Painting for art exhibitions
As an artist, one of the things I love is exhibiting my art and the process of painting for art exhibitions. My first solo exhibition was back in 2012 in New Zealand and I was a mixed bag of emotions. Thankfully, after 10+ years and quite a few exhibitions, I have become comfortable with the process. As always, when I am painting for exhibitions I do have in the back of my mind to create a cohesive collection that will sit well together without being repetitive but ultimately I select based on what I feel is ready, what the visitors will enjoy and what truly sings to me. Sometimes this means things get left behind as they do not feel truly finished, and I am OK with that.
There is something magical about having a piece of your work hanging in a gallery for people to see and (hopefully) be inspired by.
Will everyone fall in love and buy one of my paintings?
No (if only!).
But, for those that do, I know I have created something that will be in their home and bring them joy throughout the year and that is pretty powerful!
Art is truly powerful
I remember being at an exhibition and a lady suddenly stopped and just looked at one of my paintings. She commented that it was simply beautiful and created a feeling deep inside. After a conversation, she left as the cost of the painting was that of her upcoming summer holiday so something had to give and she wanted that holiday.
She popped by again 2 or 3 times, each time she spent a little longer. On the last visit she came back and said that her holiday would give her a week of rest and relaxation with some memories but this painting would give her a lifetime of pleasure. She had walked past so many times to see if those feelings remained, and they did. She bought the painting.
This is one of the many reasons I love what I do and truly believe I have the best job in the world. I created something that truly moved someone – wahoo.
My Art Exhibitions for 2023
In Sweden we have a lot of beautiful mixed media art exhibitions throughout the year. From fantastic gallery spaces to pop up exhibitions in malls and even indoor and outdoor art trails. I love them all. They attract many different people, art collectors, fellow creatives looking for inspiration and people that would never have gone to a gallery but instead, walked past a piece of art that caught their eye and it called to them.
The first part of 2023 I was super busy painting for exhibitions at Galleri Sjöhästen Nyköping, Hägernässtrands Galleri Täby and Vårsalong, Gysinge Herrgård. These have all now finished and earlier this month I collected the pieces from Vårsalong, Gysinge Herrgård as that closed on 18th June. Sweden may appear small this last exhibition meant a 4 hour round trip! Thankfully, my beautiful daughter is learning to drive so we used the trip as a driving lesson and I got some fantastic company along the journey.
I sold a few pieces, had an enquiry about a BIGGGGG commission piece and of course, I spoke with visitors about how certain pieces made them feel. This is such an important part of exhibiting to me.