An Inverness College art lecturer has sold out his work at this year’s Royal Society of British artists exhibition, before the show even got under way.
Before the exhibition private opening even started in July, Frank To’s artwork, created with gunpowder, generated unprecedented levels of interests and sales.
Mr To was one of only seven Scottish artists selected for the exhibition – out of 1800 submissions. He was the only artist from Inverness to show his work at the prestigious event.
Mr To said: “I never really expected the gunpowder and explosive black powder series to be this successful.
“All I ever wanted was to show the importance of technical craft, such as drawing and painting, being integrated into contemporary art.
“Drawing in some major art schools today is disregarded and I want to highlight that I myself trained traditionally still value these skills and hard graft.”
Mr To counts Star Treck captain, actor Sir Patrick Stewart, as one of his former drawing pupils.
The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is dedicated to promoting the highest standards of skill, concept and draughtsmanship in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing.
The RBA hold an open submission exhibition in central London every year.
Founded in 1823, the RBA was originally set up to rival the Royal Academy.
Today, the Society prides itself on exhibiting an eclectic mix of work in varied media.
Frank To is showing in the Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, Federation of British Artists, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5BD until July 14 2019.