• 0 ABOUT ME ....

    1.50 of 2 votes

    I studied Fine Arts and Printmaking at Harrogate, Sunderland and Chelsea School of Art where I gained my M.A.. I have worked in various art related jobs until returning back to Richmond and began Gilpin Fine Arts in 1989. My paintings, landscapes, abstract and portraits of animals sell across the world and I have acquired a strong customer base who collect my sheepdog paintings. In 1994 I moved to Gallowfields Trading Estate in Richmond, after requiring extra space to undertake more bespoke framing. Today, I teach extensively, covering a wide range of topics from watercolours, oils, pastels and acrylics to silk painting. I have regularly taught crafts for the N.S.P.C.C. and in 2006 finished a mural for Sure Start in Colburn, Catterick Garrison. My painting abilities are not solely confined to animals, I have a diverse range of subjects in my repertoire ranging from ships, planes, trains and portraits. My latest passion is sculpture which I aim to explore further in the near future.

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    0 www.gilpin-arts.co.uk

    0.00 of 0 votes

    Visit the Website of Gilpin-Arts Situated overlooking the picturesque market town of Richmond, North Yorkshire we are an Art & Craft Shop with an in-house picture framing workshop. We sell originals & prints from Grace's artwork, as well as designer mugs and greeting cards. Please click here > Gilpin-Arts Our modern equiped workshop allows us to offer our customers quality at an affordable price. Custom cut mounts are our specialty, from multi-apertures for cigarette cards to wash lines and reverse cut double mounts for a stunning decorative effect. You may browse at your leisure at our diverse selection of quality moulding and mountboard samples, or if you prefer, receive the benefit of our expert advise. If you don't see the moulding sample that you are looking for please ask as we have many more within our catalogues. There is no hard sell, we want all our customers to go away happy, remember it is your home, your decor and your taste. If you're happy with the work we do for you "tell your friends" if your not "tell us".  

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    0 Teaching

    0.00 of 0 votes

    Finally, trying to get back to a regular work pattern! Too many things have intruded on my life, making me somewhat like a mad man jumping from one thing to another, interspersed with problems and a bit of laughter. I have recently been teaching a lovely lady, who wished to try more abstract landscape paintings, something I don't dabble in too much as I have always been a great believer in 'Art has to come from somewhere', not merely be pretty colours and not express anything. During the class we have quite philosophical discussions, which are thought provoking! I find it interesting how we can be and are influenced by colour, movement, emotion and shape, which led me to borrow her book on Art Therapy, something I was very interested when I first started  my arty education. Sadly at that time I couldn't afford the courses but looking back now I have realised how much I actually did naturally with many of the groups I taught, N.S.P.C.C., SureStart, Mental Health, Handicapped and Dementia.  We often put ourselves off doing something, not just living in the moment and enjoying it. I am just as guilty of this as anyone but I have learned life is too short to spend time worrying about doing something wrong or letting someone else (or our own mind!) put us off creating! Teaching has allowed me to give others this joy of discovery and creativity,  passing on enough of my knowledge and enthusiasm, allowing them to just have fun and paint! (or craft!)

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    0 2021, what a start!

    • by Grace Gilpin
    • 13-01-2021
    0.00 of 0 votes

    Many of us were very happy to see the end an horrific 2020, hoping to sneak into 2021 with a better outlook but here we are again. Like many of you no doubt, we are struggling with events and trying to keep ourselves moving forward as best we can every day. I would like to say if any of you would like a chat or to ask for help/ideas to keep you going, please don't hesitate to reach out. I hope to now kick my own butt and get some simple ideas posted on my Fb page to help us all along, as I have been rather lax too! So, I have still been having my daily outside exercise with Kira, running, walking or over the past couple of months been trying race walking, with the help of the lovely Linda and Trevor! Sadly it is on my treadmill now due to my outdoor time focussed on Kira's needs but it gives me a laugh, desperately trying to get that wiggle form! Have any of you jumped into a new routine? Let me know! I have tidied my home workroom up now and have a lovely exercise area and studio together so have no excuse to get going! Looking back on part started paintings, I have come across during this clean up, I am going to post some of my past works and explain, with some of the unfinished ones, what I was trying to do, what stopped  me taking them further and  what my original idea was hoping to express. I will warn you, I do sometimes have weird ideas!   Keep visiting our page for ideas and maybe a little inspiration! Keep safe.

