Category: News

Going awol…

Posted on by YvonneB

Please note that I will be away from home from 26th September 2016 until very early in November, therefore any orders placed via my online shop are unlikely to be dispatched until after I return. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Framed prints, mounted prints and cards will remain available to buy in person from the Uist Craft Producers shop at Kildonan – depending on my stock there of course! The craft shop will close for the season on Saturday 15th October at 2pm.

My camera equipment, sketchbooks and paints are packed and I’m heading off to spend time with my family – it will be my mum and dad’s 60th (diamond) wedding anniversary – my dad tells everyone this has been a double life sentence – but he’s just joking 😀

Gerald Olive Benting wedding
My lovely parents on their wedding day 60 years ago

While in Shropshire i’m going to be taking three printmaking workshops with Jenny Gunning at Ironbridge Fine Arts and Framing which i’m looking forward to very much.

I’ll also be heading to Norfolk for a couple of weeks holiday – a relaxing mix of birding, photography and sketching – it’ll be a welcome break after a really busy season here in the studio. I’ve also been lucky enough to get a place on a two day workshop arranged by Norfolk Wildlife Trust – “Learn to Draw and Paint Birds” with Steve Cale 🙂

At the end of October, after Norfolk, i’m heading to London for a few days – principally to see my photo “The Way” on display at the National Open Art Exhibition at Mercer’s Hall. I’ll also take the opportunity to visit the Society of Wildlife Artist’s 2016 exhibition at the Mall Galleries and would also like to go to Tate Modern as i’ve never visited!

If you need to Contact Me please feel free to do so – I will have email but probably won’t be checking it so often.

Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography uist outer hebrides western isles robin
Robin – taken in mum and dad’s garden

Chosen!

Posted on by YvonneB

Yay! Further to my previous post, I just received this email – the results of the second round of judging for the National Open Art Exhibition.

Congratulations!

We are delighted to inform you that your your submission “The Way” has been selected for the 20th National Open Art Exhibition!

The 20th National Open Art Exhibition is held in the heart of The City of London at Mercers’ Hall. The Mercers’ Company is the Premier Livery Company of the City of London. The Exhibition will take place from the 27 October – 4 November with Free Admission.

Happily these dates coincide with my trip to the mainland so i’ve accepted the invitation for the private viewing on the 29th October – it will only be my third time in London in 30 years!

Lochboisdale Summer Market

Posted on by YvonneB

Phew, Now that I have quite a few retail outlets, let alone here at my studio, I’m struggling to keep up with the cardmaking and printing of prints! And that’s apart from all the other work I have on at the moment (a couple of new websites for people in progress, some print work for another artist and some graphic design work for another client!). But, it’s a short tourist season here in the Outer Hebrides so I have to work flat out for a few months. It’s the same every year…

Thankfully at this time of year, this far north, it’s light until well after 11pm so i’m able to chill out and have a late evening walk if the weather is nice.

Midsummer Midnight

I received an invitation to participate in the Lochboisdale Summer Market which sounded like a good opportunity so I said yes. The market is at Talla Chidhe and will be open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturday from the 29th June until the last day, 7th August which is actually a Sunday but is the day of the Ben Kenneth race – usually a really fun day 🙂

I went down today to set all my stuff up and the organisers had very kindly given me a table by the wall and the wall had a rail system for hanging a couple of framed prints.

The official opening of the market will be on Saturday so i’ll be down there for that. At other times the market will be manned by a variety of either staff or volunteers. I’ll post photos on Saturday or Sunday of the opening.

My daughter and her husband are due to arrive on the ferry from the mainland late on Saturday evening so i’m very excited about that – i’m looking forward to having lots of mother and daughter knit/crochet sessions 🙂 Kat wants me to teach her how to crochet so i’m sure that will be possible during the two weeks that they are here.

markets Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography uist outer hebrides western isles

Art on the Map Studio Trail 2016

Posted on by YvonneB

Another busy week but all is now ready here for the Art on the Map Summer Studio Trail! From tomorrow (18th June), and for the next three weeks here at the studio in Askernish, I will have extended opening hours, which will be: Monday to Saturday 11am to 5pm and also open Sundays 12 noon until 4pm.

