Jaytee's Art : The Kington Gallery

We Are OPEN !!

2010-09-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

Well. I made it.......... sort of.. still things to do behind the scenes....... but so far so good.

The Horseracing and large vibrant flower macros are Ruths the rest mine !

Now I need to go down to open at 2.00pm.... a whole new way of life begining !

The sign has gone up !!

2010-08-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

While inside I layed .a second roll of flooring.

Sadly I cant use the mirrored door as the glass isnt toughened and it cant go up in a public place :( So it now has two primer coats of white on it..... awaiting a decision as to what the top coat will be !

The Chimney has now been capped off........ so hopefully thats an end to rain down the chimney.

Also some work done on fireplace .. but not ready for viewing just yet !

Counting Down the Days :)

Closest yet !

2010-08-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Today I cleaned up, stacked the furniture and unrolled the flooring to see how it will look... as well as how it would match up ( it will - much relief !)

Starting to look like a real gallery at last !

A bit more floor levelling....... move the furniture back to the OTHER end ( no , not a mistake, method in my madness... I needed 3 metre wide space space to unroll the vinyl!)

Oh , and I've found the hanging rails !!! Now I have to decide whether to line them up with teh ceiling or the floor - or neither .....just make them horizontal !!!!

Its August !!!

2010-08-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

... and Im committing myself to opening for the Bank Holiday weekend just four weeks away!!

here a shot from thisafternoon complete with glowering cloud..... those of you who know The Swan Hotel ( now Inn) can see it at the top of the hill. That's a friends daughter waving!

And this is the view folk will see from teh front door.....well not quite this .. maybe I should say 'the aspect' ! The blue doesn't look this light and the lobby is no longer white !

I've been decorating in teh gallery most afternoons.... and 99.9% of the painting is now finished... the bit under the window is still damp and I'm waiting for some stuff to prevent that coming through the paintwork I decided to match the beams to the wall colour .

The erstwhile kitchen door is now Gloss white like the other white paint - not satin..... a decision I made when thinking of all those paint- covered fingers going into the storeroom !!!

I am toying with the idea of painting the part walls around the chimney breast in a deeper colour.....at leas the one on teh left for more balanced proportions..... here it is with only lining paper on teh wall and undercoat on teh beams. Head on it looks a bit too lopsided. May try some of the terracotta left over from Ivy Cottage-assuming I have some. Remarkable the leftover 'magnolia stretched exactly round the walls with enough left over for patching up !

Tomorrow a tidy up day and clean out the fireplace......maybe a bit more floor levelling..... ready for laying the flooring !!!!

Now to find where I hid the hanging rails when they arrived MONTHS ago !!! Ive looked in teh obvious places and not found them yet - a bit worrying as the package is over 6 feet long !!!!!!!

... still on schedule ..... assuming I have one !

2010-07-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

A few afternoons in the gallery and I have lined the two walls that need it and filled a few holes in the floor.........

Lots of fiddly work round those bricks and beams... glad my father taught me how to do this.....

Also filled some holes in teh floor with self levelling compound.

Tomorrow painting starts again..... another undercoat on the beams I think ..and the brown door..... then the walls !!!

The sun shone all day......

2010-07-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

..so the gloss painting got finished......

........this is how it looked in January...... complete with rotten cills and peeling paint......

and NOW!

.. earlier in the week I unrolled the sample of vinyl wrapping the full rolls as a taster of the finished floor

....tomorrow I intend to go down and start on lining the walls ........since the white gloss is finished there too .......

And I need to create the hanging sign......which will look something like this

and hang at the left of the left hand window .....

.. getting closer !!!!

......suupose Id better get some paintings framed too and publicity going !!!!

...

Amazing what a little paint can do.....

2010-07-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Things moving a-pace now.. or so it seems.......

.........the frontage now has all its undercoat in the right places......

The dark blue on the inside of the door and window is an approximation of the topcoat colour.....(impossible lighting to snap by!)

... and I made a sensible decision.... and asked the builders to do the white gloss paintwork inside ( I will emulsion the walls ).. so far only one undercoat ... but what a huge difference difference it makes !

