Big is Beautiful!!

OMG! How excited are we???

We have just arranged to show a fantastic piece of original art by Paul Kenton, well known for his amazing cityscapes! This new piece is just gonna take your breath away!

It measures 5 feet high by over 6 feet wide and is in the purest black and white line style for which he is best known!

This stunning view of our impressive capital city shows the view as though crossing the River Thames over the Millenium Bridge, from the Tate Gallery to St. Paul's (a walk we have done ourselves!).

'Across the Water' Original by Paul Kenton £3950

We dare you to send a photo of the place you would put this in your house!

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!

Spring Into Summer

The Acorn Gallery are delighted to present to you our ‘Spring into Summer’ range which features twelve brand new pieces available from May.

Paul Corfield takes us into his wonderful imaginary world away from the stresses of everyday life with his three new pieces.

Days By The Riverside by Paul Corfield

Paul Kenton exhilarates us with the hustle and bustle of his fast paced cityscapes of London and New York.

City Reflections by Paul Kenton

Paul Horton revisits his much in demand seaside scenes, as well as his ever popular street scenes.

Where My Heart Belongs by Paul Horton

Keith Proctor – a new artist to our portfolio earlier this year – brings us four endearing and charming pieces that bring a little bit of childhood nostalgia into our lives.

For the very first time Keith’s work  has been released in sculptural form with this fabulous hand painted resin sculpture entitled Yee-haa! which is a perfect compliment to his limited edition print of the same name.

Yee-Haa!! Sculpture by Keith Proctor

So why not head to The Acorn Gallery for artwork that is sure to brighten up your home this summer!

March Madness!!

Spring has arrived and the weather has turned better, however March madness has set in at The Acorn Gallery!!

Diane has decided to do the Amsterdam bike trip again! It is a 250 miles round trip cycle ride from York to Amsterdam and back again raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care which Diane successfully completed in June of last year helping to raise more than £28,000 for the charity!!

So training has started in ernest!! At least I mean for me as I have agreed to train alongside Diane to give her moral support... but so far I am the only one doing the training as I have insisted that we get out at 6am every morning and unfortunately Diane is not a morning person!

Good job I have the dogs for company however Sophie is not too keen for such an early start but Samson is eager enough for the both of them!!

We have today received our copies of the fabulous new Paul Kenton releases and they are stunning especially London Red!!

London Red by Paul Kenton

£699

You should really come and see it in the flesh - it is superb!!

With Mothers Day weekend upon us why not treat your Mum to some chocolate? Caroline Shottons Dairy Milk is superb and bound to raise a smile :-)

'Dairy Milk' by Caroline Shotton

£475

Or why not make a promise of cake? Peter Smith's 'I Eat Cake' is superb and really hits the spot...

I Eat Cake by Peter Smith

£399

And finally the top sellers for February are as follows:-

1. Keith Proctor
2. Caroline Shotton
3. Alexander Millar

Congratulations to Keith, what a debut to take top spot by selling more than any other artist - amazing!!

We have a growing list of customers waiting for Keith Proctor Original Oils so if you too would like to be added to the list then please feel free to contact us!!

November Already!!

I cannot believe we are already into November!! Where did October go?

October was a busy month with Peter Smiths appearance and we are hoping that November will continue at the same pace :-)

Well, whats new this month? The NEW Fine Art Collector is now in the gallery!! It's packed with all the latest work and has some great articles and fabulous new accessories - perfectly in time for Christmas!!

The fantastic new Paul Horton cufflinks and keyrings have now arrived and seem to be leaving just as quick! We are also expecting delivery of the new cufflinks and gifts by the late Govinder Nazran, Simon Claridge and of course the cheeky Drew Darcy!!!

We have also taken delivery of some fantastic Lawrie Williamson original pieces including oils, watercolours and a superb pencil sketch!!

'Pregnant Bitch' by Lawrie Williamson

Original Watercolour

Washington Green have just released 8 fantastic new pieces by four of their top artists! The new release are by Caroline Shotton, Paul Kenton, Paul Horton and Peter Smith, checkout http://www.theacorngallery.co.uk/. These superb items have been released just in time for Christmas!!

Speaking of Christmas The Acorn Gallery are very proud to be hosting the very first visit by Paul Horton on the 10th December between 5-8pm to showcase his new work entitled 'Love Is Life', put the date in your diary and if you would like a complimentary brochure and invite then just ask :-)

Anyway, moving on ... I can now update you with the top sellers for October. They are as follows:-

1. Peter Smith
2. Alexander Millar
3. Paul Horton

Congratulations Peter, you stormed to first spot with ease and we can all see why as your latest releases are superb...

