Eventually got the exhibition mounted all of the paintings screwed securely to the wall at the Lally Gallery, Erewash Museum in Ilkeston. As usual I took far too many pieces of artwork and it was quite a job to work out what to leave out. I think I got it about right in the end. Once I had finished I felt very proud to see all my work on display especially as it is in my home town of Ilkeston.
I went two days after mounting the work to show a friend around the exhibition only to find the gallery was being used to house a meeting of the Local History Society. I knew quite a few of the members of the group but it was impossible to view the work so we nipped for a cup of coffee and returned an hour later. In the past when I have exhibited at Cromford Gallery at Cromford Mill I have been at the exhibition all the time so I found it very difficult to walk away from the Lally gallery without being able to see peoples reaction to my work. I had not realised how important it was for me to know what the public thought until that point.
Back in the studio I have produced a study of Mousehole in charcoal, which I am very happy with. It seems to be one of those pictures that came easily and has worked without too much fuss. If only all drawings and paintings could go so well.
I spent the New Year in Cornwall and to be honest I did not want to come back! It was a lovely break the weather was unseasonably warm and Mousehole where we stayed was as charming as ever. I went to the Kurt Jackson Foundation and was again blown away by Kurt’s paintings. The desire to copy what he does in sometimes over whelming but I am trying to stay influenced and inspired rather than just copy. In the local Penwith Galleries you can see plenty of artists copying his style or rather trying to copy his style.