Four days after the opening the event that was the official launch of my exhibition, gratitude is on my mind.
Painting is a game of solitude, but taking that work out into the world involves all manner of organising. And organising means people.
This is the thankyou list – not in any order of importance, and perhaps with gaps, but importantly a list never-the-less.
There are a number of people who were instrumental in the success of the exhibition – I couldn’t have done it without you: Carleen, Ned, Ruth, Sally. Which doesn’t diminish at all the contribution of many others: thanks to Jacquie, Elspeth, Yvonne and David, Carolyn and Shawn, Rhonda, Terry, Ros and Paul, Lisa, my family, my extended family, and the groups of people that describe family on the north coast.
Thanks to the owners of “Newstead” who let me visit, and to the people who lent their artwork for this show. Thanks to Wim and Adele who introduced me to the joys of Perspex. Thankyou to the people who were just doing their job – but in doing it well made my life easier: Lismore Signs, Lismore City Printery, PrintAnything Inverell, Inverell Library, Ballina Fibreglass, The Bolt Barn, Lismore, Graphic Expressions, Byron Bay, Lismore Heights PO, AustralisIT, the staff at The Mitchell Library, Sydney. Thanks to the editors and publishers of these magazines: “Verandah”(Candida ), “The Australian Artist” (Helen), “Border Living” (Erin), “Life!” (Kirstie), “The Inverell Times”, “Roam” (Rod) and “The Art of Watercolour”.
Thankyou to Jo and the Inverell Art Gallery, the volunteers who helped hang the exhibition and those that were in attendance on Saturday night. Thankyou for inviting me to show with you, it was an honour.
(I do want to recognise toastmasters for the training that meant I could present my speech that night, from the back of an envelope, I’m happy that worked out.)
But mainly I want to thank the people who came to the opening night function. Those of you who travelled from Sydney, Buderim, Port Macquarie, Muswellbrook, Toowoomba, Goondiwindi, Armidale, Uralla, Lismore, Inverell and surrounds, and other places I didn’t hear about. You made it a night to remember: a sparkly night with lots of friends. It doesn’t get much better than that.
