Windswept and Interesting

Hello everyone

I trust that you were all good to your mummies on Sunday!
I was.  Indeed my ma's special present looked the business wrapped up in Jenny Matthews wrapping paper:

So we are into the final week of 'Making Waves' and, being partial to a bit of sea painting myself, this exhibition really 'floats my boat' as they say.  I wanted to highlight a few of the treasures on display.  Lets start with this:

'White Water', acrylic on board, by Hazel Cashmore.
I would have liked to have spent more time admiring all that is great about 'White Water', but the pround new owner couldn't wait to get it home.  When I looked at this beauty, I could almost hear the crash of the waves and the fizz of the foam on rocks.  I loved how the sea was spilling out of the paining.  Enegmatic and energetic, as are all of Hazel Cashmore's paintings.

'Sandwood, Summer', mixed media, by Beth Robertson Fiddes.
This is an impressive and brilliantly executed painting by Beth Robertson Fiddes.  Legendary Sandwood Bay, with all its mysticism and breathtaking scenery has been captured perfectly by Beth.  There's some very clever collage work going on here and if you view the painting from a certain angle, it's almost a 3D painting!  Come in, and I will position you.

'Five Boats', mixed media, by Nikki Monaghan.
The relaxing pleasure of observing boats gently bobbing in a harbour, brilliantly observed by Nikki Monaghan.

'Cellardykes', oil on cotton board, by Ian Rwnsley.
 Fife boasts some beautiful coastline, and Cellardykes is a well known attraction.  The village is known locally as 'Sillerdyke' - a reference to the sun glistening on fishscales on the nets as they dry on the harbour walls.
And:

'Stonehaven', oil on cotton board, by Ian Rawnsley.   
A favourite of mine, there is such softness and subtlety in this painting.
Lets end with a: 

'Splash', gouache, by Dorothy Bruce.  
Great title, great painting. Dorothy lives on the Isle of Cumbrae, and in this painting there are actual grains of sane from the beaches there.  You may not be able to see that in the image above, so I highly recommend that you pop in abd appreciate it at first hand.

Speak soon. 
 

A Dog's Life

Hello eveyone

I recently posted a blog as a nod to all the studio cats out there - past and present.
As promised, now it's time for the hounds. They say that dogs age 7 years in comparison to us humans, so for the purposes of this blog, I've tried to narrow it down to 7 lucky pooches.  I apologise in advance to any 4 legged friends I have not included....I may have let an extra one or two slip in.
As with the pussy blog, I will start with my own:

Spring Hippo! Many of you will already be familiar with Tommy ('Tickles') the boxer. He's a loving and loyal companion who is aprroaching his twilight years. Everyday with Tommy is a blessing now. He's getting a bit older and has a touch of arthritis, so he needs some extra TLC.  At Union Gallery we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a bespoke knitted jumper c/o artist Hannah Haworth. Thanks Hannah!
Tommy is from Boxer Welfare Scotland. If you want to give a squishy face a new home then take a look:

http://www.boxerwelfarescotland.co.uk/

Next:

Hmm. This is Harry the insane Dalmation. Harry is also 'recycled'. Indeed, we are Harry's 4th owners at the tender age of 3. Although it's been hard work and realistically Harry is not allowed a single spot inside my studio, I love him dearly for his madness. Remember the golden rule; "a dog is for life not just for Christmas". All that's spotty is not all fairytales and 102 Dalmations!
All the way from NYC:

This is Cocoa, studio companion and (sometimes) model to artist, sculptor and knitting genius Hannah Haworth. Here she is modeling that coveted jumper. Cocoa is also a rescue dog and I think she has landed on her paws being taken in by someone like Hannah.
Introducing:

Lovely Leda, compadre of deadly talented artist Dylan Lisle. I had the honour of having my face licked off by Leda just the other night whilst discussing Dylan's next exhibition in 2012. HINT....it's going to be incredible!
Next up:

The back ends of Pip & Oscar! These 2 beautiful pointers are a continuing source of inspiration (and exasperation) to award winning artist Janet Melrose. This photo was taken on a recent studion visit in preperation for Janet's solo exhibition "A Still Life", in May. HINT....it's also going to be stunning and some wise early birds are already pecking around.
Nearly ending on this fella:

This is Rufus, sporting his winter coat. Another model, companion and inpiration to award winning sculptor Barabara Franc. HINT....Barbara Franc's first solo exhibition in Scotland, "Diversity", opens on Thursday 14th April, interest is high and I can guarantee that you won't see another exhibition like this. A huge thanks in advance to Barbara for all her hard work.

Ending with this fella:

This is Humphrey. I have a soft spot for 'Humfs' as I affectionatley call him.....and his master. He is constant studio companion to figurative artist Frank McNab, who I visited recently to have a look at his compelling work. You can take a closer look at Frank's work here:

http://frankmcnab.com/index

Incidentally, if you don't come in and see the excellent work in the current exhibition "Making Waves" then you'd be barking mad!

Signing off......Cruella De Vil.....

Sea of Souls

Hello everyone

And a warm welcome to our latest follower. Nice to have you with us.
It's also nice to break the 80 following barrier. Hip hip hurrah!

So I promised to show you some footage from the "Making Waves" opening. I am ashamed to report that I failed miserably. I am not ashamed to admit that it was because I was having too nice a time, chatting with the artists and visitors to the gallery, and generally enjoying the work on the walls....an absolute perk of the job, and by jingo the work is good!
I did however manage this wee snap:

I wanted to capture the gentle ambiance of multi media artist, Marcela Trova's installation, "Sea of Souls". A captivating and enchanting piece of work that is both relaxing and thought provoking to be around. I would urge you to come and spend some time with it and the breathtaking paintings on display while you still can.
This is Czech artist Mracela Trsova installing "Sea of Souls":

I have to praise Marcela. She spent a whole day up on UG's wobbly ladders (I remained calm!), installing the work. It was a painstaking process with no way to hurry it up. Getting the work to flow right depended on the placement of each fish in relation to the others. Every time one was adjusted Marcela had to be patient until it stopped moving. Much like Hannah Haworth's installation "The Hunt" which we exhibited at Christmas, "Sea of Souls" is another labour of love. There are 13 individual fish here and it took Marcela an average of 3 days to perfect each one. Many a cut finger too!
Have a shifty over this to learn more about the work:

http://www.uniongallery.co.uk/index.php/Artists/Artist/marcela_trsova/

I did manage one other photo from the opening:

It's a photo of seascape expert Hazel Cashmore's rather fabulous shoe.
Hazel does of course have 2 feet....for some reason I only thought to photo one.
I would quite like a pair of these shoes for myself!
Leaving you with this:

Ladies and gentlemen....introducing the one and only Ullysses!
I am enjoying having Jon Dawkins and Anne Rhodes staying with us in our now tidy house. (YES it's TRUE...the house is actually clean!) Largely thanks to the best cleaning co in town:
turboclean@live.co.uk
Jon was most taken by the previous pussy blog and kindly showed me this excellent photo.
I think it's fair to say Ullysses is quite simply Top Cat.


Have a great weekend x

Happy Days

Hello everyone

I am busy hanging the next exhibition, "Making Waves". It's looking rather splendid and I feel energised and refreshed by the work on the walls. It makes me want to get out and about and head for the coast, to see some of our beautiful landscape. Which, is looking better all the time:

Come and join us tomorrow night:

I will show you some snaps from the preview. Until then, I leave you with this:

A big thank you to Daisy-May for this cheerful little painting! Daisy-May is the granddaughter of Hazel Cashmore whose exquisite sea paintings are 'floating my boat' as it were.

Speak soon x