Elephant Parade London 2010

At The Acorn Gallery we have been following this fantastic cause on Facebook and took a keener interest when we found out that Alexander Millar, Jeff Rowland, John D Wilson, Louise Dear, Paul Kenton and Peter Smith had been asked to take part.

WHAT?
The Elephant Parade was the largest outdoor art exhibition, displaying 258 life sized baby elephant sculptures, in locations all over the city of London. Created to support leading charity Elephant Family, each elephant is a unique piece of art hand painted by renowned artists and designers.

WHY?
With an estimated audience of 25 million, the campaign aimed to raise over £1 million for the endangered Asian elephant. It was an innovative fundraising and awareness campaign that shone a multi-coloured spotlight on the urgent crisis faced by the endangered Asian elephant. Elephant Parade’s mission is to become the world’s largest financial support organisation for elephants saving the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild.

AUCTION
After going on display in London, a select number of elephants were auctioned by Sothebys at a glittering event on Wednesday 30 June. The remainder were auctioned online and in a public event on Saturday 3rd July in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

We can now update you as to the amounts raised by our own Washington Green artists:-

Lover by Jeff Rowland £26,000

Iconic London by Paul Kenton £21,000

Tinkle by Louise Dear £18,000

Impossiphant by Peter Smith £13,001

Young At Art by John D Wilson £12,250

Nana by Alexander Millar £5,530

So, the 6 pieces donated by our artists raised an amazing total of £95,781 for a very worthwhile cause.

Congratulations to all the artists from Washington Green and we would just like to say WOW to the fantastic price paid for Jeff Rowlands elephant!!

Lover by Jeff Rowland

We are pleased to advise you that the sale of all the elephants at auction raised a total of £4,148,675 which far surpassed the target of £1 million which they were hoping to raise!

Long live the Asian elephant!

Coming Soon ... to a Gallery Near You!

We have just received our gallery copy of the NEW Fine Art Collector Magazine!
It looks fantastic and features the superb work of Keith Proctor on the front!!

There is an excellant article about the man himself and some super write-ups on fellow artists John D. Wilson and new artist Joanne Panayi.

See what is SEXY and SASSY!

Learn what part of the world has a special place saved in the heart of Hamish Blakely...

Learn how you can help Alexander Millar and Jeff Rowland to support

BIRMINGHAM CHILDRENS HOSPITAL!

This issue has some truly powerful pieces and we are sure you'll want to get your hands on it fast! So, as long as you are on our database then we'll be posting your copy out as soon as the boxes arrive on our mat!

  

Excitement is building...

Well at last the images have been released from Keith Proctors debut collection 'Jack the Lad'! Follow the link in the title (above) to see his charming studies of childhood...

 Interest in this new work is building and we have had more requests than usual for original work by this artist! Original oils are very scarce and even pencil sketches are hard to get hold of but we will have one of each on the wall on the day of the exhibition! If you have an interest in these original pieces then we recommend that you let us know as soon as possible!

Also released this week are the images for the fantastic new Spring Collections by all your favoutite artists!

One piece which is long-awaited is 'I eat cake' by Peter Smith - those of you who read Peters Blog or who follow him on Facebook, will be well aware of the excitement created by this subject!

Another piece we'd like to mention is the Charity piece painted jointly by Alexander Millar and Jeff Rowland. These two are great friends and when Washington Green asked them to work together they were delighted. Jeff, who needs regular dialysis, was keen to try and use the venture as a fundraising exercise for charity and Alex happily agreed.

The image which they created is called 'Singing in the Rain' and features Alexander Millars classic gadgie with his umbrella, splashing his way happily down the road in the pouring rain!

Artist royalties from the sales of this print will be donated to the Renal Ward at Birmingham Childrens Hospital and Washington Green are delighted to match this sum which means a sizeable donation if both editions sell out!!

The print is available on paper for £375 or on canvas at £425 and looks stunning!! (For now the website image for both options shows the paper version as no canvas image has been provided but it will be updated as soon as we have stock in the gallery.) One of each will be displayed for you to admire!

  
All in all an amazing selection of new work for you to enjoy - including this stunning Paul Kenton piece entitled 'London Red'...

... and the Caroline Shotton classic 'Shit Happens' shown below... so follow the link in the title (above) and have a click around the website :-)

Art on all levels...

Last night Diane & I closed the gallery a bit earlier than normal as we were going up to Gateshead to The Sage building to support Kevin Day one of our artists who was exhibiting at The Gateshead Art Fair 2009.

