ART POPS UP IN DUMFRIES WEEKEND AUCTION SALE Former Sothebys Director brings new collecting concept to Scotland In his

days as a Director of Sothebys in London, where he worked for more than 20 years, Dumfriesshire man Brendan Mitchell was responsible for organising multi-million pound international fine art auctions in some of the most exotic places around the world. Now he is bringing a new concept to Scotland Pop-Up Auctions, the first of which will be held in Dumfries on Saturday June 29. Brendan was inspired by pop-up restaurants and galleries which utilise otherwise redundant high street buildings, but theres nothing redundant about his plan: more than 50 paintings and works of art by 10 of the regions leading contemporary artists will go under the hammer at 3V Studio and Gallery at 58 Friars Vennel. The auction starts at 11am with presale viewing from Tuesday June 25 (10am-5pm) and on the morning of the sale. Estimated prices range from an affordable 40 to 800. The catalogue will also be posted online to 22,000 subscribers to UKauctioneers.com, where commission bids can be left by anyone unable to attend the auction in person. With one exception, all the works on offer have been consigned to the sale directly by the artists themselves. In line with conventional auctions, Brendan will charge them a modest commission, while buyers will pay a buyers premium of 10 per cent of the hammer price. For many of the 10 artists represented in the sale, this is the first time their works have been offered before and prices are generally expected to be lower than those charged elsewhere. Said Brendan: I have organised sales from St Moritz to Malaysia and I have been the auctioneer for sales of jewellery and sporting guns at Gleneagles, carpets and paintings at Sothebys Bond Street and Chinese works of art in Hong Kong but this is my first auction under my pop-up banner. I am passionate about auctions and I believe the pop-up approach, with its ability to move around to various locations, is ideally suited to todays art market. Ive chosen to support local contemporary artists for this inaugural sale, but the system lends itself to all manner of antiques, collectables, motor cars, homes, even livestock. And much lower set-up costs means commission charges can be kept to an absolute minimum. This means sellers are happy to accept reserves which take into account that they will receive more of the selling price and buyers will generally pay less than they would elsewhere. The inaugural sale features Scottish art and artists. Irene Gall works and lives in Dumfries and Galloway. She is continually inspired by its landscape, gardens and history throughout the area and next to her home near Thornhill. After attending Wallace Hall Academy, she studied History of Fine Art with Geography at the University of Glasgow and whilst there, attended classes at the Glasgow School of Art and, more recently, has studied painting and drawing at Solway House Studio with Sam Mullen. After a career in teaching, Irene now concentrates on painting, mainly landscape and still life. She paints local landscapes, as well as those experienced on her travels throughout Europe and West Australia. She said: My paintings are strongly influenced by the Impressionist / Post-Impressionist movement, especially Paul Czanne. I love to portray natural landscapes, but also those where Man has

enhanced the landscape with buildings, standing stones and monuments. In portraying iconic Scottish themes such as Pipe Bands, I adapt the ideas of the Cubist and Futurist movements, especially Boccioni, to create images which have life and movement. Judith Campbell was born and brought up in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) and moved to Scotland in the late 1970s. She worked as a midwife in Dumfries until a couple of years ago when she took early retirement for health reasons. She said: For a few years I had been dabbling in art and my brother, who is an art teacher, suggested I would benefit from taking art lessons. Initially I joined Melville Brotherston's art class which I found extremely helpful. Latterly I have been attending art classes with the U3A (University of the Third Age). I derive a huge amount of enjoyment from working alongside other artists both in class and at the Thornhill Art Group. Angela Lawrence lives near Kirkcudbright, "Artists' Town", and gathers inspiration from the beautiful coastal scenery of the Solway and Colvend coast, and the nearby Galloway hills. The mountain scenery of the Western Highlands and the west coast of Scotland is also a focus of the semi abstract oil paintings. Light, and the unspoiled qualities of nature in Scotland stimulate her work and ideas. Some themes in the more abstract work are recurring. The newest series of work focuses on the sea in close up, and was initially created for the "Sea Spirits" exhibition at Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries. Since then Angela has received a Visual Arts Award from Creative Scotland and D& G Arts to develop the work further in the Outer Hebrides. Photographer Ed Baxter started his professional career working from the famous Covent Garden area of London. He is an experienced photographer in large, medium and small format film photography, specialising in advertising still-life, food and drink, product and people shoots in his studio or on location. Since moving to Scotland, Ed has been experimenting in fine art photography, shooting landscapes, property, rural and sporting scenes in addition to his advertising and design work. Kathleen Woods is a professional artist, based on the outskirts of the quiet rural village of Tynron, in South West Scotland. She was born in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, and spent most of her childhood and adult life in Grangemouth. I travelled extensively, living in the Middle East for a number of years. She said: This is when I started to paint seriously. On my return to the UK, I settled in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, where I lived for 16 years. While there I studied Fine Art at college and gained an HND Fine Art and BA (Hons) Fine Art Practice. I taught watercolour painting to Adult Education classes and private workshops. I think my greatest influences were JMW Turner, the Glasgow Boys, the Scottish Colourists, and more recently the Scottish painters Ethel Walker and John Lowrie Morrison who influenced me in experimenting with colour. I like to paint in watercolour for landscapes, pastel for flowers and oils for still life and landscapes. Ted Leeming and his wife Morag Paterson (leeming + paterson) are landscape photographers based in Dumfries and Galloway. In an unusual way of working, the couple share ideas on an ongoing basis and review each others works in progress, developing ideas and building images over time until one captures what they feel is the final picture at any given time. Both quite competitive, they find this way of working very motivational and sign their prints jointly to reflect their dual input. leeming + patersons work focuses on the rural outdoors, although they have been known to have an occasional foray into urban settings.

