Artist - Silas Birtwistle

We are pleased to bring to your attention   

A Table from the Sea's Edge 

which we have the honour of offering for sale to a new owner.  

For those of you who do not know about this global fine art work, please watch the videos and follow the links to learn more about the table and 12 chairs which have already travelled the world and been the backdrop for dignitaries and celebrities from Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, board members of WWF, to Harrison Ford actor and Vice Chair Conservation International, Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Mohammad Al Saud of Saudi Arabia (business man and Arab eco-compaigner),  Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme,  etc.... 

The work has been the centre piece from the International Conference on Biodiversity Nagoya, Japan to Davos Switzerland, World Summit and most recently is on view at the World Museum, Liverpool.

"....The artwork reflects international concerns about threats to the environment from global warming, pollution, population and other factors. The table is set to tour the globe and its first residency is in Liverpool at World Museum.  

Silas says: "I collected the driftwood from the four corners of the world with help from indigenous communities and local environmental non-governmental organisations, most notably the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). The table symbolises the meeting between land and sea, connections between human land-based activities and the coastal and marine environment, the links between cultures and the need for dialogue and agreement between countries to ensure the protection of biodiversity.” 

Click to see the short film on how the project came to be:

                                  

Most recently in May of this year (2011),  at the specific request of MISSION (NOKIA'S PR company)  who were seeking extraordinary UKprojects to navigate between with the new NOKIA E7  incorporated Silas as part of the new Nokia TV Advert. It featured amongst their Destination E7 Visit highlights, Silas gathering wood for two feature Carver Driftwood Chairs  

- the concept of his magnificent furniture....for sustainable living and epitomising sustainable art, biodiversity, a global world view and everything for which this project stands.

             

Perhaps most eloquently of all, speaking of the project and artwork, Ahmed Djoghlaf Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) :   

“I would like to thank WWF, FSC and Maersk Line for supporting this unique project and I invite others to make use of the table and enable its exhibition during 2011, the International Year of Forests.    But most of all I want to thank and to congratulate Silas Birtwistle. Among all those who have contributed to the celebration of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, I know of no one who has dedicated such personal effort. Others have worked on behalf of their organizations, but Silas has conceived and carried this as a private individual concerned about the environmental legacy we are leaving our children.   

The artwork and its presence in Nagoya is testimony to his personal commitment,  sacrifice and determination and I find that immensely inspiring.”  

Contact Claire Swait  for more information on commissioning your own project or objects, and stay tuned here for more on the most exciting Global Sustainable Development project in California; soon to house this wonderful 21st century symbolic and functional work of art.

ANIMAL-ISTIC ART - INSPIRATION + DEVOTION IN EVERY CANVAS

Maria Teresa Miriel tells about the source of her inspiration for painting wild creatures and domestic animals, why clients choose her work and these subjects as gifts & to adorn their homes.

"I do so love animals. I simply feel tremendous tenderness towards them. They are wonderful creatures but are not always treated as they deserve, and too often with a total lack of respect, consideration and cruelty. It breaks my heart when remembering some occasions and not only feeling sad but truly furious about the unfairness of the situations I have known or heard.

I think that animals are like defenceless children no matter how fierce they can be. If you chain them, beat them or simply don’t give them food or water, they will die, no matter how strong and wild that animal is. The poor creatures can’t speak, cry or call for help. They do feel and suffer. There are so many proofs of it… I cooperate with dog rescue centres and they have too many stories that can back this statement! We should, we must be their voices… they need our help.

I live in Spain, Andalucía, a wonderful country but unfortunately not known for their love to animals. Luckily and gradually things are changing, for the better, with people becoming more aware of the necessity to be kind and respectful towards them. Sadly it hasn’t been like this and still there is a long way to go. But now, there are more societies created for animal protection, my husband and I, sponsor a donkey from the Donkey Sanctuary in Antequera, near Malaga. It is such a marvellous experience to visit that place. It is worth every minute of it. Also, our dog of 12 years old now was a stray, found abandoned near our house, like so many poor dogs around Christmas time… so sad.

