Keir Coxhead Exhibition at Marvellous Art Gallery, Sat 27 July 2019

Titled ADAPT, this exhibition is a collection of Coxhead’s work after moving forward and adapting following a serious spinal injury, which left him almost completely paralysed with minimal arm function.  For more info see:

WWW.IDLEHANDS-ART.CO.UK

FACEBOOK | THE STORY OF IDLE HANDS ART

INSTAGRAM | IDLEHANDS_BY_KC

Meet the Artist: Linda Sharman, Saturday 10th March 2018

Gallery panorama with Tim x2!

I took my friends along to see Leicester and LSA artist Linda Sharman at the Cank Street Gallery last Saturday.  It was a bitterly cold day so my friend’s enjoyed a hot drink and a piece of Linda’s homemade cake! (the chocolate marshmallow was to die for!)

Linda is such a lovely lady; we spoke about how her father, a successful artist, had inspired her technique.  Her exhibition ‘Visions through Light’ features a series of landscapes of Venice and Norfolk.  I’ve always liked the impressionistic quality of her work, which stands alone without any reliance on detail.  The viewer feels like they are there, present in the moment, underneath a vast expanse of sky or looking out from a Venetian bridge. There are remnants of the great impressionists Turner and Monet and like them she creates an atmospheric moment of time. 

‘Visions through Light’ exhibition runs until 21 April.

Artist's Linda Sharman (left) and Louise Ellerington

A New Day by Linda Sharman

Anetha Hunte, Tim Noakes & Lizzy

My Chelsea experience at Parallax Art Fair!

Parallax Art Fair at Chelsea Town Hall

Phew! The Parallax Art Fair last weekend was amazing! And exhausting! It poured on Friday evening, which made transporting watercolours treacherous, especially since parking was almost impossible - even the local NCP was packed.

Lizzy,still putting up paintings
at the private view!

Squeezing into a tiny Pay & Display spot around the corner, Max and I had only an hour to get everything into Chelsea Town Hall and to put up all the paintings in my designated exhibition area.

Two hours later we were still at it! I'd prepared a scaled drawing of the space but the paintings seemed to hang higher than expected. I wasn't the only artist who discovered this. With no time to re-hang, I believed my pictures couldn't be viewed at their best :(

Lizzy with cousin Graham Barker & art agent, Celia Purcell

With no time to make adjustments, Max and I dashed for the car. Thankfully the place we were staying was nearby. With less than an hour to get ready for the evening's private view I wondered if I could possibly make it in time. Somehow I did it, fishnets, high heels and all, and we cabbed it back to Chelsea Town Hall arriving just a few minutes late.

As my hair frizzed in the heat and humidity of the exhibition space, something I'd have to get used to over the next two days (take a portable fan if you're attending Chelsea Town Hall, people!), I wondered anew if exhibiting at Parallax was such a sensible idea. 

Sandra Blaz, interested in a future commission

Then the lovely London art agent Celia Purcell came walking towards me, wide smile on her face, and I relaxed. I'm always pleased to see her because she's particularly enthusiastic about my 'quirky style'. She loved my exhibited drawing of ‘Notre Dame’ and wants me to paint more for inclusion in her own exhibition nearer Christmas! Celia, I will, I will!

Saturday - before the rush!

Over the two days of the Art Fair many lovely guests from around the world visited my stand and YES! On Saturday I sold my painting, ‘Girl on a Motorcycle’. That made the event for me! The cute watercolour references the 1960s, Vespa scooters and Marianne Faithfull in 'Girl on a Motorcycle' and has long been one of my personal favourites.

Lizzy with Bruce Withington in his Chelsea garden, with 'Girl on a Motorcycle' - SOLD!

Bruce, who purchased the piece, had bought his son Ollie along to the Art Fair. It was Ollie who spotted the painting and wanted it for his bedroom wall. Ollie also happens to be the name of a character in ‘Made In Chelsea’ and I told Bruce how I adored the programme and would love to have my own Chelsea experience. Just like that Bruce invited Max & I to his Chelsea home for Pimm's & strawberries! What a great guy!

