spoke too soon.

My brother and I could be described as distant. We do not always see eye to eye, and the occasional tiff and extended period of silence is not unusual. (And if you're reading this, you fat little git, it's always YOUR fault!.) Ahem..... Nonetheless, the nicest thing he ever said to me was that he had visited an exhibition and liked some of the paintings, but "they weren't a patch on yours". Not a thing I shall forget. And I imagine we've all been to exhibitions and thought - "you went to all the expense of having that framed, you've hung it for public view - are you BLIND?" Sometimes of course the reverse happens - you go into an exhibition, are transfixed by wonder, but come out again thinking you should probably sell your brushes and paints and never pretend to be an artist again. These exhibitions are, thankfully, few and far between. Either way - never be ashamed of or reticent about showing your work: if it's not up to snuff, you'll probably get good advice here; if it's good, you'll encourage the rest of us and help keep up the standards of the site; if it's brilliant - well: I think we all really know that some people just have something extra and it gives us something to aim for. For me, it's Rupert Cordeux's watercolours more than almost anything else, although Alan Bickley's oils come close: and there are actually so many more than that - post your work amongst them, as I post mine, even though we both know that we're up against the stiffest competition, because it's the only way to improve. Showing your work in a small exhibition with groups that don't actually aspire to get any better is dispiriting, and incidentally bad for your reputation; people wonder why you have to exhibit there - can't you get a better place, or do you just like showing off your work against a background of mediocrity so it stands out? There's no fear of that here because the standard is variable but some of the work is among the best you'll ever see anywhere - and it'll do you good: not to compare your stuff with others' necessarily, but to share the space and offer your own insights.

"Standard is variable" - I only mean by that there's a mix: I don't want or intend to disparage anyone's work. All I ask of any artist is that they do their best in their medium to say what they mean to say - if it's honest, there'll always be something in it to excite comment, and it'll have a value. I'd be horrified if anyone thought I meant this should be some sort of élite site - if it was, I wouldn't qualify for inclusion just to start with..... You are of course entirely free to disagree with the latter comment, and I may offer a modest financial inducement to anyone prepared to say so.

What I do like about the gallery here is the unself conciousness that every one posts their pics with . Beginners ,experts and the mix inbetween, no one is inhibited Its fun and how it should be . I think we have all been ito exhibitions and had a little cringe inside but why not, all is in the eye of the beholder and stuff I wouldnt want to buy flies off the walls... so who can say.