On unfamiliar ground.

I'm talking about art exhibitions.  Some of you will be used to having your work on display at exhibitions and galleries...I'm not...I had no interest in it apart from a brief spell in the late sixties when I was working in London, when I entered the RA Summer Exhibition for three years on the trot.   Mainly because an art-mad pal entered and wanted some moral support.  Neither of us were selected, but we always visited the shows when they opened...where we were inspired and appalled by some of the exhibits in about equal measure. Now I'm on my own I desperately need to get out more and keep myself occupied.  I'd imagined I'd by now have thrown myself fully into art.  That hasn't happened.  I'm producing far less than I was when I was caring for my wife.  Maybe it'll change, for now I need to get the wheels moving in the right direction.  With this is mind I joined an art club. It's the Portsmouth Art Society.  A half hour trip for me.  The main attraction was that they run art sessions once a week, apart from school holidays when the kids grab the hall.  You do your own thing, the main 'thing' being that you are in the company of like minded people for a chin-wag, and you get to see what other people are doing.  Great! They also have a Annual Summer Exhibition at Portsmouth Cathedral.  'Are you going to enter?' said my fellow clubbers.  I have to admit I was pretty lukewarm about it.  I dislike 'art competitions', art being such a personal thing. But this was a club show, if you enter, your work is hung.  It ran for a week.  I could enter four pictures.  As I've just joined I'm only an associate member at the mo...FULL members can enter more pictures.  I thought four was generous, and if everything got hung, how would they get them all in? This is how.... ...there's no other way to do it.  If you want to look at small pictures on the bottom row, you need to be a good 'croucher'.  My knees are as old as me, and they frown on any 'crouching.'  So when I went to the opening night (artists, their friends and VIPs only), I was hoping my stuff wouldn't be on the bottom row. Three of them were...the fourth, the smallest, was up high. None of this is intended as the slightest criticism, it has to be this way, there were over 500 entries!  The club did a brilliant job on the display.  A quick walk around didn't reveal my pictures, they were behind peoples knees.  Then I bought the catalogue, and the numbering system was revealed.  The picture below shows where three of my pics were hung, two on the bottom row, and my smallest pic up high...a version of the Mona Lisa.... There were some brilliant oil portraits on the same panel.   My other picture was away in a dark corner on the bottom row of course.  I thought nobody will see that. I did see some work I've seen on POL, forgive me for forgetting his name.  I liked them on POL, but nothing beats seeing the originals. All the artists were gathered for a group photo, here it is... ...that's me on the extreme left...in the gray shirt...thought you'd like to see it.   I've remained incognito. We had to collect our paintings last Tuesday.  When I got there I was told two had been sold.  What?  Discombobulated.  I wonder which two, I thought.  I bet it was so-and-so and so-and-so.  No, it was the other two that had sold (including the one in the dark corner where I thought nobody would see it)...confirmation that I've no idea what people like. There was some terrific work on display, I was particularly taken by several stand-out (for me) oil paintings, also some great and large watercolours.  So...inspiring.  Hopefully it'll help lift me out of my rut. If anybody reads this, there's one other unfamiliar ground I trodden on...seeing the show has given me the urge to try....oils!  If I do, it'll be the THIRD oil painting I've done in the last FORTY years...I really do churn them out. If I feel brave enough, I'll tell you how I get on.