Pintar Rapido – or – A Painting in a Day!

Pintar Rapido is a Spanish idea – brought to London by Roger Beckett.

Can you imagine coming across over 500 artists on the streets of Kensington and Chelsea. They are all being madly creative and painting on every street corner. It’s an unbelievable sight for an artist like me, but can you imagine the impact on the general public? Wouldn’t everyone, given the chance, like to watch an artist at work. Wouldnt they be intrigued to see how the art is made, ‘and how the artist adds their own feelings and thoughts about the subject. I have taken part in this activity for two years now, and I’ve been lucky enough to sell my work, on both occasions.
We arrive at Chelsea Old Town Hall on Saturday morning and our canvas or board is stamped on the back.
We then disperse to all corners of the Borough and I set up my easel, or a drawing board, chairs and everything else needed to plan my day’s work.

The first thing to notice is that everyone works differently, they use different materials. Some use studio easels and some work on the floor. Some work in oils and others in pastels, I work in watercolours and others use acrylics.
We all hope for one thing, and that is dry weather. Carting a portable art studio, around with you is no joke on a rainy day, its hard enough on a hot one. If you’ve never seen artists at work – it’s worth going to visit for that alone. Artists usually do their ‘creating’ behind closed doors alone in their studios, so it’s a real treat to watch their process.

The subjects chosen are as diverse as the artists themselves. Ranging from riverside boats, barges and bridges, to historic buildings. To parks and gardens, to busy street scenes or quiet mews houses. Sometimes tree-filled squares, or rooftop views from high vantage points. Some artists choose, market stalls, passers by, statues and even a graveyard. There is plenty of variety in this part of London.
I chose Sloane Square and painted my first subject before a well earned lunch at Côte of Sloane Square. I went back to paint another watercolour as my first sold ‘off the easel’. It’s better to have a choice at the end of the day. By about 6pm I had three paintings in the bag and had to choose one for the exhibition on the Sunday, and mount and frame it. As usual I asked others to choose the best, as I find it so difficult to judge my own work.

After I had Rested, the preview opened at 11am, and   all the paintings, had been hung. There were approx. 400 in number, in the exhibition. The judges awarded the prizes and we were all thanked. Then the public were let in. They had been invited by the artists and organisers and paintings began to sell. I went off to the riverside at the Chelsea Embankment and  made a dip pen and Ink drawing. The Albert Bridge is a very old and ornate iron suspension bridge. It is painted pink! (Only in Chelsea)!

Luckily I received a phone call to say my painting had sold, so I could head for home. Not before enjoying a lunch at the Chelsea Potter, pub in Kings Road. What a fabulous weekend, every bit as good as the previous year. Such a good opportunity to sell my work at London prices.

Needless to say, I’ll soon be booking my place at Pintar Rapido 2015.