Major art award on offer to Inverness-shire artists
A major prize could prove quite a draw for Inverness-shire artists.
They are being challenged to show their skills with the chance of winning up to £15,000 and a gold medal in this year’s national Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize. They could also see their paintings hung in London’s world-famous Mall Galleries.
Now in its 12th year, the country’s leading prize for representational and figurative art – art that seeks “to capture the real world” – is open for entries.
The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize is reputed to be one of the most prestigious for artists in the UK, offering total prize money of £30,000, including a first prize of £15,000, second prize of £4,000 alongside the newly introduced People’s Prize worth £2,000.
Young artists aged 25 or under can compete for the Young Artist Award of £4,000.
The competition is open to any artist resident in the Highlands and beyond painting or drawing works of representational or figurative art and over 18. Both amateur artists and professionals can submit up to four pieces of work.
For the third year running, the competition is also offering the Brian Botting Prize of £5,000 which will be awarded to an artist aged 30 or under for an outstanding representation of the human figure.
Leading artist Ken Howard OBE, who chairs the judges, said: “The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize celebrates the very best of British representational art and acts as a show case to the rest of the world. It’s all about the way in which our artists see the real world and capture it.
“We want as many entries as possible so that we can try to find new and talented artists who will benefit from the support the prize will offer them.”
Around 100 entries will be selected for display in London’s famous Mall Galleries for two weeks during March 2017, when the winners are also announced. Selected artists and their guests will be invited to attend.
Judges for the 2017 competition include:
- Ken Howard OBE RA NEAC, artist
- Professor Andrew Stahl, artist and professor, Slade School of Fine Art
- Benjamin Sullivan NEAC RP, artist
- John Martin, director. John Martin Gallery
- Daphne Todd OBE PPRP NEAC, artist
Created in 2005 by The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers and The Lynn Foundation, the open competition continues to champion the skill of draughtsmanship and figurative painting. The exhibition aims to reflect the breadth of approaches and materials from across the artistic spectrum.
The competition is open to all UK-based artists over 18. Artists are invited to submit images of up to four of their works online at: lps.artopps.co.uk. These works cannot have been exhibited before. Entry is £15 per work, £8 per work for students. Approximately 100 works will be selected for an exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London, from 6-19 March 2017. The exhibition will be hung and curated by artist Sam Wadsworth and Andrew Wilton, visiting research fellow at Tate Britain.
Deadline for entry is 5pm on December 19.
More info: www.lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk
