Through time and distance

It is Friday afternoon and I'm taking a short break from preparing for my newest exhibition, Through time and distance, which is a two-person show with Megan Chapman. Megan has ten new paintings in her half of the gallery, while I have ten of my Worlds Apart series in mine, fresh from storage.

Part of my part of Through time and distance,
mid preparations

All of our paintings are now hung and are more or less ready to show. Megan and I, together with Cross Street Arts director Steven Heaton are now making all the other final preparations. Megan is putting the finishing touches to her statement and I should be printing out and cutting our wall labels. Downstairs, Steven has sorted out the nibbles and made sure the gallery is clean and ready for visitors.

With four and a half hours to go until opening, we're well ahead of schedule and far enough away from it not to be nervous yet. Without those nerves, I'm looking forward to getting a chance to talk about my work with interested strangers.

Wish me luck!

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Through time and distance
Cross Street Arts
114-116 The Standish Centre, Standish, WN6 0HQ
17 May – 14 June

On the wall

On the evening of July 10th, the artist's reception for Megan Chapman and my new body of work, A place called home, took place at Springdale's Arts Center of the Ozarks. While the evening was a touch quieter than we had anticipated, we nonetheless had a really lovely night. Around forty to fifty friends, family and patrons came out on a random Tuesday night, to look at our art in person and to talk to us.

We both spent the two hours of the reception in countless conversations, both about life and more specifically about our art. I love sharing my (and our!) work and there is little that can compare to speaking with a patron about a painting I have made, or in this case we have made. It is particularly great when someone gets what we have been trying to do with the work and also when they have their own, equally valid ideas about what we have made.

Our show, named A place called home after the series of paintings, is in the Arts Center of the Ozarks until July 27th. We arranged and hung the show ourselves and are really pleased with how it looks on the wall. This will be the only time that the full series will ever be shown together in public. If you're in Northwest Arkansas, or even eastern Oklahoma or southern Missouri, make sure you don't miss it.

For those of you further afield, you might not be able to see it in person however you can see the full series here.

Worlds Apart opens!

It doesn't quite seem real yet, although at the same time it all feels very ordinary: my latest series of paintings, the series I have worked on for the three intense months, is on show. It opened last night.

The opening was a hectic affair, a crowded room full of family, friends and numerous others. For almost three hours I talked and talked and never stopped. I love being able to share my work and one of the best things about having such a great opportunity as last night is being asked questions about my paintings. Be it a question about meaning, or a question about technique, it is just a thrill that people are interested enough to ask!

In the past few months, I have worked hard to create the body of work for this exhibition. I have produced some of the strongest paintings of my career and have enjoyed the experience thoroughly, for all of its highs and lows. Last night was an intense night and, on a deep level, a very emotional one for me. This soon afterwards, I can't quite sift through the complex web of thoughts and feelings, that such an evening leaves behind. I do know, however, that somewhere in there is acceptance and I value that more than I can express.

Thank you all of my friends and family who have supported and encouraged me. Thank you Kevin, Alison and Rob for giving me this opportunity. Thank you especially to those who came along last night, to Mum, Julie, Dad, Steven, Raymond, Adam, Annabella, Craig, Dave, Elaine, Fiona, Graeme, Iain, James, Janet, Jonathan, Joe, Kenny, Lou, Neil, Ruth and especially the amazing art star herself, Megan. It is through all of your support that I am able to do what I do. Thank you.