Reward Yourself With A Great Night Out!

It has been a very strange day, the weather has had more multiple personalities than Sybil. If you are a child of the eighties you will know what I am talking about. That being said it has been a bit quiet. But the best news that I have had today is nothing to do with the gallery. My friend Alex got under my VW camper van and within half an hour he succeeded where many others had failed. He got Sheldon going and now I am full of optimism. That's two of my vehicles fixed in one week.
I will be camping in comfort in a few weeks time.
I am hoping that tomorrow will bring some much needed sunshine as the rainy weather makes Swanage really quiet.
I don't know obviously if music is your thing but tonight The Dub Pistols are playing in Swanage and it is a very rare thing to have a band this big playing somewhere so small but perfectly formed.
I think there are still some tickets left, at Replayed Records and for those of you willing to pay a little more it's £15 on the door.
I'm going and you should too.
It is the weekend and I hope that you have got something good planned.

Busy But Still Blogging!

Well today has been supremely busy and I am sat here now thinking that my list of things to is a bit too daunting. That's how it goes when you are a list writer. I may well have to adopt an ostrich principle and do a bit of head burying before I get stuck in to the hard work. Hence, I am now writing my blog.
My landline at the gallery has decided to stop working which is a huge problem. I am going to have to get that sorted asap.
I knew something was wrong when someone told me that they had left me a long message and it does not appear to be anywhere. That and the fact that it just rang and I picked it up and then nothing happened and it made a curious peeping sound then went dead.
These things are sent to test us. I don't really enjoy the challenge.
Because living in Swanage means that access to new phones etc is extremely limited unless I want to spend a small fortune.
On a more positive note it would seem that Brian and Vic are hitting the right note when it comes to the local audience. Far from being offended which is a response that they have had in the past people are being very positive about it. They appreciate the fact that the female form can be painted/sculpted without any sexual overtones/undertones.
Well, I best get back to it!

Visitors and Rain Flooding In

I got my car back yesterday and it is all fixed. I had the pleasure of driving to work today which is good as I have just looked outside and it is pouring with rain. A nice dry journey home for me. There was a rush of visitors this morning and they all loved the new exhibition. That makes me very happy. I did a printmaking workshop and it went really well with both people very pleased with their outcomes. One of them was Jan Dagley and she fell in love with three sculptures in the window and has decided that the minute that she makes any serious money she will be getting in touch with Brian about buying them. If that isn't a compliment I don't know what is.
I love the fact that visitors to the gallery enjoy a good stroke of the wooden sculptures as they walk around the exhibition.
If you like tactile objects then this definitely the show for you.
I am going to start putting together the next exhibition later on this week and I will be interested to see exactly how it all looks together.
I need to remind you about the Kimmeridge Open Exhibition if you are thinking about entering work for it can you please let me know.

Laid Bare

Brian Smithies

It was a quiet but lovely Private View, I don't know how I couldn't persuade people with my offer of free drinks and nibbles. It was a shame as the work and the artists were on top form. It was the people that came in off the street that really made the evening special as they saw the work and liked it enough to come in without an invite.
I had to make a swift exit on Saturday night as I had to get to Northampton to be there for my Dads surprise 70th birthday party on Sunday. It was great to see all the extended family and friends and suffice to say my Dad was suitably surprised.
I am looking forward to the new exhibitions that are coming up. You should be too. Please keep looking at the website to get more information.

Vic Smith

Where have I Been? Nowhere!

It's official I am back! I know that you must have missed my daily diatribe of the gallerys highs and lows. I have been busy trying to have time off. In the words of the youth of today I achieved an 'epic fail'. It really didn't pan out that way. I ended up with one day, that other than answer a few emails completely free of gallery related chores.
It took me three days to fill the holes left by the last exhibition. That was depressing in itself. I am going to insist that I am in charge of hanging in the future because astonishingly Sharon does in fact know best.
So it's just as well that I have booked my summer holiday today. I will be going on an underwater adventure to swim with dolphins and turtles hopefully. I cannot wait.
The big news is that there is a new exhibition starting today which I hope that you will come and see. It is full of nudes so if that sounds right up your alley please to come and see it. I resisted the urge to call my blog Privates View. but it made me smile so I had to mention it.

