Tickled pink to be representing England and Wales again!

I’m delighted to be able to share the news that one of my paintings has been selected alongside works by other artists to represent England and Wales at this year’s Fabriano in Acquarello exhibition in Italy.

This is such a thrill and, even though I won’t be able to attend in person, it’s a treat to know that one of my paintings will be being seen by watercolour artists and enthusiasts worldwide that will be descending on the Italian town of Fabriano.

Here’s the painting that has been selected:

I painted this last year, based on a photograph posted by the wonderful Philippa Stanton and you can read more about the inspiration and process here. I love the idea that this little slice of light in Cornwall will be seen by people in Italy!

The exhibition includes over 500 watercolour paintings from artists from over 70 countries. I will be one of only 13 artists from the England and Wales team, and our paintings will be on display in Fabriano, Italy from April 26th to July 3rd 2023.

This time next week…

I’ll be hobnobbing with the great and good of the watercolour world at the Private View of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour exhibition at the Mall Galleries!

It was a huge relief and a mild anti-climax to hand my painting over on the delivery day over the weekend. The relief stemmed from the assumption that something somewhere was going to go wrong! It almost came to pass too, when I discovered that there was a train strike on Saturday that prevented me from going my preferred route. The upshot was that I had an hour to walk from the train station across London to Mall Galleries.

I duly presented myself at the main entrance to the Mall Galleries only to be told that I needed to walk around the block to the trades entrance around the back of the galleries.

Here’s a photo of my painting, in my best Waitrose bag, just before I handed it over:

The only frustration I had was that, as well as my painting, I’d also carried all of my painting stuff with me in the hope that I might get to set up in St James’s Park for a bit of a painting session. Just as I arrived at the Mall Galleries, the heavens opened and absolutely poured down. I did manage to get some photos that I think have some potential for future paintings, but it certainly wasn’t painting weather. So I carried all of my stuff all the way to London, lugging it for an hour each way across London, and had nothing to show for it except sore feet and aching shoulder!

Fortunately, the relief of knowing that I’d handed my painting over and that if anything went wrong from this point on it would be someone else’s responsibility made the burden of my load feel so much lighter than it was!

I’m now really looking forward to the private view and, fingers crossed, the opportunity to say hello to some of the artists that I most admire! It should be a fun time, and I apologise in advance for any self-indulgent behaviour. Part of me feels that I have to make the most of it because I may not have the opportunity ever again!