When artist Toby Paterson’s work Array sold before we’d even opened the doors to our Art Store exhibition last year, it only served to remind us of the huge talent Toby possesses as a contemporary artist. Together with Peacock Visual Arts, we are now delighted to be hosting his new suite of prints entitled ‘Inchoate Landscapes’, as featured above.

You can view all seven of the works within the series in more detail here.

One of Scotland’s award-winning and most successful young artists, Toby Paterson worked with Peacock Visual Art’s master printmakers back in 2003 to accomplish his hugely successful suite Patterns, returning last year to develop this brand new body of work. 

Inchoate Landscapes has enabled him to try techniques unfamiliar to him such as lino, lithography, digital print and etching, as well as returning to previously familiar methods including relief and silkscreen printing. Toby, talking about his new body of work, said:

 “This new suite of prints differs considerably from the previous one I completed at Peacock in 2003. Formally speaking, within this suite there is great variety in the processes and formats employed in the work, this approach exposing me to techniques such as lithography and etching for the first time. It’s also been a delight to return to previously familiar methods such as relief and silkscreen printing and use them in conjunction with these other processes.

 ”Inchoate Landscapes has stemmed from the experience of cities as contingent, pragmatic and flawed entities. Two strong threads within my work of recent years run through the suite; my exceedingly stimulating travels in Eastern Europe under the auspices of a Creative Scotland Award and the work, both permanent and temporary, that I’ve made outside the rarefied confines of the studio and gallery.”

“Whilst taking a position on these experiences might constitute views from opposite ends of the telescope, I hope they come together in this suite to represent the excitement I feel about the richly chaotic visual qualities of the built environment, whether that be in East London or Sofia. This is a distilled and highly subjective selection of images, but its avowed intention is to be a reflection of the human energies, both positive and negative, that bring our surroundings into being.”

The suite is being premièred at the London Original Print Fare from the 19 – 21 May and is available to buy now on CultureLabel for £5000.

A not to be missed showcase of Toby’s work will also be exhibited at Peacock Visual Arts this September based in Aberdeen. Keep checking www.peacockvisualarts.com for further details.

With the start of the 4 month-long Festival of Britain celebration at the Southbank, one Royal Knees-Up down and Union Jacks still flying uncharacteristically high, CultureLabel is embarking on its very own celebration of British talent with a summer long series of Best of British interviews with some of the most inspiring artists & designer-makers working today…

Donald Short is a painter based in the UK with an interest in architecture, particularly modernism. He has recently completed a set of unique Blue Prints celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Festival of Britain, using images of Hidalgo Moya’s Skylon, Ernest Race’s ‘Antelope’ chair, Abram Games’ Britannia festival emblem and the Festival titling by Phillip Boydell.

Tell us a little more about your background as an artist?
I studied Fine Art Painting at Camberwell School of Art and Crafts at the gloomy end of the 80s. More recently I completed an MA at the University of the Arts, Bournemouth and was also briefly at Winchester School of Art.

What inspired the Blue Print series currently available on CultureLabel?
I was looking for an appropriate outlet for my ideas with regards to architecture and design when I happened upon the Cyanotype process that is used to make the Blue Prints: some things don’t make good paintings but they do make great prints. From there, I set out to develop an affordable product that was also economic to make. I brought in a friend on the design of the packaging, labels etc; he also created my website www.donaldshort.co.uk, while I set about creating the various Blue Print images. It took about a year and a half to get the whole thing perfected. It’s a commercial venture and unlike my paintings, I consider Blue Print as a product.

Are you excited about the forthcoming celebration of The Festival of Britain in London?
I have been excited about the Festival of Britain for 25 years and was, during my long spell in London, a frequent visitor to the South Bank. I originally offered the idea of the Festival of Britain Blue Prints to the Southbank, but they weren’t interested.

