It’s certainly been a busy summer!
Never have I felt so tired (other than maybe jet lag) as I did after doing my first 2 day show which was at the Staffordshire County Show in back in May. As it was located an hour from my house it was a 5am start to 7-8pm both days.
By far the biggest challenge of the 2 days was live drawing which I have only ever previously done on school trips when I was younger. At times I would turn around and see a crowd of around 15 people watching me which was amazing but slightly terrifying. However, it proved to myself how far I have come with my confidence – if I had told myself what I would be doing a year ago I would have just laughed!
My second stand was at a 3 day dog agility show held in Shrewsbury in July. It was only a small show (there were only 5 other stalls) but hundreds of dogs! Having so little stall holders gave a nice atmosphere and we all became quite friendly with each other over the 3 days. Most of the competing dog owners stayed on site through the entire show meaning I came to know a few of them as they would regularly walk past to watch the progress on my drawing of a hurdling collie. I even had a surprise special announcement over the speaker system “Now ladies and gentlemen, we have somebody very talented here today. She is a pet portrait artist currently drawing for all to see. Once you have finished your rounds, I highly recommend you wander over to see for yourself”. I couldn’t stop grinning for the next few minutes…!
The 3rd and 4th shows were both one day each. Ludlow dog day held in July was another very hot day but lots of fun, I even had my photo taken for the local newspaper! http://www.ludlowadvertiser.co.uk/news/15431905.Ludlow_goes_to_the_dogs/. The Kidderminster horticultural show in September was nice and close to home and the best show of them all as it gained me the most commissions and I sold a lot of cards. I also had different friends come to visit me throughout the day to see my work too which was lovely.
As well as these shows, I’ve been involved in 2 exhibitions. The first was the Church Stretton open exhibition in August which ran for 2 weeks and the second is the Wolverhampton Society of Artists exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery which is ongoing until November 2017.
I’ve loved being so involved with shows and exhibitions this summer, it’s been a great opportunity to talk to so many people about my work and their pets. Every minute was enjoyable and I can’t wait for my next shows…
