Earlier this month, I decided to open my home studio for the weekend alongside my talented Mum – Wendy Greig. Since I couldn’t take part in the Ayrshire Open Studios this year, I decided to try and go for it independently and see how things went. I wasn’t sure if we would get many visitors but to my shock and delight, the studio was buzzing with local artists over the weekend!
I loved having conversations with other artists, it was so refreshing to have other people talk about the ups and downs of painting. Something that came up a few times was how often we fall into the trap of painting what we think other people will enjoy.
Funnily enough, one of the paintings I wasn’t even going to include in the gallery – was the first to sell! It just goes to show that people buy artwork that connects with them, they don’t see the “flaws” or know that the painting took a different direction than intended. It’s about whether or not the artwork resonates with a potential buyer.
It was so interesting to see how different people perceived certain paintings and I was delighted that between us we sold 8 original artworks! It’s a strange time to be a creative when there’s so much talk of AI and how it’s stealing artists work but if this weekend taught me one thing – it’s that there’s no replacing human connection in the art world.
Opening my studio to the public always feels a little terrifying but it was such a lovely experience, especially hosting my first ever workshop and getting to know other artists in my town.
I think as creatives sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in our own heads and forget that it’s ok to make ‘bad art’ and just put pen to paper. It was really nice to re-connect with my local community and see some of the amazing hidden talents from people who attended the workshops. Thank you so much if you took the time to come and visit us – it meant the world 🙂❤️
