Artist of the Week - Ken Howard

 Low Water at Mousehole 1995 

Oil on board approx 11" x 14"

14" x 17" gold frame with slip mount

£3750

Ken Howard studied at Hornsey School of Art from 1949 to 1953. He then did his National Service with the Royal Marines before returning to study at the Royal College of Art from 1955 to 1958. He went on to win a British Council Scholarship to Florence from 1958 to 1959.

Howard’s first solo show was held at the Plymouth Art Centre in 1955. Subsequent exhibitions were held in 1966 and 1968 at the John Whibley Gallery. From then on he exhibited extensively, both nationally and internationally, particularly with the New Grafton Gallery from the early 1970s. He was given a retrospective in 1972 at the Plymouth City Art Gallery and in 1973 and 1979 was appointed by the Imperial War Museum as official artist in Northern Ireland. He also worked with the British Army in Germany, Cyprus, Oman, Hong Kong, Nepal, Norway, Canada, Belize and Brunei from 1973 to 1982.

Howard was elected a member of the New English Art Club in 1962, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1966, the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1979, the Royal West of England Academy 1981, Honorary Member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1988, Royal Academician in 1991 and President of the New English Art Club in 1998. Among his numerous awards are First Prize in the Lord Mayor’s Art Award in 1966, a Prize Winner in the John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool in 1978, first prize in the Hunting Group Awards and the Critics Prize at Sparkasse Karlsruhe in 1985. Ken Howard lives and works in London.

Skills Guide to Picture Framing Levels

Top Quality Framing at Competitive Prices
Skills picture framing workshop staff are members of the Fine Art Trade Guild.  This means that they have received top quality training to ensure that any item will be framed perfectly to conserve it to high levels.  So many times Skills receives framed items from other framing outlets which have not been framed adequately.  Either the frame has started to fall apart or the item inside the frame is getting damaged through destructive display methods, including stitching an expensive item or from having acidic mounts put directly on top of work.  Skills can save a treasured piece from further damage and will adivse on how best to keep your treasured picture, embroidery, or memorabilia framed to the highest level for longevity and enjoyment on your wall.  The levels available are as follows:-

Budget Level Framing
It’s better than Minimum and better than ready made framing. If you can afford to frame your items or artwork at Commended Level, the Fine Art Trade Guild recommends you do so, as that gives it a degree of protection from physical and mechanical damage, airborne pollution and acid damage. Budget Level framing makes no pretence to protect the artwork or its long-term visual appearance. However, Budget Level Framing does provide a visually acceptable frame at a budget price and is suitable for replaceableartwork of no commercial or sentimental value.
Commended Level Framing
Guild Commended Level framing should visually enhance the artwork and will give a moderate level of protection from physical and mechanical damage, airborne pollution and acid damage. A windowmount or slip should normally be used to visually enhance the artwork and distance it from the glazing. Processes do not have to be reversible so make sure your framer knows if the chance to get your work back to its condition prior to framing is important to you. The Guild recommends that processes should be reversible whenever possible, as the future value of works cannot always be foreseen and work ‘in mint condition’ commands the best secondary market value.
The target time for this level of framing is around five years in normal conditions, but this can be improved by requesting Conservation Level quality of materials, such as mountboard, where you can afford it. Consult with your professional framer. Always have items and artwork that you value framed with the best possible materials; this will help them give you pleasure for longer. Commended Level framing gives you a wider choice of mountboard colour options than Conservation Level and some artwork will look better when dry mounted, a process that can also help disguise previous damage but that is usually not readily reversible.
Commended Level Framing is suitable for replaceable artwork of limited commercial and/or moderate sentimental value and where visual appearance is important. The target lifetime assumes that artwork is not inherently unstable. Commended Level framing is not recommended for high value limited edition prints or original artwork, which should be framed to Conservation or Museum Level.

