What a remarkable year of stepping into an Art World with a new stepping stone of exhibiting and life as a rollercoaster.
I began with a very low and depressive start to the year, which taking in all the challenges and struggles as an artist I faced. My studio based practice consisted of drawing into painting. The idea triggered from my ongoing research looking afresh at an old dutch school of still-life paintings. This was combined with my influence I gathered whilst sketching, traveling and shopping for the rare things that inspire my senses. I am a thrift shopper looking for antiques, fabric cloth and fresh finds from nature.
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The subject of still life continually fascinates me as it gives me calm and controlled vision for example, I envision a stylized form of the everyday objects that I setup in my studio. It is my ongoing practice to both explore and an invent from various elements I conjure to create work of art. I usually collect from market stalls an object which later becomes part of a realm of ideas either through sketching it out or directly juxtaposing it with the finds from nature back in my studio.
I was selected to exhibit at the Old Chelsea Town Hall in June with the Annual Chelsea Art Society exhibition. An opportunity to give me a stand point to show from my watercolors and ink still life series. The reflection of meeting established and emerging artists and showing together gave me a platform to gain further confidence into my professional artistic endeavor. It became clear the path I am on has great potential to grow and share my aesthetic value. Later I was lucky to be picked to show another one of my work at the Green & Stone summer exhibition in Chelsea. A Memorable experience of meeting the contemporary art world both the established and emerging artists.
The Summer drew to a close and at the start of autumn to my delightful surprise I was shortlisted for Anna Lovely Gallery in Sydenham. An artwork inspired by the Italian novel The Leopard drawing a story from the narrative. It almost confirmed my status as continually growing and taking the steps in the right direction. It is surely something that gave me a leading light to do what I passionately believe in creating better than what I did last.
Than in later part of winter I once again struggled to keep up with a rapidly changing scene in my quite studio life. But it was important to keep up with the pace hence I exhibited in group show the Candid arts trust. A series of Scandinavian inspired interiors with women and still life. I became infatuated with my travels to the Nordic. A mindful vision to create from a simple order of understanding a way of life and spaces.
It was in this summer that I embarked on my first plain air painting tour of the Hampstead Heath grounds. It resulted in creating a painterly impressionist sketches of the landscape of pond, trees and changing light. Yet another opportunity emerged to exhibit at an Italian cafe local to the Heath. A small yet divided commune to share what I felt best back then.
Finally Christmas had yet another way to draw me back into the unknown. But I fought against all the odds to triumphantly show my ceramics for the first time at An Angel Xmas Fair. It was a sparse moments to meet and directly sell as a stall keeper.