Loving my Chelsea experience and totally star-struck (Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys' fame lives a few doors down the road) Bruce took us on to the Phoenix Geronimo Inn, which also features in ‘Made in Chelsea’, where he treated us to cocktails. This fabulous chap gave me my own wonderful Chelsea experience, so thank you Bruce, you're an art lover, thoroughly lovely man and a star!

Parallax Art Fair underway and already there are lots of visitors

Plenty to see & much to talk about!

Artist Bozena Czyz with her work

A closer look

So much to take in across Chelsea Town Hall

Heading home

Silent contemplation. Will she, should she?

See you at Chelsea Town Hall for Parallax Art Fair, next weekend!!

Have been SO BUSY getting pictures ready for Parallax next weekend! The Art Fair in Chelsea Town Hall next Saturday & Sunday is a huge event and it's wonderful to be exhibiting in London again!

Parallax is a huge craft fair with work of a very high calibre and I was dead chuffed to be allowed to be a part of it this year. It means I'll meet lots of new artists and have my work seen by a big, new audience. Which will hopefully mean sales!!

See Lizzy & her work at Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London on 26 & 27 July

As much fun as exhibiting is, for an artist showing work is about building visibility & reputation but primarily about selling. Only a few years ago I'd get so excited about having my work on display that I'd forget what I was there for and miss sales opportunities through sheer inexperience. No longer!

The business of displaying pictures at exhibition is a minefield one enters with caution! Where a picture is selected by a gallery it is hung where and how the gallery or show curator wants it seen. If it ends up tucked in a corner near the floor, well, that's life. Being accepted to have space at an art fair is quite different.

Chelsea Town Hall - Parallax Art Fair venue, London

Despite having to have one's work evaluated, an art fair is more about selling that a gallery or exhibition. One pays to take a space which one is then told how to fill. Sometimes the requirements are precise; all works will be fixed with mirror plates, or be no less than 10cms apart, for example. This keeps the overall appearance consistent, as in a gallery. And it pays to obey the rules since pictures look so much better when displayed well.

This time I'm taking Max along with his trusty drill & spirit level! As befits a one-time photographer, Max is great at detail. With Max in charge of hanging, pictures are positioned EXACTLY as planned! And credit where it's due, while I'm busy getting anxious, Max always makes a great job of the business end of exhibitions.

Inside Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London

For Parallax I've bought a couple of little display units for the postcards commissioned by Visit Leicester, which I still feel are among my best work. Those too can now be displayed to best advantage. And at the suggestion of a friend among my bits and pieces I'm taking Tippex to cover mirror plate screw heads. Plus ready-mounted replacement pictures so that sales don't result in unemployed exhibition space. My attitude really has changed!

However, once the exhibition closes I shall still enjoy the nightlife London has to offer. I'm sure there will be photos of the weekend to share with you in due course..!

I do hope I'll see many of my readers at Chelsea Town Hall on 26 & 27 July - it's going to be an excellent event and I'm already excited! There will be LOTS to see and while I hope you make the most of the quality art & craft works on offer, please don't be a stranger; make yourself known and come have a chat. I'm looking forward to meeting you at Parallax next weekend!

OPEN 25 Private View

OPEN 25 art exhibition & competition

Valentine's night and it's the Private View for OPEN 25 2014! My drawing of Notre Dame is included & stupidly I'm quite excited! Primarily though I'm here tonight to take photographs of the event for this blog, not so easy when everyone is slurping wine and there's a real danger of knocking glasses over & damaging artworks.

Everyone from Leicester's world of arts & culture appears to have turned out, including my photo chums from the Leicester Mercury & Leicester City Council. We chat & slurp.

