Artworks give a boost to Hansel
A leading light in the art world is to exhibit in an Ayrshire charity show.
Renowned artist Gilly Beech has donated a beautiful landscape entitled Country Life to the annual Hansel’s Little Paintings charity event being held in Murdoch House, Broadmeadows Estate, Symington, from Friday, March 10, to Sunday, March 12, and sponsored by Steven Brown Art and Majestic Wine, Ayr.
The Ayr community art tutor is excited to be involved with the exhibition to raise funds for Hansel as she has experience working with charities and within South Ayrshire Council supporting vulnerable local people, teaching them to see art in a positive.
She has also completed art work for another organisation, The Oor Wullie Bucket Trail in Dundee which raised £ 9500 in auction for the Archie Foundation which is raising funds for Tayside Children’s hospital.
Gilly is also working closely with the National Autistic Society.
She was first inspired to explore the positive impact of art on people with autism by a young boy called Lewis whose parents asked her to create a special painting for him.
Explaining that he could not express his emotions or connect with them in the same way as others, his mother asked for a picture that would appeal to him on a sensory level and featured one of the things that connected him to his love for his mother – a rainbow.
Gilly produced a painting using different textures so that Lewis was not only able to see but also touch a rainbow and the family were delighted at his reaction.
She said: “That was a great example of the way art really can transform lives. Hansel does a fantastic job supporting people with learning disabilities and helping them reach their potential. I am delighted to be in this exhibition alongside other amazing artists.
“The painting I have submitted, like most of my work, is about nostalgia and de- stressing. In the picture I have tried to evoke the sounds, smells and peace of summers spent away from the noise and pressures of everyday life. Hopefully, whoever buys it will feel the same sense of calm when they look at it.”
All of the paintings in the exhibition measure eight inches by eight inches and there is a limited number of larger works too.
With all paintings from established artists costing just £ 300 and amateur artists’ work priced from £ 100, the exhibition gives buyers the opportunity to invest in a piece of original artwork for less than the cost of many framed prints available from high street department stores.
Sheila McLean, Hansel Fundraising Manager, said: “I can’t believe this is our ninth Little Paintings Exhibition and the art work just gets better and better every year.
“There is a really diverse range of artwork from paintings of windswept beaches to a picture of a boy on a unicorn and a portrait of Terry Wogan.”
To find out about more about the exhibition, enquire about the private preview evening on Thursday, March 9, or about future Hansel charity events, contact Sheila McLean by emailing sheila. mclean@ hansel. org. uk or telephoning 01563 831428.