Eynsham Gods

I have taken down my month long exhibition as part of Oxfordshire Art Weeks festival. I sold well but sadly on the penultimate night one of my more expensive paintings disappeared. My son, who was helping me, and is a police officer says that without CTV or witnesses my chance of its return are very small. I had no insurance against theft so even reporting it to the police would be a waste of everyone’s time. My only consolation was that it was really liked.

My exhibition starts next month. I sent the ones to be framed to a friend. I have designed but not printed leaflets and the information cards. Could not print due to running out of ink and Amazon have taken forever to deliver (unusually). My son has muddled his free time so is restricted on how much he can help me hang the exhibition. Today the journalist from the local paper who dictated when she could come and review my exhibition has announced she wants to come the following day now.

I am suffering from anxiety now.

Journalist friends on the local paper tell me that a press release for my May exhibition needs to be in three months before the event if I am going to have any chance of getting publicity. Evidently they work that length of time into the future with their planning. So I sweated this “short’ piece. Why is it so difficult to write about yourself?

Lorna Marrison on Osney Island

The Punter – Osney Island

May 4 to May 31

Eynsham artist Lorna Morrison brings together a series of small intimate studies in oils that highlight the various doors she encountered when visiting Osney Island, Oxford.

She says that on an individual basis doors are an expression of the boundary between private and personal space but there is far more to them than that as her insightful paintings suggest.

These are not simple illustrations. As Lorna studied each door and started to paint the doors began to take on a life of their own and become characters of distinction that continued to evolve and develop as she worked. The result is a superb collection of little paintings that depict the very essence of one of Oxford’s most atmospheric areas.

The exhibition also includes another collection in her popular Morris Dancers series – this time she has used their dance to take a rather irreverent look at the theme of sin.

The exhibition runs from May 4 to 31 May and is supported by Tim Rainey who hosts it in The Punter, Osney Island.

So what do you think

I got down and dirty with sprread sheets for the offical end of first year of business. It is eye watering reviewing expenses all at once. My computer’s optical drive was the biggest single expense and less then 6 months later it’s gone again. I will go and see Mac Solutions and see if there was a guarantee. The second biggest cost were the ink carts for a amazing £450. Genearaly, adding together Tax Credits, Carers Allowance and payments for paintings minus painting costs and house/domestic costs I have made a small profit.

Still drawing for one more painting for next year’s exhibition. I am drawing with a Wacom tablet straight to the computer. I’ve been surprised that people some how think this is a form of “cheating”, I explain that each medium has it pros and cons and you work accordingly. In my case I take a long time drawing with traditional materials but speed up when drawing with a computer … correcting the line is easier. So I will use the drawings towards a poster that I can sell at the exhibition.

I have also been thinking about publicity for this exhibition. My exhibition is listed in the Art Weeks’ brochure. There is the usual putting of posters up in the local shops, centres etc. Advertising in publications is out of my price range but with luck I will be interviewed by some of them. So I have decided to spring for some postcards with the exhibition’s details and a painting on the other side. My thinking is give five cards to friends and they pass on the other four to their friends. A sedate form of spam?