Graham McKean Exhibition!

Graham McKean, 'Bunkered Again!'

First of all, I must apologise for a long absence from our blog! It has been an exceptionally busy summer, and I may have neglected some of our readers - so a big sorry!!

Secondly - a quick round-up of summer in St Andrews......CRAZY! It has been such a busy season, with a fantastic amount of tourists from all over the world, lots of golfers, our ever-present local support, day trippers, and many of our St Andrews Uni' students who have stayed for the summer. With such a varied collection of shoppers, it has made our summer really interesting and exciting. It's always great to know where our support comes from, and to meet some of our 'online' customers has been great - we have had a few customers who have come from far-flung corners of the world and said to us that they had viewed the gallery online. It's great for us to meet you - and so strange to think that you have been looking at our gallery from your home in Texas, or in Nice, or St Petersburg, and now you have actually been in here! The world wide web has really made the world a bit smaller.

We have some exciting news for you as well - this week, from Saturday 25th September - we are hosting an exhibition of Graham McKean's work.
Graham has previously exhibited with us, back in 2007, and since then he has gained world-wide acclaim for his paintings. His commissions include the very famous painting of Michael Jackson, created last year, which generated global media interest, and his well known portrait for Celtic FC. Hopefully with our six-week exhibition of his work, we can bring you some of this excitement!
The exhibition is running from 25th Sepember until 6th November - we hope you can come along and have a look, and if you can't make it, images of his full collection with us will be availailable on our website from Saturday.
Also remember you can follow all of our news, gossip, and great photos from within the gallery on Facebook.

www.arteryuk.com

Jewellery Making Demonstration

St Andrews is buzzing with the excitement of holidays, graduation the the Open Golf tournament just now. It's a great atmosphere in town with such a cosmopolitan mix of people.

Jewellery designer and maker Sarah Anderson will be paying St Andrews a visit during the Open Golf. On Thursday 15th July, Sarah will be here at Artery Gallery doing a jewellery making demonstration from 11.30am, for those that want a break from the golf!

Sarah is mostly known for her chain-mail jewellery, and her detachable charms are famous. Her designs include intricately linked bracelets, and her charms are made from sterling silver, gemstones and pearls. Each charm can be clipped onto any piece of jewellery such as one of Sarah's necklaces or bracelets, a chain you already have, or even a watch - I wear one of her charms on a ribbon around my neck!

Sarah will be offering customers the opportunity to design their own completely unique charm, and will make it to order for you - which is great of you are buying a gift and can tell the recipient that you designed it yourself!

Come along to the gallery to get a chance to see a Scottish artist in action and to get a little creative yourself!
43 South Street, St Andrews, 01334 478221

New Networks and Audiences for Artery

We have a website, a blog, a gallery (!) and now we finally have a Facebook page! I have always been somewhat afraid of social networking sites - but after succumbing to temptation and joining up myself a few weeks ago, I realised how suitable Facebook would be for a quick and instant 'Artery' hit. It's also great for us to get that sort of instant feedback from people who view the page and know the gallery.
Click on our Facebbok badge to take you to our page and become a follower, to receive real-time updates on all our exciting new stock, artists' gossip, and interesting articles.
See you on there!

www.arteryuk.com

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.

www.arteryuk.com

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

Colourful New Jewellery

Diane Williams, mixed agates necklace £65

We have lots of new jewellery in the gallery just now bringing in a surge of much needed colour for Easter time.
There are collections from new artists, such as Laura Bradshaw-Heap in pretty colours such as purples and pinks, new collections from established artists such as Elizabeth Scott and Diane Williams and lots of new work from our regular jewellery designer Angela Learoyd.

Laura Bradshaw-Heap's work has just arrived with us this week. Her work comes in three collections - 'Stoneware' which are little silver heart designs (named after Lauras inspiration of rough, battered and tumbled stone textures), 'Encased' which are resin earrings and pendants, which have glitter, fabric and gems captured inside the resin, then framed in silver, and her 'Flutter By' range. Laura's 'Flutter By' jewellery is an unusual and eclectic mix of silver, buttons, plastics, glass and beads - creating a unique style - very 'boho-chic'! Her prices range from £15 - £85.

Elizabeth Scott and Diane Williams have both been creating jewellery for Artery for some time now, with great success for each of them.
Diane's work focused on a theme of stunning polished and tumbled semi-precious stones, in unusual colour combinations, including stones such as Dalmation jasper (Cruella De Vil eat your heart out!) and Prehnite. Her simple designs appeal to everyone due to the beautiful quality of stones and quirky colours.
Elizabeth Scott has created a new selection of chunky, colourful and fun designs, such as 'Honeycombe' necklace in vintage agate and pearls. Elizabeth enjoys creating unusual designs in rich colours.