My mum arrives - she's so proud! (I'm in tears at this point - too much slurping, methinks!) To have a drawing chosen for a major exhibition in my hometown is a significant achievement & I'm genuinely pleased for myself & my mum who's no mean artist herself.

I reflect that my Royal painting (A Right Royal Street Party!) wasn't selected; it would have looked fabulous in this huge museum space with all ages to enjoy it. But I've bored you before about how one never knows what a judging panel is looking for. 

Sacre Blue Baleine by Oliver Marc Thomas Leger, winner of the Attenborough Prize 2014

In the end the Attenborough Prize 2014 was awarded to Oliver Marc Thomas Leger for a drawing of a habitat-providing whale. Very detailed, it must have taken ages.

The exhibition runs at New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester, until 27 April. There's some amazing work here. Pop along!

The Private View crowd remained for the 

announcement of prize winners

Leicester's New Walk Art Gallery was packed for the Private View

Artist Louise Ellerington (front, right) at the Private View

Lizzy beside her drawing of Notre Dame showing the space in Leicester's New Walk Art Gallery

Admiring Notre Dame. With permission

Lizzy's mum is so proud!

Entering Leicester's OPEN 25 art exhibition & competion

OPEN 25 art exhibition & competition

OPEN 25 is a well-established Leicester art exhibition & competition. This year my friend Louise Ellerington, who had asked me to exhibit in her Yuletide Exhibition, suggested I should enter.

So Max & I packed & loaded three of my artworks into the car and headed off to Leicester's New Walk Museum & Art Gallery. 

Leicester's New Walk Museum & Art Gallery

Readers of my blog will appreciate that my experience of entering art exhibitions has been varied, so it was with mixed feelings that I presented my pictures and saw them taken away to join the competition for inclusion in the exhibition.

Lizzy's artwork is received by Hugo Worthy, 
Exhibitions Officer, for exhibition consideration.
With permission.

OPEN 25 is now in its 25th year. Run by Leicester City Council and supported & sponsored by well known Leicester businesses & arts organisations, the Open exhibition allows young, emerging & established artists from the East Midlands a showcase plus the chance to win one of a number of prizes including the prestigious Attenborough Prize 2014.

Art forms accepted include painting, photography, illustration, sculpture, textiles & ceramics, and all works exhibited are for sale. Since the show is traditionally well attended, there's a good chance to sell, but first work has to be accepted into the exhibition. Even handing in my work I observed the standard of competition to be very high and as ever wondered if any of my pieces would be accepted.

Lined up to be judged for inclusion on Selection Day

POSTSCRIPT: My Gaudi-inspired drawing of Notre Dame has been accepted into the exhibition!! Hooray!! If you'd like to pop down and take a look, OPEN 25 runs 15 Feb - 27 April at New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester.

Ad hoc photographic course from Glen Tillyard!

Lizzy by Glen Tillyard

My award-winning photographer friend, Glen Tillyard, and I went to a photographic exhibition last week.
The weather was so good that we walked from my home to the exhibition in the centre of Leicester and as you can see, Glen brought his camera along.
Glen, who used to work as a photographer for the Leicester Mercury, is one of the best technically skilled photographers I know, so much so that he now runs popular courses in photography, manipulating and managing pictures.
Find details of his courses here: www.glentillyard.co.uk

Glen uses available resources for unusual images

Last of the new white hot motors

A great fit for A Right Royal Street Party inside the 'last of the new white hot motors'!

Having NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the fact that my paintings of increasing size no longer fit inside our old car, Max put his foot down with a firm hand and insisted we buy a new one!
I was worried we might end up with a van but Max knows a thing or two and our wonderful new car is white and shiny and has lots of interior space, as you can see, even if I do feel a little guilty about it. 

Max: There's even room for dismantled piano accordions in the back!

Next week I may be permitted to drive the new car when we take A Right Royal Street Party to try out for another major art exhibition. Hoping this one will be a better match to my painting style.  
More soon :)