A great conference, with a splash of Defiance
Hello ,
welcome if you are one of my new subscribers, and thank you if you are a trusty steed.
The "Appearance Matters" conference was wonderful - packed with international academics presenting research on appearance and body image.
The conference hosts from CAR represented Bristol brilliantly:
A welcome evening on board the SS Great Britain
City Hall is a magnificent venue enabling 3 strands of presentations to run simultaneously
A mentoring breakfast, refreshments, stalls, photo-booth, etc
A glamorous conference dinner in the Museum
... if their day jobs don't work out, they could definitely go into event management!
Click this image for more photos and stories:
Amit spoke on the panel discussion about social media - it was great to meet him in person and see him (for once) lost for words on seeing his portrait.
I hope this project leads to more public portraiture work - getting to know, represent, and amplify inspiring people. I loved working in oils on a big canvas, using traditional methods for a contemporary subject.
It was a great honour to be the appointed 'conference artist', and mutually beneficial in terms of sharing our audiences. If you know an institution or event that might sponsor a really ambitious creative statement, however outlandish, please get in touch. Meanwhile I'm padding up to approach institutions with proposals.
You may remember my project with the late Cheryl Hardy, who modelled for a collection of portraits to help process her feelings about her post-mastectomy figure.
CAR do research in this area, and wanted to exhibit all the portraits from our collaboration. They kindly allowed me to invite Cheryl's friends to view her portraits in the main conference hall during a break from presentations. It meant a great deal to be able to share this evidence of Cheryl's defiance - tackling head-on the body image issues that cancer treatment leaves.
Click this image for more info, pictures, and Cheryl's words:
I have work in two group shows in Weston-super-Mare galleries. Both have some absolute gems on show (not just mine!) - click the pictures for more information:
Finally, if you have a moment, here are some links to very kindly use:
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Leave a review on Google - they help customers find me online, and are great to read through when I'm having a slump - here's a treasured one from Cheryl:
"I was introduced to Gail as I wanted to start life modeling and immediately found her to be professional, sensitive, respectful and very friendly. I love working with her, It's always been comfortable, and it feels very much like a creative collaboration. Gail is a very talented artist and the work we've done is great!"
Enjoy your week, and make the most of each precious day,
Gail xxx