Dear Members,

Our EASTER EXHIBITION this year, kindly opened by His Excellency, the Governor and his wife, Lady Haddacks, was a great success although admissions were down on last year, possibly due to the lovely Easter weekend weather and the current economic conditions. The raffle was once again very well supported and many visitors commented on how attractive the water colour of the bridge at Glenfaba by our Vice-President, David Byrne, was.

The committee added an ‘E-mail Address’ field to the sales cards this year and a reminder was issued to all exhibit purchasers who had provided their addresses.

Thanks go out to the members and their families that helped out with the admissions and sales during the exhibition. Can I encourage all other members to sign up next year as it is a great help and a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

Sadly, I have received a complaint that some exhibitors expected to be able to dictate how and where their works should be exhibited. Please remember that the logistics of sorting and hanging over 400 pieces of work make these requests quite impossible to accommodate and they can upset the people who have given their time and energy to provide the hanging service.

This year in our SUMMER PAINTING WEEK we are very excited about the Artist who has agreed to come to the Isle of Man, Tony Beresford. Those of you with internet access can view his website at www.dragonsbackstudio.co.uk for further details.

Tony will travel to the Island for the week commencing Monday 27th July. The week will include three tuition days on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 10am and 4pm, when we will hopefully be able to paint outdoors. The cost to attend all the tuition days will be £60, with individual days at £25.

Tony will also be giving a demonstration at Thie Ellyn of Tuesday evening 28th July at 7pm. We will provide a light supper as usual and the cost of this evening will be £5.

Please remember that the summer painting week gets booked up very quickly. Places are available on a first come, first served basis, so get your booking form and payment to me as soon as possible if you wish to attend.

SUMMER PROGRAMME – THURSDAY EVENINGS 7PM-9PM

It has been suggested that Thie Ellyn should be made available to the society members on Thursday evenings during the summer months. I will therefore be opening the hall along the same lines as the existing Tuesday evenings, i.e. for members to work on their own pieces, from 11th June 2009. I hope to see you there.

DR KEITH ARMSTRONG is a poet from Newcastle who has devised a one man touring show on the life of the artist John Martin who was born near Newcastle and died on the Isle of Man. Dr Armstrong will be visiting the Isle of Man in September and has agreed to give a presentation to the Isle of Man Art Society on Thursday 17th September @ 7pm - 9pm. Full details will be made available as soon as I have them.

The Membership Secretary has asked that I remind members that STANDING ORDER FORMS are available to facilitate payment of your annual membership fees. These forms are available on the website www.isleofmanartsociety.com or direct from the Membership Secretary, Mr Stuart Houghton, 9 Ashlar Drive, Union Mills, IM4 4LJ. Use of these Standing Order forms makes it impossible to forget to renew your subscription and also reduces the amount of work required by our Treasurer and Membership Secretary.

Kind regards,

Jackie Kelly (Hon Sec) Tel: 407402 / 824817