2024 and all that …

It has been a year of group exhibitions and I have opened my studio, to the public, for the first time ever. Some exhibitions were better than others and Open Studios was a bit frightening, but we have got to the end of the year, with dear friends and artistic colleagues and had some laughs and even a couple of sales, along the way.

The year began in Portugal, where I painted the local environs of The Old Village, where we stayed, the local bar, JAKKS and Falicia beach. I posted some of the watercolours from January, in a previous blog. Here are a couple of oils, of the same subject, completed, at home, in my garden studio.

I joined old friends and some new ones, whilst exhibiting with Cheltenham Group of Artists in the Gardens Gallery, for Spring and Autumn shows and, for the first time, at Gallery 16, in what was a really beautifully staged, Summer Exhibition. I have been a member of this wonderful group for over ten years now, but it dates back to 1920 and had then, and still has many distinguishes, professional artists, in its number.

Gloucester Contemporary Artists Group has been a rather different experience. This very new group staged exhibitions in five city centre venues, twenty artists were adopted by city businesses and displayed in shop windows – I had a painting in the window of Coventry Building Society. We also had six open studios, including my own and some workshops and activities. I found opening my studio to the public rather daunting, but I had a few visitors each day and sold a few paintings and greetings cards. It was nice to have visits from old friends, some of whom I haven’t seen for many years.

It took ages to clear and tidy my studio and storage areas and to select work to display there. Making a gallery from a work space is quite a chore, but I’m glad that I have done so. It offers the opportunity to look at and evaluate work that you may have forgotten. It is good to see them together and to consider the various aspects of your output.

Looking back on The Gloucester Open, I can’t help thinking that we moved a little too fast, but you have to give credit to the energy, enthusiasm and commitment of the group who have made it all happen.

As I said in a previous blog, I have spent my working life attending meetings and sitting on various committees and no longer wish to do so. GCA has far too many meetings, for my liking and the committee have plenty more and have clearly worked their socks off.

I exhibited, with the group in a very old shop, which doubles as a gallery, in Gloucester city centre, called Cathedral Quarter. It is a very mixed group, but GCA is a broad church and has no criteria for membership, apart from being from the area and calling yourself a contemporary artist. Call me an old foggy, but I think we should have a more vigorous selection process and an exhibition hang should involve a bit more than cramming everything in to the little space available, in a pretty ugly space, at that..

The space was not considered large enough to accommodate all artists at a preview, so only the committee and local dignitaries were invited. There was a token evening for the rest of us planned, but I chose not to attend. My feeling is that we all should have been there and if the space was not big enough, then another space should have been found, with opportunities to visit the various exhibitions at leisure. An exhibition opening is a celebration of the artists and their work and not just about smoozing with the mayor and sheriff! As a founding member of this group, I feel insulted by this and annoyed that my window painting was the only one in a premises were shutters were down, for much of the time. As you can no doubt surmise, I have mixed feeling about this group, but I have paid my subs and committed myself to another year’s membership, so watch this space.

We travel less to continental climes, now that cruise ship work has virtually dried up, but two months, in the Algarve, was a joy. We have enjoyed trips to the seaside, to St Ives, Torbay and Weymouth, inland to Wells, Glastonbury and Wookey Hole and theatre breaks in Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon. We look forward to the New year and a return to Portugal in February.

All the very best for 2025!