It also gives them something to do when the rain comes and they have to stop painting the outside......they are hopping in and out like yo-yos... or those little weather people in teh weather house (I even suggested one should wear a skirt to complete the image!!!) .so benefits us all... and will get it ALL done faster and better than I would !

Note the rolls of flooring sitting there...... I unrolled a bit today wide mock light oak boards ...and its going to look great..... it links with the lonely stripped oak upright... so may allow me to keep the ceiling beams white after all.......the open door you see reflected in the mirror is the one to be replaced by a full length mirror door when its closed... bouncing light and images across the gallery,

I've also spent two wide awake night re-jigging the interior plan.... there going to be a distinct seating / book browsing / commission discussing / coffee drinking etc area on the left inside the door with its own fire ... well I have to do something with the one no longer going in the main fireplace. ! The oh-so-comfortable sofa/couch however is going up to the far back of the gallery so I can have a quick nap unobserved from the street !!!!

We have had more heavy rain ... and wind........ so not vertical stair-rods like the last time....... and only dampness in the fireplace - not flooding... the proposed cowl on the chimney should solve this last problem

My excitement is building !! I think I will get there by September after all !

frontage ready for painting!

2010-07-10T04:14:00.000-07:00

The builders have made great progress..... I am really pleased with the way they have matched up the false timberwork. here it is with the primer......... and the paint arrived so I guess that will start happening next week :^)

The flooring is ordered for delivery next week.. and the cable protector to stop folk tripping over worklamp cables when painting. I am spending money like nobodies business.......and realise time is getting short!!! Hoping for good health until opening....!!

Heres the inside view right now

Transformation taking place....

2010-07-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

I am getting excited because work has started on the front !

Apparently there have been many positive comments already about the dreadful tiles having disappeared !! This is good news ! I have definitely decided to go for very dark blue and white.

Last week I painted out the black interior beams

They probably wont stay white ... but will certainly not go too dark ... probably the wall colour. .. a darkish cream 'magnolia' Paintwork will be white .. I think !!!

Meanwhile we have gone through two very heavy downpours... and on each occasion the floor has got wet again :( But we think it is now coming down the chimney...... so I have taken the gas fire out which needs the ventilation and will install a modern stainless steel and pebbles electric job... to match the contemporary lighting and hanging system ( which I stashed way somewhere. hope I can find it !!!) ......... I hope an interesting mix of old and new.

Hopefully am also getting the light bulbs sorted at last......but the place is full of woodshavings right now so that will have to wait.

Building work will take another week at least .. then I can really get cracking on the inside .... so a late August early September opening is now a distinct possibility.

need to start thinking about some of the details now !

...... getting somewhere at last !!

2010-06-05T03:41:00.000-07:00

I seem to have lost most of May to doing anything useful ...... mostly because of a strange episode of amnesia during which I ended up in hospital with a suspected stroke and have been awaiting a CT scan.........results yesterday and scan showed 'nothing sinister' ...... so we have to see if the doc thinks the source is worth pursuing. meantime I had to rest......couldnt drive or exert myself physically ! Not good for decorating !!!

The GOOD NEWS is that Ive just learnt that Ive got the shopfront grant......... and am hoping teh builders can fit that work in before the end of July... ...so I can open in August ...... I need to be open in time for H Arts week mid September even though Im not taking part....

Light bulbs are proving a bit of a problem.....amazing waht some sellers think is 'daylight' The last lot had an eeerie green glow !!!! However I have now got 7 daylight hobby lamps for the painitng/display tables

Meanwhile more heavy rain showed no extra water influx... so hopefully that problem solved at last and I can now get on with decorating and then getting the floor laid....... and I MUST pay attention to dealing with teh 'kitchen ' area!!!!

But none of this while sun shining and untl Ive got rid of this horrendous summer cold which is draining my energy right now.

The Lighting is in!

2010-04-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

... and quite a lot of rewiring done as I made a bad miscalculation and needed to split the circuits or blow the place up. The good news is that there are now a number of switches and I can turn banks of lights on and off as required to suit the activities.....if I can just position them right !!!....even two separate bars of 6 each in my work space .. and extra sockets on two walls

The sofa has two adjustable drop ends...... a good ebay buy...... sturdy with high seat but quite light to move around....good for customers as well as for posing models for painting drawing

Now to get the window repaired and the decorating done while waiting for news re the shop front grant. Am now thinking of Dark blue and warm off-white now as colours to go with William Morris 'Ianthe' fabric curtains and dark blue based persian rugs from house

Turning the Corner?

