A Little Bit of Sunshine!

'Sunflowers', £2500

Summer is finally here! After such a long winter it seems like Scotland has finally warmed up, and we have all been basking in the sunshine in St Andrews.
One of our Artery regulars, Jackie Gardiner, has delivered a little bit of sunshine straight into the gallery with her beautiful oil painting 'Sunflowers'. Jackie explained that when she first started painting this piece, it was to bring a little sun into life, as it was so cold and miserable at the time. We certainly find in the gallery that a bright and sunny painting such as this can lift your mood during the darker days of winter, and seeing as it has arrived at the beginning of summer, it definitely represents how we all feel just now.

Jackie's garden - a work of art in itself!

Jackie has a beautiful garden at home - which looks like a work of art itself - where she grows sunflowers herself during summer. This 'Sunflowers' painting was taken from a photo of some of the sunflowers from her garden.

With a large oil painting such as 'Sunflowers' Jackie can take up to six weeks to complete it, painting it in stages, allowing the rich oils to dry in-between each painting session, so it is a long process to produce a painting like this.

'Morning Light, St Andrews', £480

We also have a stunning painting of St Andrews by Jackie - 'Morning Light, St Andrews' - a view of the town from the West Sands. This is such a familiar and famous view - St Andrews is instantly recognisable, and also one of Jackie's favourite scenes to paint.

Come into the gallery for a closer look!

www.arteryuk.com

Boats for Lilliputians

Mary-Ann boat, £48

Karen Mead is new to Artery Gallery, and has brought us an amazing collection of tiny, handmade boat sculptures (which reminded me of the Lilliputians in Gulliver's travels!).

Karens work arrived a couple of weeks ago and has proved a quick success, with many people commissioning Karen to make them boats of their own name and registration plate! Each of Karen's miniature sculptures are named and have their own unique boat registration number, and each little detail is unique - everything from crates, to creels, seagulls to rubber rings - all part of the intricate decoration Karen applies to each piece.
Her creations are made from reclaimed materials, driftwood, balsawood and tin, adding to the unique identity of each little boat.

Karen lived on the South coast of England before moving up to Dingwall in Scotland, where she now draws inspiration from the Firth of Cromarty and Firth of Moray.

You can find Karen's work on our website by clicking here or you can take a look in our gallery on South Street, St Andrews.

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Tom Payne's 'Grunts'!

'Windy Grunt V' £80

We have recently received a new collection of Tom Payne's 'Grunts' - which are a lot more pleasant than they sound!!

Tom, a graduate from Kent Institute of Art & Design, works in clay to produce his quirky and fun figures. Each 'grunt' has a character, which Tom clearly enjoys creating. He uses tools as little as possible, using his hands to create each piece - giving them a rough and solid finish, adding further to the personality of figure.

Tom's work is instantly recognisable and he has created some large-scale pieces - predominantly animals - for a series of different projects, all still retaining his unique look. His portfolio includes a full size baby elephant for Bolton Council, a set of dinosaur jaws for the natural history museum and a polar bear for an MTV advert.....anymore and he could open a zoo!

Tom's full collection can be seen in Artery on South Street, St Andrews, or on our website www.arteryuk.com

Martin Devine's New Creation in Oils

'Sky Streaks, St Andrews' £800

Watercolour artist, Martin Devine, has taken a step away from his usual medium and created a bold image of St Andrews in his recognisable style.

Martin regularly produces paintings in watercolours, with the landscape and urban detail picked out in black Indian ink, St Andrews being one of his favourite subjects. The watercolours are really vibrant and vivid (which is something we don't always associate with watercolours), and he has applied this same approach to his oil painting.

Close up of 'Sky Streaks'

Martin's new work in oils is something which has been 'in the making' for about a year now while he has been taking this time to develop and perfect his technique. In the close-up image of the urban area of this painting, you can see how Martin has maintained his simple, bold shapes, picking each building out in a black outline, and in the close-up image of the sky below, you can see how the new medium of oil gives him a chance to create sweeping colours in the sky using wet-on-wet technique.

This oil painting has arrived along with a new collection of his usual watercolour style, featuring small landscapes, images of St Andrews and his usual bright palette.

Visit Artery on South Street, St Andrews to view his full collection, or see them on our website.

www.arteryuk.com