This past week something very exciting happened! I SOLD MY FIRST PAINTING!! I will explain a bit further on but it was an amazing feeling and a big relief after trying for so long. There were a few artistic highlights for this past week and at least one embarrassing moment. At the start of the week I worked on the final touches and preparation for entering three works into the Oatley 101 Art society Member’s Exhibition. I varnished, put hanging attachments on the back ,added the required labels and made sure my work was signed. I was quite pleased with the finished result of all three works.
Once they were completed I felt at ease to work on some other paintings and finished off this small painting of a church we saw in the town of Carcoar in NSW a few months ago. I quite like the outcome. This 8″ x 8″ painting is for sale for $75 plus postage.
When we drove through the Blue Mountains a few months ago I discovered a little art shop not far from Blackheath and they were selling black canvases (I’ve since seen them in other shops). I purchased one out of curiosity and this week I finally got to try it out. I love it! Having a black surface means that the mood of the painting is effected from the outcome. I will definitely be painting on black surfaces more in the future.
I also managed a little bit of seedpod sketching which I enjoyed. I plan to do this for fun and practice more often. I have a good collection of seedpods to draw from.
After all of this I pulled out a painting I’ve been working on over the last few months and keep coming back to. Its like a problem to be solved this painting. This time I added some more garden scenery and changed her clothing and face a bit. I like the direction its heading in.
On Thursday we took my three paintings down to the Oatley 101 Exhibition but after checking them in they told me that my ‘Buntine Sunset’ painting was too large. I worked out later that I had read perimeter size as length. I was quite embarrassed as I don’t like to draw any attention to myself when I enter these competitions. As an introvert I find it very hard to put myself out there (an unfortunate battle as an artist). Once I got over my embarrassment however I decided not to dwell on it and move forward. My other two works were both accepted and I was completely shocked when I got the phone-call on Saturday morning to say that my painting ‘The Keys’ was sold! How exciting. I have always said that I can’t regard myself as a bonafide artist until I get my first sale at an event like this (as opposed to selling to a family member or friend). This outshone any remaining embarrassment from earlier in the week.
The final highlight along the art trail this week was our visit to the Art Gallery of NSW to see the current Archibald Exhibition. Every time I go I get inspired that one day I could enter this. The Suleman (genre, subject and mural) appeals to me even more in some ways. I have these very high (and distant) on my aims as an artist. I am inspired by the down to earth nature of the few artists I’ve had contact with who have entered these art prizes (such as Evert Ploeg and Sarah Raiter). They give me hope that I can work towards that goal, even if I’m not hung it will be a huge step just to enter.
Favourites this year for me included; Evert Ploeg’s entry (John Schaeffer AO – art collector and philanthropist), Peter Churcher’s entry (Four Self Portraits in a Bunch of Balloons), Anh Do’s entry (Father), Vincent Fantauzzo’s entry (All that’s good in me (self portrait as son Luca), Juan Ford’s entry (Channelling WC Piguenit, startled by a spectacular sunset viewed through a canopy), Rebecca Hasting’s entry (The Onesie and also The Hoodie in the Suleman), Tim Maguire’s entry (Cate, take 1/ Cate, take 2), Andrew Mezei’s entry (Morpheus), Qiang Zhang’s entry (Here).
Some of these I was drawn to for the way it was painted, its quirkiness or its subject matter. I’ll be going again for a second look before the end of the month.
What a week! The trail had some steep hills and some big triumphs. I feel as if I’ve climbed a hill and gotten to the top of the first marker. Its a steep ascent at times this art journey.
“The road goes ever on and on”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Amanda
