6 May 2009 Paella

We held our sponsors and artists party last night. The weather forcast was favourable so I cooked a paella outside in our big 32 portion Spanish paella pan. But it was windy and chilly which kinda took the edge off the fun. None-the-less all the paella was gone by 7 pm, so I cooked another one straight away. They queued up for it. It was nearly mid-night before the last guests left to go home.
Two pictures from yesterday. First the second paella during the cooking process, and second a red dot from a sale made during the party! Now how bad is that?
Oh yes I forgot. Fran wants me to add that I drank too much. Now the clean up!

5 May 2009 Going fast!

These blogs are usually written first thing the morning after the day in question. It seems to makes sense to look back very soon after the event and see what the daily life of a painter actually is/was. Yesterday [5th May] was typical of the days that could easily be forgotten. I didnt paint any pictures, we didnt go anywhere, but instead we hunkered down in the office and cleared out the in-tray which had grown like a mushroom in the corner.
But during the day we got three modest orders from galleries for prints. One of which was for Blackfriars Bridge which sold from a gallery catalogue. And that prompts our message heading for the blog.
'Going fast' describes the imminent fate of my first giclee limited edition image. Blackfriars Bridge has now sold 236 out of the edition of 250. The first print was printed on 1st September 2000. Nearly nine years ago. It was a big print on canvas which we exhibited alongside the original at a trade fair. You couldnt tell them apart.
There are now just 14 left in the edition. In the early days of self-publishing we used a printing service to make the prints. Later we bought into Epson printers to do the job ourselves. But in the beginning we were well served by UIS Art in Colchester who printed the first Blackfriars Bridge for us. Many thanks to them. Very soon we expect to sell the final print in the edition. No more will be printed worldwide ever. Ah, shed a tear.

4 May 2009 Ned Hoskins

The bank holiday monday after the first weekend of 'artists open house' is the first chance in weeks to relax.
So we went to see one of the very few houses that were open for the whole three day weekend. A cracking house in Hove called 'Collectors Selection. I recommend it.
In the evening we went to Ned Hoskins 'sponsor party'. [See todays picture of Ned with one of his paintings]. Ned has a special status because 28 years ago he founded the whole concept of an artist showing their work in their own house as part of the Brighton Festival.
The sponsor party tradition stems from the earlier days of the growing Fiveways Artists Group. We artists realised how difficult it was to actually see each others exhibition because we each had to be at home manning our own show. So we took it in turns to host a midweek evening party for fellow exhibitors, plus this was a good chance to say thank-you to the generous sponsors who paid for our advertising and printed brochure. The sponsors were invited to bring their guests to the private parties.
The tradition continues but nowadays it often gets all mixed up with 'private views' where special customers and friends and neighbours swell the ranks.

3 May 2009 Shyama Ruffell 'Misty Mood'

We are four artists exhibiting at 182 Springfield Road, and the most successful one this weekend is Shyama Ruffell. 'Misty Mood', shown here, is one of her paintings that sold.


The first Sunday of the 2009 Artists Open House season is in the middle of a long bank holiday weekend. The weather this year is surprisingly good and the city centre and seafront provide plenty of the usual seaside attractions.
On top of extra bank holiday crowd activities, and Brighton Festival, the city is the focus for a rally of old commercial vehicles which is filling the roads from London. So we are amazed and very pleased that we had so many visitors to our house.

The daily prize draw was won by ... Jeremy Sales.

Sunday evening saw the first arrival of migrating swifts flying high overhead. This is always a sign that summer is here. This year they are 3 days ahead of schedule.

2 May 2009 Day one.

A nice sunny day to start the Festival off with a bang. The Childrens Parade takes over the city. 70 schools make floats and parade round the town banging drums and having a good time.
Meanwhile the 200 open houses open their doors.
We had the usual good numbers of visitors.
Pictured here is the composer Jocelyn Pook.
Her visit was a super surprise, because by coincidence we had been playing one of Jocelyn's CD's just before she arrived.
We organise a prize draw for visitors. They are asked to fill in a contact card and then get a chance to comment on our exhibition.
We collect the cards and make a daily draw which gives the winner a choice of framed print.
The winner today is; Christine Raven from Egham in Surrey.

I May 2009 Open House

Ready at last.
All flagged up. The Artists Open House season starts here and now.
Actually it starts at 11am on 2nd May.
All over Brighton and Hove there are similar scenes as 200 houses open their doors with over a thousand exhibitors showing art and craft.
In our local area our group are called The Fiveways Artists Group. This is where the whole thing started 28 years ago when artist Ned Hoskins couldnt find a venue to show his art during the Brighton Festival. Fran and I moved into our house and joined the Open House pioneers twenty years ago as the seventh open house.
In our area alone there have been over 70 houses open over the years.

30 April 2009 Open House preparation

It is frantic, back breaking and tiring work, hanging a show. After a days cleaning, moving furniture, hanging, etc we have made good progress, and somethings are nearly ready.
These shots show the dresser, and a wall with exhibits.
About 100 pictures to be hung altogether.
Then we have to get labels, lists and all the other bits and bobs together.
And banners and flags outside.
As I write this I am reminded that we open in 25 hours time.
Onward and upward.