Website updating and Life Drawing Classes

I started uploading the website around 5.00pm today. Its now 9.19pm. Some issue with needing to upload it twice so that it shows up as it should in both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. Google Chrome is so much better and faster that I no longer check Explorer. That is until Steve Capper told me that one of the images on his web page is not his work.

So, am utterly exhausted now and I really just want to go home but having started I really need to finish. Its been saying 59 minutes left for such a long time now! I'm starting to wonder whether its worth having a website at all - quite a few galleries in the area don't seem to have any web presence at all. It is important for the artists and new artists to be able to see what other work is being exhibited so I think it is important. There must be an easier way though!

As I'm here I thought I would post the news on the life drawing classes on Monday - first of the Thursday sessions will start tomorrow. Patricia opened the sessions with her class on Monday night and there were three students and one model. Everyone was a little nervous, but all really lovely. By the middle of the session they had bonded very well and I felt a little out of place having a tea break with everyone. I should probably join in the classes. By the end of the session everyone was glowing - teacher, model and students. I think that they really enjoyed it and it was a great success. The reading room at the back (which I should probably rename as the Drawing Room now) is a lovely environment for the class - very calm and comforting. Angela's work is wondeful and she clearly doesn't need the tuition and is attending to be supportive. Jackie and Jim's work came on wonderfuly within the course of the session - you could see a marked improvement.

I'm looking forward to Lee's sessions tomorrow. I just need organise keys and access so that I don't have to be here until 10.00pm each night.

I'll try and get some photos for the website.

As the current exhibition is quite short and we're aiming to coincide with the Borough in Bloom festival, I've started organising the new exhibition and e-mailing all the artists to obtain the images for the website! Yep. Start again.

Tomorrow is going to be very busy; I'm receiving some very exciting work from Anne in Australia which is going to be the highlight of my day. I'm also in communication with a fantastic Lithuanian artist who is looking for representation in the UK. His work looks wonderful - even online. It seems to have resonance with Van Gogh's brush strokes, but without the madness which I think can be read into VVG's work. Let's see - they will organise delivery soon.

The next exhibition will be very mixed again which seemed to work well last time. There is a plethora of artists contacting me - not all of them a pleasure to deal with. One woman who wants us to show her father's work turned up at the gallery last week to request that I go to her house there and then to view the work. Not Possible! I arranged a meeting and she was rather ratty about it. On the arranged date, another artist turned up rather earlier than expected so I called to say I would be delayed and yet again she launched into me. I mentioned that I partly work with artists that I can get on with - there is no reason for our dealings to be stressful. We called later to rearrange the meeting which she accepted then later she dropped a letter saying that she had changed her mind and insulting me and the gallery in several ways that I shall not repeat. It is always the ones with the mediocre work that are difficult to deal with. Best avoided at all costs. I suppose this is rule no. 5.

Another interesting issue that's arisen is discounts. So we manage to make a sale in this economic climate, split the price with artist as we should and then we get enquiries into the discount. It's 50/50 that's it. I am starting to consider taking all the gallery costs - invitations, website, wine, glasses hire, organistion, assistance, rent, rates, heating, lighting, repainting the walls, storing packaging cleaning etc. and splitting the cost among each exhibiting artist instead of charging commission, which is far more risky as business plans go. As a student I used to think "...oh, those greedy art galleries" then you climb onto the other side and its a completely different story! Having said that, one of the sculptors I like working with did put forward a reasonable argument - they have to pay so much for the materials that a discount on their profit makes the work a non fee paying exercise. I need to set up a different agreement for sculptors - it does seem fair. Material costs are quite expensive especially for the bronzes and bronze resins.

So yesterday was slightly frustrating, but today was better and tomorrow better still. I'm excited about meeting Liz Knutt - quite renowned and a beautiful artist.

Yep. Website still uploading. Now its saying 48 minutes...... so perhaps for some photos of the current work. This image is Jon Adams work which is so wondeful in the flesh its mesmeric. He mixes his own paints which is very rare these days, but it explains the very lush colours - particularly blues and reds - that he gets. They really are unique.

