The Icon Collection - Don't Blink...!

On Saturday Paul Horton was here at the Acorn gallery to unveil his stunning 'Icon Collection'. The five new releases are very special as there are only 25 of each one available!

Each image was shrouded in black and unveiled piece by piece... The audience were enthralled as Paul told the story behind each character and each iconic scene...

Champagne corks popped and nibbles were nibbled as Paul chatted to the collectors who had come along to share this proud day...
One lady had proudly brought in her pride and joy...two of the Noahs Ark pieces which she had bought in previous years with the intention of eventually passing them on to her two sons... She is now the proud owner of a third Noahs Ark 'Man of God' which she is delighted with!

Part way through the day we were told by Washington Green that The 'Icon Collection' is now fully sold out and the only images still available are those in galleries.

At the time of writing we have just three images remaining and the details are as follows:

'Love Shines Down' No.21 of 25 Priced at £995

'The Powerful Truth' No.21 of 25 Priced at £995

'The Legend' No.21 of 25 Priced at £995.

We have just one of each and they will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
Amazingly we still have two originals available, both uniquely exquisite! Firstly the Wizard in a piece entitled 'I Will Lead You Out of Darkness', simply stunning and priced at a very shrewd £2,250.

 Gallery Owner Diane with Paul Horton showing 'I Will Lead You Out of Darkness' Original

The second original is one of Pauls beautiful single houses, set in Autumn with golden leaves and clear blue sky... and simply called... 'Somewhere in my Heart' This piece is keenly priced at £1.950.

'Somewhere in my Heart' Original by Paul Horton

Priced at £1.950.00

All remaining pieces will be sold on a first come, first served basis so don't delay...

Ring and Reserve your favourite today!

Proctormaniacs Rule!!

Saturday 13th November 2010 was a day we had been waiting for...

For a long time we had been watching the blog of a man who painted his son, Jack. The paintings were quite charming and showed a certain understanding of small boys and their delight in the big wide world...

We asked the man if we could take some of his paintings for display in The Acorn Gallery but he explained that he had been signed by a publisher and so we couldn't take anything... the publisher was Washington Green and the man was Keith Proctor...  

In February 2010 when his work was published for the first time we were very excited and delighted to see it receive such a positive reaction! His pieces have sold consistently well since then and we were delighted to be offered one of only seven appearances he would be doing this year!

As the marketing was done the excitement was building and when the day dawned we had only to watch and wait... Keith arrived promptly with his wife, Deb, and of course Jack!

We had one of each image framed on the wall along with the three stunning originals, two of which had sold in advance of the day! The third had been reserved but became available again only to be sold to the first lady through the door that morning :-) She was delighted at her prompt attendance and good fortune - fate had a hand there we think :-)

That first sale paved the way and many more followed... print after print after print sold from off the wall (it's a good job we'd had the foresight to frame multiples of each image!).

Keith was chatting and laughing with the customers as he signed and dedicated his way through the backing boards, signing the odd invitation along the way...

The gallery went through stages of being packed to capacity and taking a breather, thankfully allowing us to catch up on wrapping and packing ready for those people who had gone off to explore Pocklington and were calling back later :-) 

It's always nice to enhoy a glass of something bubbly whilst having a look at the artwork!

 Keith was happy to pose for photographs with customers!

We believe that no piece left the gallery without a signed dedication on the back!

Jack was a complete star all day, chatting with people and signing his name on invitations... he even did a few pieces of artwork of his own, most notably this magnificent pirate ship...although they were all scereted away home with him at the end of the day - well apart from one, which he kindly left for our 'Priceless' gallery!

So, thankyou to Keith, Deb and Jack for joining us and thankyou to all of you who came along to join in with this phenomenon!!

'Twas the best of days...

11.20am on the morning of the BIG DAY! Peter Smith had agreed to an exclusive visit at the Acorn Gallery! Back by popular demand! The invitations and the press releases had all been sent, the fabulous new work adorned the carefully hung walls... so where was everyone?

We'd had a couple of people in, looking around and chatting, there'd been a gentleman with his little girl, busy on the Saturday kids clubs runaround, keen to pop back but couldn't be sure... and not a sign of anyone else!

Pocklington was quiet, not many souls about, although at least we knew Peter and Jayne had arrived because they'd popped in to say 'hi' before going next door to The Deli for a coffee. (They have great coffee at The Deli!).

Let's just say John and I were getting a tad nervous, looking round at the beautifully spick and span gallery, carefully dusted, hoovered and mopped and with plates and bowls of carefully chosen nibbles located at suitable intervals!

Peter and Jayne arrived, suitably refreshed after their journey, they had made good time and the traffic was good! We welcomed them with open arms and then it began!

A steady trickle of savvy collectors came through the door, keen to get here early for anything special! For one very special couple they were suitably rewarded for being so prompt! Following their wedding just one week ago, this very lucky couple came along to choose a gift from their wedding guests!

They were able to say 'yes' to two fantastic brand new pencil sketches made available to The Acorn Gallery at the very last minute on Friday!

Champagne flowed and the people just kept coming! Sometimes in two's and sometimes they just poured in! The gallery got pretty full at times and we were kept busy not just chatting and topping up glasses... but selling too! Peters latest work proved incredibly popular with 'Hug Me' and 'Cuddle Me' taking an early lead! 'For The One I Love' caught up quick and 'Sofa Loafers' and 'Together We Make A Family' made a good stand too!

The gallery got very full indeed - so full that I just didn't get chance to take any photos until after it quietened down!

You think this is busy? This wasn't the busiest!!

Peter was fantastic - he spent good quality time with everyone who wanted him and his stories were told over and over again!

