It has been a busy first few months of 2024 for me in the gallery this year. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes which I will hopefully be able to share with you all very soon. With my attention focused elsewhere on this important project I have not had as much time to paint as I would have liked. However the work I have completed I feel has been some of my best and most satisfying to date. I am particularly pleased with the two large paintings shown below, the one of the left sold very quickly, the other on the right has caused a great deal of interest in the gallery but has yet to find just the right buyer. I know they are out there and its only a matter of time before it too finds a forever home ...
My gallery 2024 calendar sold well and as summer approaches it will soon be time to consider which of my paintings will appear in next years 2025 edition.
With such limited time to paint large pieces I have concentrated on producing several smaller original works on canvas, colourful collage pieces on paper, as well keeping the gallery stocked with my original handmade cards and small colour studies. These pieces allow customers on a limited budget to own an original treasure to brighten up their home for years to come, or to gift something special to a loved one. Several examples of these can be seen below. I hope to update you with more news about the gallery in the coming months.
I have one very sad piece of news, that our adored "gallery" dog Finn the Irish Terrier died last year. He was our first and will always be the best dog we could have wished for (give or take a few infamous terrier traits!!) Finn was a constant companion on my walks on Cramond Beach and out to Cramond Island, where I find much of my inspiration to paint. He has left a huge Finn shaped whole in our lives and we will always miss him. I did paint Finn once as a gift for my youngest daughter, I don't claim to be able to paint pets but I think I captured his character just the once.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me with the gallery this year. As we get ready for the festive season I will be planning what's in store for the next year. I have some new exciting ideas for paintings and perhaps some new events to be held in the gallery, so keep checking in here to see what I have coming up soon. Looking forward to 2024 already!
NEW 2025 CALENDAR WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY
RUTH FARQUHAR 2024 CALENDAR NOW SOLD OUT thank you x
JUST CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW OR VISIT THE GALLERY WEBSITE
I am already looking forward to the Festive Season with an updated range of cards, gifts, a new 2023 calendar and paintings. I am hopeful that this year some of my lovely customers will again be looking to buy something truly unique and personal for their loved ones. The gift of a piece of art, whether for a birthday, a wedding, an anniversary, a thank you or to celebrate a birth, can last a lifetime and beyond and doesn't need to cost the earth. I have so many wonderful pieces of original art available this year, some for as little as a few pounds, each one a precious item like no other that I am sure will be better received than the ubiquitous socks and chocolate. Please take time to look through the website or visit me at the gallery to discuss what you need to help make someone feel very special. I am continuing to work on new paintings which are added to the online shop and gallery display as soon as they become available. If you would like to be notified periodically (I promise, no more than 4 times per year) of new work then please add your name to my email contact list. Alternatively you can keep up to date with what's going on with me and the gallery by following both accounts on Instagram. Click on the icons at the bottom of this page or add @farquhar.ruth and @the_blue_easel_gallery to your page. My new 2023 Calendar is now available to purchase directly from the gallery or by clicking on the link below to ensure the recipient enjoys a truly colourful year ahead.
RUTH FARQUHAR NEW 2023 CALENDAR SOLD OUT Thank you!
JUNE 2022 I am delighted to announce that my latest series of work has been launched on line and in the gallery. I'm very proud of this new body of work which has taken my painting process to a new level and in an interesting and exciting direction. Please come and visit if you can to see them for yourself, I hope you'll agree that they were worth the wait. YOU CAN SEE EACH IMAGE IN MORE DETAIL AND ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO PURCHASE BY CLICKING HERE
RUTH ALSO MAKES HER OWN HANDMADE CARDS FOR SALE IN THE GALLERY "I love to create these very special unique handmade cards, I find it a productive way to fill time between each series of paintings, when I'm not yet ready to start a new body of work and am looking to distract my mind in the hope of discovering a new direction. I will cut up used paint palettes and paintings on paper that did not end up as finished pieces to produce these mini artworks. They often give me ideas for colour combinations or composition I might want to use going forward. I have just added around 20 new cards to my website and hope that the people who receive them will get as much joy from them as I have making them. I have several customers who collect their favourites, pop them into frames as the perfect way to own a small piece of affordable original art."
New Work For Sale May 2022 My new collection has been launched on the gallery online shop Just click on the link below to view CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COLLECTION
MAY 2022
Ruth's new range of painting are now available to purchase. The gallery goes from strength to strength, with visitors coming from all over the world to visit Edinburgh and my particularly beautiful and historic piece of Scotland's capital city. Follow me on Instagram @farquhar.ruth or @the_blue_easel_gallery to keep up to date with my artistic life combining painting with running a gallery.
JANUARY 2022 CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS After another tough year I am pleased to be back in the studio working on a new series of paintings for this year's Summer Exhibition and delighted to have the gallery open again, initially just at weekends, but as the weather continues to improve I will add extra days during the week. I will be adding more information and photos in the next couple of weeks to show you what I am busy working on in the studio. I have just started on a new and exciting series of paintings on both canvas and paper which draw on the colours, details and emotions I see and experience whilst walking in Cramond with my dog. I have collected many objects and photographs that I plan to use as reference and inspiration for these new works (SEE PHOTOS BELOW). Please remember that many of the images are works in progress and as such have a way to go before I can call them finished and ready for sale. If you would like to be notified of he exhibition preview in advance of them going on general sale then simply add your details to the mailing list so that I can keep you up to date or alternatively follow the gallery and my own personal Instagram pages for daily updates (see below for details, just click on the icons to go straight to the relevant pages).