That is one of the main reasons why I probably enjoy painting animals so much. I have painted pets, horses and also zebras, lions, beautiful Bengal tigers, etc. I feel that they can be portrayed as works of art in themselves and decorate our walls in a different and magnificent way. And those paintings fit equally well in a classical or modern environment. A big painting of an animal can fill up the room and create a unique atmosphere all by itself.

                                                  

I have often heard with great satisfaction particularly from lady clients how happy they are when buying from me the painting of an animal and giving it as a present to their husband . Otherwise, they tell me, he would have just ended up with the usual seascape, landscape, boat or map picture… but a painting of an animal? Well, that is simply wonderful, something special … nobody remains indifferent to it. I like to think that my particular love of animals helps to add power to the impact of those unique subjects."

To buy Maria Teresa Miriel's works or for exhibition arrangements, trade and corporate sales and partnerships contact The Fine Art Partnership Ltd TM  http://www.fineartpartnership.com/ .  We work with your preferences on every level: ideas, periods, color-ways, artist or genre with access to extensive collections and artists who create on commission as well.    

All works are available as commissions by contacting enquiries@tfapl.com  to discuss or to ask for a quote.

KOP Africa - Make a difference in 2011 - Intelligent Giving, Intelligently Implemented

• 

"The Kenyan Orphan Project was started in 2001 by 3 medical students with the vision to fight against poverty, disease, social exclusion and injustice and to help improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya.

Since then more than 650 students from different UK medical schools have been helping to support KOP projects. KOP also works hard to link project work with global child health education and experience for UK students and volunteers.


KOP is committed to creating sustainable initiatives with local project partners."

Give your time:  http://www.kopafrica.org/students.htm
or Support with funds, a small effort makes a big difference: http://www.justgiving.com/kopuk
Watch and Listen to know why : http://www.kopafrica.org/homevideo1.htm

One of the greatest Masters of Vietnamese Lacquer Work

We decided that for 2011 The Fine Art Partnership would begin cooperation with a living legend of Eastern Art and we are offering his works (a sample of which can be seen in detail on The Fine Art Partnership Ltd TM  pages devoted to him). 

Nguyen Viet Bang

Artist Nguyen Viet Bang was on October 1956 into a very artistic family both musically and as visual artists.

"I have been studying lacquer since the mid 70s and started a career in lacquer with the help of my old master when I was nineteen.  People always ask me :  'Why have you always been so passionate about Lacquer art?' and I say: 

"Lacquer is the type of art where you use a lot of materials to describe PIECES

and OBJECTS in different colours but the outcomes are so mysterious that I can’t even begin to explain or achieve the same effect through other different media. It makes no difference what the subject matter, whether I am painting landscapes, portraits, abstractions ... to me everything in everyday life is beautiful but being able to transfer these beauties into paintings is the key.

I specialise in traditional Vietnamese lacquer which is becoming a lost art as lacquer in Vietnam becomes more and more commercialised.  Artists now use modernised lacquer materials, which can be produced much more quickly than the traditional but has lost almost all of the original qualities. A traditional piece of lacquer can take up to 6 months or more to complete depending on size and complication.  In a year I only can complete a very few works.

Recently the national TV proposed that I do a documentary about traditional lacquer master work, the documentary mainly was based around my gallery called ThuyKy and my warehouse where everything’s related to the works are kept. The hour long documentary was made and broadcast on Vietnam national TV  recently and was very well received.

See link:

History of Lacquer

Lacquer is the resin of certain trees growing only in East Asia whose characteristics vary: Rhus succedanea in Vietnam, Rhus verniciera in Japan and Melanorrhea laccifera in Cambodia.The Vietnamese Rhus succedanea has been known for a long time as the so’n tree, an indigenous name. In Phu Tho Province, in Northern Vietnam, resins are harvested from the Rhus Succedanea Tree and converted into natural lacquer, which is then applied to the paintings.

Over the centuries, Vietnamese master craftsmen and artists have mastered techniques using lacquer for purpose of decoration ,preservation, lacquer paintings then became Vietnamese specialties.

