Priley Riley, 'Everyone' exhibition and postgraduate scholarship award, August 2016

On the 19^th of August I visited Derby Museum and Art Gallery to see the ‘Everyone’ exhibition that my watercolour painting is a part of. I have attached photos above from this very enjoyable day.

I am also pleased to mention that at the start of August I was awarded a postgraduate scholarship from the University of Southampton in recognition of professional achievements in art. This will be a big help in funding my MA in Fine Art, which I look forward to starting next month.

Priley Riley, Graduation day, July 2016

 

Last month I graduated in Fine Art from Loughborough University. Before the graduation ceremony I took my family to see The Child Sculpture, which I was commissioned to make by Charnwood Borough Council last year. The attached photos show the sculpture outside and inside Carillon Court Shopping Centre. You can see that the book, which had to be repaired after it was damaged, is thicker than it initially was. I start my MA in Fine Art at the University of Southampton's art department (the Winchester School of Art) next month.

Priley Riley, Exhibitions, July 2016

The attached photos show my two hand casts at the Free Range art exhibition at the Old Truman Brewery in London. I am pleased with how the exhibition went; the turnout and response was very positive.

On the 9^th of July the ‘Everyone’ exhibition at Derby Museum and Art Gallery opened. This exhibition lasts until the 25^th of September, and I have a recent watercolour painting in this.

Priley Riley, Mixed news, June 2016

I have mixed news!

I was unsuccessful in the Sunday Times Watercolour competition- ah well, it was worth a shot :)

The Child Sculpture is now back on display in Loughborough! This time it is inside, rather than outside, Carillon Court Shopping Centre. It should be safer here as the shopping centre gets locked up at night. It went back on display around mid June 2016.

On the 18th of June I went to meet the gentleman who commissioned me with his finished painting, depicting his English Bull Terrier. The gentleman and his wife were both very pleased with the outcome and its likeness to their pet :D Photos attached to show the painting's development.

I will be exhibiting one of my recent watercolour paintings at Derby museum and Art Gallery between the 9th of July and 25th of September 2016! This will form part of their 'Everyone- Your Place in the World' exhibition. Derby Museum and Art Gallery is home to the world's largest public gallery of paintings by Joseph Wright, a highly celebrated 18th century artist from Derby, so it is an honour to exhibit here!

Finally, a reminder of another upcoming exhibition at the Old Truman Brewery in London. Private view on the 7th July, open to the public 8th to 11th July 2016. I will be exhibiting recent hand casts at this exhibition :)

Priley Riley, The degree show, June 2016

Great news- today I sold the first print in my edition of lino prints depicting Otis, a rabbit previously cared for by a small rabbit rescue that I support. All of the money from this sale will go to this rescue called Rainbow Rabbits.

The above photos show the same wall in my degree show space from different ends. I’ll upload close-up photos of each individual work soon. On the right end of the wall is a print from my Otis edition.

Priley Riley, The degree show, June 2016

The private view of the degree show was last night, and today was the first day open to the public.

The responses have been so positive from both the adults and children. So many notable reactions, but a favourite was the excitement in a young boy’s face seeing my snake paintings. He particularly liked the Boa constrictor painting (shown above), explaining to me that his favourite animal is the snake, and his favourite snake is the Emerald Boa which lives in the forest! Other notable reactions were visitors recognising my dad and I from the portraits on the wall!

The Loughborough Echo newspaper has published an article on the degree show (similar to the university article in my last Blog post) which I’m honoured to be mentioned in: http://www.loughboroughecho.net/news/local-news/loughborough-university-arts-degree-shows-11420090

Priley Riley, Degree show updates, 2nd June 2016

I’m pleased to announce a few things. Firstly, thanks to the degree show, I’m being commissioned to paint a stunning English Bull Terrier by a university staff member. The degree show hasn’t opened yet (the private view is tomorrow and the show is open to the public on Saturday) but staff can still access the building and see the artwork. I look forward to starting the commissioned painting!

Secondly, I feel honoured to be mentioned by Loughborough University, for The Child Sculpture and my Ultimate Edible Masterpiece, in their recent online article advertising the degree show. Here is the link for anyone interested: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2016/may/degree-show.html

A final thing to mention, a website has been set up showing samples of artwork produced by each student in my year at Loughborough. My profile on this site is here: http://mass-catalogue.com/priley-riley/

Priley Riley, Setting up the degree show- day 5, 26th May 2016

Today was the final day of setting up the degree show, where I mainly helped to paint the corridor floor and walls. I’m pleased with how everything has turned out. I’ll be in my degree show space beside my exhibition table during the show, so if you come along make sure to stop by for a chat and to sign the guest book that I made!