2010-03-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

First of all,..... thank all of you who offered sympathy for the broken window ......an arrangement has been reached with the miscreants (though sadly it seems they were not the main trouble makers, rather goaded into it after too much birthday celebration) to pay for the cost of repairs over the next couple of months... and I've already received the first instalment.

So time for some more upbeat news.......

It seems there are to be more 'Shop Front Grants' available from May..... and I shall be applying to transform the gallery into something like this

However this means putting off the opening until the early summer....... absolutely no point in patching and smartening up for the opening then doing the work all over again.....

Pride of place inside will go to this..... which I bid for on Ebay and my friend Caro bought as an opening present for the Gallery

The artist perched on it is Picasso.....

produced for me in a Charity Shop in Kington Yesterday !!

his eyes follow you about the room! Or the garden in this case !

How could I be miserable with him around ?

Im not a happy Bunny : (

2010-03-07T02:37:00.000-08:00

All has been going well in the gallery.. if slowly.....we seem to have sorted out the water ingress problem ... and the floor has now been skimmed and holes patched up in walls and skirting boards.......

there is still a bit of smoothing off to do .. but I was looking forward to moving on to the next stage....... fitting lights, decorating, flooring etc.... when.. at almost midnight on Friday.... I got a phone call reporting this..........

it seems two GIRLS from the flat opposite were having a fight during a rowdy party!!!

They were taken into custody and are now released on bail !

The glass shards have been removed....

And the window is boarded up.

I now have the hassle of sorting it out ....... whether its insured, and if it is, if its worth claiming on.........whether we can alter the window so the large pane is split as in the other one....... half the damage in future...... ( conservation officer), getting estimates, passing them to the police........ No wonder I have an upset stomach today !!!

Still better now than on Friday April 30th !

Slimline pillar

2010-02-11T11:01:00.000-08:00

Great things going on now... though not all visible from inside. The Gallery has had a concrete mixer in the middle ( fogot the camera :( ) and loads of 'muck' going through the window to fill gaps and cracks in the courtyard... hopefully the end of water problems.....

But on the inside.....a small change that has made a HUGE apparent difference to the space....... the large fat 10" vision obscuring pillar has now gone leaving the original support timber ....

I am planning to put blackout blinds in the large front windows...... white side to the inside so the one on the right showing here can be used as a projection screen.

Last night I decided those horrid plain brown doors HAVE to go... to be replaced with ledged and braced doors more in keeping with the properties age.

I really should start taking a serious look at sorting the kitchen- cum- storeroom next !!

The spotlight bars will be despatched on Monday......but probably wont go in until the floor is levelled and plasterboard fixed and some sockets moved.......

For those of you who paint.. there's a very good lesson on reflections.... just look at what you can see in the mirror in teh top pic !

Out of interest here's the way it began with all the bar paraphenalia in place.

Visible Changes

2010-01-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took down the restaurant curtains and rolled up the rest of the carpet.......and reintroduced two Kingtonians ( a friend of mine and my builder ) who were at school with each other's brothers and sisters several decades ago! Some more Art books may be coming my way for the library :^)

Today I hung some temporary, washable, voile curtains in their place, discovered another unrelated damp patch........ and remembered the camera had a wide angle lens !

....

..... makes a bit of difference from the outside.... ....not a lot but its a start..... the notice board is displaying posters about events during an Eco - fortnight in Kington, the blackboards about the gallery ...... I so need to do something about the outside !!

.......boy do those tiles need painting...... and the cills ...... if only temporarily..... but with temperatures back to -4C and snow flurries today and more due, now is NOT the time !

.....and here is the other bit of damp that needs some investigation ...... probably of the internal plumbing !

...

...so now I await the postman and the samples and goodies I keep ordering........including samples of cushion vinyl...... the floor levels are all over the place!

I am considering hanging blackout blinds at all the front windows for use during slide shows... one may possibly even double up as projection screen........ that would be good !!