The Sage is an amazing place to look at from the outside. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was too dark to take any photos!!

Once inside the building it was full of art and people. Free drinks were available on arrival however we did not participate instead we elbowed our way through the crowds to search for Kevin.

We eventually found him upstairs on one of the balcony wings and as you can see from the photo below he had a good crowd standing and looking at his new work!!

We managed to grab Kevin & Nicki for a few words and Kevin said that he had already sold 4 pieces and that there was lots of positive comments and great feedback.

Diane & I then had a look at the new work and have pencilled in about half a dozen that we would like to see in the Acorn Gallery if Kevin doesn't sell them at the fair!!

After saying our goodbyes we had a wander round and found the following sculpture:-

These sculptures were made from scrap metal and were amazing to look at. The detail on them was outstanding. The company who made these are called Metalic Creations and we were reliably informed by Tony that they are hoping to do a sculpture of the STIG from Top Gear and also hopefully create sculptures of athletes for the 2012 Olympics!!

As we were heading towards the exit we bumped into Alexander Millar who lives nearby and decided to pop in and see what his former apprentice Kevin Day is up to!!

We had a good chat and left him to speak to other people who were waiting. As we left Alex we spotted Jeff Rowland so stopped and had a chat with Jeff. Jeff is currently unwell and it was nice to see him up and about, however he is not yet up to full strength to get back to the easel so we will be waiting a while for any new work! Take it easy Jeff!

Diane and I also managed to speak to Phil George who is an artist we are keen to showcase in the gallery and whose work we have been watching for a while. We will let you know if anything develops on that front.

Well what can I say? What a fantastic night, hob-nobbing with the top artists from Washington Green, seeing Kevin so busy with lots of people keen to get hold of his superb work and having the chance to see so much art on all levels!!!

An Unexpected Visitor!!

I was sitting in the gallery on Friday, busy updating the website when I received an unexpected visitor!! Bob Barker was in the area and couldn't resist popping in to say hello!

We spent the next two hours chatting about his new releases and his techniques. I asked Bob whether he would be happy to come along to the gallery and paint live for us - he said he would be delighted! I will approach Washington Green on Monday about getting him booked in - watch this space for more details - hopefully another champagne event for your diary...

The rest of Saturday was spent finalising the updating of the website with all the images from the ICC event - we are sooo excited about them and can't wait to take delivery!

The pieces that stand out the most (although it is VERY hard to choose!) are the new releases by Peter Smith, Alexander Millar, Caroline Shotton and Jeff Rowland - there are so many great pieces but I know you like me to name names :-)

ON the website homepage any artist whose name has NEW beside it means that they have NEW images released and you should check out their gallery - I would urge you to contact us as soon as possible if there is anything that takes your fancy as the images are strong and we are expecting some images to sell out quickly!

Whilst I write this I can now reveal the top seller for January. Our congratulations go to Alexander Millar. Well done Alex!! Yey!

1. Alexander Millar
2. Govinder Nazran/Peter Smith
3. A J Callan/Paul Kenton

One of the final pieces Govinder worked on before his death was a sculpture called 'Lean on Me'. This is a beautiful two-piece design and has been produced in stunning stainless steel! It is AMAZING!

It is sooo beautiful that they are having trouble photographing it as the curves and the steel reflect everything around - simply stunning and a VERY LOW EDITION so it is imperative if you want this piece to get in early - simply leave us a deposit to secure your sculpture!

As always the new releases will start to arrive in the gallery over the next few weeks so do pop in when you're passing to see what's new - don't be afraid to ask us - we are always happy to answer questions - or simply chat about the new work! We're equally happy to leave you in peace if you prefer :-)

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Nerves!!

Well the nerves are building. 'May Contain Nuts' is in the gallery and attracting alot of attention! The walls have been moved and the floor has been swept and washed. All pictures have been dusted and I think we are ready!!

Peter Smith will be in the gallery tomorrow between 12-3pm and so in the morning there are only a few last minute jobs left to do... well, I must get out the drinks and nibbles anyway!

I must also try not to wear a groove in the floor with my pacing and try not to bite my finger nails into nothing!! Not that I'm nervous about Peter's appearance but he is in the Top 10 of Washington Greens best selling artists!!

The truth is I am a little (well maybe alot!) nervous as I have known Peter for a while now, firstly as a collector and now as a gallery owner. I want the day to go well as he will be giving up his Saturday to be with us!!

Diane keeps on telling me that it will go well and everything will be fine but in this time of doom and gloom who can say with confidence that people will come?

