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During my final year at University I was shocked to find that within the jewellery trade there seems to be very little consideration for the impact that sourcing precious materials has on the environment and the people working on the front line. Bearing this in mind, I set out on my own mission to see just how difficult it would be to obtain my own raw gold. After spending endless hours up at Kildonan Burn in Sutherland I did have some gold and some raw garnets to show for my work. In the neckpiece entitled 'Precious Existence' I have included some of the small flakes inside the locket. I hope to work more with this raw gold and garnets in future work to come.

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Karen's pictures are limited edition digital prints, printed using archival ink on a heavyweight, cotton watercolour paper coated specially for digital work.

She also creates cards printed on recycled card.

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One of the printmaking processes that I have learned there is collograghy. I like the 3D quality of the collograph when it is printed, the gold leaf that I use accentuates this and creates lovely light effects on the print. Some of my work is illustrative as shown in the "Cheetah" etching which was inspired by my trip to South Africa.

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I work from photographs, sketches and from life, attending Highland Dancing competitions, Scottish Country Dancing events and Ceilidhs all over Scotland. My aim is to make the viewer smile and to induce a sense of nostalgia while putting a modern twist on the spectacle of these ancient traditional dances.

My paintings have been used to illustrate the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society's Annual Review for 2011.

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My work is in a  variety of media, but mostly in oil paint, pastel, charcoal and pencil.
The subject matter is varied, but my main interest is in the landscapes and seascapes of Scotland.

Firstly, I should wish you all a belated Happy New Year! It does seem like such a distant memory, and now with Spring on our doorstep a time for re-birth, rejuvenation and warmer weather (fingers crossed!).....

As usual during our annual closure period, we have spent the time productively changing things within the gallery, searching for new artists and crafts people and generally having a good clean.

Beauly Gallery & The Kirk Coffee Shop re-open tomorrow, (that's Tuesday 7th) at 10am, we do hope many of you will be able to pop along and say hi on our first day of opening, and with the year of Creative Scotland happening throughout 2012 be prepared for lots of events happening in and around the gallery, (add us to your likes on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more up to date details).

We have had a floor move, which has opened up the gallery side perfectly for our events planned later in the year, and I have kept myself very busy during the winter months. I have been out and about visiting craft fairs and workshops, meeting with an abundance of creatively minded people, and inviting a few of them on-board for 2012.

Here is a sneeky peek of a couple of the new names appearing within our walls over the coming few months, enjoy:

Karen Davies is an illustrator living in Inverness. She has a first class honors in Illustration from Loughborough School of Art and Design, specialising in combining printmaking techniques such as mono printing and digital work in her illustrations. She has an eye for the absurd and enjoys tackling challenging subjects in her own unique, and often quirky, way.

Karen's works are limited edition digital prints, printed using archival ink on heavyweight, cotton watercolour paper coated specially for digital work. She also creates cards printed on recycled card.

You can find Karen's quirky, vibrant pictures in-store from mid February.

Lesley Murray, a bookbinder also resides in the Inverness area. Lesley produces various objects from recycled books, including clocks, sketch books, notebooks and some intricate miniature jewellery items! All items will be in-store in time for Mothering Sunday, which incidentally falls on 25th March this year.

Exhibiting alongside our new names are some established names in the local area including:

A huge range of framed prints from Janis Mennie, inlcuding her ever popular 'Being Scottish'.

A selection of framed prints from David Body and Rob Hain.

Extended lines from Julia Smith Ceramics, (check out her beautiful ceramic brooches).

A sizeable selection of works on slate from Hana Walls, incorporating her stylized depictions of Highland land and seascapes.

Not to be left out we have developed our gift side with a range of gifts ideal for Spring Weddings, and of course the aforementioned Mothering Sunday, including gift baskets from The Strathpeffer Spa Soap Company, beautiful handmade wooden bowls, chopping boards and utensils (appearing from Mid March). And funky seaside inspired products, from salad servers to wall hangings.

Our opening exhibition features a selection of works from local artists including Nicola MacDonell, Fiona Jappy, Eileen Addly, Jane MacRae and Fiona MacKenzie, absolutely brimming with colour and texture just what is needed to welcome in the spring!