Conservation Level Framing
Guild Conservation Level framing gives a high level of protection for your artwork or objects, whilst looking good and enabling you to view your framed work to best effect. It should give virtually as high a level of protection as Museum Level framing and in many markets, for example the USA, no distinction is made between the two. By using conservation quality materials and the best techniques, the framer can give your work protection from physical and mechanical damage, airborne pollution and acids generated by many framing materials
Conservation Level framing should be good for 20 years in normal conditions, but be vigilant: pictures are rarely hung in ideal conditions, so we recommend that you have the frame checked every five years or so by a professional framer .  The Fine Art Trade Guild recommends that you agree a ‘condition of artwork’ report on all works to be framed to Conservation Level that are not brand new, prior to framing. Appropriate remedial action on deteriorating artwork should be taken before reframing. Some framers can do this work; not all. Check and ask for credentials

Suitable for

Objects and artworks that are to be preserved for future generations and collectables should be framed to Conservation Level, if not to Museum Level. Original artwork deserves Conservation or Museum Level Framing. Limited edition prints of moderate to high value that are not framed to Conservation or Museum Level may not hold or increase their value over time as well as those that are. This is because Conservation Level framing, as well as Museum Level framing, requires that all processes affecting the artwork be fully reversible. In other words, what you have framed to Guild Conservation Level can be returned to its former state, i.e. prior to framing, at any time up to 20 years, assuming that the artwork is not inherently unstable

Good original frames should be retained wherever possible as these can enhance the value of the artwork. Frames can be replicated for display purposes, while the original is preserved in museum storage. Sometimes it is advantageous to retain an original windowmount (possibly gilded or decorated). A qualified framer will know how to do this and protect the artwork from damage this original windowmount could otherwise inflict on the artwork.

Museum Level Framing

Museum Level Framing is not confined to museums’ works. Some artwork gains museum-quality status over time. Works that are to be preserved for future generations, including high value items and artwork of potential or historical value should be framed to Museum Level, where possible. Processes are intended to be fully reversible up to 35 years, which means that the framed work can be returned to its former state, i.e. prior to framing, at any time, assuming that the artwork is not inherently unstable
Good original frames should be retained wherever possible as these can enhance the value of the artwork. Frames can be replicated for display purposes, while the original is preserved in museum storage. Sometimes it is advantageous to retain an original windowmount (possibly gilded or decorated). A qualified framer will know how to do this and protect the artwork from damage this original windowmount could otherwise inflict on the artworkMuseum Level framing should give the best possible protection for your artwork or objects, whilst looking good and enabling you to view your framed work to best effect. By using the highest quality materials available and the best techniques, the framer can give your work protection from physical and mechanical damage,  airborne pollution and acids generated by many framing materials. Museum Level framing should be good for at least 30 years in normal conditions. However, pictures are  rarely hung in ideal conditions, so we recommend that you have the frame checked every five years or so by a professional framer. The Fine Art Trade Guild recommends that you agree a ‘condition of artwork’ report on all works to be framed to Museum Level that are not brand new, prior to framing. Appropriate remedial action on deteriorating artwork should be taken before reframing. Some framers can do this work; not all. Check and ask for credentials.
Note: Any existing labels should be preserved as this can provide provenance for the art    

Visit Skills at 18 High Street, Stony Stratford MK11 1AF for a non obligatory quote and expert advice on picture framing.  Click on the map for opening times and contact details

What is so special about Unison Soft Pastels?

Skills are the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire stockist for the top quality Unison soft pastel range.  Why do artists choose these particular pastels over other varities on the market?  The reason why they were created in the first place is due to creator John Hersey’s experience as a pastel artist.  He was dissatisfied with manufactured pastels available – which had poor colour vibrancy, inconsistent colour texture, and often crumbling and breaking soon after purchase.
John Hersey was born in 1925. He was a student at the Byam Shaw School of art in London where he won a Rome scholarship and lived in Italy for several years. On returning to London, he continued to paint and ran a business making fine art colour slides.

With his experience using pastels, John had a vision for the quality of pastel he would like to use for his artwork.  For several years he worked on methods of production, colour sequences and the texture of his pigment mixtures. In 1987 he decided to offer the results to fellow pastallists, with immediate interest.  Eventually sales expanded in the USA and now the Unison brand is known as a sought after artists quality pastel range.  Find out how the unison pastels are made.

Unison pastels are available to purchase at Skills individually in a pick n mix purchase and a special offer for 6.  Attractive boxed sets, including starter, bright, dark, portrait, and landscape are also available for a special Christmas gift.

Click on the wheel to view the complete range.