The May Queen exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Show

Standing under my work in the
Small Weston Room at the RA.

I've been painting for some years, but have rarely exhibited outside of Bedford, mostly because my work has zig-zagged across different styles and subjects while I explore painting, and what it is I want to do with it. 

I haven't really answered that question yet, but I have managed to get work displayed outside of my hometown twice now this year. Firstly, I had a display of my work at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas which relates to the work I'm doing on Plumbob 57  - more on that in a later post - and now my painting The May Queen (From Henman's Magic Lantern Show) has been selected to exhibit at the RA. Here's a picture of me looking chuffed, just after I realised it had sold (like many others in the room) before the exhibition had opened.

The work itself is based on a lantern slide from the Higgins Art Gallery & Museum's collection. The slide is one of a number showing traditional May Day celebrations in Bedford circa 1911.

Kristian Purcell The May Queen (From Henman'sMagic Lantern Show), 2013.