To paint with lacquer, one must paint in depth what is in the external layer of the picture and paint above what is in the internal layer, then rub it with pumice and the picture will be visible. The strokes must be minute because there is a great deal of sticky matter and a high degree of homogeneity must be achieved in the lacquer, because everything might disappear during the pumicing. The creation is done in several stages, after each of them, the lacquer dries and only then can one start the following stage. A small mistake can be disastrous. Thousands of other difficulties are to be overcome, the working rules must be strictly observed.

Only a true artisan in the lacquering art who has inherited the secrets transmitted from generation to generation can resolve these problems.

The palette of lacquer painting includes only the color of canhgian (cockroach wings), then (black), son (red), silver and gold. Gold and silver must be pure gold and silver, which in the present are difficult to obtain. To prepare the color, mother-of-pearl and egg shell are also used.  If all the complex stages are carefully exectured only then does the master lacquer artist obtain the marvel of the finished product: an artwork of material, color and light bound together in perfect proportion to last for centuries.

Neo-Renaissance Andalusian Artist - Maria-Teresa Miriel

If there were ever an artist that is made for the world of Interior Design it is Maria Teresa Miriel.  She has an extensive background in art and her particular life long love of Italian Renaissance allows creations which are not copies but rather reworkings for the buildings she decorates and artworks she brings to life.

Florentine Scene - oil on baord - with ground of 22 carat gold foil (as http://www.fineartpartnership.com/ )

She has been an integral part of the visual, mural and decorative restoration of Italian and Spanish villas to ancient private chapels and whether you choose to own a painting of a regal Count for your entrance hall or over mantle, or select a series of Renaissance Servants to process around the walls of your dining room, the viewer is overwhelmed by the presence of the figures which populate her paintings.

For instance, the works which can be seen by browsing http://www.fineartpartnership.com/ are inspired in some cases by the anonymous work which the artists describes as being her inspiration:

"......Basically this series of noble figures were in the Baronnial Room, I suppose it was the noble area of the Castle..... no one knows for certain who painted these figures, but they are clearly Italian with French influence. The date, without any great accuracy, is 1430 .... The old castle where the originals were discovered and from which I painted mine, was in Piemonte, Italy"

Born  in Chile in 1949 she studied Art initially in Santiago, and then in Madrid, Barcelona, Florence and Paris, as well as most lately decorative arts in London.  Her studies covered degrees in textile design, silkscreen, decorative effects., oil, acrylics, charcoals, and mixed media.  Her work is even more attractive when one considers she has only exhibited locally in Spain, but her clientele is entirely international, with designers and collectors around the globe commissioning and buying her work. 

Tete (as she is known to her friends) lives in Andalucia, the beautiful Sotogrande,with husband, dog and her magical studio. 

It should be noted that all of Maria Teresa-Miriel's work can be recreated to size and in variations for the individual client / interior decorator - Please contact enquiries@tfapl.com without obligation to ask about commission works.

While the US and Europe face a test, Asia rockets towards recovery | The Art Newspaper

While the US and Europe face a test, Asia rockets towards recovery The Art Newspaper

ML Art Source: ML Art Blog

ML Art Source: ML Art Blog

Mark Briscoe - The Interior Designer's Artist

Mark Briscoe was born on the 19th of December 1964. In Watford, Hertfordshire, U.K. (named: Mark Francis Drake-Briscoe) His early years were spent in the West Country in the county of Somerset. When he was six his father bought a house on the moorland countryside of Dartmoor in Devon. From an early age he showed a strong interest in artistic activities and when he left school he studied graphic design and fine art for two years at college in Torquay. He then went to live in London in the mid 1980's and it was here that he learned some fundamental techniques in paint finishes while employed at a painting restorer's workshop in Covent Garden. He had also at this time started to develop a fascination with oriental lacquer and eastern miniature painting. The museums of London provided a rich source of inspiration, with their collection of Chinese and  Japanese artefacts and the "Art of India" collections at the Victoria & Albert museum.