The truth will be known by noon tomorrow. Will we be ready? Will we be busy? Will it be a success or a failure?

Check back here for the next exciting instalment... - oh no you don't - get down to the gallery tomorrow and see for yourselves :-)

Just to update you on the top sellers for October - I can reveal that Jeff Rowland has taken top spot! Well done Jeff (I'm sure that Jeffs fabulous new tour and visit to the gallery must have had something to do with it!!).

1. Jeff Rowland
2. Alexander Millar
3. Peter Smith, Bob Barker, Paul Horton

With Peter's new tour 'May Contain Nuts' in the gallery then maybe he will be reclaiming the top spot come the end of November...

Invest in Art!!

Amidst all the doom and gloom about the economy I was pleased to read an article in Yorkshire Life this week that advises that if you have surplus cash or have taken your money out of stocks and shares due to the ups and downs of the stock market then the best place to put your money is in Art & Jewellery!!

As with all things the value of your art may increase but it may also decrease, however if you do your research you may just hit on the next Van Gough,Turner or Constable. I always say to people if you like it and it makes you smile then you will never be disappointed with your decision to buy that unique fantastic original or a very limited edition print. If it goes up in value then thats a bonus.

It has been a quiet two weeks but we are only one week away from Jeff Rowlands appearance and we are busy hanging his new work in preperation for his visit. Jeff's work is going from strength to strength and we have 3 superb original pieces, one oil and two pencil sketches to hang along side his new limited edition prints.

We truly believe that this is Jeff's strongest work todate and hope that you will agree when you see them hung in the gallery. If you would like to come to the appearance on 23rd October between 5-8pm then please contact us for an invite.

Remember Art is the new investment in these times of doom and gloom and we have some stunning pieces for you to invest in!!!

Excitement Builds!!!!

Well its October!! What a busy last two days of September! We spent all day Monday packing. We shipped out 6 pieces which isn't a lot but it takes some time when you have to build a box as none of the pieces we sent out were of a standard size!!

Yesterday we had a changeover day which is where we put up new stock. It is always typical that when we do a changeover we are busy with customers - unfortunately they don't get to see the gallery at its full potential so apologies to those customers yesterday who saw us in our somewhat disorganised state!

You may have noticed on the website that we have taken down the selection work available from Rolf Harris and Todd White. As a Premier Partner with Washington Green we are no longer permitted to promote artists published by other companies.

Rolf Harris remains very popular and some new pieces were ordered last month and we are hoping that they will arrive very shortly!

In the meantime do please ring the gallery if you are interested and of course if you are passing then we are always happy to talk about the work available.

Just to update you on the top sellers for September - I can reveal that Peter Smith has again stormed to the top of the leader board for the second month in a row! Well done Peter!!

1. Peter Smith
2. Paul Kenton/Bob Dylan
3. John Wilson/Sarah J Szikora

With Peter's new tour 'May Contain Nuts' due out very soon maybe he will make it 3 months in a row!!

Perhaps Jeff Rowland will make a bid for the summit - we will have Jeff in the gallery on 23rd October 2008 between 5-8pm to promote his one man show entitled 'A Brief Encounter'. If you wish to be on the invite list then please contact us.

October promises to be an exciting month and I sit here with great anticipation!!!

Normal Service !!!!

We are now back to 'normal services' after the closure of the gallery on Saturday due to Diane & I going away to London for the weekend to see 'Jersey Boys'!

'Oh what a Night!'

Wow what can I say? If you get the chance to see this amazing show then you must!! It was fab!! The music was great and kept toes tapping and hands clapping all night long! The show is on at The Prince Edward Theatre in Soho.

We had never been to Soho - what a busy area, plenty of cafes, bars & restaurants for people to people watch... Soho is the centre for the gay community and so I was not surprised to see guys watching guys everywhere we looked - good job I had Diane on my arm!!

There was alot to see in Chinatown! The streets were strung with lanterns and there was a real buzz about the place! The streets were full of great smelling restaurants, food shops and an amazing cake shop!

This being Soho there were also some ... er ... other interesting shops too ;-)

All in all the weather was superb, the show was amazing and the company was second to none! We had a great weekend!

As I write this I am listening to the printer printing my 100th copy of our latest newsletter which will be winging its way to your door very soon.

We are getting very excited as we get ready for the appearance of Jeff Rowland on Thursday 23/10/08 between 5-8pm. Champagne is on order and nibbles will be served!

Jeff is a real character and very entertaining to chat to - he is always happy to answer questions about his work and his inspiration!!