During the week I spent time distributing leaflets on the southern part of the islands, putting up posters, went to help with the exhibition hanging and then to the opening night of the exhibition at Taigh Chearsabhagh in Lochmaddy, North uist tonight – a 100 mile round trip!

This year there are two Art on the Map leaflets – one for All Year Venues (which I am also on) and one for the three week Summer Studio Trail.

The Summer Studio Trail this year has 18 participants from Berneray to South Uist, showing their work at 12 different venues. During the studio trail there is also an exhibition of trail participant’s work at Taigh Chearsabagh in the cafe and Studio 1 – exhibition opened there tonight, Friday 17th June, at 7pm

Download the three week Summer Studio Trail Leaflet

Download the All Year Venue Leaflet

Good luck to all my fellow artists and photographers for this years studio trail!

Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography uist outer hebrides western isles studio trail art on the map

Succesful exhibition!

Posted on by YvonneB

Well! What a month May was. I’ve now returned home, exhausted after a really busy month. I headed up to the Isle of Lewis on the 28th of April, neither Jane (Blue Pig Studio) nor I were totally ready for the exhibition at The Farmhouse, Callanish Visitor Centre, so the midnight oil was burnt on the 28th and 29th. Thankfully everything was done, ready and in situ for the preview evening on Saturday 30th April. Our Spanish-themed evening went really well and over thirty people came.

Considering that the theme of our joint exhibition “Walk this Way” was about our experiences walking the Camino de Santiago it was very well received. Over the month we had a lot of people through the door who had either walked the Camino or were thinking of walking – it was nice that our exhibition acted as a catalyst and a number of people have now finally made their decision to walk.

Jane ran regular workshops and I ran an “Improve Your Photography” workshop, a gelli plate printing workshop and every Friday afternoon during May I ran a drop-in crochet group – I taught 5 people how to crochet at the very first afternoon – yay!

My camino postcards were very popular – The Way in particular – so much so that I had to get more printed part way through the exhibition!

My journal from the first time that I walked the camino in 2013 evoked many emotions in people from laughter to tears – I ran the same gauntlet of emotions whilst putting it together. The general consensus seemed to be that I should find a way of publishing it so I may look into that. I enjoyed being able to share my experiences with people.

I’d like to thank Jane and her husband Peter so much for looking after me for the month – gonna miss you guys xx

Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography western isles outer hebrides uist Jane Harlington Blue Pig Studio
The window into the exhibition
Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography western isles outer hebrides uist callanish exhibition Jane Harlington Blue Pig Studio
Inside the exhibition space
Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography western isles outer hebrides uist callanish exhibition Jane Harlington Blue Pig Studio
Jane putting the finishing touches to the exhibition
Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography western isles outer hebrides uist callanish exhibition Jane Harlington Blue Pig Studio
Mmmmm! Tapas!

Created for the preview evening party by super cook and caterer Sharon Borton! You can tell how good it tasted by how little was left over!

Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography western isles outer hebrides uist callanish exhibition Jane Harlington Blue Pig Studio camino de santiago
Spanish wine, Magdalenas, Povorones and Turron!

I brought it all back with me from my February/March trip to Spain 🙂

Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography western isles outer hebrides uist callanish exhibition Jane Harlington Blue Pig Studio camino de santiago
The scallop shell – symbol of the Camino de Santiago

We had many people come in who had seen the sign and exclaimed “I knew it must be about the Camino!”

Hebridean Imaging Yvonne Benting art photography western isles outer hebrides uist callanish exhibition Jane Harlington Blue Pig Studio camino de santiago
Follow the yellow arrow!

Now I’m back, and my studio at home is open from today (1st June until late September) – I’m still not fully set up but should be by opening time tomorrow. Then there is the small matter of finishing sorting out the 3000 photos I took in Spain! I’m happy to say that I’m still being Creative Every Day – if it’s not art it’s photography or crochet 🙂

Crochet afternoons

Posted on by YvonneB

During the “Walk this Way” exhibition I will be running crochet workshops every Friday afternoon, 2pm to 4.30pm:-

  • 6th May 2016 – The Farmhouse, Callanish. Everything provided, just come along. Beginners more than welcome!
  • 13th May 2016 – Blue Pig Studio, Carloway.
  • 20th May 2016 – The Farmhouse, Callanish.
  • 27th May 2016 – The Farmhouse, Callanish.