" Morning Light"
Cover Painting of
"Atmospheric Watercolours"
Last night I was a guest at Raymond Blancs charity event in aid of the Lady Taverners held at the new " Brasserie Blanc" restaurant in Watling St, London. I have donated several cockerel paintings for these evenings hosted by Raymond. Each time their popularity has seen wonderful bids coming in during the auction section of the occasions.
Raymond is an incredibly generous personality and gives so much to the Lady Taverners so it is an honour and pleasure to be linked with him in this way. I had saved the cover painting of my latest book so that it could be donated for auction and last night my husband and I made our way to London carrying the original painting and an accompanying book, which was to be personally signed by me for the winning bidder.
It was a fabulous night, champagne flowed and the canapes were incredible which is what you would expect from a master chef such as Raymond. The wonderful auctioneer was Niel, husband of TV personality Judith Chalmers and he suggested I said a few words about my painting to the attending guests in the audience. As I did so Lorraine Chase displayed the painting beautifully so that everyone in the room could see what they would be bidding for.
On stage I couldn't say this is one painting I hadn't really wanted to let go of. It means so much to me and will always be one of those pieces that touched the artists' heart. I had even put it on show in an exhibition earlier this year but with a Not For Sale dot on it , because I knew it would be hard to part with. I loved the day I painted this piece. The eye is magcially full of life in an almost mischievous way. I also knew immediately that this was the piece I would want as the cover for my latest book because it just sings of energy, life and does seem full of atmosphere. And I love the feedback I am now getting from all over the world about this particular cockerel.
The bidding began as soon as I left the stage and the figure of two thousand pounds was very quickly reached. But the bidding continued as the final and highest bid was well over £5000, in fact I believe the final amount was £5600 but I couldn't hear due to the noise in the excited room at the time.
I am absolutely thrilled to now part with my special cockerel because it will bring so much joy to children who need help and their parents also who will know how much this will mean to the charity. I do believe there is a better purpose in giving than recieving. The knowledge that this painting will keep giving with a specially equipped bus will keep me happy for years to come too!
My book is still selling internationally and is now classed as a best seller which is fabulous news. It will be published in Italian next year and I hope to repeat my book signing tour of USA in 2013 so please watch this space!
For now my book is selling very quickly so if you would like a copy please get yours as soon as possible from my web site or Amazon.com!
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