There are now a huge number of artists producing canvas artwork using acrylics and making the optimum use of this versatile media. It has enabled canvas art to be bought by a wider audience due to its fast drying nature and artwork can be created much quicker so a real business can be made out of acrylic artwork. Exhibitions have been in such prestigious venues as the Westminster Gallery and the Durham Art Gallery solely exhibiting and championing acrylic work. Books have been written purely on the characteristics of acrylic paint such as “New Tricks and Techniques for Working with the World’s Most Versatile Medium” by Nancy Reyner and “The New Acrylics:Complete Guide to the New Generation of Acrylic Paints.

Not everyone has the money to buy modern canvas artwork produced by famous artists so it has enabled the not so famous but equally as talented new artists to produce work and be successful selling them. Canvas art is quite dramatic as the medium used is either oil or acrylic paint. Both achieve high depth in colour and on a bright white wall, a piece of canvas artwork on a stretched canvas frame has maximum impact.

A piece of artwork is something that reflects a person’s personality and individuality. It can be a statement or can blend sympathetically with a room’s design and colour scheme. It is a way of personalising a room and many pieces of canvas art hold sentimental value from a special holiday or which could have been passed down from a relative.

Many people rent houses and flats. Either there are rules that the accommodation must not be altered in any way or should the tenancy be just 6 months, painting, decorating or doing any such DIY is not a viable expense in both time and money. A piece of artwork can make rented accommodation homely and provide a personal touch that is often missing in these circumstances. The piece of canvas artwork can then be packed up and moved to the next home.

There are many artists now that work closely with interior designers for both residential and business contracts. Designers can specify exactly the colours required to match the interiors and artists have been in agreement with following those schemes. It now means that some artists offer artwork that can be painted in colours to suit a client’s interior and the ability to order online enables the consumer or designer to choose from artists nationally, in fact, even worldwide. Art is becoming more and more accessible which is in turn, making pricing more accessible as well. The rise of shows such as ITV’s 60 Minute Makeover and DIY SOS, where the inclusion of pieces of canvas art are always showcased in the final room. This has enlightened home owners to the effects a piece of modern artwork has on an interior.

The Grand Design Live exhibition is to be held at ExCel London between 25 April and 4 May 2009. Grand Designs Live 2008 was a huge success for Kris. Making numerous contacts and gathering an outstanding amount of new orders, this exhibition was worth all the hard work. A huge draw to Kris’s stand was him painting his canvas artwork live at the exhibition. It enabled Kris to speak one to one with his prospective clients.

Kris is not averse to painting is canvas art live and speaking to people whilst working. Kris appeared on ITV’s 60mm last year and is going to be on 5 more shows in the next.

Last year Grand Designs Live saw a massive increase in visitor numbers up from 40,000 in 2007 to a staggering 100,000 in 2008. 2009 is set to be as if not even more popular with the launching of domestic gadgets and gizmos that haven’t been released yet and new and innovative products of today and tomorrow’s house builds. That coupled with over 450 exhibitors.

Kris is very excited to be exhibiting at Grand Designs Live again this year. Kris graduated from the University of Huddersfield in June 2000 but he is no stranger to London after completing a 2 year MA at the Royal College of Art between 2000 and 2002. He has been producing contemporary canvas art since graduating and has exhibited work in various exhibitions, show homes, bars and salons around the UK and abroad, working with a number of interior designers to supply art work to them. He also exhibits in over 20 John Lewis departments stores, primarily in London. Through exhibiting at Grand Designs Live, he is hoping to showcase his artwork to a wider audience, different to those of John Lewis and his home town of Hull.
The launch of his website http://www.krishardy.com in 2006 has meant he has a travelling portfolio of his previous, latest, bespoke and John Lewis work. Incorporating an ecommerce system has enabled his work to be purchased online delivered to anywhere in the world.

His very contemporary approach to his artwork style and attitude to artist – client relations is refreshing. The approach he takes with his work is to produce high quality, original acrylic-on-canvas paintings that complement the client’s interior. All artwork is painted to order by Kris himself and comes in standard sizes depending on the painting format. The refreshing approach is highlighted greatly by his comment “I more than happy to do bespoke sizes and colours, as I believe if you want a piece of art for a specific space then you should not have to compromise”.

Grand Designs Live
London Excel 25 April – 4 May 2009
Tickets weekday advanced £10/on the door £15
Weekend and Bank Holiday Monday advanced £13/on the door £18
For more information on Kris’s exhibition and latest work visit his website www.krishardy.com and for directions and opening times for Grand Designs Live go to www.granddesignslive.com

Unlike many of the suppliers to the show, Kris will be producing his canvas art in real time within the 60 minutes. He is due to be painting under a canopy outside. The colour pallet will be given to him by the show’s designer which in the case of the Cobham show will be Derek Taylor. Derek will advise Kris on the colour scheme so his artwork can complement the decor. He is due to be interviewed regarding the work he is supplying by Terri Dwyer, the shows presenter.  Kris is hoping this fantastic opportunity will showcase his art to a wider audience. Launched in 2004, 60 Minute Makeover is a very popular daytime, reality television show on ITV aired at 2.00pm until 3.00pm. The designers and crew makeover four rooms in each house as a surprise for a nominated owner or resident. At the end of the show, the revamped rooms are revealed to the deserving person.

It has been a very exciting year for Kris so far not just in the form of 60 Minute Makeover but in May he exhibited at Grand Designs Live at London Excel. Kris had the idea of actually painting whilst on his stand which made for a very productive and effective show and achieving a high number of commissions.

French illustrator Marine has created a number of stunning wall art limited edition prints, which are clearly inspired by her love for music and fashion, the Ye-Ye movement in sixties France, her childhood and all the different people she meets.

