back to blogWelcome to my new weekly blog posts documenting my first 100 days of being a full time artist. I am running a daily diary on my instagram stories and this weekly blog post of what I've been up to, what have been the challenges, the surprises, what I've learned / discovered etc.
This is my third week and I've met a whole bunch of new arty friends!
So what's happened?
I ran my last atmospheric landscapes workshop for the month and was really pleased to at last meet Laura Pedley, an artist I have admired for some time now. It was so lovely to meet her in person at the workshop and we have promised ourselves that we would do an artist meet-up soon over in her neck of the woods. Keep an eye out for that!
If you don't know Laura or her work then do check her out, it is beautiful and quite special.
We have been so lucky over the last few weeks as we have had wonderfully clear and bright autumnal days which has really highlighted the beautiful colours in the woods. The weather is changing as I type this blog and we are starting to get some much needed rain and the landscapes are shrouded in mist as we creep towards winter. The woods are still looking splendid and provide much needed shelter on my walks in the rain to the studio.
In other news I am really pleased that The Shepherdess is a finalist in the Broadway Open Arts exhibition in the Cotswolds. 150 finalists and prize-winners form this exclusive exhibition at Broadway museum and art gallery which will run from 21 - 30 October 2022. If you are in the area do go check it out, it looks superb.
I am also now represented by the Saltbox Gallery in Helmsley, North Yorkshire. This is a wonderful little gallery that I have been following for some time now and is located in the most beautiful village surrounded by the North York Moors. I have five small works with them at the moment but will be working on some more work for them in the near future (see challenges below!)
The challenges
I have neglected my accounts for the last month or so and as such Monday's admin day became a bit of a struggle especially as I'd lost a couple of receipts and for some reason not uploaded them directly to my system... jeez. I've learned my lesson there. Everything is ship-shape now and I am back on track for my weekly update of my accounts. Boring I know but life as an artist isn't just 24/7 painting unfortunately.
So I am really pleased to get the opportunity to exhibit with two new galleries and a new art fair early next year. As an artist just starting out full time it's not something I could pass up but it's required a bit of planning and thinking about what and how I can provide work for these galleries whilst managing my other commitments.
Time to get the Flipchart out and post-its... once I'd done that and broken down what was needed and when it was a little easier to focus. I am not going to pretend that I'm not going to be stacked out over the next 3 months and that break over Christmas I'd promised myself probably won't happen. But at least I feel more in control of what the next 6 months needs to look like.
What I've discovered
I had my day off and spent it wisely meeting new friends and walking. I was invited to join an Art Hike last weekend which has been running for quite some time as this was Art Hike number 55.
An 8 miler around Thurcross reservoir in North Yorkshire and up on top of the moor. The weather was spectacular and the company was great. Was really lovely to do something a little different and to meet new people - artists, creators, musicians, writers, coaches. Here's a few snaps of this lovely day.
What next?
Next week I shall be delivering a new collection of work to Hope gallery as well as heading up to Scotland to visit a couple of galleries.
Check out my daily posts on my instagram stories for some sneak peeks.
