10th May 2020

What a change has taken place in the country since I last reflected on life in Sue's art world.  So much is being written on the pandemic, it is the last subject you want to be reading about here, but it is of course having an impact.  With Exhibitions cancelled in 2020, including more recently the sad, later yet understandable decision on Birdfair, and Galleries closed, for a short while at the start of April, the immediate future looked rather bleak.  Up to then, the year had been going from strength to strength with us also due to take over Brett Gallery from the start of that month too!  The Art world Sue had so recently committed to full time initially seemed in suspense.  Quickly taking stock of the situation we focussed even more on presenting her work on Facebook as well as continuing our development of the new shop and website.  Our positive approach to the dramatic turn of events has worked and, thanks to some loyal customers ( I would even call them collectors now! ) as well as some new ones through the website, Sue has sold seven originals together with some of her "One of a Kind" art pieces.  Not only would we both like to thank  those of you who have bought her work but also we appreciate the many followers of Facebook and visitors to the web site.  It gives confidence that there is still a place for paintings amidst these surreal times, who knows even more so, in the same way that many are discovering wildlife and birdsong again.  Do take care and stay safe...........

29th February 2020

I am very conscious that we have not written further since the start of the New Year, there is a good reason!  Sue has been painting furiously to build up fresh stock for the upcoming exhibitions as well as providing works for the various Galleries. On that subject we had an unexpected and most welcome invitation to send some originals to Oriel Ger Y Fenai Gallery on the island of Anglesey, North Wales.  Bethan Williams took over her father's Gallery a little while ago and is full of enthusiasm for the art world.  I am pleased to say that this bubbly sounding approach to here work is quite inspirational and it spilled over into her attraction to Sue's Art.  The opening selection should be arriving there today!  Not to be held back, Bethan had published Sue's paintings on social media by the end of the first weekend of e-mail contact.

The other development that is taking up an increasing amount of our time is Brett Gallery, Monks Eleigh, Suffolk.  Sue and I are taking over the business from the 1st April 2020 when Win Gage, the founder in 2015, retires.  A new venture for both of us, though we do know the Gallery quite well as Sue has been exhibiting there since it opened.  There will be more to follow and soon Brett Gallery will have its own web site which will be found on https://www.brettgallery.co.uk

24th December 2019

Yes, one month since I have written on the website for Sue, much has happened though.  She has had a busy few weeks keeping up with orders, a nice problem to have and she is certainly not complaining at all.  Quite the opposite as you might imagine.  She has sold across her range, with the most popular item being the robin keepsake box in their various designs.  As soon as these were delivered they sold within a few days, all at Brett Gallery.  For my part, the shop website is now up and running and there was much excitement to receive our first order directly through the shop itself, rather than the Contact Form.  The latter can still be used however, especially when more specific questions arise.  Christmas Day tomorrow, family time for us all.  Sue will take a couple of days off now though is already looking forward to Friday, when she will return to her current painting, a new version of those loveable and comical  Puffins.  You will not be disappointed.  Then a quiet few months in terms of Exhibitions and Shows, time to build up some stock and develop other areas of her work.  As well as the main love of her painting, there is still the excitement of another associated project and all will be revealed in the New Year.  For now, early Christmas Eve, it is time to wish all of our readers and customers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  A special thank you to all who have bought Sue's work throughout 2019 and enabled her to take to revel in the passion she has had for her art and take the leap of working full time.  She is loving every minute of it!  Finally, for now, an equally heart felt thank you to those Gallery owners who have shown such confidence in Sue's art.  

24th November 2019

So, the Vintage Fair is behind us now, a successful, if chilly, day.  Sue sold a range of her work including Vintage jugs, an apt result for this particular occasion.  Two keepsake boxes have found new homes, one having been ordered on the day.  See Reviews!  We both visited Stonham Barns for the second time in the last month, where Sue has been exhibiting at Hemingstone Frames for two years.  We have seen David Patrick build this quality picture framing business up from scratch, his model being to have prints available for his wide range of frames.  He has just moved into new premises on the site, which is much better positioned for him with an unexpected spin off for Sue.  Many prints have sold since he opened his new doors, often Sue's well known detailed owl paintings in their natural settings.  No surprise really, with many visitors going to Stonham Barns to see the Owl Sanctuary.  In talking about how each other's ventures were developing, David mentioned their own Christmas Fair this coming weekend.  We have a slot!  Come along this Saturday or Sunday!

