October 2021

​WORK FRAMED,  
VANISHED,  DELIVERED,
CURATED,  HUNG,   CELEBRATED AND NOW DISPLAYING ITS OWN RED DOT 



I can't tell you how moving the ceremony to mark the opening of the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy is.  Firstly this ceremony is only for the artist, it was a nerving thing to do to turn up and be celebrated. I arrived at the RA on a Monday in September in time for the traffic to stop as 400 artists walk down Piccadilly to St Jame's church for a celebrating service for Artists.  We sang a few hymns, listened to the professional and skilled choir of the church and heard moving lessons from the President of the RA, Rebecca Salter.  Hymns sung were: Angle Voices ever singing, Dear Lord and Father of mankind and Immortal, Invisible, God only wise.  The choir, who were much more skilful than us artists, sang beautifully; William Byrd (c1540-1623) O quad glorious and Herbert Howells (1892 - 1983) Like as the hart desireth the water brooks.  I was immensely moved by the history that the church represents and the honouring of artists, an often self-forgotten profession.

After the service, another traffic stopping walk back to the Burlington entrance to the RA and after a short dance session to the steel band, I entered the show.  The place is spattered with faces I know but then realising I don't know them at all as they are either famous actors or artists!  I went to find my painting first, an exciting adventure to distract me from the over whelmness.  The Summer Exhibition comes with its own A5 catalogue with all the artworks and their artists listed, I found my painting listed as 1111, in room IX, which had been curated by Vanessa Jackson RA and Evaa Rothschild RA.

I found chatting to other artists a real pleasure and stayed right until the end where a friend and I played dressing up with tiaras.  A story that is priceless but to be told another time.