The British Birdwatching Fair 2008

This year's Birdfair was my first as an exhibitor and we duly set up shop in the Art Marquee on Thursday afternoon which was, thankfully, rain-free as I had visions of the Somme as we left West Wales in torrential conditions.

It took us a while and a few tired and frayed nerves to dress the bare trellis and decide on where to hang the pictures but eventually we got somewhere with it!

As this was my first year I was afraid of getting lost in the crowd as the Bird Fair attracts some of the best bird artists in the country, so I decided to theme the stand early on - this year it was seabirds as I've done a lot work with gannets, guillemots and razorbills both on the Pembrokeshire coast and in Ireland over the past couple of years.

I was especially pleased with the Saltee's gannets (back wall right) which at 49 x 47 inches framed is one of my largest pieces to date. it looked lovely against the sea-blue wall and the hand finished framing I've been experimenting with really suited the painting.

I found the weekend really enjoyable though a little exhausting. Not only did the sun shine for most of the time but I met and chatted to lots of bird and art enthusiasts on the stand and had complimentary comments about my work (there is nothing so fragile as an artist's ego!). The other exhibitors were warm and friendly and always happy to lend a hand and I even managed to end up in profit by Sunday night.