From little acorns, do Oak trees grow? I HOPE SO!!

I have been to yet another delightful group this afternoon in Garstang, held at the Garstang Arts Centre and am thrilled to say everyone seemed to enjoy and got something out of the session.  I never know just what the standard will be and whether the group will engage with the way I paint and have to say this group seemed full of enthusiasm and happy to embrace what I was trying to show them.

These are the sort of studies I do at the loosening up workshop which is what I did at Garstang today, not easy when you have never applied the paint like this but the whole groups managed really well!!

Anyway the reason for writing this particuar blog is that I have some news to share which has made me just a teeny bit excited!!! Yes again!!

As the session was closing and I was packing away all my stuff, a lady who had not attended approached me and introduced herself as having just taken over the running of the centre and would I be interested in putting some paintings into an exhibition for a month at the end of the year? Would I be interested????? Hell yes!!! Anyway this would also be a "solo" exhibition, a first for me and held in the Arts Centre which is a centre dedicated to running classes and holding exhibitions.

I am really delighted about this....serendipity.... I just seemed to be in the right place at the right time, they had a slot which they wanted to fill and I just happened to turn up today, and thankfully one of the art group organisers recommended me having thought I did a fabulous session (her words, not mine!!) and also having seen some of my work which I took along. As I did the big exhibition last year I do have a lot of paintings ready and waiting to go, though I will most certainly be adding a few more to the collection before next November. There is room for between 30 and 40 paintings so will be a really good show of my work, I will be selling cards and there will also be some mounted only pieces there.

As for the title of this blog... since I retired, last May, I have been invited to run workshops in the area and have been invited back everywhere, people are seeing and hopefully enjoying my work and getting a taste for how I go about things.... I will have run 10 sessions in January and although things are quieter for the rest of the year, things are growing and happening with little advertising on my part.

However,  I woud just like to mention how very grateful I am to one or two people (they know who they are) for offering me encouragement and feedback with my work, for recommending me to other groups, for giving me opportunities to run all day workshops (more details to be announced soon) and for generally supporting my efforts in these early stages of trying to make something of my love of art. So from a very modest start when my own group asked would I do a session for them just over 12 months ago, I am now travelling to groups all over, I am selling a few pieces and being invited to exhibit too....... happy days..... if this is what retirement is all about, having planted the acorns, bring on the tree!!