Richard Swann - welcome!

Last, but definitely not least in our line-up of new artists, is Richard Swann.

Richard originally trained and qualified at Leeds. He is now based in Hastings, East Sussex where he takes inspiration from daily life and "whatever happens to cross (my) path".

This usually takes the form of "the daily parade of bohemian eccentricity, the sometimes wild weather, the abundance of fishing boats, and the odd black cat".

Richard has a background in illustration and has exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and many times at the Mall Galleries in London.

When not working in his Hastings studio, he can often be found working 'en plein air' around the south coast of England and beyond.

He says he is most at home drawing with a pencil whilst relaxing in a pub or café. In recent years, he has taken the spontaneity of mark-making from quick sketches into paintings using oil as his preferred medium.

Richard is one of several artists whose work is featured in our current exhibition, "And Then Came Spring", which ends on Monday 27th May.

The artistic textures of Diana McKinnon

Diana's love of fabric and thread started in early childhood. Whilst she initially worked in oils and ceramics, she more recently came back to using fabric, thread and mixed media to create her pictures.

As an experienced traveller, Diana is inspired by the natural beauty in the landscapes and surfaces that she sees and which lend themselves well to the media that she works in.

During her travels to Australia and New Zealand, Diana was struck by the effect of colour and light on the landscapes and sea.

"This led me to experiment with layering lurex and chiffon to reflect the vibrancy of the colours of the scenery," she says.

Diana's work was originally historically based, covering art from Crete and ancient Greece, but many different influences can now be seen: the natural environment and the architecture of Venice as well as artists such as Mackintosh, Monet and Klimt.

The materials and techniques used in Diana's work are varied. The former include chiffon, silk, metallic thread, sea shell fragments, paper, metal, ceramics and handmade textiles such as silk paper and the latter range from stitching and free machine embroidery to melting, creating burned edges and distressing fabric.

"A key feature in my work is the layering of different fabrics which achieves two kinds of effect: creating depth of colour and vision as well as removing sections of material to reveal the colours below," says Diana.

"The work is then embellished with metal, beads, silk paper and free machine embroidery."

Diana's work is featured in our exhibition "And Then Came Spring", which runs until Monday 27th May.

And here's Georgina Moir...

From her studio in Lindfield, Georgina creates bold striking contemporary watercolours of birds, landscapes and animals that attract the viewer’s attention.

She deliberately leaves areas of her paintings unfinished, allowing the viewer to complete the picture.

"I strive not to replicate an exact copy of my chosen subject, but rather to give my impression of it," she says.

Her aim is to create a painting that portrays the subject's character.

"The eyes in my paintings are the most important part," says Georgina. "Once I’ve captured them, the rest falls into place."

As a trained illustrator and graphic designer, Georgina relishes the freedom of watercolours.

"I love the way that working with watercolour, wet on wet, allows me to “let go” and enjoy the fantastic mistakes that happen along the way to create the finished piece."

Georgina's work is part of our exhibition "And Then Came Spring", which runs until Monday 27th May.

Introducing...Shelley Morrow

Shelley is the next of our 'new' artists: she is predominantly a figurative artist but often explores both rural and urban landscapes.

Her main medium is watercolour which she uses as a fluid form, capturing the atmosphere of a place or the gesture of a person rather than a precise representation.

Her work often spills over into textiles such as embroidered drawings or simple craft items.

She has an MA in Fine Art and an appreciation of both conceptual art and craft so her work often blurs the boundaries between the two.

Shelley's work is part of our current exhibition "And Then Came Spring", which runs until Monday 27th May.

And Welcome to Suzanne Hennegrave!

Suzanne Hennegrave (flanked by her husband and Jill from the Gallery) is a semi-abstract, contemporary landscape painter and art educator and exhibiting with us for the first time.

She is inspired by the land, sea and big skies. She paints in oils and mixed-media, from memory and experience, and her work is developed using artistic intuition.

Her greatest loves are atmospheric weather and fleeting light and this she tries to capture in her work, through her own emotional response.

"Much of my inspiration comes from the beauty of my surroundings," says Suzanne, who lives in the South Downs National Park.

Suzanne is one of many artists whose work is featured in "And Then Came Spring", which runs until Monday 27th May.

Sue Fields: maker of ceramics and mosaics...and lover of turquoise!

We enjoyed spending time with Sue (on the left) at our recent launch party and finding out a bit more about her work and what inspires her.

"My love of clay has thrived over three decades and I still find the process of making exhilarating and rewarding," she says.

She graduated from Camberwell School of Art in 1983 with a BA (Hons) in 3D Design specialising in Ceramics and was then awarded a prestigious Crafts Council setting-up grant and bursary with which to establish her first studio.

"Over the intervening years, two children, ups and downs and general life experiences, I continue to make and sell my ceramics and have also developed a passion for creating mosaics."

Sue's most recent ceramic pieces are high-fired vessels in stoneware and porcelain and draw upon geology, organic forms and the natural world.

She makes her own glazes and describes herself as currently "in love with turquoise!"

She also creates colourful and decorative earthenware pieces featuring vibrantly painted surface decoration of faces, animals and foliage.

"I like to create the feeling of spontaneity in my brushwork, giving myself the freedom to encompass the space within the piece in a fluid, lyrical way," says Sue.

Finally, when she isn't making ceramics, Sue is smashing them up!

"My mosaics are made from a variety of materials, the traditional glass smalti and vitreous glass, but also ceramic pieces (some of which I glaze and fire especially) and reclaimed china," she says.

Sue's work features in our current exhibition "And Then Came Spring", which runs until Monday 27th May.

And Then Came Spring!

Our first exhibition of the year is inspired by this line from Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of the works of Omar Khayyam and supports Sussex Wildlife Trust.

At the launch party, our customers welcomed the arrival of the new season with glasses of prosecco and canapes...

...and caught up with friends!

We welcomed five of the six new artists who are exhibiting with us for the first time.

We'll be introducing them to you here individually throughout the course of the exhibition but in the meantime, welcome to painter Georgina Moir....

...textile artist Diana McKinnon...

...ceramicist Sue Fields chatting with painter Richard Swann...

...and painter Suzanne Hennegrave in discussion with Jill.

As ever, we owe huge thanks to "Gallery Gals" Sally Gardner, Julie Janvrin, Susie Tomlin and Tiff Thomas for all their help on the day.

"And Then Came Spring" runs until Monday 27th May.