2022, my year as an artist

First of all, welcome to all of the new subscribers, and thanks for joining me on my artistic journey, and thanks to all of you have been with me on my journey for a while, your continued support means a lot to me.

2022 has been a massive year of transition for me.

This time last year I was telling myself, (and anyone who would listen), that 2022 was going to be my year, and that’s kind of how it worked out, but not in the way I had imagined, not at all.

That’s one of the things I love about being an artist, you just don’t know what the future holds, better or worse, good or bad, you just have to work with what you have in front of you.

This time last year I had signed up for gilding lessons and booked a ballerina for my first photo shoot along with a proper grown-up photographic studio, all exciting and scary in equal measure.

Well 400 photos later, I was deep into creating ballerina artworks, and I made a series of 8 pieces for my first art fair in Sussex.

Well, what a disappointment that was, not a single sale, hardly any interest after all that hard work, quite a disappointment, and I knew I couldn’t go through all that again.

Some rethinking was in order.

So, I cancelled the other two art fairs I had booked up, (losing the deposits in the process) and started looking for a new direction.

Putting two and two together seemed so logical, a lifelong car nut, and an artist, what could be simpler than painting classic cars, right?

And that's how it started. A summer of visiting classic car shows in and around the Midlands, talking to loads of classic car owners, and getting a good feel for what would be required, taking loads and loads of photos for reference, and off I went.

In July I signed up for the NEC Classic Motor Show in November, I do love a deadline, and started working on a collection of works, plus building a new website, buying all the kit I would need to exhibit, quit my day job, swapped my car for a bigger one, and jumped in with both feet, or did I jump in with both feet first, I cant remember.

To say that I am pleased with how the year has developed is a massive understatement. I have a new direction for my creativity, not to mention art sales and commissions off the back of my first show. So I am very happy with it all indeed.

2023 is starting to take shape already, I have booked a stand at the Goodwood Members Meeting in April, and I also plan to exhibit at the Goodwood Revival in September, plus I will be at the Kop Hill Climb in September also.

Added to that I will be showing up at quite a few of the meetings at the Prescott Hillclimb venue throughout the summer, so I guess I need to paint a few Bugatti’s, as the owners club own the track!

There are a few other big shows through the year that I have applied for, but I will give more details on those when details become available, and they will all be listed in the footer of my website home page.

And to spread my artistic endeavours even further I have signed up for signwriting course in January, so that I can create a new collection of pieces I am going to call “Car Mirrors”, but more on that later.

So that’s been my 2022, I hope you have all had a good year, and if things haven’t gone your way that you have managed to get through whatever life has through at you.

I also hope that you can enjoy the festivities and look forward to 2023.

All the best to you, and thanks for tagging along on my journey.

See you on the other side.