit your work to be part of the next Exhibition Evenings on email (remember it’s totally free!) and check out some of the previous student artist works from the Cass Art blog.

The Cass family has a rich history within the art world, dating back many years. Alongside Mark Cass, the CEO and Founder of Cass Art, there’s Jeanette and Wilfred Cass, the founders of the Cass Sculpture Foundation, and Paul Cassirer, an important promoter of Impressionism in the 1920s.

But today we wanted to share two new names within the creative heritage…

Eric and Jean Cass are avid art collectors who seek pleasure in sharing the beauty of creativity with the nation. From their personal collection, they have donated a selection of fourteen Niki de Saint-Phalle works to Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow through the Contemporary Art Society.

Sainte-Phalle’s pieces cover all manner of painting, ceramics and sculpture. Her style is unmistakeably bold, bright and…well, beautiful. Some of the works kindly donated by Eric and Jean Cass include smaller sculpture pieces and ceramic furniture, sharing the sharp contrast from her large scale pieces.

The Eric and Jean Cass Gift, 2012 from Contemporary Art Society on Vimeo.

This isn’t the first time that Saint-Phalle and Scotland have crossed paths. Her interpretation of the Loch Ness Monster (or Monstre du Loch Ness if you prefer) stands in all its mirrored mosaic glory in the centre of Nice, France.

As well as the fourteen Saint-Phalles, a collection of letters, notes and drawings from the artist are on display which gives a more intimate glimpse into her fascinating life.

This is surely one of the most important philanthropic giftings in the history of the Contemporary Art Society, which will benefit public collections across the UK for generations to come. 

Why not brighten up a dreary winter’s day with a trip to the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow to see the collection of Niki de Saint-Phaille gifted by Eric and Jean Cass? And while you’re at it take a quick visit to our newly opened Cass Art store on Queen Street, only minutes down the road.

TELL A FRIEND

Know someone in Glasgow who would be happy to hear we've opened there? Then please Refer a Friend - we'd love to see them in our shop.

FEELING INSPIRED?

Find out more, including the exact location, of Cass Art Glasgow here.

Here at Cass Art we’re delighted with our new home on Queen Street, and we’re super excited to announce that the Art Space in our new Glasgow Shop is now open to the public!

It has launched with Art For All, an interactive exhibition by award-winning illustrator Marion Deuchars. Admission is free and the doors are open to adults, children, art-lovers and shoppers alike.

But what can you expect to see there?

Internationally-acclaimed for her activity books Let’s Make Some Great Art, Let’s Make Some Great Fingerprint Art and most recently Draw Paint Print Like The Great Artists, Marion’s exhibition in the Art Space is all about encouraging everybody to get creative and lose the fear of drawing.

 

Art For All includes two play desks scattered with visual guides, pens and ink pads so you can all get stuck in and discover illustration for yourselves. Draw aliens, make a monster, copy Mona Lisa’s smile or try out a self-portrait – whatever takes your fancy. The ipads on Cass Art's shop floor also allow you to make a drawing on the screen, and then have it hosted on Marion's website for all to see.

Back inside the Art Space, an interactive chalkboard is also awaiting your designs, so let your imagination take hold and finish Marion’s doodles by drawing directly onto the wall!

The exhibition also refers back to Marion’s famous activity books. Happy woodland creatures made out of inky fingerprints peer out from one wall, whilst her celebration of the great artists feature on another. Also, can you spot the elephant (and lion, dog and birds) in the room? Her hand-painted creatures are hiding in different corners…

 

Marion is originally from Falkirk in Scotland, and is a dear friend of Cass Art. She is the artist behind our Open For Art advertising campaign, and her signature hand-lettering can be found quoting famous artists on the walls of our shops. Her other creative projects have included commissions for Penguin Books, the Royal Mail, The Guardian, Samsung and the Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s.

Discover the freedom and fun that drawing can bring to all the family with Art For All - enjoy it this side of Christmas and visit again in the New Year, as it'll be open until March 2015.

 

Feeling inspired?
 
Art For All is open in Cass Art Glasgow until March 2015, during Cass Art Glasgow’s opening hours. The Art Space is located at the back of the shop on Queen Street.

Admission is free and we’d love to see you there!

Marion's Let's Make Some Great Art books are available in all Cass Art stores.

Hew new book, Draw Paint Print Like The Great Artists, is now available at Cass Art with some exclusive pages on Georges Seurat, which aren't available in any other copies.

Episode seven of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2014 is on tonight, and the action moves back to London as the semi-final is hosted in the Royal Academy of Arts.

