Presents from #google and an #exhibition opens

I went to the open evening of the Bangor Open Art exhibition and took a photograph of the winners of the judges prizes and the speech.  I am not good with names nor am I attempting to be a journo but I shall try to get a pic of the winning entries and find out the artists names.  They were pretty impressive and I realized how lucky I was to have had two pieces chosen.

The chap with the beard won a runners up prize with photograph of two old local farm hands in a barn, an amazing captured moment as a shaft of sunlight hit one of the subjects faces and gave the picture a Rembrandt feel.  The other chap, standing on his own to your right, won the first prize with a charming painting of high street shopfronts in an almost Lowrie like style.

This gentleman is a local much lauded local artist (and in my ignorance I cannot tell you his name, sorry)  He gave a wonderful speech about the value of the amateur and self taught artist in the realm of the arts.  Lamenting the passing of many small operations that had run short courses and produced many talented individuals as the forward march of academic training in the arts became the accepted way.  The emphasis on academic training has meant that the amateur and self taught artist is looked down upon and undervalued by the art elite, making the value of exhibitions like the Bangor Open  more valuable than ever.  It is often from the self taught that new innovation is born in the arts since they have not had the formal induction into 'the way it is done' and this is as important and valuable as the accepted route.

I had a lovely present from Google the other day.  Having circled a chap from Google on G+ I saw a post asking if anyone else would like a G+ sticker with a camera on it.  'Oh yes please  :) ' I said.   He very sweetly paid the postage all the way to the UK from California and sent me a lovely surprise gift; A piece of handmade paper impregnated with wild flower seeds.  I am going to grow them and take photographs as they grow then stick them up on G+.  Thank you very much to Google, G+ and Richard Hay :)

Thank you for your visit, pretty pictures later.