Generally the couple aim to convey a sense of place and atmosphere with their images, often straying towards very abstract compositions. Through his photographs, Stewart Baillie shares special moments and feelings captured during the past year, often with a twist revealing a scene in a new light, some with more to them than appears at first glance. Stewarts eye for reflections a major theme in his photographic work creates a multi-dimensional effect, freeing the viewers imagination and allowing it to travel beyond its usual limitations. Other images express beauty in its simplicity, inviting the viewer to just be here and savour the moment. Born in 1960 in Kirkcudbright, Stewart lives and works in his home town as a driving instructor. Through his profession he developed a keen sense of observation which he has extended to his passion for photography. Encouraged by public interest in a modest selection of photos displayed during the Kirkcudbright Arts and Crafts Trail in 2010, Stewart started to put together a collection of his work and has since exhibited his work annually. Karen Menarry has lived in South West Scotland for over 20 years and loves the lowland location with its beautiful beaches and rolling hills. She said: I attended George Street School of Art in Dumfries where I was introduced to many different subjects and techniques. The one I kept coming back to however was printing and decided this was the way forward for my art. The inspiration for my present work comes from my love of coastal towns and how they are affected by time and tide. In two of my artists books I tell the story of my favourite local places: the beaches near Gatehouse of Fleet, and the harbour at Kirkcudbright, both in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. My third book is about Pittenweem in Fife, another stunning coastal location. My interest in printmaking and my need to create have been fulfilled in these hand- made books which, although time consuming to make, are very satisfying. Karen also designs and makes jewellery inspired by the coastline and also pieces based on lace, inspired by memories of her grandmother. Six works by Peruvian artist Evaristo Callo Anco have been consigned to the sale by Roger Windsor, owner of the Ottersburn Gallery in Dumfries. Evaristo was born in Arequipa in 1960, the fourth of seven children and studied at the Escuela Bellas Artes Carlos Baca Flor, Arequipa, Peru. He has had 25 one-man exhibitions in cities throughout Peru, his first international exhibition in 1993 in Colombia, from where his international career has covered the globe. Among his many awards were his countrys most prestigious prize for a watercolour painting and the 1991 Premio Nacional John Constable - the most prestigious open prize in Peru. Evelyn Gray hails from Ayrshire but has lived in Dumfries & Galloway since 1986. She studied Art & Design at Dumfries College which gave her the opportunity to express herself in a wide range of creative processes. She said: A lot of my work involves painting on the reverse of glass which I find to be more interesting and unpredictable than applying paint in the usual way. I am inspired by the works of Scottish Colourists, in particular, Alison McWhirter who is a very successful Scottish painter. I also enjoy portraiture and I like to place the subject in unlikely compositions. Notes to editors: Entries for the sale can be seen here. High resolution images are available on request. For further information, please contact Brendan Mitchell on 07585 921550 or Brendan@brendanmitchell.co.uk.