Big thanks for your contributions

We had quite a few very nice comments about the quality of the work that was on show at this year's exhibition at the Heritage Centre in Saltcoats.  Well done all of you.
I took as many photographs of individual work that I could, and once I have cropped them and picked out the clearest pics, I will hang them in our very own galleries in this blog.  There are a handful who don't want their paintings on here, and I will respect your wishes and leave them out.

If I have any enquiries about purchasing these paintings I will be sure to contact you.  Susan sent me some oil paintings for show in the gallery.  Thanks for that Susan.  I have posted a couple of them below.  The rest will be on display in the gallery.  You can see them by clicking HERE

 

Alexander Park Winter Dawn

2013
Painted using a photo taken by my daughter, Laura, who lives in Glasgow and got up very early to take this photo.

 

 

Peekaboo

2010
A friend, Brett, gave me a photo he had taken of this cheetah which was in a wildlife centre in Africa. It had been injured and was being rehabilitated back to the wild. I would like to think it is now back on the plains, free.

 

 

 

I would also like to thank the staff at the Heritage Centre, Norma, Hazel, Andrew and Mark, for all their hard work during our Exhibition week.

 

The committee will be meeting soon to discuss the exhibition and to plan for our forthcoming season, which starts on 3rd October.  I will keep you all up to date with the plans.

 

Exhibition time 2013

Well here we are again!  And it is also a happy 1st birthday to our blog.  At the moment of writing this I am one hour away from calling in at the Heritage Centre to see all our lovely work.  By what I have already seen at the handing in day, I am sure that the exhibition is going to be a big success.

 

And here are some photos from the grand opening.  Ronnie Russell did a fantastic job of officially declaring the exhibition open.  A wee injection of humour was well appreciated by all.  Had a look around and was very pleased with the quality of the exhibits on show.  Well done everyone.  I think five were sold on Friday, and hopefully many more will go this week. 

I will take some more pictures when I am on duty on Monday and Tuesday, but in the meantime.  Enjoy these general views.

 

 

Superstars at Saltcoats Heritage Centre

Most Cunninghame Art Club annual exhibitions have a superstar or two hanging on the wall.  I remember seeing a very impressive Willie Nelson last year.  This summer's exhibition also had a few stars on display.

The first work that greeted us was a Raymond Guffie acrylic portrait of Bob Dylan.  We also had the great Tom Jones, Rocky Balboa and Sex Pistols' front man, John Lydon.  All so different in styles, as was their personalities in real life.

The real stars though were the artist who created these marvellous works.  Well done to you.  The portraits were well admired.

Local art lovers were indeed spoilt for choice this year.  We had local scenes and landmarks in various mediums.  We had exotic views, abstract work, mixed medium, figures, portraits, pencil drawings, pen and ink, . . . the list goes on.

There were 10 items of work sold over the course of the week.  A list of the artists and titles of their work will appear at the end of this blog.

So, once again, well done to all the artists.  You can now all look once more at today's blog headline and attribute the 'Superstars' tag to yourselves.  Thank you also to all the volunteers who gave up their free time to provide stewardship during the week.  I am writing this with a red face, as other obligations prevented me from taking my turn.  Hopefully that will not be the case next year.

Here are some more pictures of the excellent work that was on display.

A little more info about future blogs/newsletters.  The committee has almost completed a list of demonstrating artists for our new season.  Please continue to look in here from time to time, because it is here that you will be able to read all about upcoming demonstrators.  There will also be links here to their websites if they have one.

I also hope to provide a report and some photographs for each demo night.  You can play your part too.  My email address is always up there on the header, so please feel free to get in touch.

The comments section on each blog is an inbuilt function with Blogger.  You need a Google account to use that facility.  It is an easy thing to do, but if you would rather just email me your comments, I will be sure and publish them for you.

You can also hit the Facebook icon.  That will put the blog onto your facebook page for all your friends to see and read.

Now, as promised, here is a list of all the artists who sold work during the exhibition . . .

Marian Black:  Dollar tree

Margaret Bratchie:  One for the road

Mary A Gillan:  Tulips

Helen Irving:  Autumn sundown near Portencross

Agnes C Morrice:  North shore, Ardrossan

Brian Morrison:  Claire

Tom Rutherford:  Hebridean hideaway

Sharon Smith:  Sunset Ardrossan

Doug Stonelake:  Largs landmark

Doug Stonelake:  Wee Cumbrae ferry

2012 art exhibition opening night

A treat was in store for all who attended the opening night of the club's 2012 exhibition at the Heritage centre in Saltcoats.  Not only did we enjoy excellent wine and nibbles, we were mesmerised by all the beautiful works of art that our members have submitted.  There is a lot of artistic talent in North Ayrshire!

I took some pictures of the work on display on the night, but I think I will add it gradually over the coming weeks to this blog.  Look out for your own painting.

The exhibition was officially opened by ex boxer, Jim Montgomerie.  Jim, who is also known as 'The running kilt' due to his many jaunts around the planet, running marathons for charities, gave a short speech before declaring the exhibition officially opened.

He also selected one painting for the raffle.  For this he told the assembled audience about an experience that he had whilst visiting Africa for a marathon.

He happened upon a local lady who didn't see him approaching.  The painting that he chose, a work by Janie P Macgregor called 'Going Home' made, as Jim put it, 'The hairs on my neck stand erect'.

The scene was an exact replica of the situation he found himself in on that day, with the female retreating and running up the steps because her face had been looked upon by a stranger.

The opening night was a great success - and I am hoping to add some good news on sales in next week's blog.  In the meantime, please enjoy some more photographs from the night. . .

Hope you have enjoyed our first blog.  Please send me any material that you wish added to future blogs to the email address at the top of the page.

Happy painting!