Autumn art classes from dot-art

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

The summer may be over, but don’t let it get you down; the autumn is a fantastic time to learn a new skill or rediscover a hobby you enjoyed in the past. This season, dot-art has new evening and weekend courses for adults starting in city centre locations, in a variety of creative subjects from Oil Painting to Life Drawing and Jewellery Making to Building Your Own Camera.

Starting at the city centre's creative hub, the Bluecoat, our ever popular 10 week evening course in Life Drawing, suitable for all levels from beginner upwards, returns on Tuesday October 6, and includes expert tuition and individual guidance.  Also on Tuesday evenings, we welcome back Richard Meaghan, who will once again be leading his popular evening course in Acrylic Painting. Over the ten weeks you will explore and investigate a broad range of traditional and contemporary painting processes and practices. Starting on Tuesday October 13 we see a return, due to popular demand, of the Jewellery Making in Metal 10 week course with Helen Leigh Dolan, suitable for beginners and allowing you to design and produce your own pieces of jewellery.

This season, we are introducing new photography days incorporating both theory and practice; participants will spend the morning learning from our tutor at the venue, then the afternoon putting that learning into practice around the city. On Sunday October 18, Introduction to Photography is suitable for beginners and those wanting a refresher, and on Sunday November 22, Photography Masterclass – Composition, starts a new series of events which will offer a deeper look at a specific aspect of photography. Also, on Sunday November 1, you will have the chance to Build Your Own Camera! Join Rachel Brewster and learn how to build and use your very own working “Konstruktor” camera in a day and take it home with you.

Over in south Liverpool, we continue our series of Sketching in the Palm House events at Sefton Park Palm House on Sunday September 13. These three-hour workshops give you the opportunity to learn or recap basic techniques to help you draw from observation, try different materials and express what you see through drawing, in unique and inspiring surroundings.

Our newest venue partner is Hope Street Ltd, who will be hosting a range of courses in their new space on Lord Street, in the city’s main shopping area. Starting on Monday October 5, Richard Meaghan will lead a 10-week evening course in Oil Painting (Intermediate), designed for those with some painting experience, or as a follow on to his Acrylic Painting course. From Tuesday October 6, Rachel Brewster will take photography lovers on a 10-week journey from Pinhole to Pinterest, offering a fascinating insight into traditional analogue photography and the art and craft of using vintage tools and techniques to experiment and have fun with photography.

Finally, looking forward to January 2016, we will be launching the first Liverpool Atelier of Contemporary Realism. This intensive two-week painting course has been developed by dot-art with artist and tutor Richard Meaghan, in response to the demand for a rigorous, systematic and collaborative approach to teaching artistic skills. The atelier will be a concentrated educational experience that encourages artistic study and the practice of drawing and painting from life to ensure a deep understanding of form, design, practise and discipline.

Full details, prices and booking information can be found at www.dot-art.co.uk/art-classes. These courses often sell out, so don't delay!

“There's a Disconnect in corporate art”: dot-art founder featured on Radio 4’s PM

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

"There's a disconnect in corporate art. It would be great if the big balance sheets at the top could start funding working artists at the other end." Dan Damon, PM, Radio 4, July 2 2015.

dot-art founder Lucy Byrne was interviewed for Radio 4's PM programme as part of a piece on the stark contrast between the top end of the corporate art market nationally and the work dot-art does with working artists in Liverpool; allowing businesses to commission, buy or rent original art, while supporting artists at the same time.

Journalist Dan Damon came to Liverpool and spent an afternoon with Lucy, visiting companies such as Bruntwood, Crystal Clear Skincare and JB Leitch, who have worked with dot-art to include art in the workplace; and meeting artists Gary Beach and Joe Thompson in their studios, discussing how producing and supplying work for corporate clients helps them support their practice and make a living as a creative.

