Saturday 26 March 2011

Flying In and Flying Out

Yesterday, I was able to send off the rejigged flyer and poster to be printed, ready for the new season of Ted Coney's Family Portraits. Paul of Honest Ideas had made the changes to the words and very kindly changed the pictures around within the keyhole loggo to give the whole thing a fresh look. I have changed the strap line from ' Five generations in thirty minutes' (which always slightly niggled - did people think they only got half an hour for their three quid?) to 'Ely's First Pop-up Gallery' which I feel reflects more what I do (it also means we can 'pop- down' if we have something more exciting on!). I also got the Morris Minor safely back yesterday and very splendid it looks. It is all ready for the opening on the 17th April and also to celebrate its 80th birthday in July (but more of that later)

Sunday 20 March 2011

On the edge about 'On the Edge'

I devised a lecture about my work several years ago entitled On The Edge which I have played to packed houses in such places as the Custard Factory, Birmingham and the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. Although it has it's own page on Ted Coney's Family Portraits website, lately I have not been asked to give it. I decided as one of the stratagies to get the gallery known, I would advertise the lecture in the Women's Institute handbook. Hey Presto! I have my first booking- at Mepal Friendship Club. I am a little nervous, but hopefully if it is a success it may draw more people to visit me. I am also apprehensive about driving the seven miles to Mepal. I hope to go in the Morris Minor but have still not got it back yet from it's respray job. Watch this space

Saturday 12 March 2011

Surfaces! Surfaces!

Like a good old fashioned painter I usually stretch and prepare the canvases myself. Maybe I am getting lazy or just old, but this time I treated myself to some already prepared ones. I kidded myself that because they were so tiny (yes, my work is getting smaller, like me) they would be difficult and fiddly to prepare, Luckily I had bought one extra canvas to experiment on as disaster struck when I came to stain it with dark brown paint. It was such a horrible greasy, shiny surface that I couldn't acheive a dark colour at all. So I will have to sandpaper each one of the six canvases and then paint on a gesso ground. My aim is to have the first layer of the painting done by the time I open Ted Coney's Family Portraits on 17th April. Have you booked yet?

Monday 7 March 2011

Clipboard Crazy

One of the things I wanted to change this year for Ted Coney's Family Portraits was the old pinboard I had hanging at the end of the lane to try and explain to the public what it was all about. Everything was held down with large mapping pins and although it worked on still, sunny days, at other times it was a disaster. Often, newspaper cuttings or posters would fly off and I was left scurrying down the road to retreive them. So this year I have invested in a new smart clipboard which will be temporaly chained to the wall with a padlock. However, no such thing existed so I bought the nearest thing and brother David came to my rescue and made changes so it can be used in this location. Hopefully, another problem solved.