The talented heat winners from this season will be painting head-to-head in the semi-final, and next week a select few will be back to paint Sir Ian McKellen in a gripping final episode hosted at the National Portrait Gallery. The overall winner will receive a £10,000 commission to paint actor Alan Cumming for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, as well as a year’s supply of Cass Art materials.

But who are you rooting for this year?

Let's have a recap of some of the heat winners to refresh your memories...

The first week saw Raoof Haghighi win his heat for his imaginative portrait of football legend Sol Campbell.

Scottish artist Alan McGowan was the second winner with his painterly depiction of Julian Fellowes.

 

The third heat had a shock ending with two painters being announced as joint winners, for the first time in the show's history. Both Christian Hook and Laura Quinn impressed the judges with their vibrant portraits.

The Cardiff Heat crowned Bill Bone the winner for his uniquely textured portrait of Ade Adepitan, and Sally Dyer was the next heat winner for her portrait of young Outnumbered star Daniel Roche.

Last but absolutely not least, Aine Divine won her heat last week in Ireland with her translucent yet powerful watercolour of Neil Hannon. 

Everyone's a winner here, but who do you think is going to be crowned the official Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year? There's only one way to find out and that's to stay tuned...

Feeling inspired?

Catch Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2015 on Tuesdays, from 8-9pm on Sky Arts 1. The semi-final airs tonight, with the finale on the 23rd December, so make sure you don't miss it!

Read our interview with the winner of last year’s Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2013, Nick Lord, here.

Stock up on your own painting supplies here to perfect your own portraiture painting.

Here at Cass Art we've very proud of our own brand products. Our paper ranges sport textural, painterly designs by Pentagram partner Angus Hyland, and our paintbrushes and portfolios represent the highest quality paired with outstanding value.

And as a special Christmas treat, we're delighted to announce that we're adding a new member to the Cass Art Own Brand family - the Professional Watercolour Travel Set. 

It's beautiful, compact, lightweight and includes the highest quality colours - everything you need in a watercolour set, and perfect as a charming stocking filler this Christmas.



But what's so special about it?

This new Artists' Quality Watercolour Travel set contains 18 quarter pans of watercolour. They are the highest quality, richest colours so that they won't leave any hard lines at the end of your brush strokes, so say hello to soft and translucent washes this season.

Vibrant and unparalleled, the colours are the result of precise forumulations using the very finest pigments. The colours inclue Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Red, Quinacridone Red, Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Rose, Prussian Blue, Coablt Blue, French Ultramarine, Viridian, Hookers Green Light, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Light Red, Burnt Umber, Payne's Grey and Ivory Black. (Who's to say that Christmas is a time for silver and gold? Variety is the spice of life!)

 

But all colours aside, what's more exciting about the Watercolour Travel Set is that - you guessed it - it's travel-sized for your convenience! Beautifully designed to come in a black enamel box with a lid, this also doubles up as a palette so you can mix your colours on the spot. 

The Cass Art Professional Watercolour Travel Set also comes in a protective leather pouch so you can pop it in your pocket just as you would a phone or wallet. Painting on the move has never been so easy or stylish. 

The set also includes a Size 3 Round Sable paintbrush so it really does have everything you need to capture those spontaneous moments of inspiration. 

To add another happy spin on it, the set is also available in all Cass Art shops, as well as online. So make someone's Christmas holiday with the Cass Art Professional Watercolour Travel Set, or treat yourself so you can start 2015 as you mean to go on - with style, charm and convenient creativity! 

Feeling inspired?

Take a closer look at the new Cass Art Professional Watercolour Travel Set here.

Looking for something that isn't travel-sized? Shop our range of watercolour products here.

Shop our Cass Art branded papers, paintbrushes, portfolios and more here. 

Cass Art in Glasgow is now open for art! Whilst exploring our new home, we took some time to chat to Mustafa Sarwar. Mustafa is a Communication Design student at Glasgow School of Art, a born and bred Glaswegian and wonderfully articulate in sharing how special the city really is.

What made you choose GSA for your studies?

Having grown up in Glasgow I saw first-hand the creativity and innovation that comes from the students at GSA, something I was keen to become a part of.

 

What has been your favourite part of studying Communication Design at GSA so far?

I love the freedom of expression we are afforded and how open the briefs are. My class is full of people with incredibly diverse interests yet we all seem to have one important thing in common: the desire to fully explore our own creative identities within the realm of Communication Design.   

What inspires you most about your city?

Glasgow has its own sense of humour, it marches to the beat of its own drum. There’s always an exhibition to go to, an artist giving a talk, a meeting of minds to attend, a good club night to enjoy. It’s a city full of character and boundless energy.  

 

We agree! But what is your working process like? What inspires you?

