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The Five Star Artist. Written by Sally Major.
Jobs in the
art world don’t come around that often, so
artist Jeremy Houghton was obviously in the
right place at the right time to land his latest
position…
The London Intercontinental hotel on Mayfair’s
Park Lane has recently undergone a £75 million
refurbishment. It now boasts unparalleled
hospitality and has a steady flow of A-listers
swooning through its suites. New managers and
chefs have been appointed, along with new
proposals to help make the Intercontinental
experience that much more special and unique.
One such initiative, which is a first in the
hotel world, is to have a resident artist.
Jeremy Houghton has been fulfilling this role
since November of last year, so how has he
faired with a new clientele ranging from Oil
Barons to Hollywood stars?
Houghton’s studio is on the 7th floor looking
out over Hyde Park corner with vast
floor-to-ceiling windows which enjoy panoramic
views of London. To the left, Big Ben and
Westminster. Ahead, beyond Buckingham Palace
gardens, the iconic Battersea Power Station. And
to the right, Harrods and Knightsbridge. There
can be no other studio in the world with such
historic and sleepless views. The room itself is
filled with Jeremy’s cutting edge watercolours.
Not the medium you’d expect in such a
contemporary studio, but with Houghton’s
distinctive style and presentation these
watercolours can be hung in the loudest of
interiors. ‘The pendulum is definitely swinging
back’, he says, ‘Watercolours are once again
featuring in contemporary galleries, so it’s
really exciting to be part of the movement’.
Houghton decided to specialise in watercolours
three years ago when he returned from South
Africa where he was head of art at the
International School of Cape Town. Since then he
has taken-on the art world using traditional
watercolours, undeniably the most difficult
medium to paint in, attracting the attention of
serious collectors from both home and abroad.
The hotel’s new ethos is celebrating
multi-cultural London, so Houghton’s paintings
also fit under this theme. ‘What a topic! It’s
great being asked to paint things that you
normally wouldn’t tackle. It takes you out of
your comfort zone and makes you ask unfamiliar
questions.’ And Houghton seems to have come up
with all the visual answers. With paintings
ranging from the statue of Eros at Piccadilly to
the dome of St. Paul’s, the intercontinental
guests are treated to an inspiring display of
vibrant images. There is nothing subtle about
his choice of colours which are loosely cast
onto big pieces of card, and then pierced with
black Indian ink, making the white paper
highlights seemingly rise above the surface.
Overall, Houghton’s exceptional draughtsmanship
provides an astonishing contrast to his choice
of translucent watercolours, creating pictures
that are such a breath of fresh air in London’s
present-day art scene.
As artist in residence Houghton provides some
excellent PR for the hotel, which is often
extended to some of the events that the hotel is
associated with. Back in November and more
recently in February the hotel was one of the
hosts to London fashion week. The knock-on from
this was that the hotel has been able to enjoy
paintings rather than photos of these
associations. Having a Houghton on hand lead to
him being asked to sit behind a variety of
catwalks, and sketch an abundance of scantily
clad models, and then finish them off later in
his hotel studio. The question of coping in such
unusual circumstances once again raises its
head. ‘I didn’t give myself any choice; the
paintings had to work, and luckily they’ve been
well received so it’s been a really rewarding
experience’.
Houghton finishes at the Intercontinental in
June, where he will head home to the Cotswolds
to take up another artist in residence job. This
time he will be painting at the Longborough
Opera Festival, which is fast becoming akin to
Glyndebourne. The costume and drama of classics
such as La Traviata set amidst the rolling hills
will seem miles away from Hyde Park corner, but
Houghton is incredibly motivated and seems to
relish these high profile challenges which are
helping make his young career steam ahead at
such an impressive rate.
For more information about Jeremy Houghton
please refer to www.houghtonart.co.uk. And if
you are interested in buying any of Jeremy’s
hotel paintings, or in applying to be his
successor at the hotel, please contact Georgie
Grandy on www.grandyart.com.
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