24th December 2010 Happy Christmas!

I'd just like to wish all friends of ELEVEN AND A HALF a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Many thanks to everyone who saw us ths year, either at an art fair or at one of our exhibitions. We'll be sending out details of events for next year early in 2011. With no events in the last month we haven't received many new paintings from our artists over the last few weeks, but here's a recent offering from Terry Whybrow. Happy Christmas to you all! Matt and Vikki.

25th November 2010 Plans for 2011.

This week roughly marks the end of the first year of ELEVEN AND A HALF. In 2010 we held three exhibitions and attended four art fairs. Many thanks to everyone who came and saw us at one of these events. For 2011 we already have three exhbitions planned (a group show in May and a two-man show in June, both in London, and another Summer Exhibition in Cornwall in September). We will also be holding another group show late in the year in London. We'll also be at the Cambridge, Devon, Windsor Art Fairs and, new to us, the Edinburgh Art Fair in November. Plus, hopefully, a few other fairs along the way. Please read our events page for the latest details when they become available. We hope to see you at one (or more!) of these.

9th November 2010 Windsor Contemporary Art Fair.

This weekend we'll be on stand 75 of the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair. This event has been running for several years and is held at Royal Windsor Racecourse. We'll be showing paintings by Ben Catt, John Piper, Michael Praed, Terry Whybrow, Ges Wilson and Vincent Wilson as well as ceramics by Lincoln Kirby Bell. We still have a number of discounted ticket available - please contact us for details. Full details of the fair can be found on their website.

7th November 2010 Sou'westers.

Our exhibition at the Colomb Art Gallery has been and gone. Many thanks to everyone who attended, either on the night of the Private View or during the week. We were very pleased with the show - all of the artists had supplied excellent examples of their recent work. You can see some of the paintings we had on show here. Below is Tier of Small Boats, Green Harbour, a painting given to us by Michael Praed for the exhibition.

26th October 2010 New John Piper paintings.

We've recently received some new paintings from John Piper. They are on a smaller scale (the paintings are all roughly 6 inches tall and between 10 and 12 inches wide) and have more muted colours than some of his large work but still perfectly capture the mood of West Penwith as the misty winter weather approaches. We'll be showing them at our exhibition Sou'westers which begins in Marylebone next week, and at the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair a couple of weeks later. They'll be added to the website in the next few days but here's a sneak preview:

11th October 2010 Sou'westers.

Our next London exhibition begins in three week's time. We'll be showing recent paintings by eight of our artists as well as, for the first time in London, ceramics by Lincoln Kirby Bell. The exhibition is being held at The Colomb Art Gallery, Marylebone, where we had our first show a year ago. Some of the paintings are still drying, and some are yet to be painted! But when they're ready we'll have them all on this website if you're unable to make it to the exhibition. However, there is no substitute for seeing the paintings in the flesh so we hope to see many of you there, either during the day or at the Private View on the 4th November. Below is Neil Davies' seascape that we chose for the front cover of the brochure. He's busy painting more for the exhibition at this moment.

5th October 2010 Devon Art Fair.

This weekend we were at the Devon Art Fair in Torquay. This was the inaugural year for the event and featured 35 galleries from across Europe. There was a great mix of 20th and 21st century art on display with many of the best-known contemporary artists represented. Our stand featured paintings by nine artists including some great new work by Ben Catt, one example of which is below. The fair was a great success - the organisers, who also arrange the Edinburgh and Cambridge Art Fairs, know how to put on a good show - and will almost certainly become an annual event.

13th September 2010 West By South-West.

Our Cornwall exhibition opened 3 days ago and is now in full swing. The exhibition space is the lower floor of a two-storey barn in the hamlet of Trebehor, a couple of miles from Land's End. We're showing the work of 10 artists, all of whom have exhibited with us in London in the last year in a large room previously used as a workshop and before that a cowshed. We're sharing it with 4 birds' nests and a large quantity of spiders and beetles! If you can make it along, directions can be found here. If not, many of the paintings we have on the walls can be seen here.

