Countdown to Open Studios.Three Last Minute Things To Do Before Throwing Open Your Doors.

Oh gosh , oh gracious, oh goodness, how time flies and it's almost time to welcome the public and a few good friends into my studio.

House Through The Trees on a Stormy Day is a picture I'm varnishing in preparation for open studios.  

There's loads of little jobs  to be done and I'm in a panic because the list seems to be growing and growing each time I think about it, and really I'm not sure if my work is worth looking at anyway and of course I HAVE TO CLEAN THE HOUSE !

If you've ever opened your home up for the joyous event that is Open Studios you will know what I mean. 

So I'm going to share with you three last minute things that worked in previous years for me.

• Hide any work that is not worthy of you, or better still chuck it out !  I cannot emphasise this one enough. If you leave in something you don't like each time any one looks at it you will cringe. You know what I mean, the nearly-worked-out-alright watercolour with the splodge that might not get noticed, the dodgily framed painting that's nearly ok. No one will love it if you, the artist, hate it. Bin it !
• Smell your house. I hope you don't mind if I'm getting personal here. Aim for cleanliness, flowers, that sort of thing, or it could be oil paint and varnish, just not last night's dinner.
• Make sure you've got change and a receipt book. Because yes. People are going to buy stuff.

And in case you want to check out how I've done  here's the link to my open studio this year.

Click here to see my Peterborough open studio entry.

Above all enjoy it. You know you want to.