If you haven't given us an address but would like to be included on the guest list for newsletters and gallery events then please email us :-)

Once again I apologise for the closure of the gallery but normal services have now been resumed!!

Exciting Times Ahead!!

Monday 8th September was the day we arrived at the ICC in Birmingham all charged up ready to see the new images from all your favourite Washington Green artists.

However we nearly didn't make it pass the armed police and security staff due to the Cabinet having a meeting in the same building (the first time they have met outside of London in nearly 100 years)!!!

Eventually after scouring many lists access was granted and all I can say is we were NOT disappointed!

The work on display was staggering - so many fabulous pieces and some really stunning collections!

Peter Smith & Jeff Rowland both deserve a huge pat on the back for they each had a large selection of work (8 images and 7 images respectively) and the collections are so strong that they are sure to be incredibly popular! This will be supported by appearances by Peter and Jeff at galleries stocking their work - more exciting news to follow on this front very soon!!

You will all remember the incredible sell-out popularity of Peter Smiths 'Naughty Step' - well we are deligted to announce that there is a follow-up! It is simply fantastic and will pull at your heart strings for sure!

If you are lucky enough to have the 'Naughty Step' then you will certainly want this to complement it ... but if you missed out on 'Naughty Step' then you will want to get in early and avoid disappointment for this piece! It is called 'Do You Come Here Often' and it is a box canvas. It is priced at £575.00 and images will be available very soon - let us know if you are interested, early reservation of this piece is highly reccommended!!

I have to say that all the artists have stepped up their game and the new releases are truly outstanding and I can see no weak pieces at all.

We were also shown new work by Scott Carruthers and Mark Edwards both very interesting.

Mark Edwards is already a well established artist and has had many solo exhibitions. Mark was the illustrator for the Chronicles Of Narnia and helped on the set of the films!!

Exciting times are ahead and we will update the website as soon as we can. If you are interested in any pieces then please contact us at the gallery sooner rather than later!!

Ready for the Weekend!!

It's been a busy week and we've had alot of people through the gallery and some good sales too!!!

Yesterday was a fantastic day as we sold our first Kevin Day Original! The gentleman buyer was very taken by the piece and bought one of Kevins very limited editions too! Kevin's work is superb and is getting alot of attention at the moment! This space is definitely worth watching!

Today has been an especially busy one as our newsletter has started to land on doormats and I have had a rush of people coming into the gallery to ask about the latest releases by Paul Horton, Jeff Rowland, Mark Grieves and Peter Smith.

The prints should be here within a fortnight although if we get them sooner then we will let you know - if you would like your name adding to the 'early warning' list then email us now!

Dylan is still causing a stir and I can reveal that (surprisingly!) Dylan was our top seller for the month of June. No other artist got a look in!!

So far this month we have the following in the top four spots:-

1. Bob Dylan
2. Peter Smith
3. Kevin Day
4. Alexander Millar

I think when the new releases arrive in the gallery at the end of the month we shall see a battle between Paul & Peter for the month of August!

I look forward to August with great interest. However we still have 10 more working days left this month. Will Peter pip Bob Dylan to the top spot or will Kevin come round on the outside to cross the finishing line first?!!

Ooh this is better than the Grand National!!

Life Is Full Of Surprises!!

It is only Wednesday and we have had 3 telephone calls from three artists and a surprise visit by an artist too!!

The first call came from Angela Smyth for an update!
The second call came from Mike Jackson for a chat!

The third call came from Paul James - a truly amazing animal and landscape artist. Many of you will have seen 'Winston' and 'October Afternoon' in the gallery.

Paul has some new releases available and we have agreed to have some in the gallery! I'm sure you will agree that 'Streetwise Charlie' is a real character, look out for 'Madge' too!

Paul is hoping to pop in when he is next over from Ireland so watch this space for news and updates on this talented man! Brochures showing his latest images are available now from the gallery and are free to take away!!

The artist who called in today was Philip Stuttard! Philip was really pleased to see that we have one of his originals called 'Warlords - Too Old To Grow Up' and advised us that it was his favourite piece! He was delighted that we had managed to get hold off it!



To the lucky buyer - a dedication can be arranged!!

We have also managed to send out 166 newsletters which include the latest releases from Peter Smith, Paul Horton, Mark Grieves and Jeff Rowland. The newsletter will be landing on doormats over the next couple of days but if you are not on our mailing list and would like to be included then please let us have your details.

I wonder what else the week has in store for us?

Will we get more artists ringing up for a chat or popping in for a cuppa?

I will keep you updated!!