Eight finalists for the coveted Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize will be exhibiting at the Therese Saint Clair Gallery in downtown Greenwich from April 30th through May 16th. Now in its third year, the Prize is designed to encourage creative representational painting and promote the skill of draftsmanship by British artists. The Saint Clair gallery will exhibit over 30 works of orginal art in watercolor, oil, acrylic and egg tempera.

Last year's prize attracted nearly 800 entries. Artists selected to exhibit at Saint Clair were chose by Parker Harris and Arthur and Mary, long-time Greenwich residents who were largely responsible for introducing a number of prominent British artists to the community. This is the first time in more than five years that a diversified group of British artists have shown in Greenwich.

The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers was formed in 1502 through the meerger of The Stainers Company (earliest reference is in 1268) and the Painters (established in 1283. Painter-Stainers received a Charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. Painter-Stainers is actively engaged in supporting the art and craft of painting. The Lynn Foundation is a charity devoted to children, the disabled, music and the arts. Together they awarded prize money of nearly $50,000 last year to artists selected by a distinguished panel of judges.

The artists represented in this exhibit work in a variety of media: watercolor, oil, acrylic and egg tempera. The classic oil landscapes of Richard Price, stunning watercolors of Paul Banning's Venice and Nick Johnson's small acrylics of the English countryside reaffirm the rich traditions of British artistic themes. In contrast, Julian Bray, Susan Brown and Philip Tyler have submitted acrylic and watercolor paintings with bold and colorful new designs creating a dynamic ambience of considerable tension and movement. Noreen Grant's attractive egg tempera still life paintings and Paula Wilson's contemporary oil paintings balance out this eclectic exhibition of British art.

Because of its large public appeal, artists are limited to one painting submission for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize. The exhibit at Saint Clair contains anywhere from 2 to 6 paintings by each artists to more deeply explore their body of work. The British artists represented in this exhibit show great talent and originality.

The Saint Clair Gallery will be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. daily except Sunday. Thérèse Saint Clair is located at 23 Lewis Street in downtown Greenwich, CT. Call 203-6661-2927 for directions or visit their website for more information.

Copyright (c) 2008 Richard May