At The Beginning...
1 day ago
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
A bridge too far...?
Bob Barker is known for his fabulous warm palettes and his combination of light and dark that brings out the very best in your imagination!
The gallery was sparkling almost as much as the chilled champagne! A stunning selection of Bobs prints were adorning the wall, including two fabulous originals entitled 'Going Steady' and 'Lost in Memories'.
Just as we checked our watches a cheery face looked in and there he was, smiling and nodding hello - the man himself!
With his easel under his arm and managing with paints and canvas he calmly walked in and started setting up his easel, there must be a knack to it - it looked a little tricky!
It wasn't long before he was set up and ready but it was a while before he started painting ... well, people do like to talk and Bob's a very interesting man :-)
He had brought along a canvas which he had already made a start on, with a black background and with the cloud and buildings already begun. So when he laid out his palette and started to paint we were keen to see where he went next...
As he painted Bob chatted along and answered questions, happy to explain what he was doing and the techniques he was using.
We stared in awe as the reflections on the water took on a light and a movement of their own, as the moon dazzled and shone in its aura - is there such a thing as a Moonbow?
A discussion started - should there be a bridge? It did seem to need something on that left side ... a bridge would seem to hit the spot! And so it was ... out came the palette knife and sure enough a bridge loomed from the darkness and reached out across the water, its lights sparkling in the stillness of the night...
It was amazing to watch the painting grow, people came in from the street to watch (and to drink chilled champagne!) the atmosphere was great!
And so the only remaining task is to name this stunning painting - does it take its name from the calm and the stillness of the night? Or from the thriving city rising into the night sky...? Or for the music and laughter behind those waterfront lights?
Who knows? You decide!
The gallery was sparkling almost as much as the chilled champagne! A stunning selection of Bobs prints were adorning the wall, including two fabulous originals entitled 'Going Steady' and 'Lost in Memories'.
Just as we checked our watches a cheery face looked in and there he was, smiling and nodding hello - the man himself!
With his easel under his arm and managing with paints and canvas he calmly walked in and started setting up his easel, there must be a knack to it - it looked a little tricky!
It wasn't long before he was set up and ready but it was a while before he started painting ... well, people do like to talk and Bob's a very interesting man :-)
He had brought along a canvas which he had already made a start on, with a black background and with the cloud and buildings already begun. So when he laid out his palette and started to paint we were keen to see where he went next...
As he painted Bob chatted along and answered questions, happy to explain what he was doing and the techniques he was using.
We stared in awe as the reflections on the water took on a light and a movement of their own, as the moon dazzled and shone in its aura - is there such a thing as a Moonbow?
A discussion started - should there be a bridge? It did seem to need something on that left side ... a bridge would seem to hit the spot! And so it was ... out came the palette knife and sure enough a bridge loomed from the darkness and reached out across the water, its lights sparkling in the stillness of the night...
It was amazing to watch the painting grow, people came in from the street to watch (and to drink chilled champagne!) the atmosphere was great!
And so the only remaining task is to name this stunning painting - does it take its name from the calm and the stillness of the night? Or from the thriving city rising into the night sky...? Or for the music and laughter behind those waterfront lights?
Who knows? You decide!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
It 'Ain't Half Hot Mum!!
It's been a hot one today as I'm sure you know but we seemed to especially feel it in the gallery as we've had a very busy day!
Today we have moved the walls and hung a superb selection of Bob Barker prints and original paintings in readiness for his PAINTING LIVE session on SATURDAY!! That's THIS SATURDAY 4th JULY 2009 between 12-3pm - champagne will be on ice so come on down :-)
Diane and I had a helper today! Our daughter Emily came along to offer a hand. She has now finished school and is awaiting her exam results and so we 'encouraged' her to come along and help get the gallery ready. I have to say she did good but she did moan!!
It really has been too hot today to be having a changeover but needs must. We have therefore swept the floor, dusted everything (you'd never believe the dust that gathers simply from having the door open!!). We've moved the walls and hung nine FANTASTIC pieces!!
The one, single drawback to all of this activity is that there has been absolutely no air circulation at all! We have had the door open, all the windows open and even a fan blowing today to try and get some air moving ... it all failed miserably but we survived!
Emily's payment for her days work was a large waffle cornet with two scoops of mint-choc-chip and caramel ice-cream from The Deli. Bargain price for a days labour I thought!
After putting Emily in a bear hug I managed to get a quick lick before I was shooed away and told by Diane to leave Emily and the ice-cream alone!! According to Emily it was fab!!!