Marine was born in Paris, grew up in South of France and moved to Brighton to study Graphic Design.
Now living and working in Brighton as an illustrator she divides her time between commissions for clients such as The Guardian, Penguin, Coca-Cola, TruThoughts, Amelia’s Magazine, Jazeera Airways … and personal work that she exhibits regularly. Her work has been described as vivid, vibrant, sometimes retro or slightly surreal and has been published in Computer Arts, Etapes Graphiques, Illusive and the Secrets Of Digital Illustration.

Most recently Marine is noted for four quality portraits including Gossip’s singer Beth Ditto, Dance Girl, Guitar Girl and Tea Girl, which are all printed on 400 gsm uncoated Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved paper are available in a very limited edition of just fifty signed and numbered screen-prints.
This Beth Ditto print is exclusively available from Design Supremo, which is an online creative hub that brings together cutting edge design, illustration, photography, street art and other hybrids in between. Design Supremo collect and supply original, vintage and screen prints, art posters, unique t-shirts, and other assorted creative products.

One very famous artist by the name of David Hockney, although from West Yorkshire, produced a series of paintings of the East Yorkshire landscape. David Hockney is arguably the most famous and influential British artist of the 20th century. David Hockney’s paintings are renowned around the world having exhibited his canvas art in New York, Germany, Japan and Portugal.

A series of five East Yorkshire landscapes were shown for the first time at Tate Britain in 2007. This beautiful area is often misunderstood by the people of the UK associating this area with fishing and flat, unspectacular landscapes. Hockney changed this perception and along with the regeneration of East Yorkshire, most notably Hull, this area is finally being put on the map for the right reasons.

These canvas artwork pieces were all painted in the same location in Woldgate Woods during the course of one year. Quite different from many of Hockney’s other work, this series of five were all 12 feet long. Hockney has described the area as having “the sorts of wide vistas you get all the time in the American West,”. Canvas art is synonymous with David Hockney but it is watercolour that he would first create his painting of East Yorkshire in. He would then revisit the site and again, almost entirely in situ, paint the finished canvas art in oils. Watercolour enabled Hockney to capture the landscape quickly through the changing light.

The Hull has begun to champion young artists and The University of Hull art collection features British art, paintings, drawings and sculpture 1890-1940, including works by Sickert, Steer, Lucien Pissarro, Augustus John, Stanley Spencer, Epstein and Moore. Camden Town and Bloomsbury artists are particularly featured. Hull is also luring artists to the area from as high an education at The Royal College of Art.

There are many art galleries in East Yorkshire exhibiting canvas artwork, contemporary and classical art and watercolours and oils. This area of Yorkshire has strong sea, coastal and fishing ties being such a large part of its heritage and these themes can be found in the art here.

Not everyone has the money to buy modern canvas art produced by famous artists so it has enabled the not so famous but equally as talented new artists to produce work and be successful selling them. Canvas art is quite dramatic as the medium used is either oil or acrylic paint. Both achieve high depth in colour and on a bright white wall, a piece of canvas artwork on a stretched canvas frame has maximum impact.

Oil and acrylic are very versatile and both give the option for alteration after the painting has been finished. This is especially the case for oils as they take a number of weeks to dry. It enables a piece of canvas art to be produced and a step taken back from it. It can then be revisited and adapted should the artist feel it is required. Watercolour for example is quite final once completed. Oil and acrylic come alive even more when a few coats have been put on and textures are built up. An example of this is in the artwork for Howard Hodgkin and Gillian Ayres. Both use bright colours and layer and layer paint to create not just high impact in terms of depth of colour but also texture. These particular canvas artwork pieces look breathtaking on a white wall.

Clean lines and minimal aesthetics are the keys with many of the latest wave if modern art pieces. Another impressive move in the artwork is that artists today are actually quite happy to produce bespoke artwork specifically for the client from their own specifications. For example a piece of artwork is often created to specifically suit the interiors of the room it is commissioned for both in style and colour. This is quite a shift from what many people conceive in artists. It is making modern art even more modern and allows the owner of the artwork to have input creating an even more personal piece.

This year has been very exciting for Kris Hardy as he exhibited at Grand Design Live at London Excel 3rd to the 11th of May 2008. In its 4th year, Grand Designs Live boasts over 40000 visitors and Kris will be amongst a staggering 450 exhibitors. Kris showcased his latest work and he demonstrated his canvas art live on the stand. It was a very successful week for him.

Kris graduated from the University of Huddersfield in June 2000 but he is no stranger to London after completing a 2 year MA at the Royal College of Art between 2000 and 2002. He has been producing contemporary canvas art commissions since graduating and have exhibited work in various exhibitions, show homes, bars and salons around the UK and abroad, working with a number of interior designers to supply art work to them. Since 2003 he has exhibited his work in over 20 John Lewis departments stores, primarily in London. Through exhibiting at Grand Designs Live, he is hoping to showcase his artwork to a wider audience, different to those of John Lewis and his home town of Hull.

The launch of his website in 2006, http://www.krishardy.com, has meant he has a travelling portfolio of his past, latest, bespoke and John Lewis work. Incorporating an eccommerce system has enabled his work to be purchased online delivered to anywhere in the world.

His very contemporary approach to his artwork style and attiitude to artist – client relations is refreshing. The approach he takes with his work is to produce high quality, original acrylic-on-canvas paintings that complement the client’s interior. All artwork is painted to order by himself and comes in standard sizes depending on the painting format. The refreshing approach is highlighted greatly by his comment “I more than happy to do bespoke sizes and colours, as I believe if you want a piece of art for a specific space then you should not have to compromise”.