Exhibiting Art in London

After spending roughly four years day dreaming about Blake Lively’s custom Versace dress from the 2018 Met Gala and a mere 5 months after first viewing Hans Holbein the Younger’s painting “The Ambassadors” at the National Gallery, I decided to take action.

That first action was taking the bus to Cass Art to buy a large canvas which I then decided to walk all the way home with through Hyde park. It was all uphill from there..

In October I began the painting and to encourage myself to actually finish, I researched a few upcoming art exhibitions that had submission deadlines in January. With that end date in mind, I finished on January 7th what I now call Ambassadors x Heavenly Bodies.

In anticipation of MAYBE getting to exhibit, I needed to turn out a few more works, which eventually became Annunciation Distorted, and The Egg That Launched 1000 Ships between January and March of this year.

I applied to 6 shows and was accepted into the Holy Art Fair in London which took place from March 30 - April 2.

While there were some slight challenges with the event’s execution, overall it was a really positive experience for me.

Firsts

This was my first time to exhibit my paintings in London
The first time I varnished my work
The first time I framed any of my canvases

Each of these first represents a step forward in my journey with art.

Goals

Set a deadline so that I actually finished a few pieces - CHECK
Meet other like-minded artists at the event - CHECK x 10
Sell my art - NOT YET

I am proud of myself for ideating and painting three full pieces within the space of 6 months. This time span included two trips to the US, a week away for Christmas, working a full time job, including getting a promotion and taking on new responsibilities.

I met SO many wonderful people through the art fair - both artists and attendees. I have a few friends in London (two who have moved from the States since we’ve been here and both attended). I am really happy to have some new connections who are interested in art. The sentiment that we all shared when talking is that we all needed more friends who enjoyed going to galleries or sitting to sketch.

I already have plans to visit a gallery this weekend with an illustrator named Jannah and more upcoming plans with others in the works!

Getting there