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!

Tonights The Night!!

May 16th has arrived and tonight is the night when Diane along with 14,999 other ladies will all be walking 26.2 miles in a decorated bra for breast cancer.

The training is over and Diane has packed her rucksack with all the essentials she will need to complete this epic task!!

The train tickets have been collected. She will be leaving Selby at 3.45pm arriving at Kings Cross, London at around 5.45pm. Once she arrives she has to get over to Hyde Park locate Playtex City and make sure she is registered before 8.30pm.

Then it is time to relax have something to eat and get her self mentally ready. At about 10pm she will get changed into her walking gear and her decorated bra and then have a warm up session, a light massage and do some stretching exercises. At the stroke of midnight she will be off!!

Diane is hoping to complete the 26.2 miles in around 7 hours and my fingers are crossed that everything goes well for her.

If you haven't sponsored Diane then you can still do so by calling in to the gallery and pledging an amount on the sponsor form here or you can donate on line at www.justgiving.com/dianewass

Tonights the night Diane and I wish you all the best and I will be with you in spirit and if you need to talk at 4am then all you have to do is ring!!

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'!!

...and not a Pina Colada in sight!

As you may know I am doing two big sponsored events this year as part of my 40th Birthday Year of Challenges! Although I have done some of my personal challenges already the Playtex Moonwalk is the first of two big sponsored events!

It is a walk of 26.2 miles through the heart of London starting in Hyde Park at midnight on Saturday 16th May - hence the name (nothing to do with walking backwards!).

My training is ongoing and last Thursday afternoon I had arranged to do a training walk with my friend, Val. I do mid-week walks which are only 3-4 miles and a once-a-week long-distance walk which increases in duration as the mileage increases...

We are averaging a walking speed of 4mph so the 14 mile walk we had planned for this particular afternoon was due to take us 3.5hours ... trouble was that we hadn't planned for it to rain!

The walk was good to start with, although pace was a little slower than anticipated we got into a rhythm and set off.

About half-way through the walk it started to spot with rain but this was soon replaced by a definite shower and then a much heavier rain which certainly qualified as a downpour!

We had no choice but to soldier on ... cars passed us and looked at us as though we were totally mad!

We strode on with our clothing soaked right through, our joggers were so wet they were plastered to our legs and it made the walk hard going! The rain was stinging our faces and the wind was howling round our soaking wet clothes - good job we were active otherwise it would have been seriously cold!

As we followed our chosen route the rain eventually slowed and stopped. For three miles we had walked in the rain, about 50 minutes! But now the sun was trying to shine and our joggers, although still moulded to the shape of our legs, even started to dry a little!

We walked the final stretch of the walk, alongside the main road, turning away from the big trucks who thundered past with a strong side-draught and showered us in muddy water from the roadside!

Eventually we arrived back at mine where my thoughtful boy found us each a big bath sheet and handed us each a steaming hot drink!

We removed our squelching wet trainers and sat down wrapped in our towels and felt the heat from our drinks as it ran down inside us...

Energy was distinctly lacking and so I was very thankful that I'd had the forethought to buy a pack of pink iced doughnuts that morning - they absolutely hit the spot and gave us the boost we needed!

Training is fabulous on hot sunny days but we needed a day like this one to remind us that it is possible that it may rain for the big event and it was good that we have had the experience - but it also made us add 'spare set of clothes' to our list of stuff to take ... just in case :-)

I have now set up my Justgiving page for donations and so if you would like to sponsor me for this event then please visit www.justgiving.com/dianewass

Alternatively just pop into the gallery where a sponsor form is on hand - you can sponsor me per mile or just an overall amount - all donations are gratefully received!

I have set a modest target of £262.00 (which is £10 per mile) but would be delighted to smash through it :-)

Thanking you (cheekily!) in advance!
Diane :-)

Diamond Opportunity...

The Diamond Dust Collection by Simon Claridge is a stunning new release from the Spring Fair and with its bang up to date colouring and contemporary styling each piece is a stunner in its own right!



Imagine then what it would be like to have the full set of three superb images... well one local couple have done just that - the complete set of three and all matching numbers too!



Can you imagine what an impresive room that will make? Simply stunning!

What A Day!!

It all began with Alex advising us that his train would be arriving in York at 11.25 and could we pick him up!! Yes we said and then panic set in, still lots to do and I had to leave Diane and Emily to put the final touches to the gallery as I dashed into York to the train station. After being told to move three times by the police and assorted traffic wardens I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw Alex emerge from the train station looking calm and relaxed.

I managed to get through the busy traffic and get Alex to the gallery by 12.10pm where some collectors were already eagerly waiting to chat with him.

Alex entertained questions about his ideas and inspirations and was kept busy all day chatting and dedicating prints and purchases!

We were delighted to welcome a gentleman who travelled all the way from Glasgow to purchase Whee - a very rare piece - which Alex was happy to dedicate for a special ladys birthday!

We have had superb interest in the new original oils and everyone could identify with the small red trike! Childhood stories were recounted and it is obvious that this painting brings out the smile in all of us!

By 3.30pm Alex had to leave as he had further comittments and so I dropped him back in York. Alex thanked me for a lovely day and said that he would love to be invited back someday!

Thankyou to everyone who came along - and for those of you who would like to be told of future gallery events then please let us have your details and we'll make sure you are kept 'in the picture'!

Saturday 4th April 2009 what a 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...

Tails of the Unexpected...

Here at The Acorn Gallery we are getting used to surprise visitors but it is still always a pleasure to meet and greet a new guest... and so to our latest visitor...

Paul James is over from Ireland and unexpectedly rang to ask if he could pop over and say hello - well naturally we said yes!!

Paul is famous for his almost photographic portrayal of the natural world, including stunning landscapes and true to life animal portraits, usually with a humourous twist!



Streetwise Charlie is one of his top-selling contemporary pieces and more work will follow in that same vein. We have been fortunate enough to reserve two stunning cow canvases named 'Little Madge' and 'Gorgeous George' which will hopefully be in the gallery soon.

Little Madge

Gorgeous George

If you are interested in Pauls work then let us know and we can let you know when the new pieces arrive!

Just to prove that Paul dd pop in see the image below :-)

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!!