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Latest Artists on our site
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Caroline McMillan - Davey
My work reflects my love for places I have visited, usually on holiday , but sometimes...
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Heather O'Brien
I spend time between Somerset and the Languedoc It is the uplifting qualities...
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Ally Tate
Pencil is her preferred medium but she she also works with pastel and watercolour....
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Paul Liggins
Paul Liggins is a Dorset artist who is recognised for his colourful contemporary...
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Lily Shewan
Lily’s most recent body of work are various statements of 'Light at the end of the...
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Paul Horton
You give part of yourself in every painting you produce, each image stands or falls...
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The latest Art and craft news from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset and Bristol
WEST COUNTRY GALLERIES IS “ALL AT SEA” WITH ITS INTERNATIONAL ARTIST AT MONKS YARD - Feb 2010
An online art gallery that sells a beautiful selection of art from contemporary West Country artists: www.westcountrygalleries.co.uk is celebrating the signing of the prestigious international artist, Mike Jackson at The Monks Yard, Somerset on Friday 26 February 2010.
Mike Jackson has lived in Somerset for over 10 years and was initially known for his work as a watercolour artist. However a friend with a gallery in Somerset suggested that he try out acrylics and to his surprise he found that he absolutely loved them.Mike says, “I have no formal training in art so I have had to learn by my own mistakes, yet I would have it no other way as I feel that this is the best way of developing your own technique.
“I am married with two wonderful children and one grandson, who all keep my feet firmly on the ground. “Moving to Somerset in 1999 was fabulous for my artistic inspiration, as the colours and the local sounds of the country really help to free up my mind.”The exhibition at The Monks Yard, Horton Cross, Somerset is entitled “All at Sea” and features a number of Mike Jackson’s quirky prints together with some new originals. Owner of West Country Galleries, Jacqui Yeoell, says, “We were delighted when Mike Jackson approached us and asked if we would feature his paintings on our online website. It is a really quick and easy way to view a huge number of paintings and then with just a few clicks of the mouse visitors can buy some great art.”
An article in this weekend’s FT comments, “It used to be the world of rock ‘n ‘roll, the music and its stars, that were the true touchstones of the times ….these days it seems to be art and artists who are the key players” – buying into the new rock ‘n ‘roll couldn’t be easier at: www.westcountrygalleries.co.uk.
West Country Galleries at Somerset Art Weeks - September 2009
Somerset Art Weeks (SAW) 2009 sees West Country Galleries present some of Somerset's most talented artists in two beautiful rural settings of Monks Yard in Ilminster and Provender in South Petherton. West Country Galleries Exhibitions Manager, Victoria Hobbs, has been busy putting everything together for the first ever Gallery Art Week in Somerset. Vickie will be on hand at The Monks Yard venue for the duration of Arts Week.
Somerset Art Weeks 2009 - The Monks Yard, Ilminster
Venue number: 27
Featured Somerset artists include Jenny Graham, Heather O'Brien, Araboushi, Nicola Werner, Sophie Harrison, Jane Mowat, Kate Chidley, John Nutt, Heather Hughes and Sara Ingleby-Mackenzie. Plus guest artists from across the West Country including Hugh Dunford Wood and Marion Taylor.
Cafe open for breakfast, coffee and lunch from 9am until 5pm Mixed Media, Painting, Prints, Drawing, Sculpture, Stonecarving
Artists at this venue include:
Jenny Graham
Heather O'Brien
Araboushi
Nicola Werner
Sophie Harrison
Jane Mowat
Kate Chidley
Sara Ingleby-Mackenzie
Hugh Dunford Wood
John Nutt
Heather Hughes
Marion Taylor
Somerset Art Weeks 2009 - Provender, South Petherton
Venue number: 34
Nestling in the heart of the market town of South Petherton, Provender is a new venue for Art Weeks. Come along to browse the exhibition of art including work by Nicky Clarke, Mike Jackson, Kate Chidley and Meryl Stevens, as well as experiencing the local flavours of the fine food on offer in the cafe and delicatessen.