We look forward to welcoming you again soon

Need an idea for the person who has EVERYTHING!  Try, Darach Wooden Crafts, what a hit these pieces have been. Darach is the Gaelic word for Oak, every single Darach product is crafted from vintage oak whisky barrels incorporating a fascinating blend of tradition, durability, beauty and fine design. Prices begin at just £8 for the single tealight holder.

Jane MacRae has supplied a limited number of original works on flagstone all in acrylic.
Jane a local artist, draws on her upbringing in Caithness and Sutherland to influence her works, soft colours and tones blending in harmony with the contrasting dark stone create unique gifts of beauty.

Our gifts shop has many more beautiful gifts for that last minute shopper, please find our opening hours over Christmas & the New Year below, don't forget, our sale begins CHRISTMAS EVE at 10am, get in quick to bag a bargain.

Tuesday 20th - Friday 23rd OPEN 10am - 4pm

Saturday 24th OPEN 10am - 3pm SALE STARTS

Sunday 25th - Tuesday 27th CLOSED

Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th OPEN 10am - 4pm

Saturday 31st OPEN 10am - 3pm

Sunday 1st & Monday 2nd January CLOSED

We re-open Tuesday 3rd January at 10am and are open as usual until close of business on Saturday 7th January. We then close for one month, with our re-opening date set as Tuesday 7th February.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers, artists and stockists, past present and future a wonderful Christmas and New Year and thank-you for making 2011 a successful year for all here at Beauly Gallery and The Kirk Coffee Shop.

We look forward to welcoming you again soon!

The exhibition features the work of Nicola MacDonell.  Nicola lives and works in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Her work is a response to the natural landscape, weather and man-made features of this area and beyond. The use of intense layers of thin colour build up fine deep paintings in oil and acrylic.

Our gifts will be aimed at the Christmas Market, with small items ideal for stocking fillers, and we will be previewing our vintage and up-cycled clothing rail, full of lovely clothing items, some can be purchased during the event.

All our staff will be kitted out in vintage outfits, from the 1920's right through to the 1980's, mine's a 1950's ensemble!

Hope many of you can pop along to see us and of course to view some of the films being shown during the annual event.

For more details regarding this event follow this link: www.cromartyfilmfestival.org

Our next event takes place over at Cromarty 'The Stables' and coincides with The Cromarty Film Festival, hope some of you can make it! Keep checking back for updates and news regarding this event. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter....

We look forward to welcoming you again soon.

Yesterday, our Christmas tree went up along with the garlands and other decorations, so it's looking very festive here!  I am also busy putting together amazing displays of stock from local crafts people, including: Darach Crafts, Common Crafts, and Sally Chadwick Art Dolls alongside beautiful designer jewellery from Barbara Macleod and Kay Callander, all feature a vintage twist.

We have representatives from Darach Crafts in store during the night, and Rachel from Common Crafts will be demonstrating her love of knitting and crochet, surrounded by an army of her handmade snowmen!

As usual, we have various discounts on the night, with an extra added bonus this year, if you have collected a postcard from us remember to bring it along on Friday night, this postcard will gain you an extra 10% discount off gift shop purchases, it can only be used once, and ONLY on the night, so be sure to bring it along.

Live music is bought to us by Bill Frances, last year's set was amazing, so, I look forward to a wee boogie!  Nibbles & refreshments will be served throughout the night.

Our raffle will again support the Highland Hospice, raffle tickets cost £1 each, and the prizes are amazing. Donations come from Scottish designers including Scaramanda, Darach Crafts, photographic company Ffordes Photographic, and of course, our wonderful artists who are always very generous, be it a small artwork to a bottle nice bottle of red.

So, mark your calendar, 7-9pm Friday the 11th November (this Friday), and don't forget your postcard. We look forward to welcoming you on the night!

Ohh, while I remember, anyone who has left their details to be added to our mailing list whilst visiting in-store, please ensure you add us to your safe list or you will miss out on our quarterly newletter and special offers. It is also possible to add yourself to the Newsletter mailing list.

See you Friday!

Sunday & Monday CLOSED
Tuesday - Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

So, Monday 31st October 2011 will be the last Monday opening for this year.

Nicola will be exhibiting a selection of works in various media along with Vicky Stonebridge, Lynn Bennet Mackenzie, Suzanne Gyseman (Tree of Owls pictured) and a wonderful series of felt pieces from Beauly artist Penny Stevenson.

This exhibition will show until Thursday 10^th November.

