Hello friends,
Thanks for joining me on this hot summer solstice! The UK has been scorching these last few weeks and I’ve been taking refuge behind my easel with the sounds of rain and thunder playing on my computer!
What's On My Mind
Upcoming exhibitions and deadlines are on my mind, as well as a surprise promo video appearance!
The electrical box belonging to Ogi Broadband that I painted last year was featured in a promotional video that showcases some of the artists involved in the project, including me. If you missed it on the socials, you can watch it HERE.
On the 15th July to the 12th August, my painting "Rose" will be making an appearance at the G39 open exhibition in Cardiff. I’ll be attending the preview evening on Friday 14th and am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the exhibition.
Some of you may remember an earlier series of mine - The Urban Faeries. The series of 5 paintings are set in Bristol and all feature street art. Nolton Art gallery is having a new exhibition throughout July and August, where, in addition to their current display of Banksy prints they will be displaying all 5 of my Urban Faeries paintings. They will of course be available to buy through the gallery too. If you missed that series and would like to learn more about it, you can check out each piece and the story behind them on my website.
How The Light Gets In - the annual philosophy, music and arts festival that takes place near Hay-on-Wye, was attended by the brilliant Breakout Gallery this year, in support of one of their artists Non Gallagher , who paints under the name Vibe. Breakout took along lots of paintings to display at the festival, including two of mine! They also hope to attend Westival later this year with plenty of paintings so if you happen to at the festival, look out for them!
What's On My Easel
Moons, moons and more moons! I’ve completed the Buck Moon and am making good progress on the Sturgeon and Blue moons. The exhibition doesn’t take place until 2024, but there’s 13 Moons in total which is keeping me busy.
As usual my social media feed runs a bit behind what I’m actually up to, and I’m trying to get ahead in preparation for the upcoming school holidays when painting time will be limited.
Quarterly Questions
There's no quarterly questions this month - though if you have any questions about my art, do email me them and I'll try to answer them in another newsletter. Instead I have some exciting news - I’m having my first ever sale in my Etsy store! For 5 days only, everything will be greatly reduced to make way for some new items coming later in the year. I’ve not announced this on social media yet, but mark your calendars for the 10th to the 14th July. It will be advertised as running Monday to Friday, but I will probably activate the sale on Sunday night (9th July), so if you want to snaffle something early, that’s your chance!
And Finally
You may be wondering what the title of this email is all about? Well, I have volunteered to restore a beautiful but slightly bashed nativity set for some friends of mine in the local Catholic Church. Although I don’t practice a particular religion myself, I strive to be respectful of those that choose to, whatever religion that is. The first statue in the set is Caspar, one of the three wise men/kings. He's had a complete repaint all over, chips filled and painted and a generous splash of gold leaf added. Here’s a little before and after shot for you - what do you think?
Caspar (who is about 1ft, 8” tall), had been enjoying hanging out in the corner of the living room for a week when my 5yr old daughter suddenly noticed him and said “Mum, what’s that weird gnome?!”
It’s a huge privilege to be allowed to work on these figures and I’m really enjoying the challenge. I’ll be restoring the complete nativity set which is around a dozen figures over the next few months, and will share some more before and after shots with you next time.
That’s it for this quarter. If you made it this far, well done, you deserve a cup of tea!
Until next time,
Gemma
21st June, 2023