I’m inspired by everything from fashion, to films to music to the people I surround myself with and the city itself. When I’m working I try to have as much fun as possible and I always know that if I’m not enjoying what I’m making/doing then it’s probably not going to work out. I like to talk to people about my work because I don’t think creativity can exist in a vacuum; it’s all about how it’s perceived by others. 

What are you hoping to achieve in your creative career?

I don’t know exactly what I want to be doing when I leave GSA, that’s partly the beauty of it. I’m there because I want to learn more about myself as a creative practitioner and I’m hoping that by the end of my time there I’ll be in a better position to answer that question.  My interests lie mainly in still and moving image so I imagine I will end up doing something in either/both of these areas. 

 

Check out more of Mustafa’s work and photographs on his blog.

TELL A FRIEND

Know someone in Glasgow who would be happy to hear we've opened there? Then please Refer a Friend - we'd love to see them in our shop.

FEELING INSPIRED?

Find out more, including the exact location, of Cass Art Glasgow here. 

A new year is on the horizon and with it comes the promise of some very exciting art exhibitions. Here's our pick of the up and coming corkers that you really won't want to miss...

Rubens & his Legacy: Van Dyck to Cezanne
24^th January – 10^th April at The Royal Academy

Peter Paul Rubens has been hailed as the ‘prince of painters’ – a title he arguably deserves! See his range of works for yourself at the Royal Academy early this year, curated into six themes; power, lust, compassion, elegance, poetry and violence. Rubens’ influence can be identified in prints by an array of great artists Picasso, Rembrandt and Van Dyck to name but a few. For the first time, see the work of these great artists alongside their influence, Rubens. A highly anticipated show that brings together uncountable masterpieces and celebrates Rubens’ incredible legacy – not one to miss!

 

Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends
12^th February – 25^th May at The National Portrait Gallery

During the Edwardian period John Singer Sargent was considered to be the leading portrait painter of his generation, and who are we to argue? Over the course of his life, Sargent produced over 900 paintings, 2000 watercolours and endless sketches and drawings. From this vast selection, the National Portrait Gallery applauds seventy pieces of his portraiture from his travels to the US and Europe, demonstrating his unique style and personal interpretation. Featuring a range of never-been-seen-before pieces from private collections, pencil this one in the diary.

Human Rights Human Wrongs
February – April at The Photographers’ Gallery

A particularly poignant and significant exhibition to make time for this year (and close by to Cass Art Soho which is always a plus). Visit the Photographers’ Gallery to see Human Rights Human Wrongs, a collection of over 200 original prints from Black Star Photo Agency. It explores the importance of photography as a medium for documentary and accessing our past. Presented as a global exploration rather than a series of individual stories, journey from 1945-early 1990’s following political upheavals and social tension.
 

Ai Weiwei
19^th September – 13^th December at The Royal Academy

Is there an easy way to introduce Ai Weiwei? He is a living legend and his visionary, increasingly political work has landed him in all sorts of trouble but we’re indebted to his perseverance in consistently commenting on cultural change. The RA hosts his first major British exhibition featuring a variety of mediums and exploring his own Chinese culture, underpinned by the theme of freedom. The Royal Academy say ‘When he speaks, the world listens’, and let's face it: they’re right.

Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots
30th  June – 18th October 2015 at Tate Liverpool

This is the first exhibition in more than three decades to show Pollock’s 'Pour Paintings', made between 1951 and 1953 and deviating from his infamous 'drip' technique. These lesser known pieces shed light on an extremely influential part of his practice, as well as showing some never-before-seen sculpture and drawings by one of the most provocative artists of the twentieth century.

The World Goes Pop
17^th September – 20^th January at Tate Modern

We're planning well in advance for this one, but if 2014 has taught us anything it’s that winter needs more colour. That’s exactly what we’ll get at the Tate Modern’s Pop Art Exhibition next September. It explores how the spirit of Pop Art was rejoiced across the globe – from Latin America to the Middle East, from Europe to Asia. Reaching beyond Western consumer culture, this exhibition of over 200 works, will show other messages made with Pop Art’s vibrant style. Plus we love the title.

Have we missed one?

Shout out about any upcoming shows that aren't to be missed in 2015 on Twitter, using the hashtag #cassart, and we'll give you a retweet. 

Image credits:

Ushio Shinohara, Doll Festival, 1966 © Ushio Shinohara, Photo courtesy of Tokyo Gallery+BTAP
 
Dr. Pozzi at Home by John Singer Sargent, 1881. The Armand Hammer Collection, Gift of the Armand Hammer Foundation. Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

Bob Fitch, Martin L. King (Dr Martin Luther King Jr.) Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America, December 1965, Gelatin silver print, BS.2005.177499 / 106-364. The Black Star Collection, Ryerson Image Centre

It’s official – Christian Hook is the winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year!