To listen to the interview, visit https://youtu.be/YhRjez4w_r0.

dot-art schools 2015 winners announced

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

On Thursday June 4, two very special prize giving events took place in the stunning surroundings of the Concert Room of St George’s Hall, where almost 150 shortlisted students were presented with a certificate by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Tony Concepcion. In addition, the overall winners were announced and prizes awarded.

dot-art Schools 2015 Overall winner, Secondary: 'Study of Nature 1' Georgia Allen of Rainhill High School; dot-art Schools 2015 Overall Runners Up, Secondary: Cottage' by Alfie Hefferman of West Kirby Residential School and 'Self Portrait 17' by Ben Walsh of Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School; dot-art Schools 2015 Overall winner, Primary: 'Ocean Eye' by Marcel Auber of St Patricks Primary School; dot-art Schools 2015 Overall Runners Up Primary: 'Moving People 24' by Sophia Nicolas of Gwladys St; Primary and 'Landscape 8' by Lydia McManus of Springwood Heath Primary.

Before the opening event, guest judge Susan M. Coles chose the overall winners and runners up for both primary and secondary. Susan is known to many art teachers as the President of the National Society for Education in Art & Design in 2014 and Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Art Craft and Design Education. Susan remarked “Schools are under such pressure these days, so events like this are so very important- they highlight and showcase, celebrate and share ... Choosing a winner is hard as you are all winners. But because I had to choose I've looked for originality in the chosen winners, for skills in both thinking and creating and for getting that WOW factor when you stand in front of them.“

Explaining why she chose the Year 9 Overall Winner 'Nature Study' by Georgia Allen of Rainhill High School, Susan said: “It's a work of intricate layers also mounted and presented in layers - with tiny detail which draws the viewer into a quite amazing design. It shows great patience as well as skill.”

Anthony Bennett, Head of Art at Rainhill High School, responded: "Georgia is a student who is highly talented but goes un-noticed as she is very shy by nature. I think the success brought on by this dot-art Schools competition could finally cement what we have been telling her for the past 12 months, that she truly is a talented individual."

Each young artist won exclusive tickets to see Tate Liverpool's summer exhibition with guided tour as well as vouchers for art materials from Rennies Gallery. As well as this, the secondary winner, Georgia also received a scholarship to dot-art, giving her a year's membership to dot-art's network, allowing her to showcase and sell her work alongside professional artists.

This is the third annual dot-art Schools Exhibition, showcasing winning work by talented school children from across the Liverpool City Region; the competition has grown year on year and in 2015 includes winning art works from around fifty year 6 and year 9 pupils.

The dot-art Schools 2015 Exhibition is on now until Saturday June 20 and open to the public daily from 10.00-17.00 at St George's Hall. Entrance via the Heritage Centre.

Visit http://schools.dot-art.com or http://liverpoolcityhalls.co.uk/st-georges-hall/whats-on/dot-art-schoolsexhibition-2015/ for more details.

Thanks to an exciting new partnership with Merseyrail, there will also be an opportunity to see the dot-art Schools 2015 artwork in Central Station, Liverpool in July!

dot-art Schools is now recruiting both primary and secondary schools across the Liverpool City Region who would like to take part in the next programme, for 2015 -2016. Teachers interested in getting involved can find out more on the dot-art Schools website at http://schools.dot-art.com/register.

The dot-art Schools project is made possible with the generous support of its principal sponsor David M. Robinson, additional sponsor Rathbones PLC, funders The Liverpool One Foundation and Community Foundation Merseyside and partners St George’s Hall, Liverpool City Council and Merseyrail.

Portraits of Nature, Steward Ellett

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

Portraits of Nature, Steward Ellett (part of LOOK/15) at dot-art Exhibition Space, Rex Liverpool, May 15-August 30 2015

As part of LOOK/15, Liverpool’s International Photography Festival, dot-art brings an exhibition of wildlife photography by St Helen’s based photographer Steward Ellett to their exhibition space at Rex, Liverpool’s first concept store and home to a unique collection of independent retailers, artists and designers, right in the heart of Liverpool city centre.