Angela Learoyd specialises in creating jewellery using semi-precious stones, combined with her own hand-crafted silver beads and silver shapes, with unusual textured and imprinted designs. She often uses rare stones, in unusual combinations like her 'Inclusion' range, featuring tourmalinated quartz and hand-made silver pieces.

An unusual and unique piece of bold or colourful jewellery is one way to make you stand out from the crowd. It's fun to look to fashion magazines for inspiration, but it's much better to set trends than follow them!

Stop into the gallery to see our full collection of handmade designer jewellery from UK and international artists.

www.arteryuk.com

Invitation to Exhibit in Artery Gallery

So far the start to 2010 has been hectic! This first term of the year is always a busy time for us - planning our diaries for the new year, sourcing new artwork, and attending trade fairs.

Trade fairs and art fairs give us an opporunity to have a look at emerging artists, new collections from established artists, and give us new ideas for our gallery. However, this year we have found while attending some of these trade fairs, that many small, individual and newer artists cannot afford to exhibit at these sort of events, due to the unstable financial climate, and rising costs of exhibiting. In fact we have found that many larger, more commercial companies, selling mass-produced goods, have taken the place of the independant craftsperson at many of these fairs. What is even more unusual about this, is the fact that during the recession, we have found a much higher demand for quality, hand-made pieces, with the public favouring originality over mass-produced - so now, what is on offer at trade fairs doesn't really represent the consumers choice.

With this in mind, we are giving all craftspeople the opportunity to be considered for exhibition at Artery Gallery, St Andrews. It is a simple process - we ask that you first take a look at our website www.arteryuk.com and browse through the work that we currently have on exhibition. If you think that your work would fit in well with the look and feel of Artery, then send us an email, including some jpeg images of your work for us to look at, including approximate prices and sizes, or send an email with a link to their website - info@arteryuk.com

We will always respond to requests to exhibit in Artery - even if the work is not suitable for us we will always give feedback. Here at Artery, we are used to dealing with artists, crafts people and jewellers at different points of their career - from those just starting out to those who are well established. We pride ourselves not only on our great customer service, but our great 'artist's service' - having built successful careers for many of our artists, and built solid relationships with them too.

Success at The Christmas Emporium

Our 'Artery' stall at the Christmas Emporium

The Old Course Hotel's Christmas Emporium was a roaring success for us - and experience we would love to repeat in coming years.

The Old Course really inspired a festive feeling in all who attended, and kicked off the beginning of the season for us. They had wine tasting, kid's face painting, tasters of tablet and mulled wine, plus all the fantastic shopping - I even managed to find the time to do a little shopping there myself.
We were delighted to see lots of our customers there, and it was great to get the chance to talk to so many new customers too.

We had a selection of our smaller items from the gallery - jewellery, photo frames, glass birds, hand made pens and beautiful glass perfume bottles, giving everyone the opportunity to see what Artery is all about - handmade, unique artwork and gifts at a reasonable price.

If you would like to see more of our great gift ideas, stop into our gallery on South Street, or take a look at our full selection of artwork online.

www.arteryuk.com

Artery @ the Christmas Emporium, Old Course Hotel

On Saturday 5th December and Sunday 6th December, Artery Gallery will be attending the Old Course Hotel's 'Christmas Emporium'.

The Old Course Hotel, St Andrews, is hosting a Christmas Emporium, boasting roaring fires, golf displays, a wide selection of shopping and stalls, and a cosy Christmas atmosphere.

Artery Gallery will have a stand with our pick of beautiful handmade designer jewellery, handmade mirrors and photo frames, glassware and handmade clocks to inspire your Christmas shopping, making it easy for you to find the perfect gift.

The Emporium opens from 1pm until 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday, so come along and enjoy some relaxed and very Christmassy shopping! See you there.....

New Scottish Seaside Paintings from Two New Artists

Stormy Evening, Pittenweem, by Liz Myhill £225

Artery Gallery would like to introduce (and welcome!) two new artists - Nikki Monaghan and Liz Myhill. Both of these artists have recently delivered collections of their work to us for the first time, and have added something a bit different to Artery.

Liz Myhill, originally from the Isle of Skye (now she's a local in Tayside), has brought us a small selection of her work in two very distinct styles. Her collage style work features her own bold ink drawings cut out and imposed on collage landscapes and villages. This is a really distinct look and is totally unique in our gallery. Liz's other works are beautiful watercolour and mixed media paintings of recognisable places such as The House on the Rock in Pittenweem. These two styles couldn't be more different, or have a more broad appeal.