Artists and their relatives are now starting to call in and enquire about how things are to be organised, costs, dates, opening times etc.... and diaries are wanting to know too !! I have two more weeks to decide on whether to risk announcing a date!

Apparently at a Tourist event lunch today I got a free plug !!!

Seems its all going to happen !!!!!

Another 6 hours!

2010-01-29T16:17:00.000-08:00

... I'm getting a dab hand at moving furniture.... today I wanted to see what was under the carpets.....(we decided laminate flooring may not work... so am going to investigate cushionfloor to cover the lumps and bumps !] ...so having cleared the cosy corner and taken that piece up..... I moved things back in there leaving a clear space !!

Im hoping soneone on Ebay wants to start an indian restaurant !!

The corner of the fireplace was considerably drier when I left.. though the dehumidifier is still getting pretty full....

... and the builder and landlord put some dye down one drain to see if that's a culprit..... and planned some patching up in vulnerable places where water may be getting in.

we also stripped some plasterboard from the pillar .... [fun wielding a hammer at it!]..... and I am going to get a surveyor to take a look and see if the orignal timber is a strong enough support and we can strip away the extra timber.. would make it a lot less obtrusive..... and make it easier to see round during talks !!!

Two more chairs leaving tomorrow..........need to get to work soon sorting the kitchen equipment and get shelves up.....

May is not that far away !!!!

Some Demolition !

2010-01-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

Since last posting, we have been busy emptying gallons of water out of the dehumidifier... and narrowing down the damp problem... and cross fingers we are possibly winning... tracking it down that is !

On Monday, after a meeting, I walked in to find a pretty big change.... the builder had not only restored the collapsed ventialtion grill in the cellar, but demolished the small internal wall ... ..makes the most amazing difference to the space !! Here's how it looked from the front door -

and looking from the other side

The central pillar looks as though it might not even be a proper ceiling support !!! I am meeting the builder there tomorrow to explore that possiblity ..... would be great if we could get rid of it altogether!!!

We might also put the red dye down the drain outside and see if it ends up insidei !!

I am now thinking it may be possible to open at the begining of May ?

Next job to take up the remaining carpet and inspect the floor...

Hole in the Wall.. and the Drain ?

2010-01-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

The builder visited the gallery yesterday.........he thinks the water entering may be related to problems with rainwater drains in the courtyard outside......will will be getting a specialised firm with drain probing cameras to find out what's going on below ground.

Fortunately the nasty soggy bit on the left turns out not to be anything drastic! No nasty white strands of wet rot ! But I have a feeling the opening now won't be in time for Easter.......

The snow is now 6 inches + deep after heavy falls last overnight.. I've re-instated my 'Garden and More' blog to show some of the best - instead of adding them here ! :)

As soon as the snow disappears and I can get safely to the Building Supplies I shall chose a Big Letter Box and new door furniture for the builder to install......

On my way to apply heat !

2010-01-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

But before I go I nipped across the road to take this photo !

The Parish Church..... St Mary's Kington Herefordshire England UK :)

Later............

Well I spent a few hours there .. washed some more crockery. emptied the bar and attempted to dismantle it...... but so well glued together couldn't separate the last few pieces.... you'd think with all that damp the glue would have softened !! A job for the builder I guess

Two views... after the dismantling .......towards the entrance

and looking back towards the entrance - the low barrier will go just leaving the support pillar .

The internal doors and pillar will probably be painted same shade as walls

The carpet will DEFINITELY go !!

Playing with Furniture

2010-01-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

The good news is that things seem to be drying out slowly...... I spent a fair amount of time thisafternoon moving some of the furniture around... I found the back area could take all 6 of the 2'3"tables with chairs around them quite comfortably leaving room to walk around them and view the exhibited paintings....... if I hang permanent exhibition pieces of mine behind the tables....

This gives a painting area of 4'6"x 6'9" - one person per table.. and plenty of room for the four 2 foot square tables at the front WHEN the bar goes :) The front area being rather larger than the back area. The whole room is 27 feet front to back and 20 ft side to side at the widest point at the front.

The window blocked with corkboard is where Im thinking of in-filling with a new plasterboard full length panel .