For the past twenty years, Steward’s passion for wildlife photography has taken him around the world, aiming to create photographs that capture the real beauty of animals and their environment. The photographs in this exhibition portray a variety of wildlife in their natural habitats from many parts of the world.  It is important to the artist that whilst taking photographs of animals in the wild, he keeps any disturbance of the animals and their environment to an absolute minimum. This allows the wildlife to act in a natural way without any stress with the added benefit that when animals act naturally they become better photographic subjects.

Although there are images on display from the plains of Africa and the glaciers of Greenland, Steward often prefers the challenges of working closer to home:

"Even though I travel the world capturing images, one of my favourite and challenging places is the UK. Generally the wildlife in this country is harder to capture than in the likes of Africa, so the photographs of UK wildlife in this exhibition demanded a lot more time and effort to capture and therefore are amongst my favourites. Many of the photographs shown have involved hours of sitting and waiting; thus wildlife photographers have to like their own company. Quite often I have lay, sat, stood and even squatted for hours in an uncomfortable, hot/cold location without anything happening and not one photo has been taken. But this is all part of the deal and makes every image I do capture far more rewarding.”

The exhibition will be open to the public from Friday May 15 (Light Night) during regular shop opening times: Monday to Saturday 09.30-17.30 and Sunday 11.00-17.00. Rex can be found in the Lower Ground Floor of Rapid (old George Henry Lee Building) on Basnett Street, in the heart of Liverpool city centre.

Please call 0845 017 6660 or see www.dot-art.com for more information. All work is for sale and admission is free.

Commissioned artwork unveiled to mark the Chang-Everton partnership

Graeme Sharp, Kevin Ng and Alistair
Parker with the artwork at
Goodison Park.

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

An artwork commissioned through dot-art, by artist Alistair Parker, to mark the longest-standing shirt sponsorship in Premier League history between Everton and Chang has been unveiled at Goodison Park.

The artwork, which is made from over five thousand Chang Beer bottle tops, was commissioned by Chang beer and gifted to Everton to mark over a decade of friendship and celebrate the longest shirt sponsor partnership in Premier League history. The mosaic piece was revealed at Goodison Park on Thursday April 16, by the artist Alistair Parker, Club Ambassador Graeme Sharp, Richard Kenyon, Director of Marketing and Communications at Everton and Kevin Ng, Global Sales Director at Chang, on the side of the Park End Stand.

Chang has been the principal shirt sponsor of Everton since the start of the 2004/05 season and is a partnership based on mutual respect, understanding and shared goals. These key ingredients have provided the foundation for success, enabling both brands to grow internationally.

At the special event, Club Ambassador Graeme Sharp, said “The relationship has been fantastic for the Club over the years. We have not only made great friends in Thailand but reached out to a whole new fan base and help to make a difference to the lives of people both on Merseyside and in Thailand. I have visited Thailand on a number of occasions with the Club and have thoroughly enjoyed working with Chang to make a difference.”

Kevin Ng, Global Sales Director, Chang Beer, said “Our partnership with Everton has successfully launched the brand into the international spotlight. This artwork commemorates a friendship built on solid foundations and a partnership that is an ongoing success story to be proud of.”

The mosaic was created by local artist and Evertonian Alistair J Parker who described the commission as a “challenge he could not refuse”. Bottle tops for the carefully crafted mosaic were sent into Chang by waiters from Thai restaurants from all over the UK as part of a promotion.  Alistair said: “And as challenging as it was to make something appropriate for the occasion, I hope I have succeeded.”

Lucy Byrne, Managing Director of dot-art, who worked with Chang to develop the brief, source the artist and manage the project, added: “Alistair responded creatively to an unusual project and has created a striking, unique artwork to celebrate this milestone for Chang and Everton. We hope it will prove popular with fans in its prominent position at the entrance to the ground.”

For more information, visit www.dot-art.com or call 0845 017 6660.

Vote for talented young artists!

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

Voting for the third annual dot-art Schools 2014/15 competition opened on Wednesday April 1.

dot-art Schools is the annual online inter-school art competition which culminates in an exhibition of the winning artworks at St Georges Hall in June 2015.

