As we steam towards our winter exhibition in November, the art begins to roll in. Whilst most work flies in by air, sometimes it chugs into our local train station. As was the case this week, when I met Chris Nel, husband of talented SA artist Sonja Nel, on the 13.36 from Solihull to London.…
The West Wycombe Art Group chose Fillingdon Farm as the venue for their first outdoor painting class of the season this month. A beautiful windless, warmish spring evening presented itself, and a dozen or so talented local artists enjoyed the panoramic views as well as tea and biscuits and a good chat! The nearby bluebell…
It is an art show, but with daffodils down the drive; daisies in the field; magnolia in the garden; cowslips in the paddock; hyacinths in the flower beds; primroses round the pond; jasmine on the pergola and lily-of-the-valley in the yard – it may be the prettiest yet! We are expecting spring sunshine tomorrow too,…
Did you hear the one about a vase made by a South African, selected by a Zimbabwean, exhibited in Britain, bought by a Spaniard and exported to Belgium? No, not a joke but the real story of this gorgeous ceramic vessel fresh from the Gauteng kiln of talented artist Christine Williams, which we chose as…
They say the early bird catches the worm;- or in this case the cheetah. No sooner had the first e-invitation for “Primary Palette” pinged in people’s in-boxes, than the phone rang with an enquiry. This adorable cheetah cub was hung in the gallery on Saturday; the interested party arranged a private visit on…
Fire, fire, burning bright; In the forests of the night What immortal hand or eye; Could frame thy fearful symmetry? With apologies to William Blake, this poem sprang to mind as 5,500 hectares of nature reserve burnt in the Cape fires a fortnight ago, when I was out on my annual sourcing trip. The evening of Sunday…
It is a privilege to have access to the inner sanctum of an artist’s studio. The strong smell of oil paint and turps is usually common to all, but what differs is the state of organisation – or in some cases – lack of it! Nadia Kisseleva is a very organised artist. I have never…
Given the relatively mild weather of late, we have had a chance to get out in the garden at Fillingdon Farm and spruce up things ahead of spring and our gallery opening. It is always satisfactory to cut back dead foliage and clear the beds of last year’s withered growth as the new shoots push…
In the main this winter has been mild. And dry too so far, especially in contrast to the appalling floods of last year. But we did get a sprinkling of snow a few weeks ago, which, to an African native like myself, still brings little surge of guilty pleasure. I know it can make life…
The star of this show was the building itself. As one visitor to the recent Oxford International Art Fair put it; “you don’t need the art!” Lovers of minimalism would gag at the ornamentation, but whatever your personal taste you’ve got to love the exuberance of the Victorians who threw everything at this building –…