Drawings - Royal West of England Academy Annual Open Exhibition.

I have just arrived home having delivered my two drawings, Pond Petals ii and iii which I am thrilled to say, got through to the second round of the Royal West of England Academy Annual Open exhibition.  I posted them earlier in the summer because I created them for my show at the Open Eye Gallery.  Fingers crossed I get through to the next round and obviously I am hoping my pieces will be hung and sold!

I had to deliver them to Birmingham where there was a man with a lorry waiting to collect all the submissions.  It's quite scary handing over your work when you have spent hours and hours creating it and spent no small amount on the framing. 

I had never driven in Birmingham before and it's a little like driving in a very mini Dallas or LA.  Cities are always confusing when you don't have a clue where you are going and I had to do a few U-turns as I searched for the appropriate exit!!  Thank goodness for my trusty iPhone.  Without it I would probably have ended up in Fishguard (Wales), which actually would have been rather nice.  

Here are my drawings and a couple of photos taken on my return, through the lovely Leicestershire countryside. 

Pond Petals ii - Graphite 15 x 25 cm

Pond Petals ii - Graphite 15 x 25 cm

Did I show you my painting of Eddie...?   I don't think so.  As you know I look after him from time to time and Barry and I like to take him to the beach.  He is so handsome.  When I get my own dog, I shall do some more I think.  It's good to do something different from time to time.  Bye for now.

Absence

So sorry everyone.... indeed if anyone has missed me!  Life has been really overwhelming this last few months.  Ohhhh, the roller coaster joys of trying to sell a property and all within a short timeframe has been so stressful and at times I have definitely wanted to run away to some beautiful island and live in a tent!  I am still going through it, waiting to see if the latest buyer comes through... the viewings, the surveys, the valuations, back and forth.. arghh!   It is not something anyone wants to go through at the best of times, but when you are 92 years old  (not me, my Aunt, although, I have to say I feel 92 on some days!), it is not an easy task.  

In between all this, I have been cooking, caring, painting, printmaking and gardening and consequently my blog has gone by the wayside.  I don't get out much either, so no beautiful British landscapes to show you.  Thank goodness for Cambridge School of Art.  (Anglia Ruskin University) I continue to print in their print room as I supervise one evening a week.  It is a life saver for sure.  Plus I have been and continue to do some print workshops at the Archaeology and Anthropology Museum in Cambridge with my printmaking friend, Lizzie (Bertie) Smith.  Oh, yes, I also got an interesting etching commission for a dung beetle which I sent to Singapore.

I am at the moment getting ready for a very important print exhibition in Edinburgh as a consequence of showing my cabinet at the Scottish Society of Artists annual exhibition last November.  Thank you Scottish Society of Artists!   I am thrilled and excited to have been offered a chance to exhibit my work at The Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh on 27th June. Thanks to Cambridge School of Art Print room for making it possible for me to prepare for this exhibition.

Pond Petals ii - Graphite

Pond Petals i - Graphite

Summer Clouds 5 x 7 in oil panel

Stow Cum Quy - 6 x 12 in - oil panel 

Well, I did manage to make a trip to Scotland, so here is Badger on the hill up in the Southern Uplands, just outside of Biggar.