Well done and good luck to the group members of the Arts and Talents Group (artists with special needs) on their exhibition paintings presently on show at the Stranraer Library. I meet with the group weekly to give art tutoring and inspire the artists to create their own paintings. The artwork on show represents around 12 months work and I know that the artists were all very excited about showing their work and in the run up to the show they were fully involved in the preparation, framing, hanging process for the exhibition with the help of their support workers. On the opening evening of exhibition, an excellent response was received from the local community and the local newspaper turned up to take photographs of the exhibition and artists. This turnout and positive response to the group members paintings have inspired them to create more work and a few members have asked me about wanting to start a new painting theme in our next art session.
...a lady approached me at a private viewing of a painting exhibition that included the Anchor Lea Cottage Painting. She told me that she had known the old fisherman gentleman that had once lived in this cottage many decades ago when she was a child. The old guy was a likable well known local character in the area and he was always seen in the same old worn and tattered clothes with holes in the elbows of his jacket. On one occasion the old fisherman had to go down south on business to Liverpool. One local lad asked him if he was going to wear some smart clean clothes whilst on business to which he replied in a local Scottish dialect 'I'll will noo (not) have to as no one kens (knows) me down there'. I was really pleased that my painting had evoked that lady's memory with this charming story.