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.
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