MAY 2021 I am delighted to report that the gallery has reopened after a lengthy closure and is stocked full of my new colourful and uplifting work. I have spent so much time at home and in the gallery studio during lockdown creating a colourful new collection of work, as shown above. With no travel for such a long time, inspiration for the new pieces had to come from closer to home. Luckily it appeared during many long walks with gallery dog, my handsome Irish Terrier, Finn, the flowers I discovered on these walks, my own garden and a collection of beautiful vintage china cups that had belonged to my Mother-In-Law. You can find video examples of how these paintings were created on my instagram page. @farquhar.ruth Please add your name to the mail list to be first to preview new collections of work as I will be adding additional pieces to the collection over the next few weeks. I am looking forward to welcoming customers to the Gallery over the Summer and on into the Autumn and Winter months with hopefully no more closures! Thank you to all our customers who have continued to support me the gallery through this very difficult time.
MAY 2020 The Gallery is currently closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, however I am still working at home producing new paintings to show once we are open again.
In the meantime I am taking part in the Artist Support Pledge #artistsupportpledge Offering original artworks on my Instagram account @farquhar.ruth for no more than £200. The concept is simple, that once I have sold £1000 worth of art I pledge to buy another artists work for £200 to help support my fellow artists during this difficult time. More detailed information about this initiative can be found on the Home page of this web site.
If you are looking to brighten up your home during this time or are thinking of starting your own art collection then please consider supporting this initiative and artist around the world.
Some of the new colourful and uplifting paintings I am currently working on can be seen above. Please bear in mind that they are works in progress and have some way to go before I call them done and they are ready to sell.
JULY/AUGUST 2019
RUTH FARQUHAR SUMMER EXHIBITION There is only one week left to wait until The Blue Easel Gallery hosts their latest Exhibition of Ruth Farquhar's new paintings. Ruth is excited to share her latest collection of work with you. We hope that many of you can make it along to the exhibition, however if that is not possible all works can be viewed on Ruth's artists page here on the web site. All works will be for sale and available to collect at the end of the Exhibition. Ruth's Summer Exhibition will run from 3rd - 25th August 2019, during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Open Daily from 11am-3pm. Her studio is also situated in the gallery space, she will be here every day throughout the exhibition and will be delighted to chat about her work, the inspiration for this new collection and her painting process. The Gallery is situated at the heart of Cramond Village, a beautiful spot at the mouth of the River Almond, where it meets the Firth of Forth. Why not make a day of it, bring the family and the dog, and enjoy all that Cramond has to offer. The Gallery will be closed from Monday 29th July until Friday 2nd August 2019 to give us time to hang all the new paintings, ready for our Opening day on 3rd August. Please contact Ruth directly if you wish to visit the Gallery by appointment outwith the normal opening times. Looking forward to welcoming you.
MARCH 2019 I know it has been a while since our last update but life has been busy and eventful for both Jennifer and I. I still find it hard to believe that the gallery is almost into it's third year of trading at the end of this month. It has been a huge learning curve which continues on an almost daily basis. We have had a wonderful response from all of our customers over the last two years, many of whom visit us from far and wide. To each and every one of our valued customers, whether you bought an original painting, or a single card, you have made a real contribution to the success of The Blue Easel Gallery, thank you. It is with real sadness however that I have to write that Jennifer has made the decision to step away from the day to day running of the Gallery to allow her to spend more time with her family. Her prints, cards and gifts will of course continue to be available at the gallery. She has promised to 'pop' in regularly to keep me on my toes! I am committed to continuing to paint in my wonderful studio space, run the gallery, and build on its success. During the coming weeks I would hope to have the gallery open Thursday to Sunday, 11am until 3pm. However the opening hours may need to vary to suit these new circumstances until things settle down. I hope customers can see how much I love my work and will bear with me while I make some adjustments. I plan to extend the hours as we move into Summer and hopefully better weather! I am excited about the direction my own art is taking this year as I produce more abstract, colourful pieces for my Edinburgh Fringe Summer Exhibition (more details to follow). There are also a number of new ventures I am considering alongside ideas on how to make best use of the wonderful space I have in Cramond Village. I look forward to welcoming you to this beautiful and colourful place.
DECEMBER 2017
A fantastic finish to our first year in The Blue Easel Gallery. Our Christmas event on the 2nd and 3rd of December was a great success with our record number of visitors so far enjoying lots of Prosecco and mince pies! Thank you everyone for your continued support. So glad that you are all getting to know where we are and delighted that you are popping in to say hi and find out what's new.
AUGUST 2017
Our Fringe Exhibition went really well. Thank you so much to everyone who came from all over the UK (and the world!) to see our new exhibition. We enjoyed being part of the Fringe with our entry in the Fringe brochure and our official venue number 507.
JUNE 2017
The Blue Easel Gallery has been open for just over two months now and we have had a fantastic response from all our visitors. We have met some wonderful people in the weeks since we opened our doors and wish to thank all our customers for their generous support. Jennifer and Ruth have been working hard producing lots of colourful new work. Jennifer is working towards her Summer Exhibition 'A Brush with Colour in Edinburgh' as part of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Exhibition will be held at The Blue Easel Gallery from 5th-25th August 2017.
MARCH 2017
On 31st March 2017 the Blue Easel Gallery opened its doors to the public for the first time. Thank you to everyone who made our preview evening such a great success.