We are lucky enough to be invited to many artists exhibitions and ‘private views’, in part due to the large number of artists that come to us for our framing and printing services. This time of year is particularly busy, with the Surrey Artists Open Studios and Guildford Arts events all taking place around the June/July period.
In addition to this, many local schools have exhibitions for the GCSE and A-Level students to show off their work before the end of the last term, and this year we were lucky enough to be invited to both St. Peters Catholic School in Merrow and the Royal Grammar School in Guildford to view their final shows.
Now, I’m no Brian Sewell (or indeed Sister Wendy), but I have to say how impressed I was at the abilities of these young people and amazed at the quality of the work they were producing. From portraiture to abstraction and mixed media to plaster, the variety of work was incredible, and the execution exemplary. It was a pleasure to wander around the exhibition halls, and often easy to forget that we were not in a London gallery.
I have no doubt that some of these talented youngsters are going to go on to become quite successful artists in their own right, and I feel privileged to have witnessed their work at an early stage. It makes me wish I could do my A-Levels again – where do I sign?
Top: GCSE artwork at the Royal Grammar School Guildford.
Right: GCSE coursework by St.Peters Catholic School student