A New Season

Hello again and welcome to any new readers who may have discovered this site and my work recently. The exhibition at Danby Moors Centre went really well I'm happy to report. All the artists involved made some good sales, and benefitted from the extensive publicity and media coverage that surrounded the event. I've collected any unsold work now and this winter my work will be in four new galleries around the Yorkshire and Durham area.

The first of these new venues is the Staithes Gallery set in the heart of the village of Staithes, about seven miles north along the coast from Whitby. I've loved Staithes since I first moved to Saltburn and one of my favourite things to do has been to walk from there along the Cleveland Way Coastal walking route, stopping off to take in the bizarre lunar-like landscape at Boulby cliffs - (this is one of the places where I have collected some of the clay that I use to make my paintings) - and walk down into the village to sink a pint or two, then get the bus home, red-faced from the ale and the biting wind. I highly recommend a visit to this magical place on a sunny winter's day this year. Here are some photos I took while I was there.

Also on the list of galleries this month are Blossom Street gallery in York and Gallerina in Darlington. I did have some work at Gallerina earlier this year, but it sold so quickly I don't think many people had much chance to see it! This time they've got seven pieces and they're going to give me a nice display in some cosy section of the gallery. I do love it there, they are a friendly and accessible establishment and utterly professional.

I also had the pleasure of meeting the owners of Saltbox gallery in Helmsley last month and securing a part in their Winter show which begins on the 14th of November with an opening event, at which I've been asked to play some atmospheric folk music with my fiddle playing right-hand man, Ray Legg. I'm really looking forward to that one, the gallery is a lovely space, well lit with a snappy, modern feel and with a view to a beautiful outside garden space, which will be the venue for our performance on the night, so I hope it's not so cold my fingers are freezing up! The owners are Louise and her partner Matthew, a fellow countryman of mine, with a sharp Irish wit, and they are ably assisted by Kim Tillyer, who is herself a very talented artist. Worth a look if you're in the area.

I'll close my blog with a brief report about a drawing workshop I did in the Joe Cornish gallery last Saturday. It was a genuinely lovely day - it's my second workshop there now, and there was a mention of getting me to do another one there in the future, so watch this space! The students were a lovely group, and the feedback suggested that they got a lot out of the day, and went home feeling creative and inspired! Check the work out, didn't they do well?

Ok that's it for now. I'll post again coming up to Christmas time to let you know what's new. I'll leave you with a sneak preview of what I'm working on at the minute.