I will be serving Pimms and nibbles from 4.00 until 7.00 so please come and join us and see some great art at the same time.

It is a sculpture and painting show, something for fans of both 2D and 3D art. I have already selected my favourite pieces but as per usual they are so beyond my price range I will have to just make the most of admiring them for the two weeks that they are at the gallery.

Monday Is Now The New Saturday

New Exhibition Starts Saturday

So this how it all ends, more of a bang than a whisper! I am happy to report that the final day of Sheila Girlings show was busy. For those of you who didn't see it, your loss.
I have a quiet week this week so please don't be surprised by the lack of blog action. You can get too much of a good thing you know.
I'll be mostly repairing walls and catching my breath before the next exhibition.
I have left writing my blog to the last 15 minutes of the day so that I cannot waffle on about other trivia. I heard the universal sigh of relief then. It's fine I am not that easily offended.
That will teach me, when the last 15 minutes of the transpire to be the busiest 15 minutes of the day. Hence no blog post.
I am posting it today as there isn't going to be much else coming from me this week. If you get withdrawals then can I suggest that you re read any blogs that have witty paint references in the titles as that will be what I will be doing this week.
I hope that you all had a good weekend I did. Crammed a lot into two days but it was all good.

I Need To Get A Grip!

I have spent the best part of the morning trying to get things done and all of my attempts have been futile. There are days when you are in the zone and then there are days like today. You start jobs and then realize halfway through that you have not actually got the necessary powers of concentration to see the task through. That is me today. I am annoyed as I really could do with getting all of these jobs out the way so that I can focus on making some paper and doing my own work.

Maybe I am approaching this all the wrong way round, maybe I need to make the paper first then try and refocus my efforts?

Well, the south west wasn't washed away last night as the weathermen predicted which is lucky. In fact Swanage today is basking in glorious sunshine. Is it too little too late in terms of visitors I'm not sure. If I didn't live here and I read the weather reports for today I wouldn't have dared take the risk of being washed away in a torrent of flood water either.

If you ask a Swanage local about the weather here I would bet you that within the first two minutes of that conversation you would hear the words 'micro climate' mentioned. We are a town obsessed with the fact that whatever weather is predicted for here is invariably wrong because we have our own micro climate. 

I would love to see my theory in action, next time you are here ask a local about the weather in Swanage and let me know how you get on.

Gallery news, well there isn't much to tell really as it has been very quiet and I have been sat here trying to compose speculative letters in longhand which has resulted in multiple crossings outs and and several sighs of defeat.
Now I have had my third coffee I may well be able to do a bit more this afternoon.
It's the last day of Sheila Girlings exhibition tomorrow so if you have not seen it then you should definitely try before it goes.

Kimmeridge Open Exhibition

Back at the gallery and all is quiet. I love dogs, there I've said it I really do love dogs even though I am a cat owner. Or should I say that I am owned by my three cats. Probably more accurate to say that. So the next thing I have to say is that I hate dog owners. Well, not all dog owners just the ones who let their much loved pooches deposit their number twos right in front of my door. I know I have spoken before about my work being like a perverse form of Hop Scotch substitute the word Scotch with Poop and you'd be about right.
Whilst I fully acknowledge that there is no accurate way to determine exactly when they are going make that particular deposit it is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that it is adequately cleared up.
Here endeth my rant.
I have been working my way through my lis of things to and my next one is to start posting my blog on my website. I will continue to post this blog but I will be copying it onto my blog in an attempt to raise my Google profile by my I mean the gallerys'.
I have got to remind you that the current exhibition ends this weekend. The next one start at the end of next week so I will get a few well earned days off to get my walls ready for the next onslaught.

A gentle reminder that if you want to enter this exhibition you should get in touch soon and let me know.