Briscoe started to experiment with some techniques for painting lacquered furniture. The experience he had gained working for a restorer had taught him a few tricks, in particular the use of gesso in priming a wooden surface which enables one to achieve a highly smooth ground on which to apply lacquer, a traditional technique that has been used by craftsmen over the centuries. He also learned some methods for painting fine gold decorative designs in the Persian style which he used to decorate small items of furniture. Although he was producing some fantastic results Briscoe was not fully satisfied with his achievements, and in 1988 he made a trip to India where he met an artist called Ram Krishna Sharma who made a living painting traditional Indian miniatures. Sharma lived in the beautiful city of Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan, Northern India.

Sharma invited Briscoe to stay and learn the art of miniature painting, an opportunity which Briscoe jumped at having already seen what could be achieved with the skilful handling of an Indian miniaturists brush. The next few months of tuition under the guidance of R K Sharma taught Briscoe more about painting than all the years he had spent at college back in England. The use of line as practised by the Indian Masters with a very fine squirrel hair brush and a gum based paint solution were the basic foundations of all the great Eastern traditions of painting, whether Indian, Chinese, Japanese or Persian, the use of a gracefully flowing stylised line ran through all of them. By mastering the brush techniques employed in Indian miniature painting he realised that they could be successfully applied in other forms of artistic expression and would be of particular value in Chinoiserie decoration on lacquer furniture.

In December of that year Mark Briscoe married a girl called Sandhya that he met in a small town called Kalyan near Mumbai, He continued to live with her family making periodic visits to see his teacher back in Rajasthan. He had already made some useful contacts in Bombay and was given a number of commissions including some murals in the Juhu beach residence of Rajesh Shah, the director of Mukand Steel. He also spent some time working on several projects in the palatial Poona residence of Sri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

There he painted some more murals and a very large ceiling painting in one of the main halls displaying a colourful floral network of spiralling arabesques on a huge arched ceiling forty feet in length supported at intervals by columns, a project which took several months with a large team of artists. During this period in Poona Briscoe began to experiment with some ideas that had long been in his mind. He started to develop some techniques for painting Indian compositions on a large scale format but sticking to the traditional themes used in Indian miniatures.

He was aware that India had a tradition of painting large wall hangings (called Pichhavais) but these lacked the subtle tinting found in the finest of miniatures, especially those miniatures painted on small sheets of ivory where the colours are applied very thinly exploiting the pale background tone of the ivory which shines through creating a beautiful luminosity. This same effect he achieved in his paintings with great success, creating a depth and richness of tone that has a soothing effect and is pleasing to the eye. In addition to the paintings he has also employed this valuable knowledge of Indian brush work in his chinoiserie decoration of lacquer furniture, successfully applying detailed foliage, flowers, and trees to coloured lacquer backgrounds.

In 1991 Mark Briscoe moved to Brighton in the South coast of England where he continued to work until 2001 when he moved with his wife and two children to Zaragoza in north eastern Spain. Here he began to experiment with the techniques of the old European master artists using both egg tempera and oils as a medium for painting on panels. To begin with Mark painted classic landscapes with great success and then moved on to a more expressive style of work using thick impasto paint strokes with bright sections of colour surrounded by a fairly bold dark line, a style similar to that of the fauvists or post- impressionists.

His works have been bought by art collectors such as Lord Swraj Paul, RamolaBachchan and Rajesh Shah (of Mukund steel) He has also worked on several creative projects in conjunction with interior designers Neena Campbell, Joanna Wood and Victoria Waymouth.but only since he started exhibiting with galleries in the USA has his work begun to attract attention from a much broader audience, Mark's current style of composition has had an instant appe

al with US collectors. His work has been featured in several magazines including Architectural Digest, House and Garden, the front cover of Resurgence magazine and India Today.

(See: http://www.fineartpartnership.com/  to see some of Mark Briscoe's latest works or contact Claire Swait csoffice@virginmedia.com for more information on Mark, to view or to commission a work.)



