Two Current Exhibitions, London and China

'Landscape Poem,' acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm (2016)

On Thursday 22nd November I went to Gordon Dadds solicitors in Covent Garden, London, to attend a Private View of a group exhibition I was in. Though I have already mentioned this exhibition in my previous post, I'd like to write a little more.

Curated by Diane Soames, the exhibition displayed a wide variety of artwork from completely abstract to figurative. The building itself was amazing and the whole of the fifth floor was laid out like a gallery, with four rooms each containing artwork by an artist and the corridor and main conference room also displaying paintings. My paintings had very good feedback. It is always a surprise to see your paintings away from the studio and I take the opportunity to assess my direction and to consider where I would like to go from here. (Though it is never possible to say exactly where I want to proceed to, at least I can get an over-view of where I think are the most interesting, creative elements to pursue.)

'Mutianyu Valley Waterfalls,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 80 x 40 cm

I'm posting the two paintings exhibited and a view of the room they were in. I was unable to photograph the large exhibition areas because the PV was very crowded and you could hardly move! There was a beautiful catalogue, wine and canapes and I found myself chatting to company directors from major organisations in London. What was really refreshing was being able to discuss art with people who had a wide view of what art can be. They wanted to discuss things such as the meaning of colour and brush strokes, and some mentioned certain calligraphic aspects of my work that I had not noticed. I had a lot to say about my painting inspiration and how I want to translate my ideas into paint. (This is where writing a blog is such a positive thing to do - you get the chance to compose sentences about your painting practice and process and to constantly redefine where your interests lie, at that moment.)

My paintings

It was also really great to meet artists I did not know and to instantly connect with them via phone on social media! Three hours of chatting passed very quickly and then I had the train journey home.

The other artists were: Belinda Nathan, Polly Bennett, Leisha Jane Yaz, Jo Watters Pawlowski, Linda Pocock, Venetia Berry, Julia Stockwell Hamid, Hannah Luxton, Gill Bustamine, Gabriella Cynasi Willis, Rouhangeze Baichoo, Antonina Adamou.

Covent Garden

For those of you who live outside the UK, I am posting some photos of Covent Garden looking very pretty with Christmas decorations.

Covent Garden

As it is nearing the end of what has been a really hard year for me, full of ups and downs and my mother's death, I'm getting ready to start to create a whole new body of work in the next few weeks. First though, I'm off to Paris on the 13th December for the Salon des Beaux Arts.

Inside Covent Garden

Meanwhile, the 1st Dafen International Oil Painting Biennale (in the Red Cube Public Museum, Shenzhen) opened on Friday 30th November, at 10am. I was of course asleep as it was only 2.am UK time, but I felt so disappointed to miss the Opening. I had been invited to go but with several exhibitions coming at the same time it was too difficult to co-ordinate everything, (visa, ticket, etc). I am hoping that I will get some photos of my painting in the exhibition from artists who were able to go.

Covent Garden

On the way back to Charing Cross station