I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the very best for the new year! I'm aware that there might be one or two POL'ers who may prefer 'bah humbug' (Robert, you know who you are :) So, I wish you well and happy painting in 2013, (and my humble apologies Robert if I've got it wrong). As I've mentioned in a previous blog, I was lucky enough to have work selected for the ROI annual open at the Mall Galleries. I believe for the first time they have a great number of works from the exhibition displayed online http://mallgalleries-shows.com/ If you can't get to London, it's a little crowded here at the moment, you can enjoy browsing a large selection from the exhibition in the comfort of your own home with a glass of something festive! If you were thinking of visiting, it closes on the 23rd Dec. Some of you may remember Adebanji Alade, he used to post frequently on the POL gallery and is now a provisional member of the ROI. Adebanji has given his thoughts on the exhibition this year in his blog http://adebanjialade.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2012-12-15T11:55:00Z&max-results=15 (cut and paste into your browser).You can also see, in his most recent blog posting, a very clear step by step of his work included in the show, and some fantastic photos of the painting evening with members of the ROI at the exhibition. ps thanks, Adebanji, for the mention! The RA will shortly be opening their summer exhibition submissions...I haven't yet decided if I'll have another go,(information for anyone interested http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/summerexhibition/ ) I am thinking of entering the RBA open for the first time, http://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/index.php?pid=162 , I suspect with all the different media and subjects their open submission will be large, but perhaps not quite as huge as the 11,000+ hopefuls who submitted to the RA summer exhibition last year! Time to decide what to enter over the Christmas break. My best of the season to you, now where is that mince pie and glass of port....