I think I need to cancel the upload - it is now saying 55 minutes. I need to go home. I have another late night tomorrow and a very busy day ahead.

Fragile Landscape - our third exhibition

New rule no. 3 - don't speak to anyone, don't answer the phone and don't open the doors to the gallery during change of exhibition week.  It will, simply, drive you mad.  

The number of people who call to offer us IT services, accounting services, alarm systems, insurances and changes to our energy supply is just ridiculous.  Why anyone would bother I don't know - if I wanted any of these services I would simply find them for myself.  That is why God invented Google!.  The man from the accounting company asked to speak to Sam Kamleh, when I said that Sam was not available and we already had an accountant we were happy with, he said "....but I have already spoken to Mr Sam and he said he was interested".  Caught out the little so and so.  Perhaps it isn't fair to pretend to be my own Secretary, but serves the sexist toads right for presuming that if you're a woman you must be the totty and not the top dog! 

I've become quite sharp with them which I don't like to do because of my brother in law who does a similar job.  Hey ho.  Someone has to take the stress and its best that the phone sales people do - why pay for a therapist when you can be cured on their phone bill? 

Now to the Fragile Landscape exhibition.  The private view was great and very busy, I'm delighted to report.  I always see it as a nice social evening and was delighted that we had some sales on the night.  Martin Goold's work sold very well and so did Alistair Tucker's.   

Sue Knight's exquisite Fragile Landscapes paintings are just wonderful and look amazing in the space.  Combined with Miles Bodimeade's Lycanthropy sculptures the gallery looked like it had been lifted from Cork Street (in its hay day).  Teddington IS the new Cork Street!

  

There is such a high standard of work in this exhibition that it really does set the tone for the gallery's future.  Suchi Chidambaram had painted two new paintings especially for this exhibition and they are wonderful.  Others had been on show at The Royal Academy Summer Show 2007.   I'm delighted with all the work and rather honoured that these wonderful emerging and established artists want to exhibit at the architect's gallery.  

Getting everything up on the walls is entertaining.  I hadn't arranged time slots for artists collecting and delivering work, so at times it was like Clapham Junction and it might have been frustrating for artists who'd come a long way.  Richard Watkins and his friend Morgan helped move the steel hoops to the garden, Kate came all the way from Cumbria, Barry from Manchester, Sue's very large canvases needed a truck and Miles had come from Bath.  Alexander from Brighton and that's only some of them. Various works coming in and out, various works still at the gallery to be collected later some are still there but I'm not sure why.  Jon Adams fantastic works arrived on Friday morning requiring a reshuffle of the hanging.  Luckily, not only are they just beautiful they were also beautifully packaged, nicely framed and ready for hanging.  Whilst I like all the artists I'm working with one can't help the moments of irritation with them when we start having to string everything - its incredibly time consuming.  New rule no. 4 - state that we will charge for any works we have to string or prepare for hanging!  

Then there are the large works - I tried to hang Sue's by myself and although they are relatively light for their size, they're not designed for holding up with one arm whilst trying to get the hook in the other.  I also had to wear gloves and keep the bubble wrap on to avoid staining or damaging them.  The largest one could not have been done without Kurt.  Standing at the top of the tall ladder trying to get the hook in whilst I was on tip toe holding the other end up invited a goodly amount of expletives from Kurt - some more X-rated than others.  Nonetheless, the stretching was a good substitute for exercise and helped flatten my stomach for the evening.  

Without Kurt there is no way this exhibition would have come together on time - in fact, there are still labels missing on a few paintings and all of the sculptures.  Miles had to write them by hand at the Private View!   Kurt didn't stop picking up cardboard boxes and packages, clearing up the space, mopping the floor, ordering wine and glasses, clearing the garden, taking irritating phone calls, moving paintings up and down stairs, going to the shops for various missing bits and pieces helping with the hanging, helping Max Jacquard bring down the scarecrows from the window and then serving drinks and clearing at the Private View.  He didn't even swear that much and only lost his temper once or twice.  

