EXHIBITING SUCCESS, ESTONIA WILDLIFE & MORE …

Hi there folks I hope you are all well and enjoying the beginning of autumn and unlike me are not wondering what on earth happened to our summer this year – I think I must have blinked and missed it! lol  Well whatever the weather life is for living so I’ve been out and about with Gerry, my trusty Canon 60D, grabbing a breath of fresh air whilst dodging the rain in an attempt to capture the local wildlife onto a memory card …

For me living my life as a wildlife artist isn’t just about putting pencil to paper or paint to canvas.  Instead it involves all aspects of my life from the books and magazines I read, to the bird feeder in our garden, to conservation aspects at home and abroad and more.  It also involves taking my own photographs which I manipulate to create unique reference images for myself.  It’s all part of my story, my journey, and it’s lovely to be able to share it with you all.  If you’re interested a brief glimpse into my journey can be found on my ‘Artist Profile’ page of my website:  www.kerrynewell.com/artists-profile/

Okay let’s catch up over coffee, I’ve mine by my side as I hope you have too, my mind does tend to wander whilst writing so the following may or may not be in chronological order lol

As the title suggests lets begin with a look at my most recent exhibitions:

Friday 28th July – Sunday 30th July saw my first time exhibiting at the E.W.A  Exhibition of Wildlife Art  www.ewa-uk.com held at Gordale Garden Centre, Burton, S Wirral, CH648TF  www.Gordale.co.uk  For the past five years I’d been invited to exhibit at N.E.W.A (now known as E.W.A) but the dates always coincided with other commitments until this year.  Whilst the exhibition space per artist was smaller than I’m normally used to at other venues the venue itself was outstanding.  Advertising by the organisers was brilliant, demonstrated by the sheer number of visitors alone.  Fellow exhibitors were a joy to be around and I believe I wouldn’t be alone in saying that the event was enjoyed by all and a true family atmosphere was created and held throughout the weekend.  Last but definitely not least sales were good and networking priceless, with the original painting ‘Invincible’ being one of my sales during the event.

For the past 8 years August has always been the focus for the biggest exhibiting event in my diary and this year was no exception – Friday 18th through to Sunday 20th August hosted Birdfair 2017 in Rutland, Leicestershire  www.birdfair.or.uk and my stand was, as usual, stand 21 in the Art Marquee.  As usual, throughout the weekend, sales and networking ebbed and flowed as visitors made their way from lecture marquees to the rest of the marquees at the event and back again.  What was new this year though was my ability to begin advertising my links with Wildlife Art Experiences www.wildlifeartexperiences.com a unique company specialising in offering everything a wildlife enthusiast needs whether it be clothing, photography or even art this company has everything:

‘Wildlife Art Experiences; home of the most unique and captivating engagements with the beauty of the natural world. Whether you are hoping to start your journey into the wonderful world of wildlife art and photography, or looking to refine your already experienced skillset, we have something to offer you.’ 

I was invited to be a part of the art tuition aspect of this company leading art tours to South Africa and Estonia and to run art tuition courses in the UK, which leads nicely on to my next portion of this blog ….

The owner of Wildlife Art Experiences, Phil Gould, is taking me over to Estonia for a four day business meeting later this month, so to say I’m excited is an understatement lol.   We’ve been invited to stay in a beautiful log cabin that overlooks the Baltic Sea and an agenda has now been set in place by our hosts and will include visiting the area’s breathtaking scenery to demonstrate the wildlife and artistic potential.  With the Estonian forests boasting 65 different species of mammal including Brown Bear, Wolves, Lynx, Beavers, Wild Boars and Elk I’m hoping to get plenty of quality reference images and a real first-hand insight that I can then offer clients who want to expand on their artistic journey.  The country also boasts a wealth of bird life including Sea Eagles, Spoonbills, Flamingoes, Purple Heron, Pelican, Tundra Swan, Egyptian Vulture, Gyrfalcon and Ural Owl.  So there really will be something for everyone and artistic tours tailored to an individual client’s need will be a certain.

Places of interest that we will be taken to during our four day stay will include Kabli which is home to the famous bird-ringing station and picturesque seacoast including the ‘old captain’s’ village and the local resort town of Parnu where we will be meeting the local modern art and ethnographic film festival curator who is developing the Baltic Sea floating art centre.

Looking forward to sharing more on this after my initial visit and will hopefully have dates and prices for art-based tours soon after … so watch this space 🙂

South Africa beckons in February 2018!  There are still a few places left if you’d like to join me for a 10 day art-based tour/safari.

This exclusive safari will start with four nights at our South African safari base, Rukiya Safari Lodge. Rukiya is located on the banks of the Blyde River in the Wild Rivers private Nature Reserve and is also a key location for our leopard research program. You will then visit the exclusive Thornybush game reserve, which is also in the greater Kruger park, followed by three nights at Black Leopard Camp set within the magnificent Thaba Tholo Wilderness Reserve.  This safari offers superb opportunities to see, sketch and photograph the prolific variety of indigenous wildlife that are found in this area.  With ample space in the evening to turn your photos and sketches into paintings should you wish.  We understand that as an artist you have a special approach to viewing wildlife, which is why our artists safaris are specifically catered to meet your needs and of course offer personalised tuition with Kerry each day.

For lots more information, images, full itinerary and prices please see either:  www.OnTrackSafaris.co.uk  or  www.WildlifeArtExperiences.com

Now for those of you who follow me on social media you’ll know that I was recently commissioned by Panasonic to create a Sea Eagle painting using a specific reference image, well I hope you’ll all be pleased to know that I completed the commission with a little time to spare and it was enthusiastically received and was used as a promotional piece by Panasonic on their stand at the Rutland Birdfair!  Needless to say I was over the moon lol.

 

Now I know a lot of you have been asking when my next YouTube video will be going live, and I truly am trying to get it completed for you all, hopefully at some point next week it should be finished and ready to share 🙂  Thank you for your ongoing encouragement and your patience – both of which are truly appreciated xXx

Okay I’ll leave it at that for now as I need to get back to my easel and get this painting of wolves nearer to completion ….

So it’s over and out from me for now

Thank you once again for dropping by and following my endeavours

Be blessed

Love & hugs Kerry xXx

p.s   If you would like me to add anything in particular to my weekly blogs then please pop your ideas in an email and forward them to me at kerrynewell1@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can do.

Note:  Don’t forgetting to add that number 1 after my name in the email address or I won’t receive your message.