Last week I visited The Stables, over at Cromarty. I am ashamed to say, my first visit to a wonderful venue. The purpose of the visit was to plan a future event which coincides with the Cromarty Film Festival which runs the first week-end in December. Our sister company Ffordes Photographics are sponsering the event giving us the chance to also become involved. We will be providing soup and refreshments during the event, there will be an exhibition from several local artists, and of course a selection of Christmas gifts available, hand picked by myself especially for the event. We hope you are able to join us. Keep visiting my blog for more up-dates.

I am now away for a fortnight, off to chase some sun, seeing as it really didn't come to us this year! Will be back revived and refreshed soon!

We look forward to welcoming you again soon!

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I enjoy trying to capture the essence of whatever inspires me using different mediums. This variety ensures that I never tire of the anticipation of beginning new work. If the resulting chaos finally develops into a finished piece, then I also experience the buzz of having  produced something which, hopefully, others may enjoy.

Having exhibited in galleries and other venues in England, my work is now owned by clients from across the UK and also overseas.

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The Inspiration for my work, comes from a long standing fascination with Animals, Archeology, History, Anthropology, Ancient Art, how do people relate to animals and the world about them the ebb and flow of the seasons, how people have always used certain symbols to express feelings, basic creative energy, symbolism and how we use it. Living here in the highlands nearly all my life I developed a passion for Pictish and Celtic art.

The most inspiring and enduring images for me are the tattoos found on the 'Ice Maiden', a 2000 year old 'Pazryrk' mummy, found in the Altai region of Siberia. There was also a male mummy found in the 50's. The tattoos are swirling leaping animals, The stag in particular, has been a major influence on my work. These designs have become so much part of me that I have re-designed them as my own tattoos. A major ambition/ dream is to travel to The Altai Region myself, and explore this area, the similarities between Scythian & Celtic /Pictish art and work out why it resonates so much with me.

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I also love Pre-Raphaelite Art, folklore, fairy stories, myth & legend, tribal lore & lifestyles, I get lost for days in museums, have a giant comic collection and get very excited about piles of rocks.

Accessibility is important to me, Art which engages not-alienates real people.

Our current opening times can always be found on this page.

Firstly a warm welcome to  artist Ailsa Black who has a selection of mounted giclee prints and artist cards for sale within our gallery.

Ailsa Black Print

Ailsa's work is a quirky and light hearted interpretation of life in rural Dumfries and Galloway. It is based on the interaction of landscape, seascape, animals, birds and people that surround her. She is interested in the use of these core influences, which merge with her imagination, to convey a whimsical narrative on the characters and creatures of Scotland.

Ailsa Black grew up in Dumfries and Galloway and studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Gray's S

Ailsa Black Print

We also extend a warm welcome to the first of several new jewellery designers making an appearance over the coming month to Beauly Gallery, Jane Verburg.

Jane VerburgSilver Jewellery

Jane lives and makes jewellery in Cromarty on the Black Isle.  Her love of the outdoors and especially the beach is explored within the medium of silver, encompassing the sights and sounds of the sea and land around.  Jane collects  the pebbles that she uses in some of her work from Cromarty beach itself.

A selection of various pieces including necklaces, rings and bracelets can be found on display within the gallery over the coming months.

The September exhibition features a selection of work from various local artists, the spotlight this month falling on to Janis Mennie.

Original in Acrylic

She paints in a fairly contemporary style, sometimes edging towards the abstract, but with a certain amount of representation also.  Often working on a large scale, from memories of places and images seen and enjoyed in passing, frequently drawn together into one painting but generally will revert to a more traditional style of painting for individual commissions.

Also exhibiting this month Christina Campbell, Mary MacDonald, David Body and Jane MacRae, alongside new Harris Tweed wall hangings from Anna MacNeil and beautiful mirrors produced from various Scottish woods from Caroline Gold.

It's a sad farewell to Rachel, who retired in August, her presence will be missed on the gallery floor.  She will continue to make her wonderful scones for us though!

It is with regret that we have had to take the decision to close on Sundays a little earlier in the year than usual. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, and look forward to opening seven days a week again for the Summer season next year. Our current opening hours are Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm.

And with that I wish you a fond farewell, and look forward to welcoming you to Beauly Gallery again soon!