I hinted at a new idea which went on display last week.  Painting birds on old regional maps, combining the beauty of an appropriate or favourite bird with the area that the buyer knows and loves. Two are being worked on at present and much interest was shown, two customers saying that were interested, one in Norfolk, the other West Suffolk.  I wonder how this will develop?  To finish for this week, we are now running our high quality giclee prints for the 12" x 12" range of paintings.  Take a look in the catalogues. We have started with Little Gem ( Nuthatch ), a Kestrel and Ivy, the delightful wren.  Do take a look in elsewhere on the website.   

12th November 2019

It is hard to believe it some two weeks since I last visited this diary, a lot has happened.  Reflections are now to the background, the future to the fore with Sue now daily immersed in her world, popping up for air here and there!  Seriously , she is balancing her life out quite nicely and we do still manage a meal out together.  We have been preparing for the Vintage Fayre at Monks Eleigh this coming Saturday, with a range of her work available........ originals, framed and mounted prints, cards, slates and ..... naturally ..... her popular vintage jugs and churns..... a must for this particular occasion, of course!  Sue is experimenting with a new theme for her bird art this week with her first version being ready for the weekend.  I know I would understandably be accused of being biased, but I do think it is looking good and will appeal to countryside lovers.  Views of visitors will be more than welcome.  

I understand the temperature in the Barn will be on the low side, though dry outside.  This will be an ideal setting for these early winter days and, although it is our first exhibition at Bridge Farm Barns, I gather it attracts visitors from across the region.  Do come along!  

27th October 2019

The celebrations of departure from the vets ended last Friday with a meal shared by many friends and colleagues.  Sue's first week full time has gone far better than she even anticipated, waking on the day after leaving to a sale of an original.  It was  the Nuthatches " Double Take ", one of her own personal favourite birds and paintings.  Quite a confidence boost for her, followed by other successes with a bespoke Barn Owl slate for a cottage in Dedham and prints bought through two of the local galleries.  Swallows seem to be popular this week!

The new shop website is now live, as you can tell as you read this. Wayne of WPK Systems has done a splendid job in setting up the infrastructure and I have spent the last week transferring and uploading many images, as well as enabling the site to exhibit what we set out to provide. There will no doubt be teething problems I am sure so please bear with us. I hope most have been ironed out but should you wish to send in your observations I would be pleased to hear from you through " Contact Me".

Sue is building up stock for the forthcoming Vintage and Makers Festival Fayre on November 16th at Bridge Farm Barns, Monks Eleigh.  Do come along!  Sue's plans for the coming week are slates and vintage jugs. 

20th October 2019

Sue has left her job at the vets after 32years.  Many good wishes came from clients at the Practice as well as her own existing art customers.  Her work colleagues and friends presented her with a sculptured hare from Brett Gallery, where she has exhibited her own work regularly since it opened in July 2015.  Much has happened since then!  

So..... on Friday 18th October 2019 Suzanne Perry became a full time artist.  A bonus this month is that she is the featured artist of the month and has one of her latest paintings at the centre of an advertisement for Brett Galllery, Monks Eleigh in "Suffolk Magazine".  Work this week has included a slate design as a commission for a customer from Dedham who saw her work at another Exhibition and thought that the slate, with one of her birds prominent, would make an ideal door sign outside her cottage. The design has been agreed and work starts tomorrow.  On the painting front, Sue has started another garden "three', always a popular format.  This time it will be a blackbird, robin and house sparrow, each in their own natural setting.

The shop website is so tantalisingly close to publication now.  Though its opening will be a welcome update on day 1, it will be an ever developing window for her wide range of work.  

13th October 2019

It has been a week of mixed emotions for Sue as she enters her final days at the vets after all these years.  The overriding feeling she has is excitement over the future as she concentrates fully on her art but, understandably, she has some fond memories from years gone by, which she will now be taking with her.  She will miss her immediate colleagues, some have become good friends too, never lost. And many regular clients, of course.  Amidst this backdrop, she has been painting away on her non-vet days, building up stock for the Festive Fayre, Vintage and Makers Market, at Bridge Farm Barns on Saturday 16th November from 11 am to 9pm. Another churn is completed, a 12' slate has been shipped to a customer and other slates have their colour background in readiness for more.  Two vintage jugs have also been prepared for her choices of bird.  The next painting on the horizon is a kingfisher, no doubt in another carefully chosen setting, even I have yet to find out where!