Anyway, moving on ... I can now update you with the top sellers for June. They are as follows:-
1. Govinder Nazran
2. Toni Hargreaves
3. Mike Jackson
4. Caroline Shotton
Posthumous Congratulations go to Govinder and also well done Toni on second!!
We still have lots to do to be ready for Saturday, nibbles to organise, champagne (and ice!) and glasses to collect from Threshers ... I wonder if Bob is a messy painter - perhaps I should have a large plastic sheet on standby :-)
Diane & I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday to see Bob painting live. It's promising to be a lovely afternoon and Bob is a great chap so pop along, enjoy a glass of chilled bubbly (or fresh orange if you prefer) and do some chilling of your own :-)
Today we have moved the walls and hung a superb selection of Bob Barker prints and original paintings in readiness for his PAINTING LIVE session on SATURDAY!! That's THIS SATURDAY 4th JULY 2009 between 12-3pm - champagne will be on ice so come on down :-)
Diane and I had a helper today! Our daughter Emily came along to offer a hand. She has now finished school and is awaiting her exam results and so we 'encouraged' her to come along and help get the gallery ready. I have to say she did good but she did moan!!
It really has been too hot today to be having a changeover but needs must. We have therefore swept the floor, dusted everything (you'd never believe the dust that gathers simply from having the door open!!). We've moved the walls and hung nine FANTASTIC pieces!!
The one, single drawback to all of this activity is that there has been absolutely no air circulation at all! We have had the door open, all the windows open and even a fan blowing today to try and get some air moving ... it all failed miserably but we survived!
Emily's payment for her days work was a large waffle cornet with two scoops of mint-choc-chip and caramel ice-cream from The Deli. Bargain price for a days labour I thought!
After putting Emily in a bear hug I managed to get a quick lick before I was shooed away and told by Diane to leave Emily and the ice-cream alone!! According to Emily it was fab!!!
Anyway, moving on ... I can now update you with the top sellers for June. They are as follows:-
1. Govinder Nazran
2. Toni Hargreaves
3. Mike Jackson
4. Caroline Shotton
Posthumous Congratulations go to Govinder and also well done Toni on second!!
We still have lots to do to be ready for Saturday, nibbles to organise, champagne (and ice!) and glasses to collect from Threshers ... I wonder if Bob is a messy painter - perhaps I should have a large plastic sheet on standby :-)
Diane & I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday to see Bob painting live. It's promising to be a lovely afternoon and Bob is a great chap so pop along, enjoy a glass of chilled bubbly (or fresh orange if you prefer) and do some chilling of your own :-)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Painting Live 4th July 2009
The Acorn Gallery is delighted to invite you to meet talented contemporary artist Bob Barker who will be PAINTING LIVE in the gallery SATURDAY 4th JULY between 12-3PM.
Don't miss this unique opportunity to talk to Bob about his fantastic collection of signed limited editions and original paintings. Bob will be pleased to dedicate any purchases made on the day with a personal message.
We have no idea what Bob will be painting but it will be interesting to see him create an image before our eyes!!
Champagne and nibbles will be served so why not bring the family as Pocklington has ample parking and the town has lots of things to see and do!!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Huge Thanks!!
We have now made the draw for the raffle and we can reveal that the winner is ... BECKY MACKENZIE of Becky MacKenzie's Homemade Cakes in Pocklington!! Congratulations Becky :-)
We raised an impressive £184 all of which will be donated to Marie Curie Cancer Care following Diane's fundraising bike ride to Amsterdam earlier this month.
Diane & I would like to say a huge THANKS for your support with sponsorship and raffle tickets over the last few months!
You will be pleased to know that there are no more sponsored events in the pipeline but there will still be plenty happening here at The Acorn Gallery over the Summer so keep watching the blog for news!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Amsterdame09 Last Day!!
The ferry landed at 8am in Hull and once they had cleared customs they were off!! The three groups kept to the original route up to Brantingham where they stopped for an hour and had a great write up on the pubs website. Check out the article headed Daffodil Girls..at www.thetritoninn.com under the news link.
From there they headed to Howden through some pretty villages. After a very nice pub lunch they headed towards Knedlington and on to Barmby On The Marsh, cycling along the river bank. Whilst on the river bank Diane asked Craz, leader of Team Chaos ( this was the name they gave themselves!!), if she could ring our daughter Emily, as they were going to go through Hemingbrough. Craz said yes so Diane rang ahead and announced that Team Chaos would be riding through the village! The whole team stopped outside the church and Emily managed to get a hug from Diane and also gave hugs to Lisa, Jayne & Lianne.
