Canvas Art Blog by Kris Hardy

Grand Designs Live for Second Year

2009-03-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

Following the success of Grand Designs Live 2008, Kris Hardy is exhibiting this year as well.

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 his 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.

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 http://www.krishardy.com and for directions and opening times for Grand Designs Live go to www.granddesignslive.com

Grand Designs Live 2009 Promotion

2009-03-12T05:34:00.001-07:00

I've got a new promotion on to celebrate Grand Designs Live 2009

Grand Designs Live Promotion 20% Off Everything

This includes canvas art commissions

Simply visit the site http://www.krishardy.com and click on the link to contact me and be eligible for the discount or for any information about my stand at the show.

Grand Design Live 2009 - 25 April to 4 May.

The History of Acrylic Paint

2009-03-12T05:29:00.000-07:00

Acrylic is still not regarded as highly as the media’s of watercolour or oil but with such versatile capabilities, it should be.
Acrylic paints became commercially available in the 1950’s but were a mineral spirit-based paint. The water-based paints sold shortly after were a combination of binder, filler, pigment and water. Artists began to discover this acrylic paint and artist quality acrylics became commercially available in the 1960’s.

The beauty of acrylics is that they can be water down to achieve a wash on a canvas similar to watercolour. Without water and the effect is like using oil paints. Fast drying, acrylics are very versatile and they can be used are many different surfaces unlike watercolour and oil and with unparalleled clarity. Layers can be built up to achieve texture whereas this would take years with oil due to the length of time it takes to dry and the pigment does not discolour or become brittle. Mixed media can also be used with acrylics such as charcoal and pastel and particles can be mixed into the paint to achieve an alternative texture.

Acrylic paint is a modern media when compared with watercolour and oil. Oil for example has been used by artists as far back at the 15th century and watercolour has been used as an artist medium since the Renaissance. With such history of these other two mediums, acrylic is always fighting to gain recognition. Acrylic has distinct characteristics as oil and watercolour do and the National Acrylic Painters’ Association was set up in 1985 to champion and support this media. Acrylic is capable of the widest range of approaches of any artist media and enables even more creativity, fresh ideas and progression. Artwork has been created in acrylic paint but artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Bridget Riley and David Hockney to name just a few.

There are now a huge number of artists producing canvas art 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.

Canvas Art Artist Exhibits at Grand Designs Live for Second Year

2009-03-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

Following the success of Grand Designs Live 2008, Kris Hardy the Hull based artist is to exhibit this year as well.

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 his canvas art live and speaking to people whilst working. The past year has seen kris appear on 11 ITV’s “60 Minute Makeover” shows throughout the country with the presenter Terry Dwyer.

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.

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

Art in East Yorkshire

2009-01-29T05:41:00.000-08:00

East Yorkshire is not an area that is first thought of when talking about art hot spots in the UK but this part of Yorkshire is fast becoming one.
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 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.

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 canvas artwork to have input creating an even more personal piece.

Canvas Art by Kris Hardy to appear on ITV’s 60 Minute Makeover show

2009-01-29T05:37:00.000-08:00

The first show for Kris will be in Cobham in Surry where he is due to produce two canvas art pieces for the living room/dining room. It is anticipated that he will also be supplying the Taunton show two weeks later.

Unlike many of the suppliers to the show, Kris will be producing his canvas artwork 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 his canvas art 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.

Modern Canvas Art

2008-11-21T03:23:00.000-08:00

Modern art is defined from the 1860’s to the 1970’s in terms of galleries and art history. In recent years the appeal of modern art in a widespread context has occurred.

The new style of modern, open plan living had made for the need of equally as modern and unique art for the white stark walls. The apartment living scene has especially contributed but even older style houses are having walls taken down to make way for the open plan living so popular today.

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.

Grand Designs Live Outcomes

2008-05-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

Grand Designs Live 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. Kris's also painted his canvas art work live on his stand. This attracted a huge number of people to the stand and enabled Kris to speak one to one with his prospective clients.

Grand Design Live was on for 9 days and was even broadcast live each day on Channel 4 with various celebrity guests and exhibitors. The show was a great success all round and the television show is sure to boost the vistor numbers up even more.

New John Lewis Work

2008-03-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

Kris had created a new range for 2008 for John Lewis, able to be viewed in full on his website.

He is making quite a name for himself due to his painting sessions actually live in various John Lewis stores. This enables the public to meet him, talk to him and ask him about his infulences.

Grand Designs Live

2008-03-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

Kris is to exhibit 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 is said to be "very excited to be exbibiting at a national event". Not only will be showcasing his latest work but he will be demonstrating his canvas art live on the stand. He will be taking questions and deomonstrating his skills, all live.

The launch of his website http://www.krishardy.com in 2006 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".

Kris Hardy Art Commissions

2007-12-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

Based in Yorkshire, kris hardy is an art graduate who 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 contemporary canvas art to them.

Since 2003 he has sold work through John Lewis department stores and is currently selling in around 22 of their stores nationwide.

He specialises in high quality, original contemporary canvas art commission including art for the home and commercial properties. In terms of bespoke art commissions, anything on this site can be bought in any size or colour you wish at no cost over the equivalent on sale piece.