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Open Studio Weekend | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘Open Studio Weekend’

Moving on…

' A cold evening - Irvine harbour side'

‘ A cold evening – Irvine harbour side’

Well then, that’s the Open Weekend over for another year and I’ve already ‘un-tidied’ the studio and am getting back to the work again. It’s amazing, after all the work that goes into the event, just how quickly it passes by. It was though, a very successful weekend with I think, just over 300 visitors to the studios. After speaking with many of my colleagues, I think most were very happy and had made either sales or useful contacts…..and for me, it was a bit of both.

My Open Weekend actually started on Friday afternoon as I was still putting the finishing touches to the studio. A gentleman came in and immediately took a fancy to one of the large 80 x 80 cm paintings. He spent a lot of time looking at it before leaving. He was back about an hour later asking if he could put a deposit on the painting ….so a very good start to the weekend…..and over the next couple of days another of the 80 x 80 cm paintings was also purchased making it the most successful ever Open Weekend for me. Of course, this event is not just about selling work, it is, perhaps more importantly, about people finding your studio, seeing the work and hopefully then going on to tell others about it. This really is the time to make contacts and with over 300 people coming into the courtyard this year, it was very successful in this aspect too. Of course, a successful event comes about from promoting it well and although we all did our part here at the studios, a big thank you must go out to all the local businesses and organisations who agreed to put our posters up and to the local newspapers and radio who gave us such good coverage.

I always think though, that once the Open Weekend is over, winter is just around the corner. As we left the studio yesterday evening under the last light of an almost clear sky, the temperature was decidedly on the wintry side. With all the pre open weekend work, Nita and I haven’t been out walking for almost four weeks now and with both of us working this weekend it’ll be next week before we get out again. Before we do, I think it’ll be time to check the rucksack and start putting back into it, all the extra gear I took out in the hot weather of July. I’ll also have to check the winter boots, crampons and spiders to make sure they are in good condition ready for the first time they are called into action. It’s incredible ….it only seemed a very short while ago that we were walking in t-shirts and complaining that it was too hot!

Need to get out more!

 'Beinn Taoig, winter',

‘Beinn Taoig, winter’,

I know it’s hard to believe, my blogs usually being so full of interest and the rest…..but this week there’s very little to write about! I haven’t been any where and my days have been spent battling with two oil paintings …and in all honesty, doing so in a not very productive manner!

The paintings have developed but I still have a good way to go on them and I’m not sure whether they’re exactly what I intended when I first started them. Then again, I have said previously that I’m using this year to experiment and hopefully learn and so that usually does mean a few false starts and a bin bulging with discarded pieces.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time this week working on plans for this years Open Studio Weekend on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th October ….make a note in your diary if you haven’t already done so! This is I think, our 11th year but where as in the past we’ve been part of a WASPS-wide event, this year we’re going to be very much on our own with perhaps the exception of one other Wasps studios. In a way though, it’s been good and we’ve had the best response from the Courtyard artists .…everyone is taking part. I’ve gathered images from each of the artists and Brian is doing the artwork and design for the poster and flyers. Margaret has agreed to be treasurer for the event, Graham has written a great press release and plans are afoot nearer the event to spend a few hours one evening weeding and tidying the courtyard, repairing and painting the picnic bench and fixing up one of the old but nice Courtyard Studio signs on the end wall …all in an effort to make the place more inviting to visitors on the weekend. The secret of course to all of these types of events is publicity. Over the years a number of us have built up good visitor / customer data bases and we’ll each be sending out flyers to as many folk as possible. With the press release and some interesting photos of the studios and work, we hope to get plenty of publicity in the local papers and on the radio…..so then, hopefully we’ll get a good turn out in October.

If you’re living anywhere within striking distance of Irvine make a note in your diary for this event. If you’re one of those who normally visit one of the other Wasps studios for this event ….then why not make a day of it and come and see some of Ayrshire’s leading artists instead. If you would like an invitation to the event please send your contact details to me: salmon21@freeuk.com and I’ll add you to my mailing list.

I think I need to get out again ….perhaps next week if we get a fine day, we’ll be wandering over the hills again.