Originally from Gibraltar, Christian studied Technical and Scientific Illustration at Middlesex University before going on to be a successful illustrator. He worked with several major publishers in London, and worked on projects for Disney and National Heritage before he became a lecturer. After some time teaching, Christian discovered his love of abstract painting, and was soon approached by the Clarendon Fine Art in Mayfair. It was on a day making marmalade with a friend (true story!) that he watched a clip of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, and he decided to make a painting and enter.

A huge congratulations to Christian, who has won a year’s supply of art materials from Cass Art as part of his prize, and a £10,000 commission to paint actor Alan Cumming. We caught up with Christian at our Islington Flagship to hear his thoughts on the show and his painting.

 

Congratulations on being crowned the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year! How does it feel?

It’s amazing really, it’s been a long journey. All the people who entered have been working consistently since the summer. I couldn’t concentrate on much else, because I had to fly back and forth to Gibraltar, so it’s great to come to the end of it and win! Also there were some great professional artists competing, all at the top of their game, which makes winning even more special. My process is part of the artwork in some way, and perhaps more suitable to painting under timed conditions because I paint in layers. It allowed me to work to different time scales which I think other artists found difficult. But I feel truly honoured that I won next to some truly brilliant artists.

 

What is your favourite memory of the show?

The small film we made in New York, after I was made the winner. I was given a lot of freedom by the director Danielle Graham and I had a few really exciting ideas that she let me work with. It’s about an hour long and it’s going to air after the series is over, so look out for it!

What’s your advice for anyone who wants to get into painting?

There are no shortcuts if you want to be an artist. If you’re determined and hardworking and you have the sensitivity to make good choices in your development then it’s just a matter of time until something happens for you.

It’s the perils of life itself – we’re emotional creatures, so whether it’s relationships or something else – that make us lose focus of our dreams. That’s the real killer. It’s not a lack of talent. Those that want to achieve are the ones that go onto succeed.

Which art supplies will you be stocking up on? Do you have a preferred medium?

I prefer working in Georgian oils, because the viscosity of the paint is softer and easier to mix. I often work with Winsor & Newton Waterbased Oils though, just because I often work quickly for commissions and my work needs to be dry sooner. I usually mix with a palette knife and the Waterbased Oils have a stiff consistency that works well.

Can you talk a little about your work and your process?

My course at Middlesex University gave me an opportunity to learn traditional techniques. The creativity was really limited, but it gave me a proper understanding of drawing and technical techniques on acrylic, watercolour, oil paint – on all art materials at a high level. I think that helped a lot in bringing my ideas to fruition.

Then I became quite a successful illustrator in the UK, illustrating over 150 books. Illustration taught me how to work on a restricted time scale. There’s no time for excuses. You either deliver or you’re out, and I think I learned a lot from that. And I’d worked on so many different projects that were near impossible – for the English Heritage, I had to get a bird’s eye view of Audley End, and I built a rocket with a camera and it got stuck in a tree…until eventually I went to an airport and got on a practise flight with a student to get photos from the air. I dropped my lens from the plane, but I didn’t kill anyone which was good!

 

After a time I headed back to Gibraltar because I missed the weather. But I got ill, and the phone kept ringing with all these questions about whether I’d finished this project and that project, and I just thought – that’s it. I called my agent and told him I wasn’t taking on any more projects, I was done. From then on I started working in a secondary school teaching art, and that introduced me to more abstract work. I made friends with abstract artists and also toured Spain with a famous band as their guitarist. The process of writing a song gave me complete clarity on working on art with no subject matter. From nothing you give birth to a song, and it’s the same with art.

Also I saw a painting by Antonio Lopez – he’d painted a scene of Madrid every day for ten years. There’s something in his work that haunts me, he goes deeper than the surface of things…and when he finished he’d captured the change in Madrid on his canvas. His painting became a time machine, and I’ve explored this ever since. I never paint a subject, I always paint a time frame. Nothing is still. I read Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, and I believe in this concept that people are always waiting for something. We wait for something that lasts a minute, and then we’re waiting for the next thing. Everything happens in between, and I developed this idea in my painting. I freeze frames, and paint a new painting with each layer.

How did you hear about Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year?

I had my first solo show last year at the Clarendon Gallery, and I left school because my paintings were selling and doing quite well. I was splitting my time between London and Gibraltar. Then one day I was making marmalade with a friend – he owns some land and orange trees, and he makes the Queen’s favourite marmalade, sends her boxes of it – and he put on an episode of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year and asked if I’d seen it. There was a week left to apply so I made a painting quite quickly – I knew we’d be in timed heats so I didn’t think there was any point taking days to make something – and sent it over. Then I got a call.