Without Glenda though, the labels and biographies - which are incredibly time consuming - were not completed.  My beautiful friend Elizabeth Healey came to help but it's tricky to learn photoshop in 10 minutes.  I was delighted that she and Philip came to the do in the evening.  The actress and the poet - excellent duo.  You must watch her film real on http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2195416183453095626.

As for the Fire Poet http://www.thefirepoet.com/ I'm planning something interesting for him at the gallery.  More as the idea develops!

  

The opening then started with the children arriving with Mirka - my amazing nanny - to help with serving the drinks.  I carried on doing labels until my daughter called up "mummy the posh man who came last time is here"!.   So I decided to abandon the remaining labels and go and greet people as they arrived.  The posh gentleman was Councillor Martin Elenghorn - the design champion in the Borough - who has been very supportive of the gallery and I am delighted that he comes to the Private Views.  But as I am slightly in awe of his intellect I, of course, venture to sound like an ass every time I speak to him.  Of course, it isn't nice or decent to wish that someone would develop Alzheimer's just so that they would forget the idiotic things you said and now that I'm reading The Secret (again) I am making a conscious effort to only thing positive and loving things about myself and other people.

The week was made more special because of Suzanne's visit with her rather improved fiance.  They make a fantastic looking couple and the wedding is quite soon. I don't know who will look after the gallery on the day but am mentally assessing various candidates.  Suzanne is a former employee and a very good friend.  

So, now that Private View no. 3 is done and I only ache in two or three places I need to tidy up the labelling.  I tried to do this and to design a poster for our new external board on Saturday but it was very busy.  I must rearrange the set up so that we don't have the invoicing in one room and the card machine in another.   This would also help any future employees.    More tidying up next week when Kurt is there.  We do need someone else, but I haven't found them yet.  Several people have applied for positions with the architecture practice and with the gallery, but none that possesses all the skills necessary.  Some have been lovely ladies but the technology would probably be quite tricky, others are quite young and would not be appropriate sales people for the gallery. Others are skilled in some areas but don't know how to use design programmes or how to update the website.  As the architecture practice is now picking up we'll definitely need someone there and I would prefer to employ an architect - they tend to be better all rounders with skills in several software packages - than the many who have applied to the gallery because they "love art".  If only Vincent was here.

So, now for the preparation for exhibition no. 4 - the Summer Exhibition.  I already have a list and have contacted several of the artists and one has even delivered her work already!  Our invitation list is improving although its still a bit messy, and using the Post Office on line has helped us collate the postal list in one place.    

Next week also sees the start of the painting and life drawing classes.  At the moment it is largely defeating its objective and we're rather going backwards having underestimated the costs and the fees charged by life models.  So, we need to update the prices which is always a little awkward yet it has to be done for it to be a viable enterprise.  I have no doubt it will be.  All is in place - easels, space, screen, teachers, life models and the coffee is on order!  We have two students per night at the moment and our break-even is 8 per night. But, you can't move forward unless you take the first step, so step we must.  I'm very much looking forward to it - although for a while I'll need to be there late every night to lock up and clean up.  Eventually I'll arrange something else - probably with the teaching artist - to lock up.  It does make more sense. 

Its exciting and rather non stop.  We also have the sculpture competition to launch and I need to chase up Cleve West.   

All good things to come.

Updating the website and other ramblings

One of the things I didn't know how to do and wasn't counting on having to do was a constantly changing website! Now I do.

If you're trying to impress real web experts then the Excel version is simply not the way to do it.  But if you're looking for an easy to design, manage and update application that is, essentially, a publishable word document, then Publisher is pretty good.  

Having said that, it is still incredibly time consuming - particularly uploading the site.  My heart sinks when I copy and paste the files and the prognosis for the time it will take is 2 days and 13 minutes!  It doesn't, in fact, take that long - only about 2 hours and 13 minutes.  And the site gets larger and heavier with each change of exhibition.  Perhaps this is also why galleries limit the number of artists they exhibit - its easier than updating the website every five minutes! 

It is exciting though to see both the new works going on the site, and the marking up of sold works. There are some errors - if you want to proof read it and let me know of any I haven't spotted then visit http://www.thearchitectsgallery.com/index.htm and let me know.  