3rd September 2010 Other artists.

The eagle-eyed will have spotted a extra section in our new-look website: Other Artists. Most of the artists whose work we exhibit we have a permanent and on-going relationship with - they supply us with their latest work to show at exhibitions and fairs. On the Other Artists page you will find work for sale on a one-off basis by artists we have no relationship with. We're simply selling the paintings on behalf of a third party. We hope to be able to maintain a selection of work for sale by some of the better known artists of West Cornwall of the last 50 years or so. Initially we have a painting by Margo Maeckelberghe, whose work has become particularly collectable following her 2008 exhibition at Tate St Ives, as well as paintings by Roy Ray and Reg Watkiss. We hope to have more paintings to show you soon.

21st August 2010 New Ges Wilson paintings.

Ges Wilson has just sent some images of paintings she is sending us for our September exhibition West by South-West. They are three of her recent seascapes, painted from sketches done early in the morning along the Cornish coast. One is of Gwithian and Godrevy lighthouse, one of St Michael's Mount and one of Prussia Cove (also known as Bessy's Cove), the inlet near Praa Sands reknown for its history of ship-wreckers. The paintings beautifully capture the wildness of the landscape, the wind-swept beaches and flowing tides. All three will be on show in September, along with some of Ges' figurative work. Here's a preview:

10th August 2010 New Brenda King paintings.

I was in Cornwall last week preparing for our September exhibition. I also called in to pick up some new paintings by Brenda King. To say they are recent paintings is something of an under-statement - the signatures were still wet when I took them away. Three are archetypal Brenda King paintings - a landscape through a window with a composition of pots, jugs and fruit in the foreground. The other two are still-lifes, featuring flowers, vases and jugs on a table-top. All are in the faux-naive style for which Brenda is well known. Their quirkiness and curiousness is what appeals to me. You can see all five here (the first 5 images) but here's a personal favourite:

7th August 2010 Lincoln Kirby Bell.

We are very pleased that Lincoln Kirby Bell has agreed to let us show his ceramics at our exhibitions, beginning with West by South-West in Cornwall in September. Originally from South Australia, Lincoln has been working from his studio close to Newlyn Harbour for a number of years and his ceramics can be found in several local galleries. The elaborate designs, often featuring spots, spirals and circles draw from his experiences of archaeological digs in Central and South America. The exuberant colours make his work unforgettable and instantly recognisable. We hope you'll be able to come to one of our forthcoming events to see some of his most recent pieces.

21st July 2010 Details of Cornwall exhibition.

Our first exhibition in Cornwall, West by South West, will be held between 10th and 23rd September 2010. The show is being held in Mowhay Barn in Trebehor, a small hamlet near Sennen and about halfway between Land's End and Porthcurno. Mowhay Barn was last used as a cowshed and at this moment still resembles one. However, a few weeks of renovation should see it more suitable for an art exhibition by the time September comes along. The show is a group exhibition featuring recent paintings by Ben Catt, Neil Davies, Brenda King, Jason Lilley, Gary Long, John Piper, Michael Praed, Ken Symonds, Terry Whybrow and Ges Wilson. If you're on holiday at that time, or live in the area, we'd love to see you there!

11th July 2010 Sunday afternoon events in July and August

We are holding a series of Sunday afternoon Private Viewings in July and August. We've recently received quite a few new peices of work from our artists, partly for the Cambridge Art Fair and partly in preparation for our exhibition in Cornwall in September. If you didn't make it to Cambridge and won't be in Cornwall in September why not come and see the paintings in London? Each week we'll be showcasing the work of one particular artist but we can easily bring out paintings by any of the others. We have several new paintings by Terry Whybrow, John Piper and Neil Davies. Only a few of Michael Praed's didn't sell in Cambridge but these include some that are framed - the first time Mike's paintings have been framed in 30 years - which sets them off beautifully. More details can be found here but please contact us for full details.