Apologies to anyone looking for any blog posts from me I have lost the blogging thread recently. So it is now second half of May and the business factor has picked up a notch.
This week:
Monday morning – spent at local primary school where for the third time I offer my 4 hour sketching programme with Years 3 and 4. This breaks down into an introductory hour about who I am as a local artist and why I promote art as a fun activity. Then we look at and pick out features from some of my work, then sketching practice trying not to go straight into detail.
The next visit we spend two hours out by the seafront sketching both in their sketchbooks and on one of my A6 postcards using the ProMarkers. Final visit we look back to the sketching visit. We investigate how we can show features in less and more detail using my tree series of pictures in 2022. We finish with the classes drawing their own pictures onto a new Art for fun boiler suit which I will be wearing around town for at least the next two years.
So session one this morning and linked to some other things over the weekend I felt very nervous beforehand but got into my element very quickly enjoyed working with both classes today.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are normal shop open days but with elements of Purbeck Art weeks preparations thrown in too.
Tuesday – dropping off more brochures before work to local country park and after work dropping my work and that of another local Open Studio to Main exhibition space for Art Weeks for display.
Thursday – a day out together visiting some art studios in and around Shaftesbury to see work by others as part of Dorset Art Weeks and a town we stopped in for lunch on our way to Swanage on holiday in 2016 and have not returned to since.
Friday evening – Private view at exhibition space – Rollington Barn for Purbeck Art Weeks and completing two of my duty allocation by serving at the bar.
Saturday the art weeks start fully, so a normal Saturdays work for me plus a charity variety show to go to locally in the evening. Monday next week another duty allocation at Rollington arm and a free afternoon where Anne and I get to spend some time together. Between Saturday May 28 and Sunday June 12 I will have two Mondays where I do duty allocations rather than be at the shop. Apart from that it is 14/16 days of opening and hoping to welcome visitors. My next day off will be Sunday June 19 as the week after the art weeks I have two sketching mornings with the primary school and the afternoon off.
…now I did this as a semi retirement job…I do tend to lose sight of this sometimes and throw myself whole heartedly into it. Please be reassured I will be absolutely exhausted on most of the evenings throughout this slightly manic period.