In the long term I will need someone else to do this - as well as to help with running the gallery on Saturdays.  Who I'm looking for is tricky - am I too much of a control freak to allow a professed self motivator to flourish? To be genuinely able to take the gallery to the next level I will need help - very good help.  Someone capable, effortful, thoughtful, organised, committed and presentable - as well as honest and decent.   Mostly, another me! Although they would also need to be fitter for the changing of the paintings on the walls and all the trips up and down the ladder.  

Now that GC has gone back to Italy, I also need help at the office`.  It does take a minimum of 3 people to run both businesses six days a week.  If you count the evening and weekend work - searching for artists and contacting them, writing the business plans, to do lists and the upcoming exhibitions, updating the website and preparing and issuing all the necessary paperwork - then on average I do around 80 hours a week at the moment.   All fine and good - I've never minded working hard, but I do owe some time to the little starlings who still call me mummy.  

So, change has got to happen.  I accept that this year is going to be a full-on investment in time terms.  Perhaps the children might look back and agree that it was worth it. I hope so.  For now, the gallery cannot pay a salary and only I'm willing to work for nothing.  So be it for what is becoming one of the most influential galleries in London.  (can you tell that I'm reading The Secret?).

In that regard, I contacted one of the most inspiring current artists in the US - RB - to see if he might be interested in having a UK gallery to represent him.  He is.  He asked if I pop over to NYC at all.  When I said that with two companies (I didn't mention the third - its largely paperwork for that one) and three small children, he felt he needed to check out the gallery.  But even renouned artists need galleries.  If not him, I'll continue on this tack.  Only one or two well known artists to begin with and still open up doors for promising new comers - like SC - she's wonderful and her work is mesmeric.  I have no doubts that she will do well. 

The next two weeks will be stressful and hectic with artists picking work and others delivering, some will remain for a while, taking all the work down and painting the walls and getting labels and biographies done.   There is a potential buyer interested in four different pieces from the current exhibition, so I need to let those artists know so that I can keep hold of these works.  Hanging is quite time consuming when I do have help - and this time, I'm not sure whether I will have any help at all.  It will come together - it always does, and the private views are always wonderful occasions.  I'm looking forward to showing MB's sculpture - it looks fantastic.  I want to buy virtually half of what I'm about to exhibit! including one by SD and one by SC.   At the same time, I'm organising the summer exhibition - there are many more artists showing in that one, again, presenting a varied show.  I must get the paperwork to those artists and finalise the list as more artists are coming forward and I could have too much work.

An angel contacted me regarding the art classes and not only is she wanting to sign up for the painting sessions, she also circulated the life drawing classes to her group of artists.  So now there is a great deal of interest.  This one has been a chicken and egg situation - you can't formalise matters with the artists/teachers until you have signed up students and then you find out that the artists cant' do the nights advertised! I'll launch it anyway and it will come together.  I'll order all the easles and stools on Tuesday.  The courses are part of the gallery's raison d'etre - to become a hub of the arts for the rather talented residents of teddington and to open up a formerly public venue (that had been not very public since 2000) and give back a creative and fruitful space back to my area.  It feels good! There is of course a secondary reason and that is to create a trickle of income that allows us to retain the Reading Room as part of the gallery rather than have to let it to a separate company.  It would be a shame to block the views to the garden and I have plans for opening that to the public as well.  I've been speaking to Cleve West about this - he's a wonderful landscape designer and rather decent man with a talented artist for a partner.  I hadn't heard of him before Carol Cordrey of The Richmond Magazine mentioned him, but now I don't come across anyone who doesn't know him.  Check out his website - his work is lovely (and there is an odd link with zimmer stewart again!) http://www.clevewest.com/ 

So, back to work next week - tonsilitis last week graced me with a couple of days off, for which I was rather grateful.  I feel good and prepared for the busy weeks ahead.  

 

Landscapes Exhibition at the architect's gallery

The gallery's second exhibition is drawing to a close - and it has been a successful one.  Sales have been good in spite of the pavement closure that affected foot fall and visitors.  Many people still don't know that there is an art gallery behind that wall.  

