The cold dark nights and chilly mornings demonstrate that Spring is some way off but we’re already half-way through our Winter Workshop programme. We’ve been lucky to host a lot of wonderful artists in the last year and we’ve all been inspired by their work – and the work of their students.

Our first workshop was on a glorious October day at  Attadale Gardens with artist Sarah Longley. Thanks so much to the MacPherson family who hosted the event, and thanks to everyone who came along for the workshop and enjoyed a day out in the gorgeous gardens.

Watercolour is one of the most challenging media and we are very lucky to have artist Steven Proudfoot living locally as he agreed to run two introductory workshops at the gallery, with 10 participants over two Wednesdays in November.

Steven is a very accomplished artist and a great tutor, too. Most people on the workshop had never painted watercolours before but Steven taught us all about the processes, paints and paper, etc. Steven’s workshops have also been so successful that we are delighted to have him with us for three further dates in January, February and March 2017.  For more information, please check out our Facebook Page.

We also had two printmaking workshops run by our very own Aileen Grant, ably assisted by Cindie Reiter and Mairi Young.

Six ladies from the Howard Doris Centre art group joined us on a wet and windy day in early January and Aileen taught everyone how to use gelatin plates to make prints. Everyone had a great day and we were also treated to some delicious scones, thanks to the centre.

We were also impressed by how enthusiastic and creative everyone was, and some beautiful prints were produced.

We’re really pleased to have been able to run these workshops this Winter and to be able to share media and processes that people may be less familiar with – for example, gelatin printing can be done at the kitchen table with readily available paints and ingredients, but lino cutting really requires special inks and a printing press.

Luckily, we do have Aileen’s printing press set up in the Gallery, so everyone can have a proper go. None of the participants had ever done lino cutting before and it was great to see the strong work produced by the students, who hopefully will be inspired to do more in future

We’re really keen to run more workshops and Aileen, Cindie and Mairi have been working on a programme for 2017, which will include a collagraph workshop with artist Suzie MacKenzie on the 8th and 15th of Febuary, as well as more sessions with Steven.

For more information on Suzie’s workshops or the rest of our programme for 2017, please check out our Facebook page or email us at info@lochcarrongallery.co.uk.

As we head towards the shortest day and midwinter celebrations, the Gallery is keeping its doors open. Thanks to you – our friends and customers – for getting us off to such a great start this year. And, most recently, thanks for making our Christmas Shopping weekend a success. It was great to see you and show off all our new stock.

We’re building up an interesting array of art and gifts. And we’re continuing with our principle of seeking out work by Scottish artists and makers – ranging from driftwood clocks made in Argyll, to wooden coasters made in Aberdeen, and glass art made in Penicuik. And of course we have our own craft work and that of other local regulars.

Over the year, we’ve sought out a few new artists, sticking to our idea of having original artwork on the walls – paintings, drawings, and hand-crafted prints. We’re pleased to report that many of our artists have been featured in the Scottish open exhibitions held in the RSA (Royal Scottish Academy) building in Edinburgh. Rona MacLean and Cat Outram had work in the RSA open exhbition this year; Gillian Murray was one of the featured artists in the Scottish Society of Artists show; Cat Outram, Amanda Baron, Eleanor Symms and our own Aileen currently have work in ‘FLY16’ the open exhibition of Visual Art Scotland (on till 27th December). In fact, Eleanor Symms has won the Inches Carr award for her jewellery – and we still have some of her ‘Cartography’ range in the Gallery.

Over the winter in the Gallery we’ve run a few popular workshops. Jonathan Shearer is always a favourite for outdoor painting, and Sarah Longley held a good day’s drawing at Attadale Gardens in October.  And we hope to repeat these in 2017.  Steven Proudfoot’s recent watercolour workshop proved so popular that we’re continuing with extra workshop days in 2017.  Printmaking workshops are on the cards too – lino-cutting with Aileen in January, and collagraphy with Suzie MacKenzie in February.

Our high-profile event of 2016 was undoubtedly the session with Graeme Macrae Burnet, the Man Booker shortlisted author – there’s plenty about that event elsewhere on the website. It does make us think that we should try and hold one or two other sessions like this, especially as we now have a few books on offer. Art and books seem to go together, don’t they?

We hope you like what we’re doing in the Gallery, and we want to continue to grow and improve to make the shop a place that you want to visit – an added attraction in Lochcarron. We would welcome feedback from you and any ideas you might have about future workshops and events. So, please email us with your thoughts.

In the meantime – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when it comes. And don’t forget, we’re continuing with our Winter opening hours – there’s still time for last-minute Christmas Shopping and we’d love you to first foot us too!

On Saturday 12^th November, one of our favourite artists will be visiting the Gallery. Edinburgh printmaker Cat Outram will be in the Gallery between 2pm and 4 pm.  Please come and join us for a coffee or tea and meet Cat.  She’ll be delighted to have a chat with you about her work, the art of printmaking and life as a professional artist.

We’ve gone on to Winter hours now – open on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 5pm. But this doesn’t mean we’re having a rest. Far from it: we’re gearing up with new stock to satisfy your Christmas shopping needs. In fact, we’ll be open on Sunday 6th November 12-4pm for an extra session. This is when the Arts and Eats Christmas Fair is on in the village hall and we’ll also have a stall there. We’ve also been getting new stock from new makers – glassware from Amanda Barron, jugs and vases from Loch Broom Pottery, and clocks from SeaTree. Plus, we’ve been stocking up from old favourites too.

Our workshops have been going well and both Drawing Attadale with Sarah Longley and Outdoor Painting with Jonathan Shearer enjoyed fair weather. Events in November will be indoors – meet the Artist, Cat Outram on 12th November, and Steven Proudfoot’s Watercolour Workshops on 9th and 23rd November. In December we’ll focus on pre-Christmas events, but we’ll be back in January with some printmaking workshops.
So, despite our winter hours, there’s still plenty going on in the Gallery.