Diane told me later on that the whole team was in tears when hugs were being handed out and that after she received her hug it spurred her on and she flew the rest of the way!!
At 6pm 54 ladies could be heard singing 'Here Come The Girls' and as they rounded the corner in to the car park they were honking their horns, waving their arms and shouting 'Woop Woop!' at the tops of their voices! Immediately there were party poppers going off, champagne corks being popped and lots of cheering and clapping. You should have been there it was amazing!!
For the next hour there were lots of photos and hugs and tears as the girls greeted family and friends but also as they said goodbye to each other - who knows if they will all meet up next year for Amsterdame10??
Diane has had an amazing trip and is still on a high. What an achievement 250 miles in 5 days! A lot of hard work by all the ladies but special thanks must go to the ride guides, Craz, Gaz, Matt, Ginny, Michelle and Sian and to Mitch & Simon from Red Courier who provided the support vehicles and who according to Craz were fantastic!!
The Ride Guides!!
Diane & I would like to thank everyone who has made a donation and I can tell you all that as I write this entry the total currently stands at £22,431.70 which is an amazing total!!
If you feel inspired by the ladies and want to donate then please go to www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09 and if you want to do the ride next year then look up Charity Adventure who organise these events at www.charityadventure.org.uk.
All I can say is ... what's next???
From there they headed to Howden through some pretty villages. After a very nice pub lunch they headed towards Knedlington and on to Barmby On The Marsh, cycling along the river bank. Whilst on the river bank Diane asked Craz, leader of Team Chaos ( this was the name they gave themselves!!), if she could ring our daughter Emily, as they were going to go through Hemingbrough. Craz said yes so Diane rang ahead and announced that Team Chaos would be riding through the village! The whole team stopped outside the church and Emily managed to get a hug from Diane and also gave hugs to Lisa, Jayne & Lianne.
Diane told me later on that the whole team was in tears when hugs were being handed out and that after she received her hug it spurred her on and she flew the rest of the way!!
At 6pm 54 ladies could be heard singing 'Here Come The Girls' and as they rounded the corner in to the car park they were honking their horns, waving their arms and shouting 'Woop Woop!' at the tops of their voices! Immediately there were party poppers going off, champagne corks being popped and lots of cheering and clapping. You should have been there it was amazing!!
For the next hour there were lots of photos and hugs and tears as the girls greeted family and friends but also as they said goodbye to each other - who knows if they will all meet up next year for Amsterdame10??
Diane has had an amazing trip and is still on a high. What an achievement 250 miles in 5 days! A lot of hard work by all the ladies but special thanks must go to the ride guides, Craz, Gaz, Matt, Ginny, Michelle and Sian and to Mitch & Simon from Red Courier who provided the support vehicles and who according to Craz were fantastic!!
The Ride Guides!!
Diane & I would like to thank everyone who has made a donation and I can tell you all that as I write this entry the total currently stands at £22,431.70 which is an amazing total!!
If you feel inspired by the ladies and want to donate then please go to www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09 and if you want to do the ride next year then look up Charity Adventure who organise these events at www.charityadventure.org.uk.
All I can say is ... what's next???
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Amsterdame09 Day 3
Spoke to Diane who advises that the ride back from Amsterdam to Rotterdam was fine and that they made good time as they were at the ferry terminal by 6pm however she did have a bit of a tumble but is ok.
Spoke to Diane later on around 10pm after she had managed to get a shower and some food. Diane says the whole team is in high spirits and that a few of the ladies are now feeling the aches and pains. I wonder if the bottles of champagne had anything to do with the high spirits!! Diane says they are all looking forward to docking in Hull and the final leg back to York.
The ladies are aiming to be back in York for 6pm. You can still donate on line at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09.
I will update you tomorrow on the last leg of the journey.
Spoke to Diane later on around 10pm after she had managed to get a shower and some food. Diane says the whole team is in high spirits and that a few of the ladies are now feeling the aches and pains. I wonder if the bottles of champagne had anything to do with the high spirits!! Diane says they are all looking forward to docking in Hull and the final leg back to York.
The ladies are aiming to be back in York for 6pm. You can still donate on line at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09.
I will update you tomorrow on the last leg of the journey.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Amsterdame09 Day 2
Just a quick update, spoke to Diane on Saturday evening at around 6.45pm she advises that they had docked at Rotterdam around 8am but had only just arrived due to delays getting off the ferry and through passport control!!
Diane advises that they had covered 75 miles today and that she was feeling fine. They stopped on route and had a fantastic pack up thanks to P & O Ferries. Lunch was at the waters edge to a lake where they sat and watched people water sking, sailing and having a swim!!
