Getting down to painting in Céret - opening the gallery.

We opened the small gallery in Céret at the cherry festival, on the last weekend of May, 2015. It was almost exactly a month after we arrived here, since it took us a little while to settle in, hang curtains and wire up some lamps.

We sold a few cards and I did four rapid portraits on Saturday 30th May when we opened. The cards are reproductions of my original oils. I have printed the first batch myself to see what might be popular before committing myself to a professional print run which will commit me to much larger numbers. I did a series of cherry paintings and these were popular, as greeting cards.

It is lovely painting here, I put some music on and open the back door, and I get passing tourists pop in and have a look at what I am doing. I can open the front door too, but it is easier to control the movement of folk in and out by opening up the back where I am working.

I have finished a portrait for a couple in the town, of their daughter, which they are pleased with. It was my first portrait commission here in Céret, and I was a little nervous starting off, but it turned out well. The little girl was very happy and came by with a friend and posed for photographs beside it.

Then I worked on another portrait of a local man, Gilbert, who comes to sculpture lessons with a teacher opposite us. I took a few photographs of the sculpture class who were working in the open air on the road during the cherry festival, and produced a drawing and then a painting.

I am currently working on a portrait of a market trader, a lady who sells cheese in the market on a Saturday. I liked the fact that she had her grand-child with her who was playing on the counter with her. It is not finished yet, so this a progress picture.

I like wandering around the market taking photographs; later I transfer these onto card with a pen and ink sketch. Maybe I will have these made up into greeting cards too.

Carol has been sewing quilts; she sold a baby quilt this month, and is working on a commission for a large fabric covered headboard - a mixture of patchwork and appliqué. Her work is very popular with the local French women who come by and admire it.

Since we have arrived and settled in, we have had Rachel and Jasmine visit us from London. We took them to see the Dali museum in Spain, not far from us here, a great day out.

We had a brief trip to Cannes to go and support David, who had a short film in the final 9 cometràge en competition. The whole crew who made the film were in Cannes, enjoying the sun and the festival. It was fun to get dressed up and walk on the red carpet!