There and Then

The exhibition came out of a lunch at Kate's house in late July - we were bemoaning the lack of opportunities and our wish to exhibit strong artists together. Before we knew it we had decided and agreed to a group show three weeks later. I was away the following week so frantic activity to decide a title, design an invite/flier, email friends and post on social media.

                                 

                                    

We curated the show together, there were things I had not considered before like flat mounting some pieces and hanging the same themed pieces together.

                                    

We decided that we would would have a mix of all three artists on the ground floor and landings with our own rooms on the middle floor and Kate's work in her beautiful top studio. We explored scale and contrast of styles putting large scale canvas's and small paintings together.

We corralled in helpers to hang the work including my daughter Lucie who was extremely efficient and helpful in my room.  Throughout the two days we discussed how it was working and stayed late in the evening to make adjustments to the placement of work, furniture and lighting.

By Friday it was a case of making sure the price lists were complete and printed out, that the new izettle card machine worked and all pieces were clearly numbered. By 6.30 we were ready  and wondering if anyone would come. We had several helpers willing to make tea, pour wine, take money and make people feel comfortable. A mixture of snacks and homemade food provided a good starting point  in the kitchen and created a relaxed atmosphere.
Much to our amazement Friday night was packed,  Saturday and Sunday had a steady trickle of visitors and sales were made by all three artists.

Reconstructing my own work

Over the last few months there have been many developments, which began from a digital print onto a reproduction of a painting. From here I decided to start using these reproductions  to recreate some of my themes. Theses have included "tea tray/ still life", "lobster pots" "beside the sea" and "coffee pot/kettle". I have already shown some of the earlier pieces in the "Painterly Developments" post.  Two of these pieces are in the Rogue 21 exhibition at Waterside Arts in Sale.

Tea Tray  Digital print on reproduction painting

Tea Tray 

Beside the Sea

Still Life 

As I make more in this series, the image naturally evolves, as less pieces are available in the reproduction paintings that I am using.  Sometimes I recreate from sections of other pieces and other times the  composition takes over, leading to a further stage.

                                   

Kettle

                                  

Beside the Sea  

Work in progress -  I like the seated figure best as the standing figure feels too clumsy.