..... And finally, please note that the Gallery will be closed on the 21st & 22nd November as Diane is tackling her Triple Whammy Adrenaline Rush (!) which includes a 250ft zip wire, 250ft indoor parachute jump and an abseil!! This is not likely to be repeated and so I need to be there to capture this crazy moment!!

No doubt I could be pursuaded to post an entry after the event... :-)

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!!

Amsterdame 09!!

Well May has been a funny old month! The odd day has been busy but mostly its been very quiet! Have you all been on holiday?

Having some quiet time has given us chance to plan some exciting events for the summer - make sure you get your name on the database so you can find out what's happening!

I know you like to know who's hot right now and so here are the top sellers for this month:-

1. Alexander Millar
2. Paul Kenton
3. Paul Horton

Congratulations Alex, top spot for the third month in a row. Well done!!

Well June is here and Dianes 250 mile bike ride is only 5 sleeps away. Diane, Lisa, Lianne and Jayne leave on Friday 12th and return Tuesday 16th. In total there will be nearly 60 of them going and it will be a sight to see them on their way!

I will apologise in advance as the gallery will be a little late opening on the morning of the 12th as I will be there to wave them off!! On Tuesday 16th the gallery will close a little earlier than usual as I want to be there to see them cross the finishing line!!

Don't worry - I'll get photos for the blog so you can see for yourselves!

To sponsor Diane please go to http://www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09 or call in to the gallery and make a pledge on her sponsor form. It is in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care and they are trying to raise £30,000!! They are already over the £10k mark so they are well on the way!!

Don't forget the PRIZE DRAW - If you haven't bought a raffle ticket yet then you still have time as the draw is not till the 19th June. The prize is a superb signed limited edition print by Paul Kenton (this months second top seller!) All proceeds from the sale of tickets are also going to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Well that's it for now - more entires will surely follow as I hear from Diane on her travels. Check back soon :-)

Competition

On 12th June Diane is setting off on a bike ride to Amsterdam with 53 other ladies to raise much needed funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care! They are hoping to raise £30,000!!

The Acorn Gallery are pleased to announce a competition in support of their efforts and the prize is a signed limited edition print by Paul Kenton called Early Light Amsterdam - see picture below:-



This superb print will be framed and is valued at £199.00. All proceeds from the sale of the tickets will be going to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Raffle tickets are £1 each and are available from the gallery. Whether you want to buy 1 or 100 pop in and gets yours now and help Marie Curie reach their total of £30,000. Remember tickets are only £1 :-)

Diane will be setting off from McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in York at 9am on Friday 12th June and is due back at about 6pm on Tuesday 16th June.

The raffle will be drawn on Friday 19th June 2009 and the winner will be notified accordingly.

If you wish to sponsor Diane then you can do so on-line at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09 Please mention her name in your message!

We will let you know how she gets on so watch this space for news...

Congratulations!!

Diane and Val!!

Moonwalk Tattoo!!

Dawn over the River Thames!!

26.2 miles done!!

Tired but very happy!!

The medal!!

Congratulations to Diane and Val for finishing in 8 hours 4 minutes!!!

Now you would think that Diane would be happy to put her feet up after 5 months of hard training and bask in the glory of finishing the Moonwalk - but she isn't!!

Diane is now in training for the 250 mile round cycle trip to Amsterdam which sets off on the 12th June 2009 in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

If you would like to support Diane you can donate at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09

Keep checking the website and the blog for details on how you could win a signed limited edition print titled Early Light Amsterdam by Paul Kenton!!

Once again Diane, many congratulations on finishing the Moonwalk and raising an amazing £375.50 for breast cancer charities!!

And thankyou to all of you who supported her in her challenge!

Apologies!!

Well April is over and we roll into May. April was a good month and Alexander Millars appearance got us off to a fabulous start. Yesterday we had a nice surprise two of Washington Greens artists popped in to say hello and stopped for a coffee and a sandwich. We chatted about lots of thing inc Dianes Moonwalk and her Amsterdam trips. It was a very nice day and a great end to the month!!

I must apologise as I failed to up date you with the top sellers for March. The top sellers were:-

1. Alexander Millar
2. Caroline Shotton
3. Peter Smith & Toni Hargreaves

The top sellers for April were as follows:-

1. Alexander Millar
2. Simon Clardige
3. Peter Smith & Mike Jackson

Well done Alex top for two months in a row. Will you make it three in a row?

Washington Green have just released the images for the spring into summer range. Please checkout the website for the images. Paul Kenton has moved away from his traditional cityscapes and produced 4 pieces on classic cars very interesting!!

Don't forget if you want to sponsor Diane on her Moonwalk or the Amsterdam Bike trip then please call into the gallery and pledge a donation.

As Tesco keeps on telling us 'Every little helps'!!

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!