Five Elements Exhibition Opening Night

These photos are from the The Opening Night of our exhibition was a great success with over 150 people arriving. Luckily, we were able to spill out on to the footpath for wine and cheese - especially as it was a typically hot and humid February evening.

We had decided that we had room for 3 or 4 paintings each but eventually were able to hang everything we'd brought as we revived the 19th Century "Salon" hang with great success and lots of compliments from the visitors over the past three weeks.

I was thrilled my "Gum Leaves" was one of the first sales and later in the evening sold the large "Pacific Palms" which I'd been in some doubt about exhibiting as it was such a departure from my usual style.

We'd spent a couple of days hanging the exhibition and that was a real learning experience in itself. I'd helped hang exhibitions before but when it is in a "real" gallery it feels so important to get everything right. After it was hung I came away feeling so privileged to be working with such a great group of artists. Everyone was so cooperative and supportive of each other and there was not one word of dissent in the whole time.

I really wanted to do something for the others as a momento of such a successful exhibition so I made each of the others a sketch book with a copy of the invitation on the front as their Opening Night gift - intending that each time they use it, they remember the exhibition.

Tonight was Bump Out, with lots of wrapping of paintings in bubble wrap to go to their new homes and a celebratory champagne when we were finished.