It's a mugs game!

One of the things that I love about this time of the year is local artist, Howard Robinson's annual release of his new bone china mugs.  He does a limited edition and they are always of local scenes... and so far I have collected over a dozen of them.

And finally this year's have arrived.


Howard chooses local landmarks, this year we have The Billet Pub from the old town, Hadleigh Castle, The Arches, the beach huts, the signal box and the lagoon over on Two Tree Island.

It is so lovely to be reminded of how blue the sky was in the Summer when we have Milk of Magnesia skies at the moment...

And here is my favourite, it is Hadleigh Castle and is rather special because it shows the 2012 Olympic Mountain Bike course which is all around the castle.

So if you are in Leigh over the weekend, pop in and see Howard and Joy at Gallery 3... but please leave some mugs for me!

The Leigh Art Trail 2011

If you are walking round the streets of Leigh this week, you cannot help but notice that it is Leigh Art Trail week.  You find art where you least expect it, in local churches, schools, garden sheds, kitchen fitting shops, coffee bars, wool shops... everything from painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture and even maze building


So here are a few of the artists whose work particularly appealed to me.

Howard on the left, chatting with an American visitor

Firstly there is Howard Robinson at Gallery 3A.  Howard started as a draughtsman which really shows in his small sketches but where he really excels is in his wonderful views across the estuary, Two Tree Island and Hadleigh Castle.

A selection of cards, mugs and small pics from Howard

Finding the water colour for the living room back home in Washington DC

The American visitors in the Gallery were both artists and got to take a look at Howard's studio and discuss the mixed mediums in which Howard works.  I have seen his work using sand, bubble wrap and even the local  newspaper, but what amazes me is that his work always looks right.


I then popped over the road to see Jonathan Trim, who has a fabulous exhibition at Moylans.  I actually stood on the other side of the road looking at his big canvases and wondered if he had moved into photography as the pics had such a filmic quality but on crossing the road was amazed by the delicate quality of his brushwork.

And here is Jonathan at work, that river looked so real, I expected to see ducks landing and to hear the wind whistling through the trees.  What really fascinated me was the different interpretations of the views across the Estuary between  Howard and Jonathan... I could certainly live happily with works of art from either of them.


Finally it was Andrew Haines, a fabulous photographer, who spends part of his year in Denmark and the rest in Leigh.

I think that he is the luckiest as he had the most wonderful venue... technically this is Elaine & John's garden shed!  Originally it was a classroom for two music teachers and is the most amazing space with stripped wooden floors, high ceilings and working fires... go on admit you want one too.

Each exhibition that Andrew constructs has a theme within the exhibition, there are certain subjects which people will always expect of him.  He has a fantastic eye for water, both inland and the open sea, as you can see in the triptych behind him which is printed on aluminium and has the most amazingly crisp finish.

Anyway his sub theme running through the exhibition was unusual groupings of usual objects, my favourites were a gorgeous selection of brightly coloured leather gloves, a collection of ski boots taken from above which I recognised after a good stare.  Also how can someone make used beer cans about to be recycled into a work of art or cigarette cartons, I don't know how he does it but it made me want to go out looking for a group to photograph... so I dashed into the kitchen and took this... a study of Howard's mugs.

So there you have it, a show which is well worth a visit and may well inspire you to try something new yourself... you have until Saturday 18 June to get down here to see it.