Donkey Do !!

Visitors to the beaches of Weston-super-Mare this summer will not only be able to enjoy the famous donkey rides, but will also have the chance to take part in a new donkey-themed town attraction. The Grand Pier has launched a scheme to brighten up the town with a trail of life-sized, decorated donkey statues. Local businesses are invited to sponsor each of the donkeys, with the money raised going to Children in Need and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Local artists will design the donkeys and paint them with the cost of the work being sought from local businesses. The initiative – which will see the colourful resin donkeys dotted around the town centre and seafront – is being organised to mark the 200th anniversary of tourism in the seaside resort and the re-opening of the Grand Pier in the summer. “We want as many businesses as possible to sponsor a donkey to help create an exciting event in the town,” Helen Ritchie, Grand Pier marketing manager, told local papers.

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@ - Honoured by Museum

For the French, it may always remind them of delicious escargot, but for most everyone else the @ symbol has come to embody the age of the Internet and its constantly evolving language. In honour of the little squiggly’s potency, the Museum of Modern Art in New York announced on Monday that it had added the @ symbol to its architecture and design collection, citing its “design power.” The @ symbol, currently used every day by millions around the world in email addresses, text messages and on twitter.com, is thought to be ancient, the museum said, possibly dating back to the sixth century. Because the symbol is not a concrete thing but an abstract idea, it has changed meaning many times in the course of its existence.

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The Art House Shop

Our new shop is now online. Here you can view the art that is for sale in a very easy format, and you can buy with confidence using the Paypal shopping cart system. A standard fixed delivery fee is included, so there are no hidden costs. New products will be added as they become available and please look out for special offers, which will become a feature of the shop. Further savings can be made if you are interested in more than one piece of art, contact us directly with any queries you may have. Please take the time to visit the shop. Thank you for your support. ~ John
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Sweet Dreams

When John asked me to think about producing some artwork with an African theme my mind went wild. It has been a life-long dream of mine to Safari in the Masai Mara and have the opportunity to come face to face with my favourite wild animal … the Big Cat, be it the Lion, Cheetah or Leopard! In my earlier art days I enjoyed using pastels to sketch Big Cat faces. Their markings and colours are exceptional and I found the pastels really easy to work with. So, this brings me to my first canvas, ‘Sweet Dreams’, from my new African Collection.

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Coming soon … Out of Africa …

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Missing Van Gogh

A newly authenticated Van Gogh has gone on display 35 years after a discredited art collector bought it in Paris, convinced it was painted by the famed Dutch master but never able to prove it. Le Blute-Fin Mill was painted in 1886, according to Louis Van Tilborgh, curator of research at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It was bought in 1975 by Dirk Hannema, who was known as a brilliant museum curator but a fool when buying for his own collection. When he died in 1984 he claimed to have seven Vermeer’s, several Van Gogh’s and a few Rembrandts. He was right only about this painting, which went on show yesterday in the Museum de Fundatie in the town of Zwolle.

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