MULTI TASKING...

On Sunday I went to collect my 2 unsold pictures from the RBSA Prize Exhibition. I was so pleased that I'd sold one picture, but I was a touch puzzled as last week Mum took a call from the RBSA to say that I'd sold a different picture to the one we'd seen the red sticker on when we went to see the show a few weeks ago. Anyway, the lady at the RBSA took me downstairs to collect my unsold picture. We found the one unsold picture okay, but the other was not to be found. Upstairs, the young girl on reception checked the records, 'you've sold two pictures'.

I couldn't believe it! I garbled my thanks, my pleasure and my sheer amazement and left swinging my lone unsold picture in my portfolio like a child coming home from a happy daytrip!

To celebrate I treated myself to an Iced Mint Latte at Costa. The attendant was new I think, and messed up my order, but I was so happy I sat on the train for 20 minutes in New Street Station gurgling with pleasure and chilled minty coffee disbelieving how lucky I've been these past few weeks, selling two pictures and winning the Derwent prize. I'd have to go back more than 20 years to the summer of 1984 to think of another such lucky time. Maybe I'll blog about that time later. That was the summer I left school, won a couple of prizes, travelled to London with my father, shook hands with Paul McCartney and started Birmingham Poly' on an Art and Design Foundation Course. It was a bit of a roller coaster.

I've begun a few new pictures experimenting with different approaches. Here are the first stages.

I begun this pen and ink drawing of Mullion Cove about 10 years ago, from a photo' I took on a very happy holiday in August 1998. I abandoned it then and found it again while clearing out some old papers the other day. I stretched it (Rowney Kandahar Ink is extremely waterproof!) and have begun working on it again.