Latest News and Progress

27 May 2019

Great gift ideas

The new range of affordable art items is proving popular, not just to have my art in the home, but also as gift ideas.

This photo, taken at Salcombe Yacht Club on Sunday 19 May, shows Martin Smout with his wife Pam. Martin has been Commodore of Salcombe Yacht Club for the past two years and these personalised place mats were presented to him (plus some other items, too) to show the club’s appreciation.

Martin’s wife, Pam, chose the four designs; and overprinted on them is the name of their boat: Enjoy Life. This was a complete – and delightful – surprise for Martin.

This additional service – the overprinting – can be arranged to suit any requirement: a birthday, a special anniversary, or as a thank you to someone special.

New to the affordable range: pill boxes

These handy-sized pill boxes offer a neat way of carrying medication, with the added bonus of one of my images on the lid.

I do hold a small stock of affordable items at Beacon House Gallery, partly to provide for stock for the outlets carrying these items but also in readiness for a number of charity events that Anne and I will be supporting during the coming months.

I hope to see you at some of these events.

Thursday 11 July: A pop-up sale at Salcombe Yacht Club
Monday 5 August: In Whitestrand, supporting Salcombe Regatta
Thursday 8 August: Supporting the Hope Cove Fundraising Day at the Cottage Hotel
Tuesday 10 September: a coffee morning at Burton Farm in aid of Triangle

For full details of the entire affordable art range, click here.

Where are the affordable art items being stocked?

You could come to Beacon House for a private viewing. Contact me to arrange a mutually convenient time. Alternatively, you’ll find affordable art in a number of shops and other outlets in the Salcombe area.

Malborough Post Office stocks the full range of fine art greetings cards, plus wooden coasters, purses, fridge magnets and key rings.

Bonnington‘s, the newsagent in Salcombe, have a range of cards plus fridge magnets and key rings.

At Avon Mill – in the Gallery – there is a range of cards plus fridge magnets and key rings.

The Project Galley in Noss Mayo have cards, wooden coasters, key rings, fridge magnets and glass chopping boards.

Salcombe Yacht Club and the Salcombe Information Centre both have cards – and a display of affordable art items.

Ashby’s also have some of my cards.

If you would like to stock my affordable art range, do contact me.

13 May 2019

Contemporary Passions at Harbour House

This year’s Contemporary Passions exhibition, at Harbour House, Kingsbridge, will be open to the public 16-28 July.

New works by members of SHAF

As a member of SHAF (South Hams Art Forum), I’m exhibiting along with eight other artists.

Teresa Barlow
Nick Cotter
Jane Davarian
Crystel Dauth
Brett Hornby
Cherry Lyons
Jane Mahood
Elaine Sibley

The theme for 2019

The theme for the contemporary Passions exhibition, this year, is ELEMENTS. This can be interpreted in many ways.

A small but significant amount of feeling or quality
An essential or characteristic part of something abstract
Each of more than 100 substances that cannot be chemically converted or broken down
The fundamental constituents of the world in ancient philosophy: earth, air, water and fire
Strong winds, heavy rain or other kinds of bad weather
A person’s or animal’s natural or preferred environment – in their element

Water is colourless and yet …

Glass of water — ID 64787443
© Tauha2001 | Dreamstime.com

My take on this theme is, unsurprisingly, water. In particular, I’m focusing on the fact that water is colourless, and yet …

Of the 140+ paintings I have produced in the past decade or so, the water has never been colourless.

You might think it would be blue, but I’ve witnessed every colour (almost!) under the sun, and then tried to capture that in my images.

So, the paintings I have selected for this exhibition will aim to show the variety of colours that colourless water takes on.

Meet the Artists: 6-8pm Tuesday 16 July

There will be an opportunity to meet all the artists – and to see the Contemporary Passions exhibition, and to discuss with them their individual interpretations of the theme ELEMENT – on Tuesday 16 July: 6-8pm.

I hope to see you there.

Salcombe-Art blog: Featuring the artists

I will be featuring some of my fellow artists in the coming weeks. Each exhibitor will explain the process they use in creating their art, and you’ll get to see examples of the work that will be on show in the Contemporary Passions exhibition ahead of time.

29 April 2019

SOLD! Tranquility

Tranquility was painted in 2012 and has been on display at Beacon House since the gallery was set up five years ago. It had become part of the furniture!

When I painted Tranquility, though, we were living at Great Gates and this was our view across the estuary.

Idyllic? Yes … with Mill Bay empty of visitors and the water calm and the sun shining …

For the purchasers, friends of ours, this view reminds them of visits to the other side of the estuary in their boat. They saw the painting for the first time at the preview evening on Friday 5 April and were struck how it captured many happy memories for them. Now, Tranquility hangs in their home in Salcombe and can be enjoyed by them every day and all who visit.

My paintings are mostly bought as souvenirs of holidays in Salcombe. To have one bought by ‘locals’ who enjoy these views daily – they are on our doorstep – is a real honour.

And, while we will miss this particular painting, we know we will see it again and again, gracing the walls of our friends’ home, whenever we visit them.

When can you visit Beacon House?

Beacon House Gallery is also our home and is not open to the public on a daily basis.

However, we do open our doors to the public during the SHAF (South Hams Art Forum) Arts Trail in October, daily apart from Tuesdays, from 10am until 5pm.

This year, the Arts Trail is 12-20 October and our Preview evening will be on Friday 11 October. The preview evening is by invitation, but, if you’d like an invitation, let me know.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to come to view my collection, contact me to arrange a time convenient for you and for us. You will be made very welcome.