Kit's brush with success (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Kit's brush with success

11:00am Thursday 27th September 2012 in News By Anne Bell

Bridport artist Kit Glaisyer has been invited to exhibit in Bath as part of the biennial Holburne Portrait Prize, one of the region’s most prestigious awards for painting.

The prize is a showcase for leading artists in the South West, and the winner will receive a commission of £5,000 to paint a portrait for the Holburne’s permanent art collection.

Kit Glaisyer said: “I’m very excited to be part of this exhibition, and it’s great to be showing in the Holburne Museum alongside the great British painters of the past, like Gainsborough, Stubbs and Turner.

“Of course I’d love to win the prize as well – which is a commission to paint someone who has made a contribution to the life of the arts in the south west.

“I’d probably paint local girl PJ Harvey.”

The painting that was selected for the competition is one of Kit’s distinctive life-size ‘drip’ figures – in this case a ghostly nude that appears to be emerging from a pale blue background.

Kit is also well known for his series of paintings of Bridport’s iconic Café Royal, and for an ambitious series of panoramic west Dorset landscape paintings.

He is also an active supporter of Bridport’s art scene in his roles as co-director of Bridport Open Studios and co-chairman of Spirit of Bridport.

The Holburne Portrait Prize exhibition opened last Saturday and continues until Sunday, October 14.

The winner of the £5,000 portrait prize will be announced next Tuesday. Previous Holburne Portrait prize winners include Sally Muir, daughter of the late much-loved raconteur and broadcaster Frank Muir, as well as Michael Taylor, Jason Walker and Vincent Brown.

For information about the exhibition visit http://www.holburne.org/portrait-prize-201/ and to see more of Kit’s work visit www.kitglaisyer.com