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    0 Advent Windows and ideas!

    0.00 of 0 votes

    The village we live in has been happily producing Advent Windows which, so far has been a huge success! We took the 3rd December and it was quite a task for me as we have the old fashioned 16 pane sach windows! I really wanted to do something with the 12 days of Christmas but the size of each pane just made that impossible, so i just went for it and chose to use papercuts, glass painting and tissue paper.  I also decided to play with using recycled items, mostly plastic to make things to hang up. One idea I have had is proving a little problematic but I will eventually work through it! This will hopefully end up with a colourful character to display, so updates on that later! I always choose to make rather than buy as 1, I am a tight Yorkshirewoman, 2, I love to play with paper, paint etc, 3 I love to encourage others to have a go! Things dont have to be complicated, expensive or difficult, simple is often the best approach. Most of us have paper and sissors and computers have opened a world of ideas to us. So if you need inspiration look around you, paper snowflakes are great fun, lots of images and patterns are available to download and use, get a little eco friendly glitter glue and have a some time having some fun! Or even have a go at using items you would normally throw away! We love advising customers and giving help to make things, so if you need a little help pop in and I'm sure we can help with paper, tissue, glitter to help you along with your 'homemade Christmas'!   Hopefully, we may see you soon, safely!   

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    0 The good, the bad and the bright side.

    • by Grace Gilpin
    • 30-11-2020
    0.00 of 0 votes

    Another lockdown nearly over and many struggling with what life has thrown at us. Yes, it has been and will still continue to be hard for many of us but I have always been a glass half full type of person.  am lucky that I can get out and am happy to walk or run with Kira, in all weathers be it wind, rain, fog or snow. I have also started to really appreciate what is around me, the colours, the shapes, the animals and for the first time in a couple of tough years, I am actually wanting to get back to painting and creating with what inspires me. I do still love producing commissions, particularly animals but I enjoy colour and the way my mind cries out to just have fun and produce works for me. The problem with that of course is I need to make a living! This morning the moon was absolutely stunning, a photograph would never reflect what I saw but I am happily keeping an internal image for a future oil painting, so keep a look out! Even all the rain and water has made me love all the reflections in puddles and pools, ( though cleaning Kira after our wet walks is not a chore I enjoy much but she does!!). So when you are out, be nosey in nature, look at whats around, expect the unexpected and hold it ready to just have some fun creating something for you!

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    0 Kira's 10 mile run

    0.00 of 0 votes

    Today, Saturday I had every intention to do one of my clubs virtual championship runs, most likely a half marathon. the weather very rarely puts me off and the fog, rain and mug didn't today! However Kira had other ideas! She had her morning walk, so I thought she would happily settle down with Alan. I merrily got ready, planned my route and went to put my trainers on..Kira was up and ready for the off again! I never expect Kira to run with me all the time, I allow her to decide if she wants to come out for a run and today, there was no way I was getting out of the door without her! She is a typical husky by all accounts, stubborn, goofy, nosy, a little aloof with people she doesn't know and a has a high prey drive. She has learned all of my running or walking routes, including all the spots where we see deer, hare or pheasants! Running with her cannicross style is certainly interesting, particularly downhills! ( uphill is usually a 26k husky pull up by me !!) I was hoping this year to do a couple of races with her but sadly Covid put an end to them all but hopefully next year we will give it a go. My club, the Swaledale Runners decided to do virtual championship runs and included dogs and other family members in them, which is really nice. Many of us have dogs, some rescues, some rehomed due to sad situations and others have just been part of families from puppyhood, most have been included in parts of our lives others never get to experience. For Kira not only has it calmed her but also given her such pure enjoyment, my joy comes from seeing her love being out and learning about the countryside and wildlife around us. So we completed the 10 miles on trails,  mud, water, fog and rain today in a little over 1h 50 mins, happy, very wet and dirty but so pleased to have had that time out and been able to enjoy life!  

