November 27th: (Let's) Arty Party Art Exhibition

a 3 panel piece I finished before the exhibit: Ocean Offerings

enjoying some refreshments and art....

 Well, party we did! It was a bit of a mad scramble at the beginning of the exhibit - Barb and I were still finishing up appetizers and hanging the last of the paintings when the first people arrived. Our exhibit ran from noon until 5 p.m. on Sunday and we had a steady flow of traffic from start to finish. The refreshments and laughter were flowing and the compliments abounded. Barb and I had a fantastic year together and it was wonderful to share it with our community. We decided to donate 25% of the proceeds to art supplies for our kids' school here in Australia. I sold all of my pieces except for one - A Portrait of G.W. Shark - which I knew would probably not sell in light of the four fatal shark attacks off local beaches this year. I took it off the stretcher bars, rolled it up and sent it home with my Dad for his 70th birthday. Barb also had a very successful day which has translated in a donation between the two of us of $1000 to the school. With each piece sold, I realized that a part of me will be staying behind which has made this year's experience that much sweeter.

pieces hung on the brick wall of next door's construction site

To summarize what the year has meant to us I share an excerpt from the bio sheet that we posted at the exhibition:

We have asked you to come celebrate this year of painting with us not only to share in what we have created on canvas but also what has been born from these creations - a life-long friendship. We have learned so much from each other, not only about painting but also what hours of creating with another can create inside ourselves. Through the sharing of ideas and past experiences over many cups of tea and pots of paint we have rejoiced in rediscovering all the wonder we have experienced in our antipodal lives. We will enjoy future artistic explorations together through correspondence – not just letters or emails but artistic collaborations over the seas, land and air that connect us. Thank you for coming.  

  

I would also like to say a special thanks to all those that helped us make this exhibition happen:

Kyilla Primary School for providing the art easels
Megan for sending out emails and posting our event in the school newsletter
Laura for helping us hang paintings during the last minute scramble - thank goodness for tall friends!
Mike and Diana for also helping hang paintings
Xanthe and Lexi (Barb's daughters) for helping out in the kitchen and entertaining the younger kids
Lee Buddle for providing chairs for the event
Shari for providing punch bowls for all those delicious "refreshments"
and the rest of our friends and families for providing support throughout the year so we could enjoy this journey