More Good Press

Review of the Red Box show in The Courier, Newcastle University's student newspaper.

Red Box show in The Crack

View from the Keep 2

View from the Keep 2 - Turnbull Building (oil on canvas, 36 x 48 ins)

This is the second of the new large paintings I've done for the Red Box Gallery show.

View from the Keep

View from the Keep 2009 (oil on canvas, 36 x 48 ins)

This is one of the paintings done specially for the Figure8 show at Red Box Gallery in September.

Colour installation Whitley Bay Playhouse - Frank Briffa

The (more or less) completed foyer area.

The Ice Break - Frank Briffa

Oil on canvas 152cm x 122cm. Based on an opera by Michael Tippett. These opera paintings are intended for the Figure8 show at the Red Box Gallery,Newcastle

in September.

The Knot garden - Frank Briffa

Oil on canvas 152cm x 122cm. Also based on an Opera by Tippett

Lulu - Frank Briffa

Oil on canvas 152cm x122cm

A new painting. Nothing to do with the diminutive Glaswegian pop singer. It's based on the Alban Berg opera 'Lulu' and is one of a pair (or possibly a series) based on operas.The 'Knot Garden'

(Tippett) is nearly finished.

Rhine Journey - Frank Briffa

oil on canvas 60cm x 60cm

One of the paintings I will be showing at

Preston Hall.

Prague Tram No.4

Prague Tram No.4 (Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 ins)

One of the paintings I shall be showing at the Figure 8 exhibition at Preston Hall Museum from 2 May 2009 to 13 June 2009. It follows on from my Vaporetto Series shown in Darlington last year.

Two New Paintings

The Barley Mow, City Road, Newcastle (Oil on canvas, 16 x 16 ins)

Tynemouth (Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 cms.,)

North of England Art Club Annual Exhibition

Farm in Langdale (Oil on board, 16 x 16 ins., framed, £350)

This painting is currently on show at the Club's Annual Exhibition in the Guildhall, Quayside, Newcastle. The show runs until 28 December.

Song of a Great City - Frank Briffa

Over the Pavements - Frank Briffa

Two new paintings. Over the Pavements is

based on yet another Ives piece. Song of a Great City also has its roots in music but not Ives this time!

NewcastleGateshead Art fair

We set up the Figure 8 Stand yesterday, ready for tonight's NewcastleGateshead VIP Preview Evening . Considering we knew nothing of what would be expected of us, and having no previous experience of art fairs, I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well.

To give credit where due, I have to say that we'd have taken hours longer than we did, were it not for Peter S. He's a wizard with the spirit level, pencil and electric drill. By the time we left, shortly before the 6 o'clock close, there were people who'd been there all day and had barely got past the fixing on mirror plates stage.

Here are two photographs of how our stand looks.

We'll be there early again this afternoon. The Art Fair Police will be coming round to inspect the stand and make sure our modest table doesn't intrude beyond our allocated space, then once we have their blessing, the place will be thrown open to the Press.

If you're around over the weekend, do try to look in on us at Stand N2, in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall at The Sage, Gateshead. We'll all be there most times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, The opening times are:

Friday 12th September 11am-6pm
Saturday 13th September 11am-5pm
Sunday 14th September 11am-5pm

Burano - Reflections III

Oil on Canvas - triptych - each piece 100 x 80 cms.

Venice - Grand Canal Reflections III

Acrylic on Canvas - 40.5 x 40.5cms. Currently showing in the Figure8 'Colourworks' exhibition at the McGuinness Gallery, Town Hall, Bishop Auckland

Burano - Reflections I

Oil on Canvas, 100 x 120cm. Currently showing in the Figure8 exhibition 'Colourworks' at the McGuinness Gallery, Town Hall, Bishop Auckland

No.32 - Harry Bell

No.32 (Oil on board, 9 x 9 ins.)

One of the paintings to be seen on the Figure 8 stand (N2) at the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair. See the sidebar for further details.

Blawearie Steps - Harry Bell

Blawearie Steps (Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 ins.)

This is one of my paintings currently showing in the Figure 8: Colourworks exhibition at the McGuinness Gallery in Bishop Auckland. See sidebar for further details.

Red Moon - Frank Briffa

This painting, based on Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck will be shown at the Newcastle Gateshead Art Fair at the Sage building in September.

oil on canvas 60cmx60cm

Ives Quartet - Frank Briffa

This painting is currently on show at the Tom McGuinness Gallery, Bishop Auckland

oil on canvas 100cmx100cm

A Review

Any publicity is good publicity, I guess, however inaccurate. We're not, of course all landscape painters and the pictures in the show at Gateshead Library Gallery are very definitely not the "region's best-loved scenes."

However, it's a start in getting our name better known.

The Coming Year

A Happy New Year to you all! Here's our programme for 2008. We hope to see you at one or all of our shows.

La Muse Victorieuse - Frank Briffa

This is one of five new paintings,based on the music of Couperin,
which I will be showing in Gateshead library next year as part of
a figure8 show.

oil on canvas 60cmx60cm

Central Station

Central Station (Oil on canvas, 20 x 20 ins.)

One of my more recent paintings, I expect this to be part of my contribution to the Figure 8 show at Gateshead Library next year

The Housatonic at Stockbridge - Frank Briffa

oil on canvas 100cmx100cm

Image Demonstration

Poster from June 2006

As a demonstration for the rest of Figure 8, of how images may appear on the blog, here's one of our posters from last year.

FIGURE 8 EXHIBITIONS

Drawn together by a passionate belief in paint as an expressive contemporary medium, North East painters Harry Bell, Ian Bennett, Frank Briffa and Maureen Stephenson joined forces in 2004 to show together as Figure 8.

As individual artists, we've all shown extensively in the North East and throughout the UK with work in private collections both here and abroad and also in public buildings in the UK.

Forthcoming exhibitions include:-

2007

• 4th November for 4 weeks Guild Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne

2008

• 11th January to 1st March Gateshead Library


• 11th April to 31st May Myles Meehan Gallery, Darlington Arts Centre, Vane Terrace, Darlington


• 4th June for 6 weeks Corner Gallery, The Biscuit Factory


• 28th July to 23rd August Tom McGuinness Gallery, Town Hall, Bishop Auckland

Further detailed information will be circulated nearer the individual show dates for exhibitions in 2008. We'll also be posting information here on the blog.

What else will appear on the Figure 8 blog? That remains to be seen. This is something of an experiment, but each member of the group will be able to post as and when they want to.