 

What are your plans for the future, and what did you learn from Sky Arts?

Before I was on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, I was working with some well-known artists on some very different disciplines – a famous Spanish sculptor, for example. The project is called “Inspiration From The Past” and it’s all about working together but separately, allowing the viewer to interact with the work, and that’s forming the basis of my next show in Mayfair in October. Being on the programme has been fantastic as it’s bringing in many more commissions but it turns out I’m now even busier than before!

Storyvault, the production company that made the series for Sky Arts, took everything very seriously. There was a real emphasis on the art itself, which I didn’t expect, but I thought that was brilliant. It gave me the chance to interact with other artists, and I try to learn from everyone. It’s important to learn all the time from everyone but not be wavered by other people’s opinions. If I could say one thing to other artists it would be ‘Don’t listen to anyone.’ You shouldn’t be limited by other people’s ideas of what isn’t achievable. 



Feeling inspired?

'Portrait Artist of the Year – Painting Alan Cumming’ will air on Sky Arts 1 on Tuesday 30^th December at 8pm.

You can visit Christian Hook's website here.

You can read our interviews with all of this year's Sky Arts Portrait Artist heat winners on our blog.

Read our interview with last year's winner Nick Lord here. 

It’s a little secret in the artistic community that in order to be creative, you need to keep creating - and it’s not always easy. We chat to journalist and author, Jack Shamash, who has embarked on an ambitious project to write a book a week for a whole year. Introducing us to his second book Drawing as a Pastime, Jack shares his project and the nature of inspiration…

What inspired you to embark on the project a Book a Week?

I've been a professional journalist for years but there are stacks of things that I always wanted to publish and somehow never managed. Last year I wrote a book on George V. I couldn't find a publisher, so I put it out on Kindle. It got a really good response, so I figured it was a good idea to drag out a lot of manuscripts from under the bed and publish them. I also had lots of journalism that i wanted to compile into books. It's been great fun doing it.

What can artists expect to find in Drawing as a Pastime?

Drawing as a Pastime was an entirely new book. I'm not a great artist but I love drawing. And when I'm in a museum sketching, people always come up to me and ask me lots of questions. People are very interested in drawing.

The first half of the book is full of interesting ideas about why it's good to draw. I quote from a number of philosophers and cultural critics. These days people don't really look at things properly. They just snap pictures on their mobile phones. But if you draw, you really study things in detail and it's very absorbing and relaxing. You learn about the world around you, and you start talking to people. And it's wonderful for kids - give them a sketchbook and they'll spend ages looking at a dinosaur or an aircraft.

 

For artists, I tell them always to bring a pad, pencils and even paints wherever they go. I quote Winston Churchill - a keen painter - who pointed out that if you're drawing you're never bored. Even if you're stuck in an airport, you can sketch away quite happily. I tell people what equipment to bring and where to sit - I usually find a cafe and sip a coffee for 40 minutes while I'm drawing.

How do you manage the creative process of producing a book a week?

Producing the books is a real challenge. I've got to find something to put in each book and I've also got to prepare a cover. I either use my own artwork on the cover or I look on the internet to find pictures on which I don't have to pay royalty. I have to be very inventive. I also have a launch party every week. Everyone is welcome and I usually buy a drink for any newcomers. Details of new books and launch parties are on my website.

Does the process of creating visually help to inspire creativity in your writing and vice versa?

Having to do the visual work does make my writing more creative. I have to come up with loads of interesting ideas - most of which are completely ridiculous. But I've some nice things in the pipeline. I'm also having to illustrate some of the books, because I can't afford an illustrator. One of my books of poetry - Poems about Misery and Death - is full of my illustrations. So it's pushing me in new directions.

 

Can you predict the results of the project for week 52?

By the end of the process, I will have 52 books. I don't expect to make a fortune, but some of them are selling steadily. And I'll have far fewer manuscripts under my bed. This is my eleventh week and I've published two novels, two books of poetry, a book about drawing and a graphic novel, so it's great that they're getting read.

Feeling inspired?

Jack Samash's books are available on Amazon, where you can pick up a book for only 77p (which can be downloaded onto any kindle device - or onto an iPad or smartphone or PC with a kindle app, which is free).

Check out Jack Shamash's website here, and you can purchase his book here.

Images Credits:
Jack Shamash: Admiralty Arch, Great Portland Street, RAF Museum in Hendon.

