June!

My panel being set up at the Art Fair yesterday

My busiest month of the year and in a few hours I have to get ready for the Private View of the Tunbridge Wells International Art Fair. This photo shows me setting up my panel at the Art Fair yesterday, on one of the most humid days I can remember, and in amongst all the final debates on TV all day for the EU Referendum! Every time I entered the flat, another heated debate was going on, and when I had finally finished my panel, at 8.30pm, I came home to watch the FINAL debate!

Today I went to vote early and then went back to the Assembly hall to check that none of my labels had fallen down, and I put my prints in the browser. Now I feel a huge sense of relief that I have survived the month, and just this week I had to book my visa appointment for China, and received all my details about the residency in August.

My large panel, 'Trees,' at the South East Open Studios

I only took down the work at the South East Open Studios on Sunday afternoon, after a two week event. I held this with two other artists in an empty unit in Ely Court, the Royal Victoria Place, Tunbridge Wells. Kent. During the event, I worked on an 8 foot by 4 foot panel, painting a section of trees. My friends also worked on panels, and each artwork demonstrated a different style and approach. This daily demonstration was much appreciated by our visitors who talked to us about the work as it changed day by day. I loved painting these trees, which were originally inspired by some photos of trees but gradually began to relate to a group of trees opposite my flat. Quite by accident, a pathway emerged in my painting and I kept it!

'Fiona's-World,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 23 cm

Our studio was really large and we were able to spread out and paint, and also had a small 'office' section where we had our daily coffees. I found that an unexpected benefit was that I made a series of small paintings in between working on the large panel, and some of these have now gone on display at the TWIAF.