First Steps

I just wanted to record a very emotional moment in my journey at the start of what will be & has been a magical period in my life.

Five minutes ago I signed my first ever painting as me. I signed it in watercolour & tears.

My clumsy first steps into the big wide world are gathering momentum.

Thursday I met up with with a dear friend of mine who I have worked with as a volunteer for many years. She asked me to give her the opportunity to see my new painting before it went into the exhibition next week. She knew how much my painting meant to me & how much I had missed being able to do it over the last two years. We share a love of wildlife & a passion for conservation. I felt a little awkward because she had been kind enough to buy a number of my paintings in the past & I did not want her to feel she had to buy this one, just to be able to share it with her was reward enough. She fell in love with it as soon as she saw it. So it looks like next Wednesday Debbie may have her first ever sale. I had to push myself to paint this piece, driven by the desire not to miss the first opportunity I have had in my life to display a painting with the real artists name on it. To have that chance makes the painting priceless to me. How do you put a price on a dream? I had not even started it & with 2 days until the deadline for entries I just went for it. I was not sure it was good enough until a week & I still wish it could be a lot better. The desire to want to do better next time, the creative hunger that had deserted me through all the trauma of my recent life has re-emerged.

Friday I helped my best friend put on her first solo exhibition. She has saved my life & been an inspiration to me. The pressure of a solo exhibition is so much greater & personal than when you share it with others & for her this too was a really big first step. In the two years my creativity had been blocked she has grown tremendously as an artist. Pushing her boundaries at every opportunity. Her enthusiasm for her art has been a joy to watch. She was so nervous all week long. We all knew how good she was but she could not see it for herself. Local newspapers published stories about her work. Friends & colleagues were all so supportive. The night was a huge success. She sold several paintings, prints & cards. She also gained a number of commissions. We all believed in her & may be now she will to. Good things do happen to good people.

Saturday I helped out at the start of preparing the major exhibition of wildlife art at our local zoo. The exhibition takes place in a beautiful Tudor hall set in the grounds of the zoo. It takes up 6 large rooms & is now the biggest exhibition of wildlife art in Europe. I have been lucky enough to be part of it from the start & we have all grown together supporting each other very much like an extended family. I had a great first day helping out with all the other ladies.

Tonight is handing in night where artists from far & wide, north & south, Europe, Africa bring along their incredible work. I feel like a kid at Christmas seeing all the inspirational pieces of art. Tonight also carries a lot of emotion for me as some of my dear friends will be delivering their paintings they have worked so hard for. There is the one slight dark cloud of a potential for a heartbreaking situation. One that tragically ended in great tears at the end of last years exhibition when life long friendships were lost. It broke my heart to see this happen last year. I pray all our friends will be friends after this evening. I just want everyone to be happy & enjoy the art, & shared experience with lovely friends.

Next week I will be working on & off each day. I have three wonderful private view nights to look forward to. We have a grand opening on Wednesday evening. A special guests night which will be opened by Simon King from The BBC wildlife big cat diarys. Each night is going to be like a prom night for me. I am so excited by it all. All being well we have 800 plus guests coming for each night. Thursday we may have a live broadcast on the BBC which will be great publicity for all the talented amateur & professional artists who are exhibiting. We have two more private view nights where I will be meeting a number of friends, including ex colleagues for the first time as Debbie.

I hope you all have a good week

Best wishes
Love
Debbie