This is my first post on here since our move early this year. There have been various Wolf at the Door newsletter updates: the latest one is here.
I was for some reason unable to upload images to this blog (WordPress updates?) and gave up the struggle with so many other things to do. Now they are magically available again. So, here at last is the new domicile of our cherished Wolf, made entirely of recycled materials by Iain Tatam fifteen years or so ago.
We are tucked away in a leafy, quiet little ‘snickelway’ lying between two main roads. We’re very near the centre and the railway – convenient for visitors. We even have a largish garden which formerly belonged to an ancient Priory – it was used to grow rhubarb, we hear.
In theory life has got simpler since the summer. Immediately post-move, it was hectic. First, the wonderful Flux exhibition in Chelsea in March. Its organiser, Lisa Gray, is constantly diversifying and has many art plans bubbling away. The first Flux Review will be out soon (and contains some of my work.
Then York Open Studios in April, and Brighton and Hove Artists’ Open House in May kept me really busy. It was a bit of struggle to get ready to open our house to the public so soon after moving. But, over two weekends, we had (I think 1350) visitors to the Wolf, all interested and involved. And many bought work too. Much more, we have made so many friends and people were generous with their knowledge and suggestions.
I have been accepted again for York Open Studios next April. This is by no means a foregone conclusion as artists here are selected by an external panel of six experts, unlike in Brighton where you simply cough up a (large) sum! Different philosophies….
It was a huge pleasure to be involved in Brighton’s Artists’ Open House – without the headaches! Lots of friends, lots of visitors. And sales too. Many thanks to Karen Hollis of Art in Bloom.
Since then it has been a bit quieter, though there’s so much to catch up with. (I am deliberately omitting all reference to politics.) I am involved in the ‘Positive Emotions’ exhibition at the unique Kunsthuis Gallery in Crayke (continuing over the winter). An uplifting counterblast to current affairs – enough said. If you are in N. Yorkshire it is well worth a large detour. A lovely art gallery, extensive organic gardens and a riverside walk, all free entry, plus a plant nursery and Dutch pancakes….Check opening times though.
I am starting to look for new Yorkshire galleries; all suggestions welcome.
To everyone’s profound sadness, the beautiful and wonderfully successful Nigel Rose gallery on the Brighton/Hove foreshore is to close. Lively, delightful, and always busy. I owe Nigel a huge debt for consistently giving me a wonderful large display space, and for selling many of my paintings. He even allowed me to continue after my move away, describing his painters, sculptors and ceramicists as ‘nineteen Brighton artists – and one has-been’!
It’s odd how many people here in York have Brighton connections, and vice versa. A while back I had the pleasure of selling, in Brighton, a painting that someone had seen (and not forgotten) in York, at Art&. Now the reverse has occurred and someone from these parts saw and remembered a piece at the much-to-be-missed Nigel Rose Gallery
That’s enough for now; I have various irons in the fire and some definite dates; they will have to wait for the next update which I hope will be a lot more prompt than this one. I have been updating the ‘Events and exhibitions’ page on this site even though the blog and gallery sections have been inert.