Three Palettes Debrief - Thank you!

Hello to all the new folk following along with my art journey and welcome to my much neglected blog, where I often say I will visit and more often than not, I fail to return for a ridiculously long time! If you hang around, you will see that I paint a lot and write very little! What an incredible time I had with my first major art show (Three Palettes 1st - 17th April) and what a privilege to have shared it with two such lovely friends and art peers, Alicia Gorey and Jan Brown (artyoils.com). Thank you one and all, family, friends and followers for your support. Thank you to the many Facebook and Instagram followers that turned up and put a face to a name; for old friends who came not only to opening night, but returned with kids and family and friends to see it all once again (Brenda, Fleur, Denise...and anyone I've missed...Opening night is a foggy blur!) Thank you to any newbies that liked my art enough to have decided to join the 'My Mia's Art' gang and thank you everyone who offered up such an amazing array of praise and kind words...you are all so generous! I've come out of the exhibition elated, tired but inspired and having had enough sales to stock up the studio with new canvas and paint...and show'Dude' (Mr My Mia's Art) that he doesn't need to send me out to a 'Real' job just yet! I sold 13 paintings of various sizes... I sold my pelicans painting a few weeks prior to the exhibition, straight off my easel still wet...so I guess I can say I sold 14 as it was intended for hanging. Very happy. The conversations with visitors throughout the two week show were fascinating. The Moore's Gallery in Fremantle (Western Australia) has an amazing array of clientele through its doors each day...students from Notre Dame University (which occupies most of the buildings surrounding the gallery) popping in for their daily coffee fix, tourists and workers from businesses around Fremantle visiting for the great cafe food and art patrons who visit each new art exhibition at the gallery. No matter what the reason for visiting the gallery, there was proof that art is a wonderful tool for bringing out conversation between strangers. People just love a good chat about art, about life , about how they themselves paint or want to paint or can't find time to paint and wish they could or have absolutely no desire to paint but just love art! The art conversation was a great insight into the emotion behind art...and made me feel so totally blessed that I can and do make art when so many others can't for various reasons, whether that be because of life constraints or emotional constraints. What was incredibly noticeable is most people have a little part of them that wants to create something. We are made to be creative and yet so many people just don't find the time or the headspace and belief that they can make art, paint, draw, sculpt, write, whatever...they just don't allow themselves. I beg you, if you even have the tiniest inkling to create, do it. Just do it. Life is so short (as reminded to me by the two funerals I have attended this month) and life is more than work. Do that art course, read the 'how to' books, buy the basic materials you need to get started. I hope I can offer a little inspiration to you through my daily posts to Instagram Mymiasart and Facebook (My Mia's Art) and occasionally here on my blog (don't hold your breathe!). Make sure you say hi! Comments are gold... Mia x