Exhibition - January - and working on the portrait

I find that exhibitions are always a bit of a 'high' - especially being around like minded people and just being there as an artist and nothing else. It is a wonderful feeling. Oddly for some reason all of us on 'duty' yesterday took out portraiture work to do - very interesting looking at the difference in our styles. All in all a wonderful day of chatting with the public coming through, setting up future painting 'exploits' with other artists (Sandy and I are off to visit someone new we met at the exhibition as she has a lovely church in her area she thought we might like to paint so that will be a nice day trip on Monday to an area I have not explored yet at all. A teacher from Te Hapua has also invited us up there for a painting/ photography shoot (that might have to be an overnighter I think).

The self portrait is really beginning to come together. At the 'eye stage' now and will then have to go back and rework the skin tones a litle as she looks a bit lifeless for some reason.

Sandy playing at the start of yesterday - chalking in where she would place the features (on my request of course).

Exhibition Set Up - January 2008

My first exhibition for the year is always part of a fundraiser that local artists hang work for and a percentage of anything sold goes towards one of the local schools which is FABULOUS!!! The organisers are just lovely and they couldn't have been more helpful today - it was SO hot and humid it would have been very easy to be stressed and crabby but they were charming to everyone and really helpful.

It's the second year I have been part of this fundraiser and as a result I was able to be so much more organised and more relaxed and not so stressed as I know they do a good job of looking after everything. The location is just beautiful - right on a beach usually full of tourists at this time of the year - so afterwards my friend insisted we go for a walk in the ocean and it was just perfect. Beautiful overcast day and shell strewn beach with lovely warm semitropical water and not too many people. Couldn't ask for more than that.

I LOVE group exhibitions up here - nice to catch up with art mates to say 'happy new year' and the atmosphere is so friendly and sociable. A huge variety of artists from potters to painters to photographers to framers to tapersters. And everyone keen to help everyone else with the hanging of the work. I used my old fishing line to hang the framed photos - good and strong and invisible on the walling. I was also given a display stand that a local pharmacy were throwing out that I repainted up and with a few toast racks it has made the perfect user friendly card stand. I am so thrilled with it.

Janet's display...