We’re kick starting the New Year with some very exciting news:  a new Michael Harding oil colour has been released! Amethyst is the brand new colour now available, and what’s more, it’s exclusive to Cass Art for a limited time only – you can’t get your arty hands on it anywhere else in the UK.

Amethyst is a shade of violet and a type of quartz often used in jewellery. Coming from an Ancient Greek term that means ‘intoxicated’, the stone was believed to protect its owner from drunkenness…the perfect colour if you’re feeling a little tender after the festive period.

You can buy the new Amethyst here. To celebrate this stunning new release, we asked Michael Harding himself, legendary oil maker and close friend of Cass Art, about the inspiration behind his new colour.

Can you tell us about your newest colour, Amethyst?

Amethyst is a mixture of three well known colours that came together with the most extradinary beauty. I struggled for days to think of a name as nothing seemed to do it justice. I didn’t want my new colour to have a name borowed from other historic colours since this would have been a little dishonest and perhaps pretentious. Amethyst is a mixture of ultramarine, quinacridone red and dioxazine violet pigments in a unique balance creating an incredible hue. 



Why did you choose Amethyst as your next colour?

I added this beautiful colour to my range for many reasons. Over the past years I have conducted hundreds of demonstrations working with thousands of artists. Often, the conversation turns to the cost of my beautiful Cobalt Violets. Artists ask if there are other colours of equal and interesting beauty within the violet range. I found that a mix of several well-known, highly permanent pigments create a beautiful Amethyst. The colour has incredible vibrancy and is a very lovely shade to use in any type of painting. It also gave me the opportunity to be the "crazy colour chef” and to have good fun mixing pigments and oils to create a new colour. I am delighted to say my Amethyst has achieved a resounding “WOW" by all so far! 

However, with a new colour like Amethyst I do ask forgiveness from some of my "hardline traditionalist" followers who might see this as a tad silly and self-indulgent. But please just have a look and play with my new Amethyst and brace yourself for its jewel-like appearance and vibrancy along with my signature texture. I do have plenty of special surprises in store for the traditionalists and I promise to share some very good news soon…

 

How do you decide which is going to be your next colour? 

Deciding which colour is next depends on my mood … if I don’t like the look of a colour or if is not romantic enough I often forgo making it. As I get older I detect some very strange feelings in response to colours - perhaps its the artist in me having a Vincent Van Gogh moment!

Do you have a favourite colour of all your paints?

In short many colours are my favourites, especially colours that are born out of my own pigment making like my Stack Lead White, which has great historical significance. Or my current obsession in developing my own Vermilion pigment. My favorite colour can be either a modern exotic colour or an ancient colour with deep history. In many ways my colours feel like my children and it is hard to select amongst them a single favorite.

 

How many colours are available now?

We currently have a range of 84 colours but this will grow in 2015 to 100. 

Can you tell me about how you got into mixing your own oil paints? What made you decide to do this?

I made my own oil paints for one only reason. I wanted to paint like Rembrandt and could not get the paint affects he achieved so my quest began. Friends pushed me to sell my handmade paints and the rest, as they say, is history.

And just to round off, here are some quotes from some of Michael Harding's biggest fans, about why they rate his paint:

"Michael Harding Oils are beautifull honest paints for the beautifully honest act of painting." - Chris Ofili

"The first quality oil paint. Excellent." - David Hockney

"These are the best oil paints in the world today." - Howard Hodgkin 

Feeling inspired?

You can shop for all of Michael Harding's oil colours up to 35% off in our Winter Sale, as well as get an extra 10% off when you spend £100 on Michael Harding. The sale offers include the new Cass Art Exclusive Amethyst, here.

Shop all Michael Harding products here and shop the sale here.

Happy New Year to all you art-lovers out there! But what's your New Years Resolution - give up chocolate? Exercise more? Or perhaps it's something to cultivate the creator in you, and if it is, then we whole-heartedly support that resolution.

Here at Cass Art we want to encourage everyone to find the creator, the crafter and the maker in themselves - and as a special 2015 treat, we've put together some inspiring words from some of history's beloved artists to inspire you to get creating this year.



A creative genius if ever there was one, Walt Disney created the renowned character Mickey Mouse and was the man behind the first full-length animated motion picture ever made. We're all guilty of talking about making changes and acting on ideas, but if's when you start acting on them that the magic really happens.

 

The beloved British sculptor Henry Moore was a prolific artist and creator of organic, rounded forms. He was also an avid sketcher of sheep, people and the English countryside. Believe in art and believe in life - get out there and fuel your creative needs, and you might be surprised at how optimistic and rejuventated you feel. 



