Another chance to see the small paintings from my BA show. I have been invited to exhibit them in Rochdale as part of the 2010 Feel Good Festival on 13th and 14th August. More information later.
Red Hat, 5" x 7", oil on card
Until now, I have resisted entering any competitions – let alone those where you have to lug your work in, only to have to lug it home again when they don’t select it. However, I have finally decided that it is important to at least try. If I don’t work at ways of getting my work out there, no-one will ever see it. So yesterday, I took this painting for a ride on the train to Leeds, and we walked together in the rain up to Leeds Art Gallery to enter it into their Open Competition. It may not be selected, but I am recording it here because I think the ‘backshop’ work we do to get our work out there (whether it is writing, art, music or whatever) should be celebrated. So let’s hear it for doing those irritating jobs and taking a few risks.
'Bathtime', Oil on canvas, 2ft x 2ft 6"
Thompson Park Burnley
Brilliant day today walking the Wayside Arts Trail around Burnley, taking in two of the pianos as part of the ‘Play me I’m yours’ project in Burnley and Blackburn – www.bbstreetpianos.com. One of the pianos is sited by the amazing Singing Ringing Tree which makes haunting music as the wind blows through it. There was also a bird’s nest wedged at the top of the tree (well, that’s where birds do nest after all).
After our walk, we travelled to a third piano at Thomson Park. This was a bit of a pilgrimage, as until about three weeks ago this piano was in our living room. For a few years, it had been relegated to a kind of badly-designed piece of storage furniture. So when I heard about this project, I decided to give it a new (albeit temporary) home.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been at Northlight now for a year and a half. Open Studios this weekend was busy, although we had to compete with Wimbledon and the World Cup! I made some new Limited Edition prints, which were very successful. Now the weekend is over, I can concentrate on painting again. Although today, I’m going to the Holmfirth Artweek. Maybe tomorrow …
Towards the back of my studio
BA show in my studio
New work and new limited edition prints
Hebden Bridge Open Studios 2010
The Open Studios weekend is coming up fast! It’s on 2nd, 3rd and 4th July, open from 11am to 5pm each day. I’ll be taking part at Northlight Art Studios and am busy getting back into painting after the excitement (and hard work!) of organising our degree show and subsequent Dean Clough exhibition. It’s been good to be back in the studio, getting covered in paint and catching up with the other artists.
Degrees of Vision: Link at Dean Clough
We went to the opening of my BA group follow-on show at Dean Clough last Saturday. The gallery have described our show as “a genuinely impressive selection of graduation work …”
My work at Dean Clough June 2010
We are currently setting up our graduate exhibition at Dean Clough Galleries in Halifax. We will be opening this Saturday 19th June 2010, and the exhibition runs through until the 18th July, open 10am – 5pm, 7 days a week. There will be a whole range of exhibitions opening there this Saturday, and there is a great Cafe downstairs. Sound tempting enough? This is one of two paintings that I will be showing there.
Many thanks to everyone who came to see the show at Todmorden College. We had loads of visitors, and a completely overwhelming open evening last Friday.
As promised, here are a couple of shots to give you an idea of how my show looked.
Press launch of degree show
Degree show - my paintings as they were displayed
Degrees of Vision flyer
Watching
Our final BA show ‘Degrees of Vision’ will run from Monday 7th to Saturday 12th June 2010. Here is a sneak preview of how my show might look.