Harbour Nights ii by Nikki Monaghan £250

Nikki Monaghan's mixed media works also arrived with us just over a week ago, and offer a contrast to Liz's Scottish seaside scenes. Nikki's paintings are bold, bright and playful. When creating a new piece, she is re-creating a memory, rather than a representation of somewhere.
Nikki studied Textiles at art school, and started out her career as an interior stylist, working throughout the UK. She now focuses solely on her paintings and her career as an artist.

Stop into our gallery in St Andrews to see these new collections.

Fife's Coast and Landscape is Picture Perfect!

Colin Carruthers - Midsummer Landscape, Fife £1250

We have been lucky enough to receive a large collection of work from Artery regular Colin Carruthers. A regular visitor to Scotland, Colin paints these scenes based on places he has visited, from the islands such as Islay to the East Neuk.

Colin is most noted for his beautiful contemporary seascapes - taking his inspiration from the Scottish coastlines. This new collection has many of his stunning coastal paintings, but now also includes some landscapes based on our local scenery.
Colin has based some of his new oil landscapes on the area surrounding St Andrews and Cupar, featuring the stunning Fife countryside. This new genre still captures Colin's serene and peaceful mood which is seen in his seascapes. He has also included some smaller works in this series, making it easier for visitors to take away a painting of Fife.

Colin's paintings are on display in our gallery on South Street, St Andrews, or view all his work past and present at http://www.arteryuk.com/artists/Carruthers,Colin/

Unique Ceramic Bowls and Vases

Open Leaf Bowl by Sally Mareike £30

What a busy week at Artery Gallery! We have had several new artists join us, and lots of new items delivered by so many different artists.

We have had two new deliveries of handmade ceramics from two different artists - Sally Mareike, and Jenny Barlow.

We have had collections of work from Sally in the past - including her pretty, seashell-imprinted vases and 'atoll' dishes - so summery, it's like a walk on the beach! Sally's new work is totally different to her summer work, but she still features a seasonal theme. Her ceramic bowls and designed in the shape of inter-woven and over lapping leaves, glazed in earthy, Autumnal colours. To get a realistic and unique effect, she collects real leaves and imprints them into the ceramic. This collection features mostly bowls, but she has some pieces which would be useful over the festive period such as cheese plates and biscuit plates.

Jenny Barlow is a new artist to us, who features stunning crackle glazes on her work, combined with a unique effect - wrapping wire around the ceramic work, and then firing, to melt, distort and oxidise the metal wire. As the wire melts during the firing process, it drips and runs into the glaze, creating a molten stream of colour around the piece of work. Her collection includes candle holders, little pots, bowls and big, bold vases, which would make stunning centre-pieces.

Short Pot by Jenny Barlow £40

Both Sally and Jenny's collections can be viewed on our website, along with all our other ceramic work - a really diverse collection!

Take a look at www.arteryuk.com

Paintings of St Andrews (with a funky new twist)

St Andrews, Winter £140

St Andrews is one of the most painted towns of Scotland, with artists of all genres favouring the town's beautiful West Sands beach, or the famous 18th Green of the Old Course.
One of our artists, Martin Devine says that St Andrews is one of his favourite subjects to paint, but with his unusual technique, and different outlook of the town, it gives the traditional St Andrews paitnting a fantastic modern twist.

St Andrews is a town which is steeped in history and tradition, and paintings of St Andrews often follow the traditional route, favouring golf scenes, lush greens and fairways, or images of the town's castle and Cathedral. Martin on the other hand paints St Andrews from a different angle, looking down into town from the East Sands direction, or looking into St Andrews as though you are out at sea. His unusual technique with watercolour only serves to update the traditional St Andrews image even more.

Martin uses watercolours, building up the colour, to get rich deep, pure tones and colours, and then he picks out the outlines using Indian ink, making the pictures almost 'pop'. The traditional idea of watercolour, is soft, pale, and watery, so this vibrant new take on a traditional medium really brings it into the 'noughties'.

Martin says that painting St Andrews is a pleasure - it's one of those towns that is so easily distinguishable, that even with a little artistic license when painting it, it is instantly recognisable. His other paintings also depict Scottish scenes, featuring rolling landscapes and quaint buildings - all with that modern twist.
All of Martin's paintings can be seen here http://www.arteryuk.com/artists/Devine,Martin/1/ or viewed at Artery Gallery, 43 South St, St Andrews