Skiving But I'm Allowed

Sister painting to Light Lunch

If you were wondering why I haven't written a blog it's because I left the gallery in the capable hands of Jan Dagley yesterday. She did some printmaking and I was at home doing chores. I am guessing that the gallery will have been quiet. This lovely summer that we have been having has been encouraging people to visit Swanage in droves. Or not!
I don't know about you but I have to admit that I have had the heating on more than my bank balance would like. If there is one thing that I hate it is being cold.
So today is my official day off, yesterday was just a bonus. I have got up early as the guy fixing my car told me he would be round to pick up the paint that I have bought to get my car finished. I am here but where is he? On my list of things that really annoy me I can tell you that it is in the top three. No one gets between me and sleep. Being cold is also in my top five.
There are a few more days for you to see the fabulous Sheila Girling exhibition if you haven't seen it then you should make the effort to get over at the weekend before it goes. It is the first time she has shown her work outside of London since the nineties.

I have got some workshops lined up in the next couple of weeks and I am looking for a few more people to fill them up so if you have been thinking about it then stop thinking about it and get in and see me.
I am still not sure about whether you agree or not but you all seemed to like the I'm not doing a Hockney blog I hope that you did see that my drawing is nothing like his.
I have to organise getting them printed in the next couple of weeks.

No, I Am Not Doing A Hockney!!

My drawing that is nothing like Hockney!

Ok this is my time to shine! Well I may have to keep that to the occasional glimmer. I had a great afternoon yesterday drawing the string quartet in Corfe. I have to say that I have never done anything quite like it but it was really enjoyable. I bought some technology to the occasion and produced many of my drawings on my iPad. I love the immediacy of it and the outcomes were all pretty good. I will be displaying them as part of the exhibition I was talking about yesterday.
I am wondering if the title of my blog means anything to anybody yet. Several people yesterday said that I was doing a Hockney. I have been drawing on my Apple devices since the iPhone 2g model. So is Hockney doing a Sharon? I hope that what I produced blows that comparison out of the water as they are not even remotely similar.
I posted one of my drawings on Facebook yesterday and it had 34 likes in a really short space of time so that made me very happy. It's like a mini one piece exhibition with instant feedback. I am going to buy a monitor for digital display at the gallery. I can then bore everybody with the hundreds of drawings that I have produced on my iPad 1 and 2.
I want to be involved in some more of those drawing activities as they are very challenging but inspirational at the same time.
I will include my drawing for your perusal. Well done to Do Michell for getting everybody on board and getting some fantastic new art as a result of it. Come and see it at the gallery very soon.

Sheila Girling at The Gallery For One More Week!

Come on folks this really is your last chance for PAW/DAW. Not to see Sheila though you have a whole week more to enjoy that. I have got some serious work to do this week. I wonder how much I will actually get done.
I have an idea that I want to make some black paper so I have bought some squid ink and I will let you know how I get on.
I am going to pop to Corfe and draw some musicians in a little while. Taking my iPad so will do a few on there but will also resort to the more traditional pen and ink just so that I might have something to display in the show that will take place very soon at the gallery.

You should come and see it if you like art that has been produced in response to a variety of musical events during PAW.

I am going to plug the next exhibition too. There is always something to see at the gallery. I hope that you agree and come and enjoy the new exhibitions.

The Final Two Days of PAW/DAW

Sheila, me and Tony makes three!

There are just a few hours left today and one more day tomorrow for you to indulge in some free art exhibitions and I strongly urge you to do so.
I have been very busy today with a good amount of visitors to the gallery. I have had the most interesting conversations about the work and the gallery.
A few more people have told me that they saw my advert in the RA Magazine which is very encouraging. I am going to draw some musicians at the church in Corfe tomorrow so I will not be at the from about 2.00 onwards.
I am trying to work through my list but the constant interruptions means that it is very slow progress. I have boiled the kettle so many times and not made the coffee that I wanted. The water now tastes very strange.
Just had a nice surprise visit from an old colleague, always nice to see a familiar face. It is also reassuring to know that my previous job about which I am going to be suitably vague. Now sucks more than it did when I was doing it. My escape was timely and I am never looking back.

PAW Still Has Open Doors!

