Welcome to my new people! Wimbledon Art Fair was a roller coaster four days which ended with a beautiful Sunday filled with lovely chat, new faces, old faces (always so very good to see you!). I spent some time nosing around my neighbour’s studios, which was enlightening and inspiring. Much as I relish my days at Tate and the National etc there is nothing like seeing what is going on with the other Red studio artists.
My summer is panning out ahead of me, with a really big surprise that I didn’t see coming for myself and my artwork – I will leave you in suspense until June when I will be able to talk about it. In the meantime, I have become your plein air painter! It’s taken me a year to pluck up courage and time and of course JUST the right painting kit to take outside. I’ve had flies in my paints, a ladybird trail in some rather nice cerulean blue, and a moment where a very bouncy black labrador and I both reached for my jar of water – he beat me to it and the result was more or less the end of my painting session, but he was a bonza dog, so all is forgiven. I have been up on Wimbledon Common and in the beautiful herb garden at Cannizaro Park. I plan to get down to the coast in the next few weeks for a change of painting scene, Dungeness in particular.
Sadly, no Royal Academy fun for me this summer, I will reapply next year and see if the big wigs of Picadilly might think about showing my work. I wish all the applicants tonnes of luck and hope their work is hung on those famous buttery yellow walls! If you have never been to the Summer Exhibition, I highly recommend a visit, it’s busy but beautiful and there is more or less something for everyone to see.
Okay, I’m wrapping this up and sending you all the best for another bank holiday weekend to come, enjoy the relaxation/rest if not the sunshine. Lastly thank you again for all of your support, every little bit gives me confidence to keep going, to keep learning and to keep painting. To the people that have purchased a painting, I’m as ever in quiet awe and I hope you enjoy my art on your walls and please send me a photo!
Bye for now
Alison
