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Old Masters of the Future

Old Masters of the Future. Send submissions to: artcollection@reading.ac.uk. Twitter @UniRdg_ArtCol and Instagram @unirdg_artcollection

These are the “old masters of the future” – pictures of drawings made by you in connection to our exhibition at Reading Museum and online, Rubens to Sickert: The Study of Drawing.

“Old Masters of the Future” was a phrase used by Professor James Anthony Betts, who oversaw the School of Art at the University of Reading from 1933 – 1963. His drawing collection comprises a significant part of the exhibition.

Old Masters of the Future submission. Featuring two standing nudes. The one of the right had no facial features

Studies by Fleur Elkerton

Fleur is the co-founder for Design in Quarantine and volunteer curatorial assistant working on the Rubens to Sickert: The Study of Drawing exhibition.

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Old Masters of the Future submission. Featuring the upper half of a seated woman wearing a t-shirt and with her hair up.

Study by Sophia Tai

I drew this study when I was 19.
You can contact me on Instagram at @sophiadesignlove for drawing request commissions or small graphic design jobs for a fee.
Old Masters of the Future submission. Featuring a hand, wearing bracelets and a ring, holding an earring. This is surrounded by rays

‘Precious Pearl’ by Holly Cox

Precious Pearl
Pen and Ink on paper
5×7 inches
By Holly Cox

I’m a 31 year old artist from Reading, with a love of Art Nouveau and Victorian illustration.  My drawing depicts a hand holding a baroque pearl which is suspended on a ribbon.

Old Master of the Future submission by LogoSide. Featuring a right foot with a few leaves attached growing out of a brown plant pot

‘La planta del pie.’ by Logo Side

I love puns. And “La planta del pie” is in fact, a Pun. In Spanish we translate the sole of the feet as the ‘plant’ of the feet… Therefore, a foot in a plant pot.

I’m a self taught illustrator, I never studied art or anything similar so, if I’m kind of good at it is because I’ve never stopped drawing since I was a kid. Maybe having a big imagination helps to make me form a picture in my head and be able to put it into the paper. I also like sketching and doodling on any piece of paper I find! 

I grew up watching Cartoons (Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros, and some anime) but I’d say my biggest influence comes from Matt Groening. His style is simple but very expressive and that’s what got embedded into my brain when I started exploring the world of illustration. 

Old Masters of the Future submission. A man wearing a loin cloth only and holding a long spear

Study by Laura Allsopp-Huddle

Laura is a Fine Art and English undergraduate student at the University of Reading.

Old Masters of the Future submission. A self portrait by Georgios Gyparis.

‘Self Portrait’ by Georgios Gyparis

Georgios Gyparis is a current 3rd year Art student of the University of Reading.

Georgios Gyparis, ‘A self-portrait’, March 2021, pen on paper, A4 (0,21m x 0,297m).

 

 

Nude model laying down with back to the viewer and right hand in the foreground.

‘Lying Nude’ by Paul Whitehouse

‘Lying nude’, charcoal on paper by Paul Whitehouse

Seated nude female model with one leg bent underneath and the other leg bent out to the side

Sketch of Ezra by Linda Graves

Charcoal sketch of model Ezra from a recent online life drawing session with Wokingham Life Drawing Society.

“I try to capture the gesture very quickly without overthinking it, then go back and correct the line if I have time. My biggest weakness is that I can’t resist trying to get an impression of the models’ face even when time is short. When it works it always makes the drawing more memorable for me and sometimes might even improve it. I like to try different approaches and mix it up a bit with charcoal, pencil or pastel.” – Linda Graves

Still life featuring with a hand trowel, a watering can and two tall jugs.

Still Life by James Banerjee

Still Life by James Banerjee.

James hasn’t had any formal artistic training, and his approach reflects the majority of self-taught artists who start their study through still life.

Profile of standing nude female with her hands resting on the top of the back of a chair, which is on a plinth. The figure is drawn in various shades of pink and beige and the background in white, green and red.

Drawing by Celeste Kelly

Celeste Kelly created this drawing in Jenny Halstead’s Life Drawing Session.

Standing female nude, only wearing a face mask. Behind and to the right of the figure are two framed artworks. At the bottom left is a plinth.

Sketch of Ellie by Ann Spicer

Ann Spicer created this drawing in Jenny Halstead’s Life Drawing Session.

Drawing of facial features (eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth) on a piece of paper with a torn bottom edge.

‘Edie’ by Tayo Jones

‘Edie’ by Tayo Jones, a fine art graduate student.

2021

Self portrait of the head and shoulders of a man wearing round glasses.

Drawing by Peter Betts

This is a portrait by Peter Betts

Old Masters of the Future submission. Featuring a standing woman with the head from 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. The figure is wearing a Billie Eilish T-shirt

‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by Mary Arkinstall

A contemporary version of Girl with a Pearl Earring wearing a Billy Eilish t-shirt

By Mary Arkinstall

Old Masters of the Future. Send submissions to: artcollection@reading.ac.uk. Twitter @UniRdg_ArtCol and Instagram @unirdg_artcollection

Submit your Drawings

Thinking of taking part? Still not sure what to draw?

Read this information on how to get started and submit your drawings.

We look forward to seeing your submissions!