After the initial hand in day, the work really begins.
The selection procedure is first with nine members sitting on the committee, including myself as President. It is a totally democratic and ,of course,highly subjective process. A different panel would come up with a totally different set of choices.
Selected work is laid out.
Later, screens are erected ready for the following day when everything is hung.
It can be somewhat daunting when faced with 280 works and an array of blank screens. Will we have enough, will we have too many? How to best balance them all colour wise , subject wise. It's rather like trying to do a large jig saw puzzle without the picture.
But I had a marvelous team and the whole exhibition was hanging by lunchtime.
But then comes the fine tuning. Straightening pictures, labelling, cataloguing and , of course, preparing for the Private View.
The Private View was a great success with over 150 in attendance including the Mayor and Mayoress of Cambridge. A large number of paintings were sold and unfortunately , one was stolen. However, the police recovered it quickly after a tip off from a member of the public that a drunken man was lying on the ground at the bus station clutching a work of art. For the second year in a row we hit the headlines in the local press. Last year, a picture of a fish was stolen. This year, it was an owl. Perhaps a pattern is emerging?
The exhibition contained a huge range of styles, subject matter and mediums, from oils to acrylics, watercolours,etchings, wood engravings, mono prints and sculpture. Below, are just a few.
Karen Stamper Essaouria 1 Collage
Stephen Roberts " Dog Walkers, Grantchester" oils
Suzanne Parsonson "Catching Up" Graphite and Fabric
Mohammed Djazmi " Fallen" Pencil
It was a great success as an exhibition with over 300 visitors per day, 89 works sold and sales of over £13,000.
The Cambridge Drawing Society's next exhibition will be at St. Faith's School in Cambridge from October 27th - November 3rd
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