The competition is open to both primary (Year 6) and secondary (Year 9) schools in the six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region, and is designed to nurture talent and raise ambition by taking art out of the classroom and into the real world.

The art competition has attracted around 50 primary and secondary schools from the Liverpool City Region.

Over 20 schools are getting involved for the very first time, alongside 30 schools returning to the dot-art Schools programme for the second or third successive year.

The diverse range of schools includes local authority maintained, independent, and church schools, as well as residential and special schools from across Liverpool, Halton, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens.

Carolyn Murray, dot-art Schools Project Manager, revealed: “This year's online competition showcases over 800 artworks by talented young people, from around 50 Liverpool City Region schools, making this the largest competition that dot-art have staged to date!”

The artwork has been short-listed by a panel of judges featuring representatives from Tate Liverpool, the Walker Art Gallery and Metal Culture, who selected their top three entries from each school ready for the public vote.

During the exhibition at St Georges Hall, guest judge Susan M Coles will choose the overall winners.

Susan is known to many art teachers as the President of the National Society for Education in Art & Design in 2014 and Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Art Craft and Design Education.

dot-art Schools are delighted to announce David M Robinson as their principal sponsor for the third annual inter-school art competition.

Lucy Byrne, director at dot-art, explained: “David first became aware of our work during a visit to the Walker Art Gallery for the John Moores prize judging (the company sponsored the First Prize in 2014), when he saw the dot-art Schools exhibition in the neighbouring gallery and was impressed by the high standard of the work.

“He is an art lover who really appreciates what we're trying to do with the programme, so it's a privilege to now have his support.

“David Robinson himself started out as a talented young goldsmith in the late sixties, winning several coveted awards which helped establish his reputation and develop a successful business.

“We're really pleased to be associated with a company which values quality and creativity.”

David M Robinson added: “As a boy, other than playing football for the school, there was only one other place I wanted to spend my time, and that was in the art room; I have great memories of my art teacher, John Hughes.

“This passion for art has followed me through life, and supporting the arts in the North West has become an integral part of our business.

“It is my absolute pleasure to be helping dot-art Schools inspire the imaginations of the school children of Merseyside.”

Alongside David M Robinson, dot-art have also attracted the support of Rathbones as a sponsor.

Carolyn commented: “We're really pleased to be associated with such a high-profile and well-respected national wealth management company, which also retains their strong Liverpool roots and has been closely linked with the community since its foundation 250 years ago.

“dot-art Schools are proud to have a company of this stature helping us to support young people's creativity across the Liverpool city region.”

Andrew Butcher, Rathbones Chief Operating Officer, said: “Rathbones has a proud history of assisting local organisations like the dot-art Schools competition.

“We are committed to investing in the next generation, and supporting the arts has become a core element of our engagement, not only with our clients but the broader
community.

“This initiative complements our work in both these areas.”

An exciting new partnership with Merseyrail means that the public will view shortlisted images from local schools at Merseyrail stations.

This will give the young artists a higher profile and boost their confidence while encouraging the wider school community to get involved and vote.

Sally Ralston, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Merseyrail, said: “We are delighted to be involved and support this year's dot-art Schools competition.

“It is a great opportunity to help showcase the work of these talented young artists, and also to add some colour to several of our stations across our network.”

dot-art are also grateful for the ongoing support of Rennies and Tate Liverpool who kindly agreed to donate prizes again this year.

Don't forget to vote for the work you would like to see on show at St Georges Hall!

The voting is open from Wednesday April 1 until Thursday April 30.

To vote for your favourite school entry online, visit http://schools.dot-art.com/votenow.

Spring Art Classes 2015 from dot-art

The classes at dot-art.

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

Make the most of the longer evenings and milder weather with dot-art’s new season of art classes and courses at the Bluecoat, with their new partners the Sefton Park Palm House and as part of the LOOK/15 International Photography Festival.