Priley Riley, Setting up the degree show- day 4, 25th May 2016

My casts are on their plinths, and the plinths and mannequins are back in position and spaced evenly. The whole floor in my degree show space has now been painted. My exhibition table is in place displaying business cards, artist CV’s, publicity, a self-bound guest book, souvenirs and other artwork produced this semester- including mounted and cellophane wrapped lino prints that I hope to sell to raise money for Rainbow Rabbits (a small rabbit rescue that I support).

The above photo shows another section of my degree show. The floor is slightly patchy at the front due to the paint still drying. I look forward to sharing photos of the entire space at a later date.

Priley Riley, Setting up the degree show- day 3, 24th May 2016

Today I focused on displaying my 2D work across two walls. All work has a centre-point of 154cm and is spaced evenly. Work on paper is hung using clear pins and my canvases hang on screws. I also painted the tops of the walls so that the space looks clean and professional when viewed above from the mezzanine. I got round to painting some of the floor (hence why the above photo shows the temporary movement of the plinths and mannequins away from wet paint). Hand casts are in the process of being glued to the dowel rod to keep them sturdy on their plinths.

The attached photo is another little insight into how my degree show space is looking/ progressing. For a better view of the artwork, feel free to come along to the degree show! It’s open to the public from 10am to 5pm from the 4^th to 12^th of June 2016 at Loughborough University. I will also post photos of the work on here around this time for those that can’t make it.

Priley Riley, Setting up the degree show- day 2, 23rd May 2016

Below is a quick list of my work setting up the degree show today;

Photographs of all work taken for information sheets. Holes drilled to connect sculptures to plinths with dowel rod. Work rearranged, due to preference for smaller and more subtle work at the front. Final decision made on exact distances between works. Exhibition table cleaned and new table cloth ironed for it. More filling and sanding walls. A second layer of paint added to the walls in need of this. The bottom of the wall sanded all the way round so that the bottom edge looks neat. T-shirts and scarves on mannequins ready.

The photo above is a sneaky peek into how one section of my degree show space is coming along!

Priley Riley, Competition entry, 22nd May 2016

Today I entered my painting ‘Portrait of my Father’, shown above, into the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2016. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Priley Riley, Setting up the degree show- day 1, 20th May 2016

Today was the first day of setting up the degree show. The first photo above shows roughly what my degree show space looked like at the start of the day, with furniture and student work around, and wire, nails and blue-tack over the walls. I have removed wire from, filled holes in and sanded down and painted all walls. I also got a few smaller jobs done like giving my plinths another coat of paint and cleaning the mannequin stands that my knitted scarves will be displayed on. I'm happy with how things are going so far (see the second photo)...

Priley Riley, Exhibitions and other news

The above photos provide the details of two exhibitions that my work will be in this summer (one in Leicestershire and the other in London). Everyone is welcome to come along.

In addition, Loughborough University has put together an online degree show catalogue, so I’ve included a link to my profile on this website for anyone interested: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/aed/degree-show-16/fineart/studentcatalogue/paula-riley/

Finally, I am pleased to announce that I have accepted an offer to study an MA in Fine Art at the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton. It’s a year-long course starting this September.

Priley Riley, Oil Pastel Drawings in University Exhibition, March 2016

Last month I did a couple of oil pastel drawings of me and my bearded dragon Zeus, shown in the above photos. These are on oil pastel paper approximately 50cm x 60cm in size, and were part of an exhibition held at Loughborough University between the 15^th and 18^th of March 2016.

Priley Riley, Lino Prints, February- March 2016

I’ve recently been producing lino prints. I have 11 prints like the black and white work shown above, as well as 8 prints that are in progress as they are being built up gradually with layers of prints in different colours. I hope to sell these prints at my degree show to raise money for Rainbow Rabbits, which provides care to previously neglected/ sick/ very elderly rabbits. The rabbit depicted in the prints, called Otis, was cared for by Rainbow Rabbits.

Priley Riley, An update on my work, February 2016

Since my last post I have been fortunate enough to visit galleries in England, Sweden, Denmark and Italy. In particular, I would recommend Denmark’s National Gallery and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and the Accademia Gallery in Venice, Italy.

In terms of making artwork, I have mainly focused on producing watercolour paintings, such as the one shown below of my dad. In addition, I completed my 9000 word/ 58 page dissertation for my degree last month, which discusses whether art documentation can simultaneously be considered a form of art through artist self-publishing.

My degree show is in June this year, so I have been busy producing artwork and doing a considerable amount of research, mainly into Post-Conceptualism, Hyperrealism and Photorealism, the Renaissance artists, artists that have won major art competitions, and any other areas of art that interest and inspire me. At the moment, my plan for the degree show is to produce and display a variety of drawings, paintings, prints, sculpture, etc. I aim to provide regular updates on my work for the degree show as it progresses, and I will also give other areas of my blog an update.

Finally, I am keeping an eye out for further art competitions to enter.