My First Art Show
This past weekend was my first time ever showing my paintings and also showing with the Drift. Through the whole weekend, it was heartwarming to see so many of my friends and my family come out to support me. For the Friday night group show reception at Cambrian Hall, I showed my most recent painting titled “A Different Air of Life”. This piece was a larger variation of a smaller painting “Heaven in Your Palm” that I had done. Looking around the hall, I was impressed by the breadth of the work being shown all in one space. I also appreciated how much energy it took to organize a one night group show.
On Saturday and Sunday I was able show the majority of my work at the Main Space Building. It was such a joy to talk to and meet with so many artists and art enthusiasts. This show was an experiment for me to see what it would be like if I were to make art a bigger part of my life and I was excited to share my work with others. The encouragement and feedback that I received was so incredibly positive. For being my first show, I was ecstatic to have three paintings sell. In the photo to the right, Mia and I are standing below my painting titled “One Last Look” that will now be her birthday present from her husband Kerry.
I showed an interactive art piece, pictured on the left, and asked visitors to write down messages for me to incorporate into my painting. I was inspired by the idea of rewriting the “bathroom wall”. In the past, the bathroom wall was the place to share your thoughts about other people. The wall was often a source of entertainment until you discovered an unflattering note about yourself. Instead of the usual graffiti of negative remarks, viewers have a chance to give tribute to those close to them on the “wall”.
I was also fortunate to be in a group show with artists Melanie Ellery and Judith Fairwood on the main floor. I am drawn to Melanie’s layering of colours and paint drips, though I am a bit biased when it comes to paint drips! These series of water reflections by Judith are so tranquil and serene. I didn’t get a chance to meet John Ferrie as he was away but I enjoyed the vibrancy and detail in his celebration of the city’s many iconic landmarks.
We met Ray and Catherine who attended an art swap event the Thursday night in the same space we where showing and they shared their pieces with us. The event was called Big Dot’s Art Swap, which was a fundraiser for The Boys and Girls Club of Mount Pleasant. You can see the details on the art swap when you log into Facebook. The gist is that participants get to trade in a piece of art for another. What a fun concept!
Overall, juggling work, life, painting and building a website has been a challenging undertaking for the past 4 months but it was well worth the effort to gain this amazing experience at the Drift. I am in now the process of looking at a few artist calls and planning for future shows. Stayed tuned!