The shop website is in the advanced stages of development now.  Most images and stock levels are in place, only the jugs and cards remain to be uploaded.  Once these are all added we will be able to ask for the finishing stages from our developer, Wayne of WPK Systems Ltd.  I want to expand the site past its initial content format, which is a hybrid of the first site's galleries and a shop.  I intend to have even more educational aspects incorporated, these are thoughts for the future though.

The display at another Gallery has been changed and two of the 12" x 12" paintings have replaced gaps.  We like to have a general change round during the year and none more so than at Sue's first and ongoing regular Exhibition at Brett Gallery,  Monks Eleigh.  To complete her recent trio of 12" square originals, Breakfast Branch is on display at Brett.  Oh, I forgot to mention that another Gallery, near Nottingham has recently accepted her work.

To finish this weekly update, don't forget to keep watching this space!  Yes, there is much on the past to reflect on, but such lot to look forward to in the coming year. 

5th October 2019

The three new 12" x 12" paintings are completed and will soon be on the new website.  As well as this Sue has painted another Perigrine for a collector on Australia, whois turning out to be one of several customers who we would call Collectors. That is certainly giving her more confidence. As well as these works, Sue has painted another slate and primed a churn ready for a commission requested by someone who has recenly bought two churns, each with Owl designs.  

I mentioned confidence.  We have both been working towards Sue working at her art full time and the leap has now been made.  She resigned from her job of 32 years at the local veterinary practice.  This has been a big decison as she has only had the one job since schooldays and a great deal of thought has gone into this move.  So, from 19th October Suzanne will be spending her working days in the creative environment that fulfils her so much.

The new shop website is getting closer to completion and will hopefully be ready within a month or so.  A major new development.

On we travel.  The next month painting-wise will be spent building up stock for the Vintage Fair at Bridge Farm Barns, Monks Eleigh as well as looking ahead to 2020.  There are even more exciting plans to follow and these will be revealed in due course. 

17th September 2019

The last week seems to have flown by with much discussion on Sue's art, and creations too!  On the latter, one main focus has been on some new 12" x 12" paintings, which have been particularly popular recently.  All of the original stock has sold, with three being bought at Birdfair. Sue has just finished the first of a new set, the ever admired kingfisher, and it is currently being scanned, with publciation on the website within the next week. We have named it "Patience" following a suggestion by one of the contributors to the British Bird Lovers Facebook Page.  Sue has painted another swallows slate which, I undertand, is going to be used ouside the front door showing the house number.  To my knowledge, this is the first time the slates have been used in this way.

Behind the scenes, the new shop website structure is taking shape and I am starting to re-size all of the images ready for republication, a lengthy task but essential and most worthwhile if we are to provide the professional appearance we aspire to.  As for other discussions on the future of Sue's art, there are some exciting plans ahead so watch this space for developments!   

8th September 2019

It is time to start a blog, we are advised, and I have been asked to write regularly on behalf of my wife, Sue.  

Thanks to our dear friend, supporter and web site developer, Wayne Kerridge, we published our first web site some four years ago and have concentrated on building up Sue's various catalogues, which you will see have become wide ranging.  

As her art career grows at an exciting pace, we are now looking at using the web site more regularly to record progress.  It is particularly timely as a new version of the site is being developed as I write, incorporating a shop, as well as even more up to date technology to make the it even more user friendly on mobile phones and tablets.  

The most significant event over the last month was the success of our first exhibition at Birdfair in Rutland.  Despite the exceptional weather conditions, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were delighted that Sue's art was appreciated by so many. It always pleases her to know that people will be hanging her work in the intimacy of their homes.  And the vintage milk churns were clearly well received too! 

The plan is to add to Sue's blog on a weekly basis, not only on matters web site but also on her ongoing art work.  Why me writing?  Sue manages her Facebook Page as well as Instagram and of course wants to paint as much as time allows.  Me?  I like to chat and to support her art in as many ways as I can, to give Sue maximum opportunity to continue developing the skills she has so painstakingly acquired over the last 25 years or so. 

John