John and I were kept on our toes with sale after sale. Peter was signing and dedicating left, right and centre!

Good job he brought a good selection of markers with him - they were put to very good use!

Here are just a few of the lucky people whose chosen images were remarqued on the day!

Two fantastic originals found a home as a result of todays event too - here are the proud owners of 'All You Need Is Love' who came over to Pocklington especially to meet Peter and collect their brand new piece!

Sales came fast and furious and we even had a queue at one point - many thanks to those who waited so patiently :-)

About 2pm we had a lull for 5 minutes - just long enough to catch our breath and bring down some fresh glasses!

We loved it! It is great to see so many people happily chatting and enjoying the work on display! I'm sure the sunshine and the champagne helped but everyone was in good mood and the gallery was buzzing!

Finally, long after the 3pm finish time had passed, Peter and Jayne were able to take their leave. They had seen and spoken with a significant number of collectors! It is always nice to meet up again with regular customers and collectors but it's lovely to meet new people too! There had been plenty of both that day!

On Your Marks...

I really can't believe it's been so long since the last entry! (You're probably all thinking the same!).

Well we're getting ready for Alexander Millar who is due to appear at the gallery today - in fact he should be on his way now as John has gone to collect him from York Station.

The sun is out, the glasses are polished and the champagne is sparkling... the gallery has been dusted to within an inch of its life and there is an outstanding display of Alex's work on the wall!

There are all of his latest pieces along with some classics, including the highly sought after 'Whee' and nestled among them are three superb Original Oil paintings! 'Rhythm and Blues', 'Convoy' and 'Dance with the Devil' all have their own unique charm and each shows off Alex's style to its best!

So, now I need to sign off and make sure everything is in place, yes - just one more check :-)

If you are coming over then we'll see you later! If not then that's a shame but check back here later tonight for an update on the day...

Excitement!!!

Wow! March is here already and we are busy getting ready for Alexander Millars visit to the gallery on the 4th April 2009.

We have ordered in a selection of work which is now ready for framing. The window banner design is finished and ready for printing and we have also finalised the layout for the invitations. Watch out for yours landing on the doormat soon...

We are hoping in the next week to be offered some original pencil sketches and maybe even an original oil to compliment our selection of Limited Edition Prints.

On Friday I was up in Scotland delivering another original oil by Alexander Millar called 'Over The Moon'. Alex really seems to be flying at the moment!



It will compliment the 'Thats Our Boy' original that I took up in October 2008. When I saw it hanging there on the wall it made me smile.

So mark Saturday 4th April in your diary and we hope that you will be able to come along and chat to Alex about his work! Champagne and nibbles will be served and it should be a cracking day!!

I can now reveal who were the top sellers in February. They were:-

1. Sarah Jane Szikora/Peter Smith
2. John Wilson/Caroline Shotton/Jeff Rowland

Well done Peter and Sarah - joint top!!

As I said, excitement is building so don't miss out on a great day!
We'll see you on 4th April!!

A Brief Encounter

Diane & I spent all day yesterday getting the gallery ready for Jeff Rowlands appearance. We washed the windows, inside and out! We swept and washed the floor, dusted the pictures, moved the walls and took delivery of 17 box's of the new Fine Art Collector magazine!!!

By 4.15pm we were all ready and Michelle, the WG rep arrived, having collected Jeff from the railway station (a very appropriate form of transport don't you agree?).

The kettle was on and we had chance to sit and chat over a cuppa before people started to arrive.

Jeff is a geordie lad and with all geordies he has a great sense of humour and kept us all entertained with his stories of the years before he became an artist!!

Jeff also explained in detail how he created the images to his new tour 'A Brief Encounter' and the techniques used to create the rain in his so atmospheric images!!

Jeff kindly dedicated each piece which was bought on the evening with a beautiful sketch on the backing board - a truly unique thank you to his collectors!

The champagne flowed and the nibbles were nibbled and a good time was had by all!

Once the gallery was empty Jeff kindly signed the back of each remaining piece with 'Best Wishes'!

To those customers who came on such a wet evening - THANK YOU!
To those customers who didn't brave the elements - you missed a good night! A special THANKS to Jon who drove up from Norwich to join us for the occasion!

Diane & I were a little nervous as this was our first official Artist Appearance but we are really pleased that it went well!

To Jeff, the 'Rain Man' himself - many thanks for giving up your evening to meet and greet our customers. To Michelle - a massive thank you for collecting Jeff and for guiding us through our first appearance!

'A Brief Encounter' it may have been Jeff, but next time we see you in the gallery bring your easel, paints and apron cause we will have you painting for us live!!

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!!

Philip Stuttard Preview Event

Well what a busy day we have had. Spent the entire day moving the stock around to accomodate Philip's work and I have to say it looks really good!!!

Diane and I would like to thank those people who attended tonight and especially a big thanks to Phil,Sam & Paige who travelled especially from Wakefield! We would also like to thank Philip Stuttard himself for coming along to say hello and for entertaining us with tales of his acrylic adventures!

His work has gone down well and we all wait with baited breath to see what he comes up with next! 'Mountains of Men' Just you wait and see what he's working on ...

We have received a few emails and texts to thank us for a lovely evening and those who won the raffle were especially pleased. £100 in gift vouchers went to a family from York, Peter Smith cufflinks found a new home in Wakefield and the bottle of bubbly went to another couple, also from York. Well worth turning up we think! Thankyou Philip for being the honorary raffle ticket puller!

Philips work is available to view in the gallery until 17th May 2008 and also on line at www.theacorngallery.co.uk. If you are unable to call into see the work in person but find a piece which interests you then don't be afraid to contact us - we love questions!