Finally My Painting Is On Its Way to China!

Me with my painting just before packing

An hour ago a local transport company collected my painting for the first part of its journey to Shenzhen, China from the UK. I had been waiting a few days in mounting anxiety as the deadline was approaching and delays suddenly appeared. I am posting a few pictures of me with the painting, the packing, and the painting in the van.

We packed it late on Tuesday night, while CNN was showing the US midterm elections! It took about 5 hours, with metres of bubble wrap and foam padding, and the packing time was due to having to make sure the canvas fitted safely in the box with no chance of warping or rubbing in the case it was dropped, laid on its side or banged against by other cargo. In a very short time the carpet was speckled with pieces of foam as my husband cut sections to border the frame.

My husband is a much better packer than I am! Luckily I have a collection of packing materials and he chose which were the best for the job.

The box is very heavy and we could barely get it up the 10 stairs today and into the van!

In the van

Then I heard that it will go to Germany and from there on to Shenzhen, though I don't know if it will go by air or train.

I watched it leave!

The transport costs for the return journey are paid by the organisers of the event.

The Dafen International Oil Painting Biennale will be held at the Red Cube Public gallery in Shenzhen (November 30th-December 20th) then the Dafen Art Museum (December 26th- February 20th 2019).

I feel a sense of achievement about this selection because I began painting this canvas only 6 days after my mother's funeral on March 9th this year, and 5 days after I had surgery to remove a carcinoma from under my right eye (the day after my mother's funeral)! I even went to the doctor the day before I stretched the canvas to see if it would be ok for me to be stressing my incision by bending over a stretcher frame (you are meant to not exert pressure on the wound).

The painting is called 'Social Integration, Peace and Opening Up,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 100 x 140 cm