I’m sure some people think gallery owners like myself live in posh houses and make shed loads of money. I’m sure some gallery owners do, but I am not one of them. I live in a modest one bedroom flat, earn enough to live on and donate the remaining profits through my social enterprise to good causes supporting women and children here in the UK and abroad. I do this because I spent some time as a homeless person ealy in my life and the people who helped me out of that taught me small acts of kindness or generosity change lives for the better.
So, when a friend and fellow artist shared a social media post that the local food bank was struggling to meet the demands of our community I knew I had to help. I stopped watching TV after work for ten days in December and painted fourteen small watercolours of woodlands and coastal sunrises instead. I put them in mounts and posted them on my social media at £25 each, before displaying them all in my gallery. I hoped the majority would sell before Christmas, as I could place some in the window during our winter closure. However, I was delighted to see that my followers and customers genuinely shocked me with the speed of their response to the local issue, as all were sold and the £350 delivered to the food bank in under 48 hours.
The spirit of community and Christmas is still alive and well in my community. Huge thanks to everyone who purchased my work to help where it was needed.
Gail Curry
Artist
