June 2016

contenplationI was struck recently how much my learnt Superman complex feels the need to fix problems that may or may not even be there. We all have our psychological complexes and they often dictate what we do as a living… but mine’s most certainly the ‘fixer’… or Superman complex.

tom_marshIt’s manifested in many areas of my life and even driven me to start a nationwide social enterprise for recycling, to become a Parish Councillor and Youth Club leader and even founder of Roseland Online, etc. so when I recently felt drawn to form a British Gallery Guild after hearing so many stores about badly treated artists, for once I stopped myself.

claire_henleyAll water flows to the sea. Whether I decide to put my hand in the water to redirect its flow or not, would it really fundamentally change anything? And if so, what are the consequences of my actions? Will my interference form eddies that cause more problems than solutions further down stream?

joe_armstrongHumans have changed things ‘for the better’ for eons and some truly have made resounding differences, both positive and negative. But like the butterfly effect, for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction and as I get older, I’m starting to challenge this Superman complex and wonder if NO action may in fact be the best action.

hilary_stockAnd anyway, isn’t there a calm beauty in just watching and learning from the power of nature rather than interfering in its awesomeness? Appreciating nature’s natural course has got to be fundamentally better than anything my limited mind could make up, or? So this Superman, at least, is going to consider a cape change!

andrew_tozerOK, there’s a lot of great news this month with two new artist, too, but before I dribble on, I want to share what could be great news for some. Thanks to the success of THG, on 1st June we became VAT registered. No, luckily this wont change the price of our art for you because the artist and I have juggled our percentages to allow for that, but if you or your company are VAT registered, you could now reclaim 7.5% of every sale from Mr. VATey. Cool beans, eh? For the rest of us, though, it’s business as usual.

stephen-higtonSo who are these new artists, I hear you ask? Well, one I cannot talk about here until later in the year (it’s complicated), but this world-renown artist’s astonishing work will be in the gallery from mid-month… excited doesn’t even come close!

Tom Marsh, however, I can gush about to my heart’s content. This brilliant Sussex artist joined us this month and will be coming to Portscatho to paint exclusively for THG this coming week. We do, however, have a few of his pieces live on his page now, so I hope you’ll love him as much as Deborah and I do!

ben_taffinderThere’ve been huge amounts of new work rushing in from our stars, ready for the coming season. Claire Henley sent some beauties down and no sooner had they arrived, they were sold, so some more are in stock now. That Joe Armstrong, whose Fisherman’s Shelter exhibition was last weekend, has created an incredible collection for that, so you can see them all on his exhibition page here… what ones didn’t sell, that is! Oh and his time-lapse video is the subject of this month’s Podcast, just click here to see that.

And as I write, the super talented Hilary Stock has her exhibition running today and tomorrow in the Shelter. She’s constantly upping her game, too, so I’m sure this’ll be a huge success as well.

ilric_shetlandEarly last month, the maestro that is Andrew Tozer delivered another batch of amazing work. But don’t take my word for it, check them out fer yersen, here. And local boy, Ben Taffinder keeps surprising us with some extra work to replace the ones he’s sold. So if like me and Debs, you’re a fan of his flower pieces, then drop in to his page to check those killers out.

haidee_jo_summersStephen Higton and his lovely (and talented wife, Mita) will be down this month with some amazing new pieces for us and to paint some more local scenes, especially for THG, so keep your eyes peeled for his page changes. And if that’s not enough for ya, the mighty Ilric Shetland walked in with three new pieces for us on Friday… just ginger-peachy! Check those out here.

phil_johnsOh and before I leave you for another month, I just gotta share Haidee-Jo Summer‘s superb new pieces that came in at the end of last week. That girl can paint, I tell ya! And I’ll finish off with the sharing the last ever collection of work by Phil Johns, just in. As the fella’s stopped painting now, this is about all you’re gonna get, so scramble in sharpish for a rare bargain.

So there it is folks. I look forward to seeing you over the summer, but if you can’t make it, keep your eyes peeled on the website for the usual array of magnificence! And if Debs and I can help with Gift Tokens, Staged Payment Schemes or Contribution Buying purchases, just holler.

Caio for now!

Mark

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