Southwark painter Rod Kitson is appearing as a guest artist at London’s biggest art fair.
Kitson, who lives and works in Surrey Quays, is aiming to paint 10 portraits in three days at The Other Art Fair later this week.
The event, which is on at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, hosts more than 120 artists from all over the world.
It’s the opportunity for artists to sell their work and raise their profile, with Kitson appearing as a guest artist who will be painting portraits in real time.
Each painting will take two hours, and there will be challenges for the artist, who is more used to making paintings in the quiet of his Art of Isolation studio in Surrey Quays shopping centre.
“With all the people passing by and talking to me it’s going to be great fun, but it might be difficult to really focus on the act of painting,” he said.
“I love chatting to people and the interactions have become as important to the end result as the stillness of the sitter, so I’m going in with an open mind about the style of the paintings I’m going to produce.”
Rod will also be displaying around 50 older portraits at the fair from the massive collection of 350 faces he has painted since 2019. The portraits, which are all the same size – 30cm x 30cm – are all created from real life and not photographs
“The idea is that we create an art exhibition of portraits in real time at the fair, adding to the ones I have already done,” he added.
“I’m going to choose a range of paintings from the collection, some from the really early days of the project, and ones that, looking back, might not be technically that great. But the point of the project is about growth and acceptance, and the bad paintings are as important to that journey as the good ones”
Photographer Rankin is the main guest artist this time around.
“I wanted to paint his portrait at the fair, but understandably he’ll be a bit too busy to sit for me for two hours,” Rod added.
The Other Art Fair founder Ryan Stanier said: “Rod is an extremely talented painter, and nothing excites me more than bringing his talents to life at this upcoming The Other Art Fair.”
Rod will be exhibiting all of the portraits later this year. If you would like to be painted by Rod, then email isolationart2020@gmail.com or get in touch through his Instagram, Twitter or TikTok @RodKitsonArt
The Other Art Fair, March 9-12 at The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. Tickets: £9-£12 + booking fee. Private view (March 9): Tickets £25. Book at www.theotherartfair.com
