Well, it happened. As promised, yesterday 9th November, in the late afternoon, www.eacartawards.org.uk launched its online voting for the EAC People’s Choice Award 2009, and, it would seem, brought about the site’s busiest day ever – busier even than the results day over a week ago!
Already voting is very lively, and a number of very appreciative comments have been posted.
Voting has just 22 days to run in total, before the winner of the online competition is declared at the exhibition preview on 1st December.
So, take this opportunity to vote. You don’t have to be a finalist, or even an artist. You just have to know what you like and most of us do that when it comes to art! So go ahead and enjoy voting, and don’t forget to post some comments about as many works of art as you wish, while you’re on the website. A complimentary and constructive comment might go a long way to encourage talent and renew energy, and it doesn’t cost anything!

Well, we hope that all the artists who got good news about their entry into the 2009  Art Awards have now calmed down, and started to plan an early Christmas trip to London! Congratulations to all of you, both those accepted into the exhibition and those awarded a Highly Commended by the judges. It really was a stiff round of judging, and very intense, narrowing down over 2150 entries into an exhibition of only 101 works of art.

If, on the other hand, you were one of the entrants who got a disappointing result, then you have our sympathy. If you have any ideas for the future; how to include more people at all stages of the competition, and how to better celebrate the undoubted talent that flourishes among artists from (this year) 60 to 96 years of age, then we’d love to hear from you.

On another note, a great deal of hard work is going on behind the scenes to bring you the Online Voting by Monday 9th November. We are testing the site to try to keep gremlins at bay, and look forward to inviting you all back online to view the 2009 Finalists Gallery, and cast your votes for your three favourite artworks among the 101 selected for exhibition in December. If all goes well, then the Online Voting should go live tomorrow evening - Monday 9th November. Watch this space!

"King George V Graving Dock" - an entry from one of this years's older artists: Joan Aubry, aged 95.

and "All That Gas", an entry from a youngster at 61, Hannah Kent

This year we had more entries to the Awards than we have had for many years. This is great news in one way as we are of course delighted that so many more artists, with such a wealth of talent, should want to enter our competition. On the other hand, it makes the competition for places at the exhibition all the tougher. This year with over 2150 artists competing for approximately 100 places at the Bankside, there are many, many excellent entries that just didn’t make it through. Please hold in mind that judging is a subjective art and don’t be too downhearted if you have not made it into the exhibition.

This year we have reintroduced the popular category of Highly Commended. Artists in this category will have images of their work displayed in the Bankside Gallery, but not their actual artwork. This particularly offers the judges a further opportunity to celebrate the work of artists who have just missed being accepted into the exhibition.

We wish to thank all entrants to this year’s Awards. Their talents and enthusiasm make the whole exercise worthwhile for those who organise it. All entrants should receive a personal e-mail or letter, confirming the outcome of their entry(ies). Please be patient if waiting for the post!

As soon as possible, the website will be showing the 101 finalists from this year’s competition, and anyone (not just artists or entrants) can take the opportunity to vote for their favourite entry of 2009. The winner of the most votes will receive the ‘EAC People’s Choice Award’ at the preview event on 1st December at the Bankside Gallery.