Painting, Prints, DrawingArtists at this venue:Nicky Clarke Kate Chidley Mike Jackson Meryl Stevens
Me and My Boat
West Country Galleries and Washington Green are proud to present a brand new silkscreen edition, 'Me and My Boat', from world renowned artist Mackenzie Thorpe.
Alone in the boat, the sun begins to break across the bow; a threatening sky gives way to light in the east, and the choppy sea calms toward the horizon. At first glance, the boatman appears in peril without a sail - at second sight, with hope as his helmsman, we envisage him riding the waves toward the brilliance of a new day.
'Me and My Boat', with its wondrous juxtaposition of shadow and illumination, depicts not only life's inherent dangers, but also the will to endure whatever may come. it is the brave response which determines whether we remain adrift or sail on.
Carol Smillie’s Smart Art
Forever Famous as queen of the television DIY makeover, Carol Smillie – art lover, painter and sculptor, and busy Glasgow mother of three, still has a keen eye for interiors and what makes a room work – or not!
As the face of Changing Rooms, a programme that is credited with kick-starting the craze for DIY interiors, Carol Smillie knows more than most about the pitfalls of interior design. “To be honest, most people just didn’t have a clue”! Says Carol who says she is still shocked at the lack of general awareness and fear that people have about decorating. “Most people had no imagination and couldn’t see the potential of a space beyond the colour of the walls”.
She believes that Changing Rooms was a ground-breaking programme in that it dispelled a lot of myths about interior design and fulfilled its remit (despite some of its infinite disasters) to inform and inspire.
Carol and her restaurateur husband Alex, live with her three children, aged 9, 11 and 13 in a five bedroom detached sandstone Victorian villa house on the sought after south side of Glasgow, and she remains a great example of practicing what she preaches.
“We have lived here for 11 years and I think I have done all I can to maximise the space – we converted the loft, built a conservatory and turned the garage into an office and art studio,” says Carol who believes that in the current economic climate it makes financial sense to “improve and not move”. “Never have a room you don’t use. It’s madness!”
Making big decisions about interiors is second nature to Carol but even after a decade of home improvement shows she admits the biggest problem is daunting because there is too much choice out there and people don’t know where to start.
Carol has just finished decorating three rooms in her own house. “I am a big fan of one big feature – for instance I have just put in a single wall panel of a big print to give a dramatic effect – it’s all it needs”.
Given that her earliest memory is of being laid in a pram as a small child and being too scared to go to sleep because she was too scared of the wallpaper, it is a nicely ironic twist that she now embraces bold patterns, albeit in restricted quantities.
For a quick makeover, aside from the obvious use of cushions and colourful sofa throws (although we were always suggesting it on the programme the reality is that it always ends up looking like a student room!), Carol is a great champion of lighting and art.
For Carol art is absolutely central to all aspects of interior design. Luckily her husband Alex also shows her passion for art. She says when they started married life together they had little money but still used to buy art, gradually replacing cheap prints with limited edition and original art as both their careers took off.
A great believer in democratising attitudes to art, Carol hosted ‘A Brush with Fame’ a reality TV programme in search of the UK’s best amateur portrait artist. “Art can be so elitist – it really annoys me and there is a terrible fear about appearing to be ignorant about art that scares people away”. She buys paintings “just because I like them. I am a passionate believer that you have to buy from the heart and not just because someone says you should. It is just too personal a thing”.
Taken from Fine Art Collector 2009.
Happy Birthday to West Country Galleries and Paula Carnell
Local Artist Paula Carnell joined forces yesterday with West Country galleries at The Monks Yard, Horton Cross, Ilminster, to celebrate Paula Carnell's 40th birthday and Westcountries first year in business.
West Country Galleries are exhibiting Paula's recent original paintings in the newly renovated 'Sanctuary' at The Monks Yard.