At the Bluecoat, dot-art welcomes the return of three very popular evening courses. Richard Meaghan will once again be leading an evening course on Tuesday evenings in Painting. Over the ten weeks, participants will explore and investigate a broad range of traditional and contemporary painting processes and practices. (This course has sold out quickly in the past so don’t delay!)  Their 10-week evening course in Life Drawing, suitable for all levels from beginner to expert, also returns from Tuesday April 21, and includes expert tuition and individual guidance. Also returning, after a highly successful first course over the winter, is Helen Leigh Dolan with her 10-week evening course in Jewellery Making in Metal, which will teach participants how to use a jeweller’s piercing saw, drilling, filing and polishing metal correctly and how to create colour, texture and patinas on metal. All tools and materials are provided, and you will come away with some stunning creations of your own!

Over at the Palm house in Sefton Park, dot-art are delighted to announce two new sessions of Sketching in the Palm House with Josie Jenkins, on Sunday May 17 and Sunday July 19. Led by award-winning artist Josie Jenkins, this three-hour workshop will give you the opportunity to learn or recap basic techniques to help you draw from observation, try different materials and express what you see through drawing, all in inspiring surroundings. The pilot day was a sell out and was such a success that capacity has been increased for these sessions, but it is still recommended to book well in advance!

Finally, dot-art are also delighted to be partnering with LOOK/15, the North’s premier Photographic Festival. Steward Ellett will be leading a series of four specially commissioned LOOK Photowalks over two weekends, which will encourage participants to take a fresh look at various aspects of our natural and man-made environment, in locations such as Crosby Beach, Sefton Park and St George’s Plateau.

Full details, prices and booking information can be found at www.dot-art.co.uk/art-classes. These courses often sell out, so don't delay!

Faith Bebbington Sculpture Exhibition

Faith Bebbington
Sculpture.

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: dot-art

This spring, dot-art is bringing an exhibition of sculpture by acclaimed local artist Faith Bebbington to their new exhibition space at Rex, Liverpool’s first concept store and home to a unique collection of independent retailers, artists and designers, right in the heart of Liverpool city centre.

Faith Bebbington gained her BA Hons. Degree in Fine Art: Sculpture from Winchester School of Art. She has over twenty years’ experience of creating sculpture, exhibiting and selling work across the UK and Europe, from her studio base in Liverpool. Her work has been commissioned for private, public and corporate settings across the UK by a range of clients including Knowsley Borough Council, The Football Association, the Canal and River Trust and Veolia Environment.

Faith talks about her approach: “My sculptural practice stems partly from being born with mild cerebral palsy - a disability that is almost imperceptible to most people, but has a daily impact on my life and makes me particularly conscious of my own and other people’s physical movements.  So I create sculpture that explores the process of movement; from the subtle actions many people take for granted such as being able to balance and simple coordinated movements like walking; to the more energetic actions used by sportspeople and performers.

"Another aspect of my work is exploring the body in motion, but free of all restrictions like jumping, climbing, swimming, skydiving, free running; it’s the moment in mid-air that interests me most! My sculptures are purposely universal, often genderless figures set in space, so the viewer can focus on the action or movement of the figure.

“To observe and capture energetic movement, I often use dancers and athletes as models to help achieve dynamic sculptural sequences. Several pieces in the exhibition were inspired by studying Liverpool dance company House of Suarez, with their distinctive Vogueography style which has its roots in the subculture of the 1970's and 80's gay club scene.”

Faith Bebbington also has close links with Merseyside Dance Initiative and is pleased to showcase her dance inspired sculpture during the Leap Dance festival.

This exhibition will be open to the public from Friday March 19 during regular shop opening times (Monday to Saturday from 9.30am-5.30pm and Sunday from 11am-5pm). Rex can be found in the Lower Ground Floor of Rapid (old George Henry Lee Building) on Basnett Street, in the heart of Liverpool city centre. All work is for sale and admission is free.

For further information, call 0845 017 6660 or visit www.dot-art.com.