An early Modernist who excelled in various practices including painting, illustration and tapestry, Marc Chagall was a champion of colour and a pursuer of the reoccuring beauty of nature. (Plus his painting features in the famous British rom-com, Notting Hill. Bravo!) See the world afresh in 2015 and let it inspire your art, just as Chagall did.

 

The great Georgia O'Keefe has got it right - art gives you a language that cannot be expressed by any other means. Explore form, colour and shape to express yourself, and experiment with different ways of art-making. We've each got a special creative voice and now's the time to find your own.



So she's not an artist in the creative sense, but Gail Devers was three-time Olympic champion for the USA, and we think artists could learn a lot from her drive and determination. Make that difficult decision to give something a go - pick up a pencil or paintbrush, turn that page of your sketchbook, and dedicate a bit of time to your art, and success will be yours in 2015. 

Feeling inspired? 

Start making and fuelling your creative resolutions in 2015, and shop our sale to stock up on your art supplies. 

The history of colour is an inspired one, and one close to our hearts here at Cass Art. One of the masters in telling its story is Michael Harding, esteemed maker of oil paints used by professional and legendary artists worldwide. Using age old methods, Michael Harding’s fans include Florence Academy of Art, David Hockney and Rupert Alexander. We wanted to refresh your memories as to why his oil paint is the favourite of so many names in the art world.

Using his own quotes about pigment as well as testimony from some legendary artists, we want to show why Michael Harding's oil paint is so often the professional artist's paint of choice.

(Plus we thought it would be a great way to celebrate the release of the brand new Michael Harding colour Amethyst.) 

“If you think of paint as a two-part material, with the oil being the glue that binds the pigment particles into place, it is the pigment that is responsible for delivering the colour.” - Michael Harding

While humans have been making art, we’ve used pigments from unusual sources such as botanical materials, animal waste, insects and molluscs. All these unusual materials have been harvested and traded over long distances. Some colours were costly or impossible to mix with the range of pigments that were available and that's why blues and purples came to be associated with royalty - because  they were just so expensive. For instance Tyrian Purple is a pigment made from the mucus of one of several species of Murex Snail. Michael Harding's oil paints are all handmade from organic materials.

 

“Historically painters made pigment by dry grinding with a pestle and mortar until they made a fine powder. In the case of Lapis Lazuli (the original version of Ultramarine Blue) excessive grinding simply causes the blue colour to disappear!” - Michael Harding

Lapis Lazuli was more expensive than gold until two French scientist synthesised it in the 18 century.

"Michael Harding Oils are beautifull honest paints for the beautifully honest act of painting." - Chris Ofili

Michael Harding began making oil colours in 1982, because he wanted to reproduce the intensity of colour that the Old Masters would have used before mass production began in the 1840s. All the Michael Harding oils are handmade and matched by eye rather than machines. They are wholly unique, varying by a tiny degree between each batch. Every tube has an extremely high oil content and responding to popular demand, he has recently started producing a range of special mediums and varnishes to complement his colours. 

“Vermilion in its natural form was called Cinnabar, a granular terra-cotta-like mineral which was gathered by shooting arrows at seams exposed in cliff faces.” - Michael Harding

Many pigments were made using very obscure methods; Indian yellow pigment used to be sourced from the urine of cows that had been fed mango leaves. (Although it’s not manufactured like that anymore...we promise!)

 

"The first quality oil paint. Excellent." - David Hockney

The choice of painting professionals, Michael Harding oil paints have excellent lightfastness. This means they won't discolour over time, and are made for long-lasting paintings set to be on show for many, many years. His wide range of colours inlcudes both contemporary and historical shades, based on research into the Old Masters and his consultation with current artists. 

“The widespread modern use of Ivory Black is now made from charred animal bones, originally from ivory scraps.” - Michael Harding

In the 17^th Century Emerald Green was used as an under coat before wallpapering, as it was the cheapest colour to get hold of. Unfortunately it was made from arsenic, and it's purported to have caused poisoning in Napoleon.

"These are the best oil paints in the world today." - Howard Hodgkin 

High praise from one of the greatest painters of our time - but well-deserved praise it is, too. Michael Harding uses only the finest of the finest pigments, including genuine Afghan lapis lazuli and real Chinese Vermilion, grinds in refined cold-pressed linseed oil (or occasionally safflower oil) to ensure the highest degree of permanence. He also refuses to use fillers, extenders and driers.

"I leave out the rubbish and put in only what should be in a paint so anyone can use them with ease and pleasure." - Michael Harding

So there we go - his paints are made to be pure. They'll change the way you paint, the way you view colour, and ultimately make the act of painting even more of a joy. 

Feeling inspired?

