TAKE THREE (II)

Hello everyone,

Whilst doing the dishes the other morning I was thinking about some of the extraordinary art currently showing in the Christmas Exhibition. It occurred to me that, by chance, there's something of a threesome going on. For example:

'Trinity', non tarnish silver coated copper wire, collected dove feathers, abalone shell by Marcela Trsova.
A very beautiful installation which casts the most delicate shadows that dance on the walls.

'See no Fish, Here no Fish, Catch no Fish', acrylic on canvas by James Newton Adams.
I love their bright yellow, rubbery gloves.

'Three Sisters', digital painting by Kevin Low.
Otherworldly and enchanting, the attention to detail in the girl's clothes is very touching.

'Three Blind Mice' oil on panel by Dylan Lisle.
An impressive and powerful triptych that depicts his subjects with mind boggling detail.

'Waiting for The Tide', finest lead-free pewter on olivewood by Carl Newman.
There's nothing lovelier than a nice piece of wood, so tactile and I love how the wood grain mimics the tidelines in the sand.

So as you can see there's something for everyone in UG's 2013 Christmas Exhibition. If 3 is your lucky number then perhaps this selection might appeal to you.

Have a great weekend all!

The Dog, Cat and Squirrel!

Hello all
I am itching to show you the new works that have arrived form sculptor Barbara Franc....they are amazing!

Before we do so just thought I'd show you who payed us a visit the other day:

TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright came in with her friend to have a look at Barbara Franc's "Sisters". The piece being based on 2 female members of the Cholmondeley family of whom Clarissa is a close friend. After a little look round Clarrisa homed in on sculptor Carl Newman's "Leaping Hare". She will be giving the piece to her friend who is the president of the National Coursing Association who, I am told, loves work featuring hares. However, they rarely find works that depict the movement of a Hare so accurately. Well done Carl and what a fab present!

Anyway back to Barbara's new work. I had been looking forward to getting these pieces for a while now. The "Alley Cat", being a commission, already had a home to go to, however we still have the dog and the red squirrel which I can assure you are well worth a look. Here's a quick look at their arrival:

"Red Squirrel" was quite easy to handle and happy to pose for the camera:

Pooch put up a bit more of a fight with his little bandaged legs. So cute:

Here he is in full glory

"The Little Dog Laughed to See Such Fun" by Barbara Franc. Barbara kindly sent a couple of images to us of "Alley Cat" in the making and I love the look of her studio, would like a good rummage around in there! See.....

The little beastie in the bottom right of the picture above actually ended up as part of the "Alley Cat's" leg.

That's one of the brilliant things about Barbara's sculptures. There's so much work and detail in them and you keep finding wonderful little details and decorative aspects. Her ability to give the pieces personality and character is also amazing.

Peek a boo!

Birthday Blog

Hi everyone
I mentioned that February was shaping up to be a busy, busy month and so far it is. However, I would like to rewind to Tuesday the 2nd.....my birthday. I am not going to tell you how old I am. Let's just say I am incredibly youthful.....obviously.
It was lovely to turn up at the gallery and find a bundle of cards under the door. Some very lovely, and some just down right rude so I won't be showing you. The one below cracked a smile on my extremely youthful face.

Inside another:

Lovely. I was working on my birthday, but decided to mix the day with a healthy work/play balance. The day started off well with a new delivery from sculptor Carl Newman. I was particularly keen to see the piece below as it's a new line from Carl.

Oh yes....he is lovely. In fact he was only on the wall for a day before he hopped off to a new home. Again I even liked the little "nest" he arrived in.

My day was brightened even further with a visit from award winning artist Henry Kondracki. My ice cream van hero strikes a pose:

Note the red Greyfriars art bag....no doubt the contents will end up another Kondracki masterpiece.

Birthday bouquet. A wee posy from a secret admirer.

Followed by a spot of working lunch.......

We splashed out with that reduced to clear beef from Scotmid!!

The afternoon was also exciting as I anticipated the arrival of Hazel Cashmore's new work. I will be going into Hazel's work in more detail soon. I will say that when the work was being unwrapped there were a lot of "wows". One after the other, each piece as good as the other. I wasn't expecting them to arrive in such a whopping great lorry. Or to be handled by such a friendly courier driver!

Then another delivery from Sally Johns. When I first viewed Sally's work the response was instant. A mixture of excitement and curiosity. I haven't seen anything like her work before. It's fab.

A sneak preview of Sally Johns "A Blue Bird".

And look at Mr Barn Owl. With all that gold leaf (which must have been painstaking for Sally to apply) he looks dazzling in the gallery window. He is certainly getting a lot of attention.

The exhibition night was a real HOOT.....sorry.