The SouthBank say that their programme of events will celebrate the Best of British culture today… what do you deem as the best of British culture today?
My only engagement with today’s culture is through my children and my pupils, which is to say removed. It’s not so much about getting old as getting wise. I have no time for the latest e-fads such as Facebook and Twitter and have narrowed my play list to one artist, who died in 1750.

Any plans for the future?
I have begun a new series of paintings, which will be on my site in the autumn. I will also be creating some larger Blue Prints in the autumn which should be available by Christmas.

What do you most like about CultureLabel?
It is a marketplace for artists otherwise disenfranchised by art world nepotism.

You can browse Donald Short’s Blue Print Collection in full at CultureLabel.

And pick them up we did as we headed for the tills with two prints for the CultureLabel office at this brilliant contemporary graphic art fair at the Embankment Galleries in Somerset House.

The fair is a very exciting place to be & is alive with creativity featuring ThemLot’s interactive walk-through city and JaguarShoes’ camping-themed installation complete with campfire & customised artist teepees.

It’s Nice That are also running a daily drawing event where top 10 illustrators create drawings in under 30 minutes being sold for £35 each – featuring one our latest new partners on site Bryony Lloyd.

It was great to see a whole range of new talent too, particularly Seiko Kato’s intricately layered collages (we fell for her Militant print, £40) and Nigel Peake’s stunning illustrations – both featured above.

The prints on offer are really affordable and Pick Me Up has also commissioned every one of the 24 artists featured to produce an exclusive to be sold at the show for just £20.

It’s a fantastic exploration of some of the best artistic talent in the UK today… but hurry the show finishes this Sunday!

More information on Pick Me Up

For graphic art from CultureLabel, you can also browse our Art Store

We heart Love Art London… a lot. And it’s not just because they’ve given us a brilliant Valentine’s offer of one extra free gig with any Share The Love Gift Membership…

Launched last year, Love Art London provides a backstage pass to the art world and has quickly become regarded as the most unique way to learn about art in London. Its founder, Chris Pensa, set up the club after working as an expert in British Paintings at Sotheby’s and talks here about what to expect from your access all areas pass.

Tell us more about the club…
Love Art London is a unique behind the scenes club which opens the closed doors of the art world for the general public. It offers an imaginative programme of weekly events which could range from a curator’s tour of the wondrous Museum of Everything to afternoon tea with sculptor Sir Anthony Caro at his studio. Last year’s programme also included an evening with the Director of Magic for the Harry Potter films, a tour of paper cutter Rob Ryan’s studio and a behind the scenes tour of the Bank of England’s art collection.

Who are your members?
Generally 25-40 year old professional folk who live or work in London. Our membership is as diverse as our programme which makes our community interesting and vibrant, not just the typical arty crowd.

What can members expect to experience?
This is very much an alternative to battling your way through the Tate on a Saturday afternoon with the world and his wife. Everything we do is private, after hours and up close & personal. We encourage informal discussion and interaction with the amazing people we come into contact with. If we’re meeting a famous artist like Sir Anthony Caro it’s important everyone gets a chance to chat to him, ask him questions and get as close to the action as possible.

How big are the groups?
For most of our gigs we have only 25 places up for grabs – this intimacy is integral to our experiences and makes what we do unique. There are rare moments and with us you make the most of them.

Forthcoming highlights?
- Story Time at Quaritch: Antique Books Uncovered (February)
- Taxidermy: LIVE! with artist Amanda Sutton (March)
- Behind the Scenes at John Jones’ Museum Framing Studio (March)
- Tattooing: Body Art with Alex Binnie from Into You Tattoo (April)
- The Art of Printmaking with Norman Ackroyd RA: In the Studio (April)

Love Art London is currently offering romantic culture vultures a Valentine’s treat with one extra gig free with any Share the Love Gift Membership bought from CultureLabel.com. Perfect as a last minute gift too!

To check out more past and forthcoming events, visit: http://www.loveartlondon.com/