It has been quite a few months since my last post, on both a professional and personal level… and although currently a traditionally quiet time of year for art fairs and markets, I have been very busy actually painting!! Something that has been planned… specifically January and February were months that I wanted to catch up on projects. I have been spending a lot of my time on commission works, that I have previously been too busy to undertake.
Since my last post – the exhibition at The New Art Gallery Walsall ended, very successfully. Two out of the three pieces I had hanging there were sold! I was absolutely thrilled to sell the original works of both ‘Evening Stroll’ and ‘Ridiculous Soup’. It was however tinged with an element of sadness , knowing that I would most likely not see either of the artworks again (sad I know), and that I didn’t even know where they had gone, or even if they were still together.
I also completed my marathon 33 days at Christmas in Cathedral Square market, in Birmingham City centre. Wow! It was fantastic and more successful than I could have hoped, and I have definitely put my name forward for next years event. I met some amazing people and built a real good community feel with the amazing stall holders around me. I managed EVERY one of the 33 days! (albeit with a couple of hours off on one day, following a procedure in hospital). I got through it physically better than I ever thought possible. Although, for the last few days I was running on empty.
During my time on the Christmas market stall in Birmingham, I began a small collection of works. These were very much influenced by everything that was going on in my life at that time. Some reflected the market itself, and the amazing location, in the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral, slap bang in the middle of the City Centre. Some were more of a reflection of issues in my life and, in particular, a health scare that shook me to the core – but thankfully, turned out to be less serious than was first thought or feared. This collection of works was completed in January 2022 – just after my being taken off my feet by Covid-19 for a while… The crazy dreams I had during my Covid infection were the influence in the final piece, ‘Fevered Dreams’.
As mentioned, I am currently working on commission work – but I am also busy planning for no less than three new exhibitions that are up-coming. The first is at Himley Hall near Dudley / Stourbridge… I will have four pieces there between 21st March and 12th June 2022.
I shall also have some artwork exhibited at the Granary Gallery, Weston Park – in April 2022
Finally, for the moment, I have been invited to submit five brand new pieces of work, for an exhibition in October 2022, in conjunction with the RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Art).
Finally, we are currently working on getting ourselves out and about at as many art festivals and weekends as we can get into. We have had a couple of confirmations… which is great. We hope to hear back on more very soon. We shall also be returning to many of our regular art markets in the coming year, as soon as they start again. I shall post an updated diary on this website, once we have a few more dates confirmed.
We are hoping for a busy and productive year. Last year was very much a learning experience, and fingers crossed, this year will be more streamlined, effective and productive.
Thank you to every one of you that have supported us over these few months since we began this wonderful journey… and hopefully we will see you whilst we are out and about.
Steve