Shop our Michael Harding paints, including his new colour Amethyst which is exclusive to Cass Art for a limited time only, here. 

Our sale is now on - get 10% off Michael Harding when you spend £100. There is also up to 35% off individual Michael Harding tubes. Shop all Michael Harding products here and shop the sale here.

The long awaited 2015 is here, which means it’s time to drop the P from your party hats and get back to the studio! To celebrate the beginning of the Cass Art Sale, we’ve selected our favourites to make shopping for art materials a little easier this January...

It seems that the dark days of winter are still stretching ahead of us. Brighten up your days with the Daylight Company Easel Lamp. It does what it says on the tin and more – clamping firmly to your easel with an extra-long cable and optimum brightness to help artists who favour the smallest of details. Work through the night at your ease!

 

 Speaking of easels, Mabef’s M10 H-Frame Easel is finely crafted from oil, stain resistant beech wood and would make the ultimate addition to any artist studio. Simple to assemble and suited to canvases up to 120cm tall, any creative who enjoys working at a large scale deserves a Mabef. Cass Art has big love for Mabef, with a sneaky suspicion that fellow artists will too. 

 

Start the year as you mean to go on with a beautiful Set of 14 Dr Martins Inks. The concentrated formula means they’ll last for ages and the colour is the most vivid on the market. Use with brush, nib, aqua brush or air brush for illustrations or design projects. This range of 14 colours offers a balanced set for everyone.

 

Our sale is the best time of the year to indulge in luxury materials at half the price – literally! Hailed by Pablo Picasso, the Sennelier Box of 120 Oil Pastels provides all the pastels you’ll need for the whole of 2015. The intensely pigmented colour matched with the creamiest of textures allows Sennelier pastels to thoroughly cover a wide range of surfaces. After the season of giving, why not splurge a little on yourself in the sale?

 

2015 is a time for Oil Paint – haven’t you heard? For artists who are keen to begin with oils, the Cobra Set of 10 Water Mixable Oil Paints is the place to start. Making the transition from acrylics to oils is simple, Cobra’s range are mixable with water. The set also comes with a medium for you to try your hand at blending oils. Complete with palette dipper and two flat brushes, grab a canvas and you’re good to go!

 

Our Student Ambassadors are always raving about Copic’s range of markers – for the designers and illustrators among us, why not invest in your own Set of 10 for the New Year? Copic’s shades of natural grey set give subtle hues and shading to drawings and designs, excellently demonstrating the effects you can achieve with their chisel and precision nibs.

Feeling inspired?

Shop the full range of our art supplies on sale here. 

A homeless man wrapped in a tartan blanket was the iconic portrait that won the BP Portrait Award last year. Painted by Thomas Ganter, an artist and illustrator from Frankfurt, his portrait of a homeless man named Karel humbled the judges, asking the viewer to consider dignity, respect and the coexistence of wealth and poverty.

Now the good news is it could be the time for your own painting to shine,  because applications for the BP Portrait Award 2015 are now open. This year, it's easier to enter than ever before. For the first time in its 36 year history, all artists are invited to submit their portraits digitally rather than sending the physical artwork.

 

To enter the BP Portrait Award 2015, all you have to do is upload a photograph of your finished painting to the BP Portrait Award website. Your piece will then be considered by the judges in the first round of the competition. The successful entrants in this round will then be invited to hand-deliver or courier their work to a venue in London for the second round of judging and final exhibition selection.

The judging panel will be chaired by Pim Baxter, Deputy Director of the National Portrait Gallery. Other judges include Sarah Howgate, Contemporary Curator of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Mawhinney, Head of Art at National Museums Northern Ireland, artist Peter Monkman, Historian Simon Schama and Des Violaris, Director, UK Arts & Culture, BP.

Previous winners of the BP Portrait Award have included Wim Heldens for his portrait Distracted, and Peter Edwards for his portrait of Marguerite Kelsey.

A prize that inspires originality and brings together both traditional and contemporary portraiture, it's one of the highlights of the art calendar every year, and who knows, this year could be yours to win.



Feeling inspired?

You can enter the BP Portrait Award 2015 here. Applications close on Tuesday 3rd February 2015, so there's plenty of time to get your portraits perfected.

The BP Portrait Award 2015 exhibition will run at the National Portrait Gallery from Thursday 18th June to Sunday 20th September 2015.

Image credits:
Image 1 - Luciana by Javier Palacios.
Image 2- Thomas Ganter, BP Portrait Award 2014 first prize winner, with Man with a Plaid Blanket. Photograph by Jorge Herrera. 
Image 3 - Distracted by Wim Heldens, BP Portrait Award 2011 first prize winner, 2011 © Wim Heldens