Canowindra Talls exhibition and other musings

Every year the River Bank Gallery in Canowindra (pronounced Ca-noun-dra) holds serveral exhibitions open to anyone to enter. The up coming one is called Talls and works of any subject can be submitted as long as they are painted on the 24x12" canvases provided by the gallery. Vicki and I discovered this cute little town and its wonderful gallery when we were travelling the countryside back in 2009. We met Catherine the gallery owner and talented resident artist David Isbester and were really taken by their enthusiasm and commitment to local artists. A couple of years ago I submitted 2 works for the Smalls exhibition and they both sold. This is my Talls entry. I'm calling it "The Happy Gathering". The format is quite tricky! I did colour studies for 3 different ideas before I thought I had something that might work. I'm still not sure that it does but it's more 'brush mileage' under the belt and another step towards Improvement which sometimes feels painfully slow.

I've been painting for four and a half years now and I've definitely learned a lot in that time. But when the goal is to make a living and when I compare where I'm at with other artists that I love and admire, it's hard some days to fight off doubts and gloomy thoughts. I love Artists on Art, an online magazine (which I highly recommend if you're an artist. There are four issues a year and the cost is only US$14 a year). In the first issue was an article by Daniel Sprick which was encouraging for my impatience and helped me to see the big picture of an artist's journey:

It usually takes about ten years of intensive effort to achieve mastery in any domain, and in the arts it may require another ten years after that to begin to express anything that is truly one’s own. Artists must be patient and be true to themselves and trust their own tastes and their own habits of working and living, and be true to their own aesthetic preferences. Each individual has his or her own truth to tell, and with a mixture of sincere effort and good fortune it will be a meaningful one for others.

I'm staying with my mum for the next couple of months and I'm thrilled she's allowing me to paint in my bedroom! (it's all about drop sheets and towels - so far so good). The wonderful thing about my temporary studio is the south-facing aspect. The light is consistent for most of the day which makes a Big Difference compared to painting when the light is constantly shifting. I'm quietly thinking it's a bit sad I don't have a single south-facing room in my own house but maybe I'll become a pro at paintings called Interior with Sunlight.

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