It was with the weather forecast ringing in my ears for the Bank Holiday weekend that I packed the car up and went to set up my stall at ArtFest part of the Chester Food, Drink and Lifestyle Festival taking part on Chester Racecourse over Easter. Please please just be nice!
Ha! It was foul!!!
Torrential rain, gale force winds, the odd patch of sun and more than slightly chilly. As my stall was just inside the door to the marquee, thermals were a must as were a set of handwarmers and a succession of Baileys Coffees which were kindly handed out by some lovely passing promo girls!
I was one of 40 AMAZING artists from Grosvenor Art Society, which I joined at the end of 2015, as suggested by the Chairman, David Finney, a very talented wildlife artist that is a fellow member of the Association of Animal Artists. I am so glad I did! What a lovely bunch of people! I sat opposite Dianne from Akesmere Farm, who breeds Alpacas and then spins the wool and makes the most beautiful products - bags, hats, teddy bears, and even weaves to make fabric which she then makes into stunning coats, bags and throws. I had my beady eye on a beautiful fur trimmed coat, but she sold it to a lovely customer! Then there was David himself, who kept me entertained and managed my Raynauds by pinching someone elses hand warmers for me to carry on demonstrating on my stand. Reynauds is such a rubbish thing to suffer from...I only have to get the milk from the fridge and my hands go dead which is useless if you are trying to paint plein air!
I found some new artist friends who I much admire - Jane Percival Stewart, Bob Hill, Susan Farrington, Wendy Proctor, Graham Finch from Baileys Arts, Sue Arthur, Stylianos Philippakos (very brave man that took the full brunt of the draught coming through the door!), Anita Tait, David Wilson, David Finney, Vince Heaney, Helen Davies with her lovely hand made greetings cards, Dennis Davies, Jon Young (aka The Bums and Boobs Man), and finally Just Georgie with her lovely hand crafted gifts.
Ha! It was foul!!!
Torrential rain, gale force winds, the odd patch of sun and more than slightly chilly. As my stall was just inside the door to the marquee, thermals were a must as were a set of handwarmers and a succession of Baileys Coffees which were kindly handed out by some lovely passing promo girls!
I was one of 40 AMAZING artists from Grosvenor Art Society, which I joined at the end of 2015, as suggested by the Chairman, David Finney, a very talented wildlife artist that is a fellow member of the Association of Animal Artists. I am so glad I did! What a lovely bunch of people! I sat opposite Dianne from Akesmere Farm, who breeds Alpacas and then spins the wool and makes the most beautiful products - bags, hats, teddy bears, and even weaves to make fabric which she then makes into stunning coats, bags and throws. I had my beady eye on a beautiful fur trimmed coat, but she sold it to a lovely customer! Then there was David himself, who kept me entertained and managed my Raynauds by pinching someone elses hand warmers for me to carry on demonstrating on my stand. Reynauds is such a rubbish thing to suffer from...I only have to get the milk from the fridge and my hands go dead which is useless if you are trying to paint plein air!
I found some new artist friends who I much admire - Jane Percival Stewart, Bob Hill, Susan Farrington, Wendy Proctor, Graham Finch from Baileys Arts, Sue Arthur, Stylianos Philippakos (very brave man that took the full brunt of the draught coming through the door!), Anita Tait, David Wilson, David Finney, Vince Heaney, Helen Davies with her lovely hand made greetings cards, Dennis Davies, Jon Young (aka The Bums and Boobs Man), and finally Just Georgie with her lovely hand crafted gifts.
Portmeirion by Bob Hill
Susan Farrington 'speed' painting a breathtaking seascape on her stand!
Me painting on the stand - guess what...it was a horse!
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