Ive decided ALL the carpet goes......when the ice disappears I shall go to Wickes and check out their laminate flooring which I can lay myself economically.

Managed to break the glass taking down one of the Indian-Restaurant lampshades to see what was underneath it ! Knew I was going to but couldnt stop myself !! NO great loss!

I think I may be able to sand the tabletops and strip the chairs to a lighter shade.......a bit of gentle experimenting needed!

here is the basic layout the yellow blobs are existing ceiling lights except the one by the fire whihc was a false lantern for atmosphere ! For scale the green square represents 60cm/2ft

The drinks chiller, tea and coffee, kettle and shelves for cups and saucers etc will fit perfectly into teh corner opposite the kitchen door next to the fire exit.... where the freezer is now marked and next to the small sink for drinking water and brush washing !

Should have shown this ages ago for you to get your bearings !

Hunkering In......

2010-01-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

... visited briefly yesterday.......... and things seem to be drying out a bit....... today I am not going anywhere..... all meetings cancelled... my lovely ground landlord is keeping an eye on it .. and I have left a message with a builder.

meanwhile we are staying put

top L to R Shrimp. Priscilla, Alfie ...... underneath, Malty

2010-01-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

I am planning to visit the gallery today... first time for a few days... but woke to this

and still snowing heavily with more to come.... that will test out whether or not it WAS the blocked gully on the flat roof causing the water ingress ( love that word!) .It seems there is also some re-mortaring to be done around the chimney.... but clearly NOT today and in these temperatures ... down to -7c recently overnight.

Thank you to everyone leaving supportive comments here and elsewhere on forums.......it is so good to be able to share the excitement......as well as the dramas... and I guess there will probably be a few more of those somewhere along the line.

I need to go down there later today to switch of the Christmas lights... twelfth night and all that ! So will enter with trepidation to check the state of the floor..... I'm told by the ground landlord no more water has entered in the last few days so fingers crossed I can put the dehumidifier on again soon.

I also have it in mind to dismantle the bar.....and use the timber in the 'kitchen' for storage shelves....but I keep to-ing and fro-ing on that idea......there will no doubt come a moment when I grab the screwdriver and the questin will be setlled.

Ive also had an idea to put another plasterboard 'wall' up in front of the small window at the back by the chimney breast, which lets in no light ..... this would give more hanging space....and could solve the damp problems there.....guess I need to make contact with the builder soon .....

Off to find my snowboots !!!

Getting Going

2009-12-31T02:17:00.000-08:00

The first step was to put some Christmas decorations in the window...... and an announcement about the changes

Then to take wall furniture down......and move the bar to get a clearer idea of the space available

Unfortunately, while doing this, I discovered there was a long-standing leak and that the carpet, underlay ,damp protection material and skirting boards in front of the fireplace were rotten ..... and had to be scraped out !!

We think it may be a leaking flat roof /lead flashing alongside the chimney breast... as water collects when it snows or rains !!! Today the roofers are coming to take a look and see what they can find..... fingers crossed ! Not lot I can do until this problem is solved..... so excitement suspended for a while !!!

The Birth of the Kington Gallery !

2009-12-26T03:55:00.000-08:00

The restaurant was called The Hungry Fox . The fascia badly needs redecorating.....but I am waiting to see some pictures of what it was like years ago when it was a fishmonger's shop in case something of a restoration is desirable..... IF I can afford it !

It is well positioned in the centre of Kington - just four and a half minutes trot downhill from where I live - useful since I dont intend to be a 9-till-5-er so there will be a Kingtonian note on the door with telephone number for when the gallery is not open.

In this shot the arrow shows its position looking down the hill with the Swan Inn behind me and the High Street in front.

The inside was like the Marie Celeste - abandoned after just a few months of trading.

This shot is with my back to the front lefthand window. showing the Bar area. The door on the right leads to the Gents and Ladies loos and the cellar. The mirror on the left covers an old doorway

Furtherback on the left a fireplace. Note the foxes head on the wall.

And beyond the back wall the restaurant kitchen which I will use as a storage area once the equipment has been removed

and now looking from the back to the front

And here is The Hungry Fox himself.... once displayed in the window....... removed and auctioned before I bought the place !

next lot of photos will be the renovations starting !