Artists Chosen for Exhibition 2009

Chris Abbott, James Aldred, Carol Allen, Edna Ansdell, Jean Arkell, Joan Aubrey, Carol Bagni, Becky Bailey,Doris Bailey, Robert Barling, David Barlow, Jack Bayliss, Mick Beale, Raymond Beardall, Angela Bedingfield,Leslie Bell, William Belshaw, Richard Benjamin, Charys Beswick, Valerie Biddulph, Lynn Bindman, Diana Birch,Terry Blaber, Ann Bott, Alan Bowering, Jacquie Boyd, Mary Brain, Robert Brain, Margaret Bresser, Inez Brinsden,Geraldine Brock, Hazel Brother, Marion Brown, Gillian Bryn-Jones, Virginia Burdon, David Burt, James Butler,Buxted Court Art & Crafts Society, Hugh Cannings, Jacqueline Chapman, Janet Chapman, Anne Chaudri,Leslie Child, Mary Coates, Belinda Colby, Brian Collins, Howard Collins, Jennifer Copley-May, Margaret Coyle, Judy Dames, Dennis Day, William Dixon, Marianne Downing, Catherine Dunne (entered by John Brady)Martin Dutton, Fred Elwell, Gillian Flack, Peter Furr, Marilyn Gardner, Mira Golya, Ishbel Gordon,Rita Greengrass, Gilbert Gregory, David Arthur Guyatt, Anne Hall, Anne Harrison, Colin Harrow, Heritage Plus Portslade, Nancy Howie, Barbara Hughes, Diana Hudson, Gerald Hudson, John Jarrett, Nicola Jones, Stanley Keen,Hannah Kent, Doreen Kern, Ann Kirk, Nan Liefer, Derek Lucas, Gordon Morley, Ron Pearce, Jeff Perks, Wilson Reddish, Sarah Maria Rhys, John Riley, Mary Roscoe, Cesarea Santana, Sandra Smith-Gordon, Joan Speare,Ann-Monique Stellinga, Tue Tan, David Tribe, Judith Truelson, Patricia Tucker, Audrey van Abbé, Peter Waller,Patria Watling, Ken White, Brian Wozencroft, Chris Wright

Artists given a Highly Commended by the Judges

Jack Acocks, Roy Allen, Jean Andrewartha, Julie Ashcroft, Alfred Ashurst, Frederick Ayre, Laurie Barnard, Kate Barrett, Joan Beal, Jim Beck, Ronald Bennett, Glenys Bisset, David Blinkhorn, Patricia Blossom, Raymond Brunning, Evelyn Buzzard, Joan Byrne, Archibald Campbell, Cara Irish Day Centre, Edward Clark, Catherine Coker,Sue Colbourne, Margaret Collins, Alfred Cooper, Eileen Cripps, Roger Crooks, Nicky Cundy, Brian Curry, Kenneth Dare, Heather Dawe, Dorothy Dawson, Colin Dent, David Dimmock, Harold Egan, Nan Edwards, Barbara Evans,Mollie Field, Andrew Forrest, Ray Foxell, Seema Gill, Christine Glanville, Hugh Goldie, Irene Goodrich, Margaret Havart, Tom Hawkes, Frank Hester, Gail Hind, John Hunt, Eileen James, Elizabeth Jones, Marjorie Jones, Alan Kent, Robert Lewis, Freda Maxfield, Brenda Mumford, June Nicholls, John Owen, Ethel Payne, Winifred Pengilley, Vincent Plank, G Reed, Violet Seamen, Barbara Shaw, Rita Shine, Lilian Smith, A Sperber at Sobell Services, Darryl Taylor, J Ward, Winifred Wilmot

Last week was extremely busy for the Art Awards team. The closing date of 26^th October was followed two days later by the first round of judging. Our two judges, Sally Bulgin, editor of The Artist Magazine, and Tom Coates, artist, spent all day going through over 2150 entries. Such a high number of entrants was very pleasing, as was, once again, the quality and range of entries, from artists of 60 to 99 years of age. Of course, such high numbers made the competition all the tougher, with The Bankside Gallery only offering space for approximately 100 works of art to be exhibited. This dilemma has been addressed by the return of the once-popular Highly Commended section. Those artists who receive a Highly Commended will have images of their work  (rather than the works themselves) displayed within the gallery, thus offering the opportunity to celebrate the work and talent of an additional 60+ artists.

Parker-Harris, the consultancy which runs the Art Awards on EAC’s behalf, has already posted out letters, with e-mailings to follow tomorrow. Visit this blog tomorrow for a full listing of artists chosen for exhibition and artists awarded a Highly Commended.

Online Voting for the EAC People’s Choice Awards will begin as soon as possible, once the images and data have been imputed; at the latest…fingers crossed…by Monday 9^th November. Don’t forget to visit the website to cast your vote!

With only five days to go before EAC ‘s Over 60s Art Awards 2009 deadline, the entries for this year’s competition are now pouring in! Despite worries about postal delays, up until yesterday most postal entries seemed to be getting through. However, all entries posted on or before Saturday 24th October will be accepted, even if they arrive late. A special additional judging will be arranged.
We have been delighted with the take-up of online entry so far this year, with roughly 20% of artists choosing to enter online. This is particularly encouraging for a competition that has run on sae and the post for fourteen years. Now, of course, with a two-day postal strike about to start, artists able to enter online come into their own, and still have five full days in which to submit their entries.
If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ring Marg Millington, EAC Art Awards volunteer, on 01704 893251, or email marg.millington@eac.org.uk.

