100 Pebbles almost there!

This is the final entry before the big day on Sunday. Hard to believe that we have been working at this for months and the day is almost upon us.
Canvas purchased,delivered and numbered. Paint mixed and knives and brushes at the ready.
BIG THANK YOUs to Millers Art shop, Stockwell Street, Winsor and Newton who came good and to Richard and all the staff at Ken Bromley Art Materials.

The BIGGEST thank you goes to neighbour and friend Jessie, who thrust a cheque in my hand for the stretched canvas and wouldn't take no for an answer.
Spent quite a bit of time mixing the base colours for the event, the paintings are fundamentally based on 2 components, sky and sea so it was important to create a set of consistent and coherent colour matches for the base work.
With 6 paintings already reserved, or purchased we still have some way to go, but we have a great start and many thanks to those friends and aquaintances who have put their hands in their pockets for such a good cause.
The event is due to start at 10.30am on the 24th and finish at 6. Good weather is forcast and fingers crossed for a good turn out for the Merchant City Festival.
On Wednesday this week Caroline Wilson interviewed me by phone for a feature on the event for the Glasgow Evening Times, who have continued to be a long standing supporter of the Beatson cause. A photographer followed up on Thursday morning, a very nice guy who put the artist at ease, although I've never been shy in front of the camera.

I thought it was important to include my longest standing supporter, and the person who has had to put up with 100 Pebbles longer than anyone else, my wife Marian. The photo was taken on a lovely sunny day in Pittenweem on the Fife coast in Scotland, and the bundle of white fur is our not so wee dog Hector who loves to bark at seagulls at every opportunity.
This is a great spot, although the artists insistance on climbing over rocks to get closer to the crashing waves resulted in falling over without the aid of any alcoholic beverage.
Just up the road is Cellardyke which I have tried to capture in oil, and can be found at the Union Gallery in Edinburgh for sale.

This painting was influenced by a visit to Cellardyke as the evening was drawing in, and the light was failing, the ever darkening sea only broken up by the white spray on the black rocks close to the shore. A great moment which I brough back to Glasgow to try and capture on canvas. Hopefully I have have done the moment some justice. This like all of my work has a little bit of me in it, and forms a kind of connection with an event or memory.
I have always try to capture not only the appearance, but something of the mood and feeling.
I will try and capture those same memories and feelings into the 100 Pebbles work which even though in a slightly more tricky medium, acrylic. will demand discipline on the one hand, but also a lighter, more instant approach.
The work will be presented in the Art Exposure Gallery in the format of 10 x 10 canvasses, each of 8 x 8 inches in size. I have always the considered the finished piece as the artwork. 100 separate scenes brought together in a coherent whole.

So pretty much ready for the day, so look forward to an entry telling how we got on and a few pics as well of the occasion. So for anyone in Glasgow visiting the Merchant City Festival tomorrow.. have a good day and make your way to Art Exposure Gallery in Parnie Street, behind the Tron Theatre where Frances Lowrie, the gallery owner and yours truly will look forward to seeing you..
Should be a great day.. See you all there.

Ian
Glasgow.