I have finally finished work on my painting, which will be part of the work I put forward for the degree show. It was quite an intense week of painting, as I raced to finish before the colours I had mixed dried up. Because I paint in blocks of colour, it means that I could never remix exactly the same shade again, so once I start I need to keep going, and because neatness is so important in my work, I need to keep all shades I mix available to me in case I smudge. These self-imposed rules are both helpful and a hindrance to me when I work, especially when I find myself in the studio on a Sunday during the Easter break! Next I need to make the painting into a banner, which means I will need to buy some poles on which to hang it. The thought of cutting it up is nerve-wracking.
Other things I have been working on lately include the facebook presence for the University of Chester Degree Show. I am trying to encourage students to share links to their blogs, facebook pages and websites, as well as photos of their work and news of their degree show plans. Inspired by the Degrees Unedited facebook page, I am also putting into place a series of banner images showing Chester University students work, displayed for one week at a time. You can take a look at the page here http://www.facebook.com/pages/UNTITLED-University-of-Chester-Degree-Show-2012/369087713126240 and I hope to get the first banner image up some time later this week.
I have also just applied for my first ever residency. I hope to find one after I graduate and this first application was for a residency that really captured my interest. I have not really had much luck with the things I have applied for lately, I have just received a letter informing me that I have not got through to the second round of the John Moores Painting Prize, but I am happy just to have had the judging panel view my work. Fingers crossed that I get an interview, and now that this first application is out of the way I feel much more confidant to apply for more.