Andre Derain - from July 3rd, 2010 Antiques Trade Gazette cover story

With the wonderfully unusual, amusing and petite painting on glass by Andre Derain, recently included in The Fine Art Partnership's collection, entitled Conical Privet dressed as a Gardener ...with hat and staff and red shoes; a reverse oil painting on glass. Signed. 10” x 8” (25.4cm x 20.3cm)

it was most reassuring for our buyers to read in the ATG that:

"Greater interest at Sotheby's (Impressionist & Modern Sale of June 22nd) emerged for a 1905 Fauvist landscape by Andre Derain (1880 - 1954), which came from the lost collection of dealer Ambroise Follard and had been stashed away, largely forgotten, in a paris bank vault for 40 years. Against a £9m-£14m estimate, at least four bidders pursued Arbres a Collioure and it sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for £14.5m, another artist record."

To have an original painting by Andre Derain being offered by The Fine Art Partnership Ltd, also from a private collection, for £13,750 makes another worthy news story indeed for art hunters of museum quality works of the period!

New Artist with The Fine Art Partnership Ltd - Alexander Gutyrya - Contemporary Painter & Sculptor

The artist Alexander Gutyrya was born in a Ukrainian town of Bakhmut that was founded in the early sixteenth century. The rich cultural and historic heritage of the town and the region as a whole had a great impact on development of the future artist. Alexander graduated from the Donetsk College of Applied Arts in 1985. He jumpstarted his professional career by participating in his first group exhibition at the Donetsk Museum of Arts the following year. At that time, very few of the young artists had the privilege of exhibiting their works at such institutions.


Since then, Alexander took part in numerous solo and group exhibitions domestically and abroad. His works are found in many private and public collections in Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary, Finland, USA and Canada. The year of 2004 was marked for Alexander with his arrival on the Canadian soil to become a part of the Canadian cultural mosaic. He presently works and resides in Toronto, Ontario as a Canadian citizen. When Alexander was a teenager his parents used to take him every year on a trip to the heart of Ukraine, the Poltava region, where his aunt lived. The woman worked at the tapestry factory and during Alexander’s visits she would take her beloved nephew along with her to work.

Alexander enjoyed spending hours on end contemplating the process of creation of intricate tapestry patterns on fabric. Alexander learned this complex technique of weaving with great passion. This early interest in tapestry, specifically its exquisite patterns and color combinations, had laid the foundation for his unique artistic style. Alexander is a very diverse artist. He paints with oil on canvas and on wood, carves wooden plaques, does graphic art and creates sculptures. Creating sculptures is his real passion. When sculpting, he works with wood, sandstone, and bronze. In his sculptures Alexander likes to incorporate such materials as mammoth ivory, marble and colored glass. These combinations of juxtaposing materials create powerful effects that greatly enhance the aesthetic and philosophic value of the artist’s work. Alexander Gutyrya’s organically stylized sculptures are figurative and characterized by abstraction. The voluptuous forms of his works are multidimensional in what they convey. It can be a certain mood, specific moment in time, a thought or an idea.

All these aspects of the artist’s inner world are conveyed in his works either simultaneously or in portions. However, beneath the surface of each work one thing remains constant: the storytelling is always unique, unforgettable and captivating.

Go to: http://www.fineartpartnership.com/ And Browse works with artist's name in Search to read and see more.

Comment on the Government's Manifesto / BUSINESS section published on The Coalition: Our Programme for Government

In the spirit of this excellent collaborative website Program for Government – I would suggest the small / medium business (who will be most adept at helping you turn round the economy) could use: a UK Marketing Plan for Small Businesses.

Why not choose a small committee to join you in formulating that missing business proposal for the government to do marketing of the UK not only to secure inward investment, but to supporting small businesses wishing to expand their firms to new UK markets and/or are seeking new markets abroad physically and via the internet etc…?

I would suggest someone like Doug Richards head it up for the private sector (Entrepreneurs Manifesto *, School for Start Ups ex Dragons Den etc…). He seems to be someone who has the skill and the know-how and a huge selection of persons from all business disciplines and experience from which to choose your team.

Indeed it could be an online challenge/project for contributions initially from business people from over the UK who wished to share an insight; then this would be part of the content for you and your committee to edit – rework and ultimately it (along with a budget to support it) could be submitted formally. To make it more productive, you could create for the public ‘categories for comment’ (exactly as you are doing here for an overall public view on cuts), to channel our efforts more efficiently towards the ultimate goal of a UK Marketing Plan for Small Businesses which would be properly funded directly to business to get it into new national & international markets.