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    0 Illustrations

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    I have painted, drawn or created all my life, though sometimes it has been in a bit more unusal ways, for example recently painting on cakes! (a blog will follow on that later!) Sometimes though, it is hard to keep on track and focussed, things can easily stop me from working on time sensitive projects or commissions, I get excited about something I have seen or I have an idea for a painting or making an item and off my mind goes, desperate to give it a go! It is a never ending task to keep my mind on the straight and narrow as, at the end of the day, even though I love being a batty artist, I need to make money like everyone else! But that fine line between me expressing my creativity and making money from commissions is difficult to tread. At college, I explored all media, letting creativity flow through me, having fun and developing ideas through using media in wild and wonderful ways. ( this exploration did however give me a vast knowledge about materials and their uses!) I was however always fully aware the big bad world outside college would need me to work and earn money, even working to help myself get through college without all the debts many others had. We all struggle with time, tiredness, stress, children, pets,' LIFE!!', work, bills etc but if you really want to or love doing something you can find a way to achieve it. Finally, I do, in my own way, settle in and get my work done and am happy that my mind is always full of ideas, I just wish I would remember to use my sketch books to put all the chaos down in!  

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    0 Lockdown

    3.00 of 1 votes

    Another lockdown is upon us and unlike some, I have a list of things I would like to actually try or make! From getting back to my roots and doing some lino printing to trying to use my sewing machine. I very rarely have time where I can do my own thing without feeling guilty, although we will still be available to post out items and 'click and collect' frames, so i will still be doing a little work! Hopefully I will be able to post some ideas to keep young and old occupied using simple items and encourage everyone to have a go at making some homemade Christmas gifts. I  enjoy making gifts as I had found Christmas was becoming more and more commercial, losing sight of its real reason. Yes, all us small businesses need (and cherish!) our local customers, so you can have a vibrant and interesting local market place to shop in but there is still a place for handmade gifts made by you for those special people in your life! Keep checking my blog and maybe I can give you that spark to have a go at something different! Stay safe!

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    0 Ooops, technical glitch

    • General
    • by Grace Gilpin
    • 31-10-2020
    0.00 of 0 votes

    This morning brought a little problem with my blog, ain't technology grand? OK most of my posts disappeared into that big, dark hole where lost thoughts go but I can begin again a bit like paintings! We spend alot of time as an adult worrying about things not being 'good enough' be it a cake, a painting, hairstyle, dress, whatever. When we are children we mostly just 'do things', not thinking about consequences or how others view what we do and I find it sad that we allow others opinions to stop us having a go at something.  I am guilty of this too, watching Swaledale Runners run past after teaching a class on a Thursday evening and thinking, I want to do that. One stupid and thoughtless remark stopped me until I was 52, how sad that I allowed that? ( I have made up for it now though! lol) Art is the similar, many I have taught say the same, 'I enjoyed it at school but I was no good'. I try to tell everyone, you don't have to show any of your work to anyone and when you do produce one you like, show that one off! To me enjoyment of doing it is important, of course you want it to be the best but we all have to learn and splotching about with paint, pencil and brush lets you learn (and remember!) about mistakes, good points, bad points and happy accidents! You cant be like anyone else, you are unique and can only be guided by someone who has 'been there, done that', so don't compare yourself with your neighbour, have a bit of fun and be kind to yourself! Although I am not particualarly technically minded, again because of the fear of doing something wrong, I have been enjoying playing with my graphics tablet. ( Alan is agast! lol) The joy is a mistake can be removed easily but again someone has to guide you with basics! Its as easy to loose mistakes as your masterpiece though but all the marks, textures, lines and erasing you can do are amazing and that is where I am happily playing once again, like that little child many years ago! So take a step back, get out a piece of paper and a pencil or paints and have a play, promise no one will see! Have fun!!