In making this award Holiday Inn Express Hotels said of the Beauly Gallery:

"Located in a converted quaint 18^th century church, Beauly Gallery is just a short drive from Holiday Inn Express Inverness. Capturing and displaying the very best of the Highlands, the gallery displays the very best of Scottish art. View exhibitions from both local and nationally acclaimed artists, which are also available to purchase. Afterwards enjoy the Victorian styled coffee shop and enjoy a tea or coffee with a delicious cake."

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I use sterling silver which I have hallmarked at the Edinburgh Assay office. Each piece is also punched with my unique maker's mark. I like to make beautiful, chunky jewellery that has a sense of light, movement and sound - just like the sea!

Opening Hours:
Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm

Our current opening times can always be found on this page.

New knitted & crochet items appear in-store from local company Common Crafts.

Well, we have six days under our belt, with just the week-end to go. The gallery has been alive with activity this past 7 days, it is great to see how many people have made the effort to follow the 'trail' and enjoy the multitude of talent we have here in the Highlands.

This week has seen several artists working in acrylics, including Jane MacRae, Hana Walls and Eileen Addly, all of which have such diverse uses for the medium. Theresa Brown and  Jenny Hepburn spent their day in-residence working with mixed media, again, varying techniques, producing differing results, all of which looked fabulous upon completion.

This week-end brings two more artists in to the gallery. Saturday, we have Rachel Common from Common Crafts, she produces amazing mini works of art from wool. Mobile phone pouches, mini purses, crochet balls and handy bags, all hand-made with love and attention to detail. Rachel is a new comer to Beauly Gallery, I do hope many of you will be able to call in tomorrow and give her a warm welcome.

Sunday, we have Sila Collins-Walden. Sila works with many mediums, concentrating mainly with acrylics and oils, she will be in attendance between 12-4pm, so call in for a coffee and view her amazing new works to Beauly Gallery, like me she is small of stature, but big in personality and has a huge  talent working with colour.

We look forward to welcoming you this week-end...

Just a quick line before I go.......Some of you who have already visited us this week may have seen a wonderful old van parked in our front car-park. This is our new baby, and will soon be decorated with our artwork, look out for us around the local area, don't forget to give us a wave!

Fiona Matheson Mixed Media

This week has also been busy as we have had several deliveries from new and existing stockists, what a great time Theresa and I have had unpacking and displaying all the new treats for the gift shop, it's like Christmas all over again!

Our first and much anticipated delivery came from Disaster Designs.  Disaster Designs has been trading for

Leather Satchel Bag

Glasses Case

Silver, our affordable jewellery range have supplied us with a pretty range of stud earrings, a couple of delicate bracelets and a stunning pendant design.  Working with skilled silversmiths and artisans Silver brings you distinctive designs you won't find anywhere else!

Enough of this blogging, I have a meeting with Mel Barr from Dizzy Glass this afternoon, so I'm off, back soon.........

The main Highland Open Studio exhibition will be on-show, in the gallery, throughout the month of July. The Artist in Residence days begin on the 23rd July and last for 9 days. Each artist will be available between 12-4pm. The full timetable can be found on this page.

Hana's current works are taking an illustrative style, bold colours with intricate detailing. She has begun to experiment with texture and media more, with her newest pieces taking shape on smooth pebbles and similar found objects.

The main Highland Open Studio exhibition will be on-show, in the gallery, throughout the month of July. The Artist in Residence days begin on the 23rd July and last for 9 days. Each artist will be available between 12-4pm. The full timetable can be found on this page.

I approach my art with imagination, colour and the enjoyment of light which reflects the beauty of the land & seascapes around us. I get much pleasure making up collages & abstracts.

My preference is always to paint "BIG" especially when I am engaged in outdoor painting and I find acrylics are conducive to my style.

The main Highland Open Studio exhibition will be on-show, in the gallery, throughout the month of July. The Artist in Residence days begin on the 23rd July and last for 9 days. Each artist will be available between 12-4pm. The full timetable can be found on this page.

My work has taken me to new dimensions over the past two years. I have had a number of successful exhibitions in various galleries based upon my travels around Scotland and Ireland. The theme has been “Wetlands, Boglands and Wild Places”.

Looking towards the Beauly Firth summer

My new work involves the mysterious peaty bogs of Ireland. I spent my childhood in Ireland and grew up with the stories of ghosts, and mythical creatures of the peaty boglands.

I am at present preparing some new paintings along that theme incorporating figures into my new works.