I have been away but now I am back. It was nice to have a break and nothing says back to work than having a workshop the first day back. Thanks to Tom and Murray for stepping in and doing a great job in my absence.
It was a cool workshop actually with Jan and Anne. We did printmaking and they both produced some really good work.
Bristol was nice but extremely wet. I was really disappointed with the exhibition at the Arnolfini. It was odd and far too spaced out and even with the information pamphlet in hand I am still none the wiser to what the Hell it was all about.
Shame really as the space is fantastic and deserves to be filled with visually stimulating work.
Purbeck Arts Weeks Festival is drawing to an end so you should try and get to see the open studios before they close up for another year. Obviously the same applies to DAW.
Keeping it short as I have still got chores to do before I can go home.

Here Today But Gone Tomorrow!

If you thought that I was being lazy not writing a blog yesterday the truth I was not. You would have thought that the internet would be wide open as everyone was out celebrating the Jubilee. I am not sure if it was some crazy police thing but my internet was dropping out at approximately every 2 minutes making it impossible to do virtually anything.
It is now back and I have to say I am incredibly happy about it as a day without the internet at the gallery is the absolute epitome of boredom.
Sheila and Tony popped in today to say their goodbyes as they are heading back to the big smoke. I think that she is really pleased about how it has all gone so far and she said that it made a nice change to see her work in a completely different setting.
I am a little annoyed about maps and numbers today. It is very frustrating to over hear people saying the gallery is not on the map. A little cryptic I know, but those in the know will understand completely what it is I am talking about.
I am sure that I will be able sing a different song next year so I shall look forward to that.
I am leaving the gallery in the very capable hands of my in house photographer Murray tomorrow and my friend Tom on Thursday.
I have just found out that I may well have to wave goodbye to my old blog and incorporate a new one on my actual website. I am going to do some research and get back to you on that.
Tom has just made me update my Google places info so that I can be found more easily when searching for gallery space hire.
Well the rain has kept people away in droves today which is little depressing but after the busiest day ever at the gallery yesterday I don't really mind.
I hope that you are all enjoying the whole Jubilee thing. You can all think of me tomorrow when you are heading back to the office and I am waking up at the Hilton.

7 Days Without A Break!

No blog yesterday due to it being really blooming busy at the gallery. Third busiest day ever at the gallery. Nice visitors throughout the day.
It was a steady flow all day. The sun has just come out so I hope that means that people will be venturing out and hopefully popping in to see me.
I have to admit I have worked 7 days straight without a day off and it is starting to wear thin. I am longing for a lie in and a day that does not involve coming to work.
I have got a couple of days off this week but I am going to have to get a little help from my friends as Shirley my regular gallery sitter is ill. So let's all wish her a speedy recovery.
I had my first confirmed booking for three weeks in July next year yesterday. I am very pleased about that, not telling you who it is though. I shall be busily booking in new people in the next few months some of which I might tell you about and others that I will keep under my hat.
Not much else to report on the gallery front. I hope that you have got some great things planned for this long weekend. I will mostly be living vicariously through my many friends who are going to be out enjoying themselves.

Plans Are Afoot!

A much busier day at the gallery today which is always a good thing. Everyone has been impressed by the work and I have had some very interesting conversations about it.
I have spent the morning tearing up paper as I intend to make a new batch of paper next week for my prints. I f you have been in to the gallery and all you can hear is the sound of me tearing up paper that is why.
I thought you might like to know what my must see exhibits are during PAW so I am going to tell you. There are five Open Studios that I recommend you try and see. I will not include Sheila in this list as that is a given. I will list them by their numbers on the map just in case you thought I cannot count.

1. Bonnie Brown and Brian Bishop
12. Clarissa Galliano
15. Margaret Lawton
16. Phil Hill and Andrew Thomas
20. Georgina Fermer (There is one image in particular that I really want to buy)

These are my personal must see exhibitions and that is not to say that the others are any less worthy. I obviously would encourage you to see as many as possible.
The more you see the more chances there are to make up your own minds about what you consider to be the best.
I just want to remind you that the gallery will be open all weekend including Monday and Tuesday. So if you are not too busy celebrating the Jubilee you can pop along and see some great art.
I am plotting and scheming ideas for next years exhibitions and I cannot wait to tell you more.