10/08: WHERE TO START?

I still can't show any artwork for fear of spoiling surprises but I haven't been idle.  I'm currently working on human portraits which can't be shown for a couple of months, but I have just received a reference photo of a beautiful grey horse and I hope to be in a position to make a start on him before we go on holiday at the end of August.  This is a Gift Voucher redemption so isn't a surprise.

We have been out and about visiting art exhibitions in London and locally.   I submitted works to the Society of Feline Artists last week and am awaiting the verdict of the jury as to whether I can be voted a Full Member this year or whether I should reapply next year.   I'm grateful to the committee for considering me as I missed the deadline for applying ... our lives aren't as well organised as they should be following stepson's accident earlier this year and hospital visiting every few days.   (usually 6 - 8 hours round trip).  So fingers crossed!

I visited the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery at Waterloo where my picture of the Ragdoll Cat has been accepted  for inclusion in the fifteenth London Exhibition for The Society of Feline Artists.   For future years I will submit my entries by internet earlier in the year so (if accepted) they can be included on the Gallery website.  I was last in the queue to present work and watched as a very large Pollyana Pickering picture was rejected for lack of space (although she has others in the exhibition) and I felt very sorry for Elizabeth (whom I met at the SOFA venue)who had all four of hers rejected.   The exhibition opens on August 27th and I hope to visit the Gallery on Saturday 28th when in London to visit Richard.   We go on holiday on 29th so unfortunately won't be able to attend the Champagne Private View on 31st (opened by David Grant MBE Patron of the SOFA).

Yesterday we drove to Lydd to see the lovely work of fellow UK Coloured Pencil Society artist (Elizabeth Barton) who is staging a solo art exhibition this week at All Saints Church.  Its always nice to meet the artists we usually only get to 'converse' with via the internet.

Anyway, for a little light relief I thought I'd post a few pics taken in the last week or so ...

These huts line the grassy slopes leading down to the beach at Tankerton - they are very fashionable with the 'weekenders' from London although they have no running water and owners aren't permitted to sleep in them overnight - still they fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 each.
A lot of money for what is essentially a shed large enough to house a table, maybe a couple of sofas and a bbq (!)

The beach at Tankerton is relatively quiet

 but as you walk towards neighbouring Whitstable the beaches become increasingly crowded as this is where the yacht club is based and the 'lads' play with their jetskis and other executive toys.

 Whitstable is still a working harbour but at weekends and school Summer Holiday time it is jampacked with visitors sampling the fresh seafood and shellfish (in particular oysters which the area is renowned for).

I had no idea that elderberrys are so attractive to Starlings .... I photographed these just yards away from the busy beach/harbour at Whitstable and they were totally unfazed by the crowds of people walking past.  There were   dozens of birds enjoying a real feeding frenzy