Wednesday 30 July 2008

Wedding Gift Registration Service at Artery Gallery

You can now register your wedding gift list at Artery Gallery.

Our wedding gift registration service offers you the opportunity to commemorate your wedding day with a list of gift ideas for your friends and family to choose from.

Anything from clocks, to paintings and wall hangings are available, giving you the inspiration and opportunity to build your own collection of unique, original artwork.

When registering your wedding or civil partnership, you receive a catalogue of ideas and suggestions from us, which you can also add your own choices to. When you have chosen all the gifts you hope for, we will complete your registration by adding you and your partner-to-be to our website – with a web-page of your very own. This will include photographs, dimensions and prices of all the items you choose, with a secure, online purchasing function. Your friends and family will be able to browse the pages of your gift list before deciding on their purchase.

Friends and family can even combine their finances to purchase a larger item such as a painting. Paintings can be reserved for your list by paying a small deposit of 20%.

Create you own unique wedding gift list today here at Artery Gallery.

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Friday 18 July 2008

Portraying Essence and Emotion - Paintings by Steve Johnston

("Rainy Day" by Steve Johnston)

Here at Artery Gallery, we are proud to introduce the paintings from renowned artist Steve Johnston.

Born in Glasgow in 1956, Steve grew up in Dumfries before attending Art College in Carlisle. Whilst in his second year, he opted for a change of medium preferring photography to painting. Upon graduating, he moved to London to work as a freelance photographer working for magazines such as Vogue and I-D. His work was published in various books and magazines and was included in the 'Lives' exhibition at the Haward Gallery, London.

In 1991, when photography no longer became inspirational for him, he started painting seriously again concentrating once again on the medium that he had originally embraced. He says, “It was then that something clicked and I have not looked back since……painting is my life.”


He is always drawn to figures that create a great shape. Details such as ‘how’ someone is standing or ‘what’ they are doing come into play afterwards. It is the graphic shape of the ‘body mass’ that inspires the first ideas. Certain images can unlock powerful emotions which are separate from what the actual content of the picture could create if focused on in more detail.

He adds, "I approach my 'backgrounds' very much as an abstract painter - colours, composition etc are chosen instinctively rather than being pre-planned. Certain images can unlock powerful emotions which can be separate from the actual content of the picture....the aim is to portray and essences and emotion rather than a precise person or specific location.'

Steve always takes the shape of his figures from photographs, generally using side or back views to create a more anonymous character. For this same reason he prefers minimal backgrounds. Using a mixture of oil and acrylic on the same canvas, he likes to experiment and play with colour to draw as much emotional response from the image as possible. The backgrounds are always in acrylic, whilst the figures are always in oil. This is so the oil figure can be worked on in a way that will make it stand out from the background.



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