Diane informs me that Holland is so cycle friendly it is fantastic and I get the feeling that if our kids were not in the middle of exams etc we could be moving!!!
Sunday was a rest day so Diane has had a cruise on one of the canals and sat and relaxed had a meal out and took a walk round Amsterdam taking lots and lots of photos!!
Today Monday is the return cycle back to Rotterdam. I will update you all after I have spoken to Diane tonight.
In the mean time please donate on line at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09
Diane advises that they had covered 75 miles today and that she was feeling fine. They stopped on route and had a fantastic pack up thanks to P & O Ferries. Lunch was at the waters edge to a lake where they sat and watched people water sking, sailing and having a swim!!
Diane informs me that Holland is so cycle friendly it is fantastic and I get the feeling that if our kids were not in the middle of exams etc we could be moving!!!
Sunday was a rest day so Diane has had a cruise on one of the canals and sat and relaxed had a meal out and took a walk round Amsterdam taking lots and lots of photos!!
Today Monday is the return cycle back to Rotterdam. I will update you all after I have spoken to Diane tonight.
In the mean time please donate on line at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Amsterdame09 Day 1
Up at 6am, had a shower then breakfast loaded the car with the bike and luggage and set off for McArthur Glen arriving bang on 8am.
We parked up and off loaded Dianes bike and luggage. Fitted her panniers and handlebar bag to the bike and Diane had a quick ride round the car park to make sure everything was working ok.
We then had many photo opportunities before Gary & Richard the lead ride guides called all the ladies together and give them a safety briefing, more photos were taken and then the ladies were told to go to the toilet and make sure they filled their water bottles up!!
After lots of hugs and kisses from family and friends the ladies were all lined up at the start line. The ladies have been split into three groups and to avoid any crashes at the start they were set off at 5 minute intervals.
I am able to track the ride and noticed after about an hour and a half Dianes group had stopped. Diane informed me that one of the ladies had got a puncture and so they were busy fixing it and taking the chance to take on board some water!!
The group arrived in Market Weighton for lunch at 12.30pm, had a tea break at 3.30pm at Brantingham and arrived on the outskirts of Hull at 5.30pm. They eventually arrived at the ferry terminal around 6.30pm
They boarded the ferry around 7.15pm and set sail at 9pm. Diane did say that the ride was hard due to a few hills and the pace was quicker than they were expecting but she is feeling good, she has no aches and no sore bits!!
Diane and all the ladies are feeling good and relaxed and they are even collecting donations on the way!!
Please sponsor them at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09. The total needed is £30,000 and it currently stands at £21,500. This is a massive task and it will spur the ladies on if I can say the total has gone up again!!
More uodates to follow but in the mean time please sponsor the ladies :-)
We parked up and off loaded Dianes bike and luggage. Fitted her panniers and handlebar bag to the bike and Diane had a quick ride round the car park to make sure everything was working ok.
We then had many photo opportunities before Gary & Richard the lead ride guides called all the ladies together and give them a safety briefing, more photos were taken and then the ladies were told to go to the toilet and make sure they filled their water bottles up!!
After lots of hugs and kisses from family and friends the ladies were all lined up at the start line. The ladies have been split into three groups and to avoid any crashes at the start they were set off at 5 minute intervals.
I am able to track the ride and noticed after about an hour and a half Dianes group had stopped. Diane informed me that one of the ladies had got a puncture and so they were busy fixing it and taking the chance to take on board some water!!
The group arrived in Market Weighton for lunch at 12.30pm, had a tea break at 3.30pm at Brantingham and arrived on the outskirts of Hull at 5.30pm. They eventually arrived at the ferry terminal around 6.30pm
They boarded the ferry around 7.15pm and set sail at 9pm. Diane did say that the ride was hard due to a few hills and the pace was quicker than they were expecting but she is feeling good, she has no aches and no sore bits!!
Diane and all the ladies are feeling good and relaxed and they are even collecting donations on the way!!
Please sponsor them at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09. The total needed is £30,000 and it currently stands at £21,500. This is a massive task and it will spur the ladies on if I can say the total has gone up again!!
More uodates to follow but in the mean time please sponsor the ladies :-)
Monday, June 8, 2009
New Arrivals...
We love it when we get a delivery but today was especially nice as we have been waiting for this little guy for months!
Peter Smiths latest sculpture 'My First Love' was released in February but has only just started to arrive in galleries - but he was well worth waiting for!
He sits perfectly with any of Peters prints and with the edition being limited to only 150 worldwide - well you can guess he won't be around for long!
Come in and say hello next time you're passing!
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