It’s been two weeks now and I am still thinking a lot about my first art show as it was a great experience. The Art Symposium de Peinture “Ma Ville en Couleurs” was held from April 29 to May 1 at the Maison de la Culture in Thetford Mines, QC and attracted close to 1,000 visitors during these three days.
In the beginning I felt uncertain if my French skills would suffice to have somewhat meaningful conversations but it didn’t take me very long before I enjoyed talking in French about my art, techniques and inspiration.
During the show, I exhibited 2 paintings on canvas and 10 framed works on paper. In addition, we had each an 8 ft. long table at our disposal. I used mine to extend my space with an art portfolio showing several dozens of my studies. Most of my works on display have not been posted on my blog yet, but I promise to catch up soon.
The vernissage was well visited and the local Photography club made some really nice shots of it. You can see them on their Facebook page.
Meeting Colleagues Not Competitors
The dense schedule at the art show and of course the continuous flow of visitors did not allow me to meet with all of the other 27 artists. But the artists’ dinner on Saturday night offered a great opportunity to meet some of them. As most of them are established artists, they almost all knew each other from other symposiums, exhibitions and art events.
What really impressed me was the warm welcome and the interesting chats. It was really encouraging to hear the artists talk openly about their career paths and experiences, but also techniques, material and marketing tips. To hear how other artists discovered their visual voices was very inspiring as I am still developing mine. And these exchanges alone made my first Symposium a great experience.
Leaving My Footprint
A really nice tradition of Thetford’s Art Symposium is the annual mosaic. Most artists found some time during the ebent to paint on a small square within a large panel, creating a colorful mosaic, which is hung in the entrance of the Maison de la Culture. I included a snapshot of the mosaic on the last day of the Symposium. In case you are wondering, my square is in the middle row on the very right.
At this point, I would like to thank my Art Symposium Sponsor Techno Pieux. I hope the miniature painting I created for you reached you by now.
I will post another article about the symposium soon, where I will write about my lessons learned and tips in case you are preparing for a first art show yourself.
