The Artists and Illustrators Annual Exhibition. An Interested Artist's View.

Yesterday I made the trip to London specifically to see the  Artists and Illustrators Magazine Artist of the Year 2013 exhibition.

Norman Long. Detail from The Bench.

I had read a lot about it and wanted to see the winners, especially the overall winner by Norman Long The Bench, a painting 366 cms wide by just 40 cms high. It was an impressive picture painted in an assured understated style and in my mind a worthy winner.
Many of the works were less painterly than this, and some I felt had used a lot of photographic reference, ( or am I being just too sceptical?) But one that did catch my eye was this one, by Helen Cassidy.
It is a very  honest picture and very satisfying to view.

Blackthorn by Helen Cassidy

The exhibition was held in the Mall Gallery, in the new Threadneedle Space. There were about 40 pieces in all and they fitted the space comfortably, the light was good as you would expect and it was an enjoyable if small exhibition.
The only sadness was that just one small picture had a red sticker on it. There were no prices on any of the works and there was only a phone number to contact for purchases in the not very comprehensive catalogue.