At the time of writing, there’s 20 days left in which you can still enter the 2009 EAC Art Awards competition for amateur artists over 60. If you paint, draw, etch, print, take photos, sculpt, knit, embroider, create installations, indulge in decoupage …well in short, if you are creative, then you still have time to put in an entry.

This year entries to the EAC Over 60s Art Awards have been coming in by post and online since the first week of July. Although the traditional postal entry still dominates, it is most encouraging to see that alongside the numerous 60+ and 70+ year-olds who have entered online, there are also a fair number of 80+ year olds and two ninety-two year-olds. The website has also brought the Awards to the attention of artists living overseas, and there are so far ten pictures submitted from France.

Looking through the online entries, it is clear that the Art Awards mainly attract artists, in the sense of painters in oil, watercolour, acrylics etc. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and only what you might expect in an art competition, and we’re delighted to welcome all entries. But where are the knitters, the embroiderers, the sculptors, the carvers, the print-makers, workers with enamel and mosaic, who are also invited to enter their work into the Awards? Figures for the online entries so far (and I’ve no reason to believe postal entries are very different) suggest that approximately 75% are paintings/ drawings and 20% are photographic. Which leaves 5%  representing all other mediums.

So, whilst we want to encourage as many entries as possible in the last twenty days of the 2009 competition, we especially want to encourage the embroiders and sculptors, the 3D artists and collaborative installation makers, the knitters and print-makers to have a go, and send in an entry! To find out how to enter, and to enter online, go to www.eacartawards.org.uk and go to Art Awards 2009/ Online Entry.

Anne Hamilton's 2007 embroidery 'Pebbles on the Shore'

                          Anne Hall's 2007 sculpture, "El Secreto"

Joan Seabrook's prizewinning 2008 entry, 'Tea in the Garden'

                   Wilson Reddish's 2008 prizewinning "Marble Ring"

With less than four weeks to go before the 2009 deadline for entries to the EAC Over-60s Art Awards (26th October) we are making a big effort to bring the competition to artists’ attention, wherever they may live.  Below are a few snippets from press releases that have gone out this week. Keep your eyes open for articles in the press near you, and for mentions on local BBC radio stations. Even better, tell your friends about the competition and help to make the 2009 Awards the best-ever!
 
Local Artist Knits her Way to Victory
Horley artist Joan Seabrook, who last year was a major prize-winner in an international art competition, is hoping to repeat her success in the 2009 EAC Art Awards.

The list of finalists for this year’s Awards will be announced at the end of October, and no doubt, Joan will have her fingers crossed that her work will once again be chosen for the annual exhibition at London’s Bankside Gallery, next to Tate Modern.

Last year, Joan, now aged 85, was stuck at home recovering from a knee operation, and decided to put her knitting skills to good use by creating a selection of fancy cakes out of odds and ends of wool. Entered under the title ‘Tea in the Garden’, Joan’s entry went on to scoop the Angela Farnell Memorial Prize at the 2008 prize giving. Joan is a member of the local Shed Art Group (www.shedart.co.uk), and this year has entered three works of art; two paintings and another knitted article! Can she repeat her 2008 success?

Local Artist Goes for Gold
Last year, after the EAC Over 60s finalists’ exhibition at the Bankside Gallery, Leslie Child’s  winning picture ‘Leeds City Market Hall’ was snapped up by a gallery owner from Milan. Since then he has gone from strength to strength, having had exhibitions of his work in galleries at Knaresborough, Richmond, York, Selby and of course Leeds.
His local Leeds Images calendars and cards are now for sale in several Yorkshire outlets, and his picture of Leeds ‘Time-Ball Building’ was acquired by “Derwent” The Pencil Company, and is soon to be reproduced on their range of graphic pencils.

