EASTER SATURDAY

Busy day of gallery visitors but no -one parting with their cash. Maybe chocolate eggs are a better bet - Totnes is buzzing with people and everyone is in a great mood because of the fabulous weather. The walls have something lush by Yvonne Coomber, Alice Leach, Jonathan Woolfenden, Louise Dear and Yana Trevail - but compared with Daisy's Everything Blog this week has been quiet! check it out on

daisy56.wordpress.com

theatre lives! and it you are interested in the London theatre and arts scene check this out!
R.O. Lenkiewicz exhibition at the RWA Bristo opened last week. Of 10,000 paintings he left this is some kind of example but I feel it lacked cohesion. And I think it's time Diogenes was buried in the blessed soil.

sunny easter week

Interesting times we live in - in terms of art purchasing anyway. The banks are paying nothing to speak of so cash in savings accounts is actually losing money - SOOOOO a few wise people are investing in art - the idea being that you have something marvellous to enjoy while still preserving the value of your hard earned dosh. Will you sell it on later? Well - maybe - at least you have some choice - delight and pleasure on the wall to enjoy, and the potential of a secondary market sale later. It's a no brainer!
Best buys right now if you can ( in our gallery, and in my humble opinion ) Yana Trevail - earlier representational work; Sarah Gillespie; Catherine Forshall - always steady in the market and affordable, and James Stewart and Alice Leach ones to watch!
By the way we have been closing early in case this IS the summer!

Secondary market thoughts

I guess it's the economic environment that's encouraging an increasing number of people to consider selling the odd painting. This is an interesting exercise not only for the vendor but for the gallery they ask to help them. The commission is not a great incentive for a gallerist - usually a lot less than for the primary sale - but checking out how the market is holding up in the long term certainly is. Recent experiences suggest that it is possible to double your money in, say 8/10 years - better odds than most investments. The key is the artists themselves - if the work is of good quality, and the artist well established, then the chances are you will make money selling. This is good for the primary market too - because it encourages buyers, and gives gallerists some examples of what might be possible.
When all is said and done however, surely the best investment is in something you are going to love for a long time. The painting the kids want you to leave them when you go!!!

Lovely sunny Friday

Well today was a delicious day - first - 8am - change art at Rumour Wine Bar - lovely coffee thanks Pilli! In the gallery, lots of people around enoying the long awaited sunshine. Travelling often between a couple of towns ( lunch in Salcombe, shopping in Totnes) they were basking in the weather and looking to buy something for the walls.
It's interesting - how people decide what to buy. Sometimes it is a question of putting money into paintings "because it sure as hell isn't getting anything in the bank" - one guy today even told me he has put all his money into paintings and is opening an art gallery and will sell them if and when people want to buy - GOOD IDEA!...
This is PAMELA by James Stewart - on view at New Walk Brasserie Totnes

For lots of us - we would just like something lovely on the wall - that we will still love in ten years' time....and we buy such a variety of things it is amazing! I love that - people should buy what they love - and that could cost £100 or Ten Grand. XX After gallery, a good hard walk with my walking buddy, DECENT G and T -  and now - THE WEEKEND!

Catherine Forshall and Sarah Gillespie

Two very different artists, both with a popular following. Catherine has spent many years living and painting in the South of France, and her paintings, almost solely of FISH (acrylic on linen) benefit from a particular technique that she suggests is connected with exposure to that special sunlight. Somehow she manages a fluidity in the painting that is reminiscent of water-colour, giving a marvellous luminosity to the works.
Whilst Forshall is concerned with what goes on under the sea, Sarah Gillespie is the ultimate perfectionist in terms of light - on the sea and on water in general. Her awe-inspiring technique in oils and also in charcoal and pencil could, but doesn't, disguise the true nature of her intense engagement with the wonders of the natural world. The results are paintings of depth and great beauty.

Thursday April 7 2011

A glorious day to begin a blog! The financial year ended with a slightly dull plop, in recognition that the year has been tricky and buyers maybe less enthusiastic about parting with their lolly.
However, on checking the figures it seems that sales were actually up last year - so I learn that impressions are not always accurate. We now monitor the number of visitors to the gallery, alongside sales and the weather! ...Could be interesting.
Anyway sun, or perhaps post budget feeling, has brought record sales for any one week in the past 18 months. Couriers are trotting round the UK and Europe with wall deliveries guaranteed to bring pleasure and probably a safer place for one's cash than the bank.
Hoorah for the joy of art! You don't have to spend a fortune to get some delight and beauty in your world, although if you're lucky you can widen your choice, but you must find something you love!