Paula also unveiled her latest painting, 'Last Sunset' from which she has released 40 prints priced at £40 to commemorate her birthday. The painting shows the remaining Poplar Trees from Ansford Hill shortly before they were taken down by Southern Scottish Electrical Utilities this Autumn.
Nearly 100 guests of the Gallery attended and sang happy birthday before Paula, Jacqui and Barbara blew out the candles.
Paula is also booked to speak in the Sanctuary on Dec 4th for the Somerset Women in Rural Business. Contact Jacqui Yeoell at Westcountry for further information.
You can see Paula's paintings on the Westcountry Gallery website, www.westcountrygalleries.co.uk or contact the artist on her website http://www.pcpaintings.com/
Somerset Art Weeks (SAW) 2008 – Launch Party at The Monks Yard
Somerset Art Weeks Open Studio Events will be launched at The Monks Yard, home to West Country Galleries' permanent exhibition, in Ilminster on Friday, 12th September 2008 at a grand event from 4pm – 7pm.
Over 250 artists are taking part in the Open Studios Event this year, showing their work in over 200 locations. Established artists will be exhibiting alongside those who are taking part for the first time.
The Monks Yard is a new venue, just of the junction of the A358 & A303, at Horton Cross, Ilminster. It has only been opened a few months but is quickly establishing itself as a versatile space and exhibits work from West Country Galleries, the online gallery showcasing work from the whole of the South West of England. It was once a farm but has been transformed and is still going through its regeneration process – common in rural parts of the county.
The Monks Yard will host a taster exhibition of artwork by a number of the SAW artists. You will see some craftspeople at work – including Kate Chidley famous for her “Cowtoons”, Frances Keenan who will be weaving willow and Sophie Harrison making felt - as well as having the chance to sample a variety of locally made food and drink from various producers in the area. Added to this a number of the exhibiting artists will be showing and selling their work in the different spaces within the complex.
Make a date in your diary to come along and sample what will be on offer - start your week-end having been uplifted by the visual delights in the exhibition and a quiet glass of wine in the courtyard or coffee and delicious cake in the Monks Yard cafe.
A Sculpture carved a new path by winning the first prize at the Royal Bath & West Show this year.
West Country Galleries sculpting duo, John and Jutta, who work under the name jj Creations, took home the first prize for their joint piece of work. The pair of artists from Wells were also recently accepted into the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen.According to chairman of the art committee, Fran Wood, this is the first time a sculpture has won over the judges in the history of the art exhibition.
Mrs Wood said: "I have been on the committee for a long time, and I think the standard has got better and better. There is a broad cross section, and it is a true open art exhibition, welcoming anyone from anywhere to have a go.
" What pleases me is to see more and more sculpture being entered, and I am thrilled this sculpture has won."
John explained how the two artists worked on the winning exhibit together. He said: "There is no formula to it. It starts with an idea, we discuss it, and then it normally takes its own direction. We like rusty metal, which is where this sculpture stemmed from. We found part of the sculpture while out walking, and brought it home in a rucksack. Half of where we live is a studio filled with the likes of bits of old wood and metal, a living project really."
Jutta added: "We are stunned to have won. It is absolutely amazing, and we are going to invest the prize money in a new camera."
Camelot Artists head for Mayfair
In May, a taste of Somerset will descend on Mayfair, the heart of London’s commercial art district. They call themselves the ‘Camelot Artists”, Paula Carnell, Nicholas Elliot and Terri Hogan. But they don’t come alone. With them comes food and drink provided by The Bay Tree Food Co, Olives Et Al, Longman’s Cheese and The Orchard Pig. West Country Galleries has joined the ranks of supporters.