The RDAs are a waste of time and build empires (literally physically as well as metaphorically) which they then spend the funds they are granted to populate primarily with their own wage earning members. This idea would deliver some properly directed investment to fund real businesses to get into foreign markets, or develop new markets within the UK, via spending whatever funding is allocated directly on the businesses.

Underwriting their presence at global trade fairs over all sectors of business would be a good start. Not the often lame government stands at these shows, paying lip service, but really big innovative presence at ALL trade shows in places like China and India the US and on the continent – showing off what the UK can bring into all these markets.
At the moment, funding is minor, geared politically towards narrow market sectors and very complicated and most serious businesses are too busy trying to DO business to perform the clown like contortions to get themselves minor funding or to be part of fairs that are on arbitrary lists and not really where they KNOW they should be to make a real business impact. Business must tell government what they need not government tell business what they have to do to get what they (the government) thinks they should be given.

A Marketing Plan for internal and outward investment in our home grown entrepreneurs, where the content actually comes from an articulate and grounded grass roots, led and consolidated under your committees know-how and direction would deliver quick and sustainable results for minimal cost. Claire Swait (www.fineartpartnership.com )

What Art Investors can Learn from Gold Investors Part 2 – artmarketblog.com « Art Market Blog with Nicholas Forrest www.artmarketblog.com

What Art Investors can Learn from Gold Investors Part 2 – artmarketblog.com « Art Market Blog with Nicholas Forrest www.artmarketblog.com

News - Exclusive on Paintings from iconic Russian Historical and Spiritualist painter - rare availability outside Russia

Featured Contemporary Russian Artist: Alexander I Savin

“Art is a revolutionary force, actually the only one.”

“Art is a revolutionary force, actually the only one.” This bold statement of the influential sculptor and action artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) challenges us to reexamine the way we look at art. It suggests that doing and “consuming” ...art, rather than art being a merely entertaining pastime, is a vitally important human activity and can become a tool for transformation—of ourselves and the world. We will attempt to experience art as a transformative activity, in a most immediate and hands-on way through working with form and form development in sculpture. Clay-modeling will be accompanied by guided observation of the transformative processes in nature. Rudolf Steiner suggested that one of the most important concepts which humanity of our time will have to come to terms with is that of metamorphosis—the transformation of forms. This can be studied in an exemplary way in the development of plants and brought alive in us and through us in the artistic process. ...... Suggested reading: J.W. von Goethe, The Metamorphosis of Plants; New Eyes for Plants, M. Colquhoun, and A. Ewald, Art as Spiritual Activity, Michael Howard, Rudolf Steiner’s Contribution to the Visual Arts, Joseph Beuys, What Is Art? Conversations With Joseph Beuys  (See Rudolf Steiner Institute Courses for more)

CORA Members Call Residential Architects to Action - Architecture, Architects - residentialarchitect Magazine

Call Residential Architects to Action

A new position paper advocates for change within the profession to re-establish social relevance and credibility.

Meaningful Work:

from Rudolf Steiner Archive online 'What is to be Real in the future is borne today in us ... Man must in deed become a creator, must form of himself that which will be his future world.' - Rudolf Steiner"

About Fine Art London | Fine Art London

About Fine Art London Fine Art London

Arvo Pärt

An excellent website on the great composer Arvo Pärt

BBC - Radio 4 - In Our Time - Archive by Title: A page 1

BBC - Radio 4 - In Our Time - Archive by Title: A page 1 A fantastic resource to feed the brain, properly educate and inspire one to read and learn more on a host of subjects that shape our world views.

Rudolf Steiner on Art:

"...A real artist may create his picture in a lonely desert... gods look over his shoulder; he creates in their company. What does he care whether or not anybody admires his picture?

and on Art and The Aesthetics of Goethe’s Worldview  “The basis of artistic creation is not what is, but what might be; not the real, but the possible. Artists create according to the same principles as nature, but they apply them to individual entities, while nature, to use a Goethean expression, thinks nothing of individual things. She is always building and destroying, because she wants to achieve perfection, not in the individual thing, but in the whole.”