As you're all probably aware, the traditional 1st year wedding anniversary gift is paper. Because of this, we decided to invest in a painting together whilst on holiday in Cornwall. It is a beautiful part of the country - full of inspiration, with picturesque views and colour splashed absolutely everywhere, making it a perfect location to find our anniversary gift!
One part of the county I was extremely keen to visit again was the charming St. Ives. This beautiful seaside town is understandably home to many artists and chock full of galleries (including the Tate!). There was no doubt in our minds that if we were to find our painting anywhere, it would be here.
As an Arty-Farty individual myself, I couldn't help but photograph nearly every colourful, chocolate-box nook and cranny of this town! It is so clear to me as to why artists move down there.
After taking a walk down Smeaton's pier and watching the ocean for a while, Ed and I decided to wander in and out of all the art galleries we could find. The lovely thing about St. Ives, is there is a gallery for everyone. Whether it be a large, realistic style canvas you are after, something a little more abstract or the more modestly-priced print - it is here somewhere! You can spend a few pounds to a few thousand pounds and find something beautiful to display in your home.
The view from the pier!
We were both very keen to find an original, and so had to bear in mind that this would come with a fairly sizable price tag. Although we budgeted, art is an extremely personal thing. If you fall in love with a piece, you have to be prepared to go over budget - do not settle for something you are not in love with! This is my one piece of advice when buying artwork.
There were a couple of galleries that stood out to us:
Porthminster Gallery - displaying the likes of Nick Bodimeade
The Blue Bramble Gallery - displaying the likes of Sara Bevan
But the art gallery that interested us the most and actually housed the painting we bought, was The Island Gallery. Home to the talented artist Bill Waldron and his work (along with other artists' pieces), it didn't take us longer than a cup of coffee to decide that we were more than happy to go over budget and buy his work.
The painting is of Smeaton's Pier, St. Ives, captured on a crisp February morning this year (2015). We loved how cool, bright and calm it looked. I admired the way Waldron had captured the sea, and Ed was taken by the sky.
Not only was it a beautiful painting, but it was of somewhere that meant something to us. It was perfect.
A photo of where we thought our painting was captured from - minus all the people!
If you haven't already, I would definitely recommend you pay a visit to St. Ives. Not only for its art, but for its views, atmosphere, ice cream(!)... oh and the exercise you get - its very hilly and the walk down from the car park is steep!
I would love to know what you think of our find. In fact, I feel we are both quite lucky we found a piece we both love equally as much. And if you do visit this lovely little town, pay the Island Gallery a visit - it's seriously worth the look.
Keep watching this space!
Zo..x