The wide-ranging support for this venture is testament to the charity it supports - Somerset’s St Margaret’s Hospice, which currently receives just 19% of its funding from central government. Glastonbury Festivals organiser Michael Eavis says: “Somerset and its artists have a track record that has to be taken seriously – I am sure that the ‘Camelot Artists’ will live up to that reputation. Raising money for the St Margaret’s Hospice in Taunton is one of the best social causes I can think of. Good Luck!”
‘Camelot Artists’ is a new group of three well known artists: Paula Carnell, Nicholas Elliot and Terri Hogan. Their ‘2008 Collection’ will feature works of art ranging from floral paintings on silk, through abstract mixed media to still life in oils.
Paula Carnell is in a class of her own using new techniques that take silk painting to a level not seen before, here or in the United States where she also exhibits and teaches. A former gallery owner, Paula is a major influential figure of the art world in the South West having won awards from the Fine Art Trade Guild, Business Link and the Princes Trust.
Nicholas Elliot, the "New Old Master" is one of the most flamboyant traditionalist artists living and working in Britain today. His Still Life paintings are a close study of light and colour, sometimes with drama, sometimes humour.
Terri Hogan has one abiding passion: - the world around her. The heaving, breathing, visceral world in all its soaring grandeur and overpowering beauty. This she has sought to portray together with the more benign influences mankind has laid upon it.
‘Camelot Artists’ aims to raise £25,000 to buy 50,000 bricks for St Margaret’s Hospice ‘New Build’ Appeal. The concept is simple. They will hold an exhibition at Gallery 27, Cork Street, Mayfair on 19th – 24th May, where they will exhibit and sell 75 paintings from their ‘2008 Collection’. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition they will be offering 150 signed, limited edition prints of 12 of these paintings for £60 each. The new owners of these prints will automatically be entered into a £1,000 grand prize draw, which will take place during the exhibition.
Champion of the Camelot Artists exhibition and sale, MP for Somerton and Frome, David Heath said, “Most of us know someone who has needed hospice or respite care and will know just how important the work of St Margaret’s Hospice is. The Campaign that Camelot Artists have put together is innovative, combining their talents as artists and with an appeal to the business market. I am certain that it will be a great success and hope that they meet and exceed their target of £25,000. I will do whatever I can to champion their campaign.”
You can register for an invitation to the exhibition and order prints as they are released by visiting http://www.camelotartists.co.uk/
Monks Yard - the new home for West Country Galleries
We are very pleased to be able to announce that West Country Galleries will now have a physical gallery at a wonderful new venture based in the South West. The Monks Yard is a Business and Hospitality Centre near Ilminster in Somerset, which is a recently converted dairy farm.
The venue, which opens on the 24th April 2008, is an inspired and unique environment, in beautiful surroundings, providing large conferencing facilities, a coffee house, and office and hot-desking for micro businesses. Future plans will also include several craft workshops.
Their aim is to provide a hub for businesses and communities alike to meet in its spacious, hamstone buildings. They want to showcase West Country art and we are the perfect match.
More details will follow but if our West Country Gallery artists would like to take part in this exciting new opportunity to show work please let us know by email or telephone Barbara on 07867 795235.
Impact, power … and age is no barrier says Robert Jennings
Sometimes the only way to see change is to take the time to sit, look and study the subtle ways that our world changes.
Fortunately for those of us who don’t or can’t, Bob Jennings has made it his life’s work.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that at seventy-eight some people might not wish to continue to stretch themselves or take on new challenges. Artist Robert Jennings thinks differently.
I’ve had opportunities to try all sorts of art. It is a question of learning how to do something, developing it and moving on in a natural progression. Some ideas work, others are complete failures,” he says.
With a background in advertising it is not surprising he likes to think ahead; inspirational rather than static. He started his working life with the intention of being an engineer but completed only five of a six-month apprenticeship before working in a studio.
After becoming a sailor he later worked in various advertising agencies before deciding to move to Devon to set up on his own was the right step to take. “I’ve always painted. I’m one of those artists who attempts new things, if only to stretch my skills. But again, like advertising, innovation does not necessarily mean improvement,” he says.