The lead up to the exhibition was not easy.  As the architect, with a semi client, most things were to be left to the intended curator who, rather wisely, dropped out last September.  Simple things like those clear plastic "thingies" that one puts on the wall - what are they called and where do they come from? - (ticket holders, and you can get them from www.UKPOS.com if you're interested!) - googling them when you don't know what they're called is certainly tricky!

Then there was the lighting.  Having designed these wonderful high ceilings - with no comment from our former intended curator - we had to find a very tall ladder to adjust the lights.  Every change of exhibition is an exercise in gymnastics that I'm probably getting too old for.

The hanging system wasn't difficult to find - there are many on the internet - but finding one that was easy to use and made sense for our rather extraordinary space was the tricky bit.  Luckily, we came across Picture Hanging System who have been brilliant (http://www.picturehangingsystems.co.uk/).  They even organised a new system for our window display.  We were intending to be subtle and elegant; so much so, that no one knew there was an art gallery within.  The use of the window became essential.  The previous ad-hoc system caused a great deal of swearing in my sturdy assistant, Kurt.  (afterall, he is a Norwegian rock star originally - watch his excellent and very funny video on You Tube :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyya23zL3ZI&feature=channel_page).  

Now that we have all the necessary paraphenalia, we realise that we have to paint the walls every time we change a painting! Overall, the policy to have more work than is shown on the walls has been good - we have more to show, we can let paintings be taken when bought and we can keep the exhibition fresh and continually changing.  The down side is that it doesn't hang together so well - I spent a long time deciding where each piece would go in relation to the space and adjacent works, only for the balance to change every time we take one down.

I've been delighted with the work on display and delighted with the artists I've met.  Mostly I find them intelligent, interesting and thoughtful - as well as really very nice - people to deal with.  And that is important.  If we have to work every day, let it be with talented, good and nice people! 

So, now that the exhibition will be coming down on the 19th/20th April and I'll be preparing to hang the next one - Fragile Landscape - I'm sad to see the current works go.  One does become attached to them.  I can only imagine how the artists feel about their own favourite works, having spent the time creating them.  Having chosen every piece there, I do like them all, but there are my special favourites - perhaps I should keep that to myself.  

Now to the Landscapes exhibition.  I think that there is some fantastic work.  There will be abstract and semi abstracts and a variety of wall prices to please all pockets.  Some I very definitely want for myself - but as my husband keeps having to remind me, I'm here to sell them, not buy them.  I have to agree - for now.  In the long term, I will be a prolific collector! Saatchi, eat your heart out!

The new show will feature Sue Knight, Alexander Johnson, Sandy Dooley, Charlotte Swann, Alistair Tucker, Miles Bodimeade, Martin Goold, Jane Bolden, Suchi Chidambaram and hopefully Jon Adams.   Hanging this is going to be entertaining - there is such a variety of colour, texture, framing, size and form that I suspect that a week of hanging may not be quite enough!  In any case, it will have to be - the private view is on the 24th April!.  

I have a feeling that this exhibition will also go well.  Now that we're not paying an agent commission (not sure why I did that for the last exhibition!) perhaps we can move forward.  In a business sense, it's impossible to plan ahead with a gallery - with most businesses, one can predict some sort of cashflow based on work in hand etc.  With a gallery, it is very difficult to know what will sell and when.  Yet people love having the gallery in the area (being local myself, so do I).  Perhaps this is why other galleries repeat themselves and limit their artist lists to those they know will sell.  Then how do you set up challenging exhibitions?  I know that there is work that I'd like to show that may not sell - either it's too difficult to understand, or not easy to house in our traditional semi's, or it might be enjoyable and only for collectors to buy.  We still need to show it - otherwise, we're not a gallery, we become just another shop, surely - and there is already a picture shop up the road from us that caters for that.

So, challenge we must at the risk of not being around for too long.  I believe we will be though, especially considering the people I've met through the gallery; the clientele in Richmond and Teddington is very sophisticated, well read and the best kind of intelligentsia.  

I'll update the blog after the private view - hopefully with news of a sell out show!

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