Age – Brush it Aside!
At the age of  89, Nan Leifer still paints each week with friends, and is a member of the Finchley Art Society. She began painting in 1992 – already a 70 year old - and has since attended art classes, experimenting with watercolours and acrylics and tackling portraits, landscapes, animals, plants and flowers. “I keep painting, and I hope I can go on painting, because it’s the most important thing in my life”, says Nan. She adds” I can’t sew any more, because my fingers are stiff, but I can still paint”, referring to a working life in the dress trade, which began in 1936, at the age of 16, in Mme Charmian’s Dress Shop, and progressed through to the cutting out and embellishment of beaded dresses and two-pieces for the Bond Street market.

Talented Twosome
In 2008, a mother and son duo from Bury St Edmunds both made it into the finals of an international art competition  for the Over-60s. And this year they’re hoping to repeat their amazing success.

What is even more amazing, however, is that Edna Dray, aged 82, is partially sighted and can only complete her works of art with the aid of a magnifying glass, painstakingly working on outlines and colours. Her son, Mick Beale, a self-taught artist aged 62, joined his mum in entering the EAC Art Awards last year, with his picture ‘High Summer Meadow’, never expecting to reach the finals. In the event, both mother and son’s work was exhibited at London’s Bankside Gallery last year, next door to the Tate Modern. Can the talented twosome continue their successful partnership?

With only just over five weeks to go to this year's closing date for entries - 26th October - things are hotting up on the Art Awards front. Yesterday, 15th September was the busiest day yet on the new website, with the average viewer spending nearly 7 minutes looking at over 20 different web pages. This is very encouraging news, when you think that they've been run by stamp, envelope and postal service for 14 years, until the start of July 2009!

For those of you who don't yet know, October 1st has been designated UK Older People's Day 2009, and details of events being run throughout the country can be found at http://fulloflife.direct.gov.uk/index.html. The day, and in some cases, week, or month-long festival of activities are 'a celebration of the opportunities, achievements and aspirations of older people and their contribution to our society and economy.' There are lots of really creative ideas around, but so far the Age Concern North Tyneside project must take pride of place. (email me if you know of something to beat this!)

As part of their 'Age Takes Centre Stage Festival', they are looking for 50 artists (aged over 50) to take away a blank 2ft square canvas each, and return it one month later, as an artwork in any medium whatsoever, expressing what is enjoyable about being over 50. Collaborative group entries are welcomed, as are beginners, amateurs and professionals. The organiser, Lesley Turner (email:lesley.turner@ageconcernnorthtyne.org for more info) is particularly enthusiastic about linking in with EAC's Over 60s Art Awards, and will request that interested amateur artists over 60 deliver their finished artwork to her by the 20th October, and she will support its entry into the 2009 competition!

Anyone visiting the Manchester Town Hall event on 1st October...look out for the EAC Art Awards stand and come and say hello and collect free bookmarks.

In all the years since the Art Awards were first launched in 1995, the competition has been restricted to amateur artists resident in the UK. This year, for the first time, entry has been opened to all comers. Not only have we had an enquiry from an artist in L.A. (how cool is that!), but we now have our first entries from France. Archie Campbell, who took up painting after a bout of illness and has never looked back, has entered five paintings into the 2009 competition. Not only that, but he has also circulated posters and the website link to all his artist frends - current and previous students at Barbara Kryvovias's atelier in the French Tarn district near Toulouse.

Such competition from the French School of 2009 can only be good for this year's Art Awards, and we wish them welcome and the very best of luck. I wonder which country will be the next to pick up the challenge? There must be lots of expatriate English artists in Spain....or indeed Spanish artists come to that!

Within hours of EAC's launch of its new Art Awards website, the first entry to the 2009 Awards was submitted online. Mr Brian Wozencroft from Ross-on-Wye has the privilege of being the first ever online entrant; following in the footsteps of over 25.000 postal entrants since 1995. His oil painting, 'The Spanish Potter', sets the usual high standard for the annual competition. Since Mr Wozencroft's entry, another 20 entries have followed, including oils, watercolour and photography. The new website, which went live on 6th July, has already received hundreds of visits, and we hope it will receive many many more before the deadline for submissions on 26th October. 

 The First Online Entries to the 2009 EAC Art Awards

The Spanish Potter, by Brian Wozencoft                      

Delphiniums, by Mary Braithwaite                  

  Saltburn Pier, by Malcolm English