Making space

OK, it may not look like much to you but this is heaven! I finally found the time to have a major clear up and, after 4 days of shifting drums, PA equipment, tools, a table tennis table, display screens, random bits of wood and sorting out lots of recycling, rubbish and saleable bits, I have SPACE to work. The ‘studio’ / spare bedroom really wasn’t working – there is a hedge right outside the window which blocks the light for most of the day and I have so many pictures that there really wasn’t room to stand and work. So now, the spare room is my storage space and there is room for a spare bed so we can have visitors for once, and I now have a lovely light and airy pace to work in the ‘garage’.


So today I got creative and have almost finished one large abstract canvas and a couple of small acetate pictures (I’ll post details of those another time).  My creative juices were really flowing after stewarding at Gallery North in the week for the Hailsham Community College A/AS and GCSE art and photography exhibition and talking with Corina Stupu Thomas about her forthcoming Art from the Soul workshop for the Hailsham Arts Festival. I also attended a demonstration and workshop with Teresa Currie  in chalk pastel and watercolour which got me thinking about textures and colours.

This afternoon I took in some more visual inspiration at the private view of the current exhibition at the Coach-house gallery in Alfriston, Wilde about Sussex,  featuring work from Elizabeth Brown and William de Wilde. Their styles are totally different – William’s landscapes are precise, detailed and very colourful whereas Elizabeth’s are bold, loose and atmospheric. I particulary liked Elizabeth’s use of colour in ‘Meanderings’ . The viewing was well attended and the Gallery is a lovely space.

I then popped into the Alfriston Gallery and had a look at the landscapes there and wandered round some of the gift shops and the Village stores where I worked 20 years ago. It’s changed a bit with the upstairs being open to the public, whereas it was always a storeroom while I was there. So, a wander down memory lane and some visual stimulation has set me up for some more creativity. Sadly, I’ll be at the office for the next couple of days and won’t have painting time ‘til wednesday so I’ve got to hold that thought. I’ve discovered Pinterest and have a look on there most days -there are some great images so there’s always some inspiration there to fall back on.

I am currently excited at the prospect of being part of the selection committee for the Gallery North Summer Open (part ll). Having been on the sticky end of selection committees in the past I'm looking forward to actually wealding the stick. Mind you, I will have to get out of the mindset of our Arlington Art & Craft Show where I won't judge any work and accept that if someone feels their work is worthy of showing that's good enough. But at the gallery there is a space limitation so sadly some may have to be rejected.
When I exhibited at the Autumn Art shows years back, their committee would view the work as it was walked past them, mark each picture out of 20 and if the average score was 16 or over, you were in. I suppose one of the main disadvantages of selections is that all of the work needs to be stored until the selection and again until the hanging and the rejected work must be collected, a bit of a logistical nightmare. There is also the matter of taste - if a selection committee is the same every year they must develop a leaning towards a particular style and subject so their exhibitions could end up a bit stale.
But at least at Gallery North the hanging fee is only payable for work that is accepted and everyone submitting work gets a response, unlike some exhibitions where you pay a £15 fee just to submit and 'if you haven't had an email by a certain date you have been unsuccessful'. Easy money, huh?