Robert is currently on a diet of gouache and acrylics and mainly produces landscape work because he “enjoys the constant change and variety”. Obviously, some mediums lend themselves to detail more easily than others but his basic approach is for impact, colour power and compositional form.
Age is no barrier for Robert and he continues to churn out work. His latest piece focuses on a plot of uncultivated land. He has been watching wildlife and the changing seasons there and in six months has produced five seasonal scenes which were displayed at the University of Plymouth’s Cube Gallery last year. In recent years he has covered West Country rivers and geology – particularly the coastline – and woodland scenes. It was not a difficult step to move into individual trees for his Celtic Tree Calendar.
Robert adds: “The number of people who have said to me ‘I’ll paint when I retire – it will be so relaxing’. I always think ‘if you are so keen what have you been doing all your life?’ As a ‘senior’ painter I find that every new picture is a new experience; an insight into what I think I know – and how little that is.
“I try to create projects, one that push me a bit harder. I now explore the countryside and have persuaded farmers and friends to let me loose on their plots.” His advice to budding painters has a youthful ring about it, too: “Tackle each painting idea with a flourish. Learn from it. Beat it into shape. Explore every aspect of it. But don’t give up. They think it’s all over; is it heck!”
Enjoyable Art
Durgan and Katie Cooper from Somerset were really pleased with their painting by Matthew Buchan from Cornwall. The couple - who bought two paintings from West Country Galleries, both by Matthew - were really delighted with his work.
Katie told us “The paintings look fantastic in the room and buying from West Country Galleries was easy and enjoyable. We are thrilled with our art - both paintings look stunning".
Matthew grew up in Cornwall and draws much of his inspiration from the natural beauty prevalent around the coasts and shores of the county. He strongly believes that art should be available for everyone's enjoyment!
westcountrygalleries.co.uk goes live
7th November, 2007
Between 2pm and 10pm on Friday 19th October West Country Galleries had over 1000 people visit the site and log in. Thank you to all of you who registered and also for the lovely comments we had, including:
"A very well designed site, easy on the eye and easy to use - I have bookmarked this site for future use".
"It has been a pleasure to visit your gallery. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last half hour's wandering. Inspirational, accessible, lovely and "local" . Am thinking of Christmas presents..".
"I wish you every success in your venture! I really enjoyed the landscapes, seascapes and photographs".
"A really good idea to have ability to select by colour. Site refreshes and transitions quickly. Easy to use".
"I think this a really innovative way to get these great pieces of regional art to the wider audience that it deserves. The site is easy to navigate & I hope it's really successful for all the artists involved".
"Fantastic web site and easy to find your way around. Good luck, sure it will be a success".
"Beautifully set out. I will be a frequent returner".
"The Website is fantastic. It is so light and clean looking. The colours are amazing and the variety of artists and work - wow".
"Have had a good look and you have some lovely works on there - good website too - very easy to negotiate".
The case of Champagne was won by Dr. Mike Tutcher from Yeovil.
westcountrygalleries.co.uk Launch Night
Friday, 19th October 2007.
West Country Galleries opens its 'virtual doors' for a pre-launch viewing on Friday 19th October. The site features paintings, photography, ceramics, sculpture, glassware, bronzes, textiles, designer jewellery and crafts from regional artists at prices between £25 and £3,000. Any visitors who register on the site between 2pm and 10pm on Friday will automatically be entered into a free draw to win a case of champagne.
Directors, Jacqui and Barbara would like to thank the following people and organisations, who have helped their vision to become a reality:
Mark Smithson, Mike Williams, Ian Mansell and the rest of the fantastic web development team from Digital Morphosis.
Lawrence and Courteney, Bill and Joan, Jean, Buster and Bella for all of their support - also Martin Bovey at NatWest, Penny Bool, Creative Boost, ArtsMatrix, the Connecting Somerset Team - and of course all our wonderful artists!
