Miriam Escofet RP | Mall Galleries

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Portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II for the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office

Miriam Escofet RP

Oil

140 x 100 cm (165 x 125 cm framed)

Related exhibition:

Portrait of Nicholas Priestley

Miriam Escofet RP

Oil

90 x 70 cm (115 x 95 cm framed)

Related exhibition:

Layout Drawings for Portrait of Elara

Miriam Escofet RP

Conte, graphite, ink & gouache

38 x 29.5 cm, 38 x 29.5 cm (58 x 90 cm framed)

£12,000

Related exhibition:

Layout Drawings for Portrait of H M The Queen for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Escofet-Miriam-Layout-Drawings-for-portrait-of-H-M-The-Queen-conte-graphite-ink-on-canson-paper-55.5-x-40.5-cm-©Miriam-Escofet-2019.jpg

Miriam Escofet RP

Conte, graphite, ink & gouache

55.5 x 40.5 cm, 51 x 43 cm (79 x 119 cm framed)

Related exhibition:

Lorenzo

Miriam Escofet RP

Oil

50 x 40 cm (69 x 59 cm framed)

Related exhibition:

Stargazing - Childhood Ontology Series

Miriam Escofet RP

Pastel & mixed media (pastel, gouache, gold leaf)

74 x 54 cm (98 x 78 cm framed)

£17,500

Related exhibition:

Portrait with Chinoiserie Wallpaper

Miriam Escofet RP

Oil

69 x 59 cm

Related exhibition:

Sophia

Miriam Escofet RP

Oil

81 x 61 cm

Related exhibition:

About Miriam Escofet RP

Profile

Artist details

Artist's Statement

I have explored many ideas and subject matter in my work, but the unifying passion in all my paintings is describing a sense of space, volume, atmosphere and detail, arriving at a kind of hyper real expression of the subject matter.

These same pictorial concerns govern when I am engaged in a portrait, of course the likeness and character of the sitter must come first, but I am as interested in the spatial and psychological depth in the work, as well as an aesthetically successful composition.

My work is very classically inspired and the journey to a painting can be very multi-disciplinary; often involving the construction of props or elaborate maquettes and the use of complex perspective.

I paint mainly in oils, my technique is extremely detailed, applying many layers and glazes to achieve a sense of space and mood. I keep working at a piece until I feel that I have arrived at an expression of palpable space

Method of Working

I have arrived at portraiture after many years of painting varied subject matter; working from life, from photographic references and from imagination. I aim for spatial and psychological depth in my portraits, as well as an aesthetically successful composition.

I can work from sittings or from photographs, ideally a combination of both.

For practical reasons I take many photographic references as the level of detail and technique which I use means I spend months on every canvas, so it would be unrealistic to expect that time commitment form the sitter.

The first step in a portrait commission is a discussion of ideas with the sitter. I will make sketches and take photographs. I like doing this in the sitter’s home as it offers a further insight into their character and allows for the inclusion of personal objects in the composition. From this initial material I will work out a composition for the portrait and prepare a drawing for the client’s approval.

Once the composition is agreed I paint the portrait with as many sittings as the subject can grant.

It takes a few months to complete a painting.

With drawings and mixed media pieces the process is less time consuming and it is more realistic to work entirely from sittings. Although I always take photographic references as they allow me to explore compositional ideas and detail in a way that can not be achieved during a sitting.

Society Memberships

Royal Society of Portrait Painters

Scholarships, Awards, Prizes

2018 Overall Winner of the BP Portrait Award

Burke’s Peerage Foundation Award for Classically Inspired Portraiture, Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition 2015

Other exhibitions

SOLO:

2013 / 14 Miriam Escofet & Jose Escofet, John Davies Gallery, Moreton-in-Marsh

2010 / 11 Jose Escofet & Miriam Escofet, Forte dei Marmi, Italy

2009 Albemarle Gallery, London

2007 Galerie Michelle Boulet, Paris.

2005 Galerie Michelle Boulet, Paris

2001 Albemarle Gallery, London

1998 Albemarle Gallery, London

1997 Rafael Valls Gallery, London

1996 Christopher Wood Gallery, Mallett of Bond Street, London

1994 Exhibition of ceramics at Pulbrook & Gould, London

GROUP:

2014 Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

2013 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London

2013 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

2012 BP Portrait Award exhibition 2012 at The National Portrait Gallery

2012 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

2010 BP Portrait Award exhibition 2010 at The National Portrait Gallery

2009 BP Portrait Award exhibition 2009 at The National Portrait Gallery

2007 BP Portrait Award exhibition 2007 at The National Portrait Gallery

2006 10th Anniversary Show, Albemarle Gallery, London

2006 Vent Des Arts (du Reve au Fantastique) Sanary-Sur-Mer, France

2005 ‘Maitres Conteporaines de l’Imaginaire’ , Galerie Michelle Boulet, Paris.

2000 ‘Millenium Exhibition’ at the Albemarle Gallery, London

1999 ‘du Reel a l’Imaginaire’, Galerie Michelle Boulet, Paris.

1999 ‘Annual Still - Life and Trompe l’Oeil Show’, Albemarle Gallery, London

1996 trompe l’oeil paintings, Rafael Valls Gallery, London

1994 Saanen Gallery, Gstaad, Switzerland

1990 Mallett of Bond Street, London

Publications

Clavis Journal Vol 3 (USA) 2014

iFamous magazine (Russia) 2013

City to City magazine (China) 2012

500 Portraits – BP Portrait Award – National Portrait Gallery 2011

Artists & Illustrators magazine 2010

Imaginaire Vol 1, magic realism 2008

Many solo exhibition catalogues from 2001 - 2015