With an expert eye for beautiful pieces, a portfolio of exciting artists and a lovely Harrogate home to pull it all together, this hidden gem of a gallery is breaking down barriers in the art world.

Sarah Collier set up Silson Contemporary in October 2016. Five years later, on a dull, grey day, a beaming Sarah opens the door and her bright, colourful space has immediate impact.

At first it took a big advertising effort to get artists and potential buyers through the door. But these days things are different: people are queuing up to get a glimpse at Sarah’s latest finds.

A home and an art gallery in one.

What started off in the dining room has spread to the living room and reception area. Some pieces are even making their way up the stairs at Silson Contemporary, which can be found on Harlow Oval.

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While Sarah enjoys working from home, it does mean that she has to always keep the space spotless. It also means that she has to love the pieces she exhibits because she lives with them.

It’s not just paintings at Silson Contemporary.

“It was just a little seed in my head. I wanted to set up a gallery and we had this beautiful room with big bay windows, high ceilings, hanging rails. It just went from there.

“People love coming in and seeing art in the home because that is where they are going to put it. This really gives people ideas about how they can display their art.

“The gallery does seem to be a bit more recognised now. I love how the business has grown. We are hidden so word of mouth has been really important.”

The entrance hall is covered from ceiling to floor in art.

There’s a common perception that art is just for people who have a lot of money. That is something that Sarah has been trying to push back against since she started.

“I think that’s a myth that has been perpetuated by the art world because it suits them. But it’s absolute rubbish.

“When I have been to galleries sometimes the staff look you up and down and if they don’t think you are rich they are not interested.

“Art is for everybody, absolutely everybody. I have work here that is expensive and I have work is that is inexpensive.”

Sarah studied art but when she was young she decided not to follow that interest.

However, when she was a radiographer at Harrogate District Hospital she decided to take up an MA in art history. That was the push she needed to get into the art industry and open her own gallery.

She says it was the “best decision she has ever made”. So as someone who loves art, would she ever sell her own pieces?

The artists are from all over the UK.

“No I am rubbish. I love the academic side and I love art but I overthink. All the artists I speak to encourage me but I can’t.

“Though I think that makes me appreciate what these artists do more. How can they know when to stop? How can they know that one extra line makes something special? It’s inspiring.”

Silson Contemporary has just opened an autumn and winter show, which runs until December 23. The gallery is open by appointment only on Fridays and Saturdays.

This is part of the Stray Ferret’s ‘hidden gem’ series. We are trying to highlight small independent businesses. They need to be tucked away but growing in popularity with an eye-catching and unique product or approach. Send us an email with your nominations.

Visually impaired people from a Harrogate charity are showcasing their art alongside professional sculptors at an exhibition in Leeds.

Nine members of Vision Support Harrogate District’s ceramics class will join other sculptors displaying their work at the Sculpture Show North this month.

The show, at the Corn Exchange in Leeds from October 22 to 31, includes work by 16 local, national and international sculptors.

Members of Vision Support Harrogate District have created sculptures of animals, teddy bears’ picnics and heads.

Vision Support Harrogate District president Pauline Nolan (left) holds her sculpture alongside Kay Latto.

Besides ceramics classes, Vision Support Harrogate District members are offered a variety of other arts and crafts classes as well as IT.

The charity works with over 300 visually impaired people regularly and is a point of contact for 400 more.

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The charity’s director, Tanya Stimpson said:

Tucked away in a garage in Bilton is a local artist who, when not teaching, can be found splashing colour onto canvases for people across the globe.

Martin Sloan graduated from Sunderland University with a Fine Art degree in 1999. He said like many creative people he dreamed of making money out of his passion.

Now, he is the head of art at King James’s School in Knaresborough and sells his art for as much as £3,000 to hang in homes and offices around the world.

When he’s not teaching you will find him paintbrush in hand in his garage studio putting all his energy and emotion onto the canvas.

Mr Sloan uses wild and bright colours to create his abstract art and calls it “his escape and biggest passion”.

His studio in Bilton.

Living in Bilton for 16 years, Mr Sloan said his art sales have really picked up in the last year with one going a millionaire dollar mansion in New York.

He said:

“Art still really excites me, I’m surrounded by it all the time at school and then at home. Sometimes I’m inspired by a walk along the Nidd sometimes it’s a holiday in the South of France. That’s why I love it.”

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Mr Sloan puts his style of art down to his “transient lifestyle growing up in the military”. He says the abstract nature is a reflection of moving a lot and only settling to an area later in life with his wife and children.

He is often amazed by where his art ends up:

“It’s amazing that it comes from my garden shed in Bilton and they go all over the world.”

Hidden away in Bilton

The Watermark Gallery on Royal Parade is set to host its first exhibition since the remaining lockdown restrictions were lifted.

The gallery on Royal Parade was opened just three weeks before the first lockdown in March 2020.

It has been closed throughout the pandemic, but remained open online during the lockdowns.

Now, it’s set to open with an exhibition which celebrates the very best of the British seaside.

From deckchairs and ice cream vans to the much-loved coastline of North Yorkshire, the exhibition features new paintings by Harrogate-born Andrew Morris and Newcastle’s Emma Holliday in two different but complimentary styles.

Emma Holliday’s vibrant paintings capture the light and colour of coastal towns like Whitby, Staithes and Runswick Bay.

Meanwhile, Andrew Morris’s work focuses on the details and typography of the traditional English seafront, which has a striking, cinematic quality.

Also featured is new jewellery from Justin Duance, a specialist in using beach sand to casting jewellery.

Watermark Gallery owner Liz Hawkes said:

“In a year when most people have stayed at home for their holiday, this is a great opportunity to celebrate the British seaside with a lively, colourful exhibition by two very talented artists”.

The exhibition will run until the end of the month.

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Joan Thomas says her grandson James’s art has helped with her dementia.

Mrs Thomas moved to Pateley Bridge to be with family during the first lockdown after struggling to live alone. Since then she has been working with her grandson on a number of pieces.

During lockdown, James Thomas created a piece of art inspired by his grandma called ‘Isolation’. The piece is made out of discarded scratch cards.

The pair have always shared a love for art and Mr Thomas said his grandma often recalls memories from years ago when she helped him with his art.

Mrs Thomas, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2017,  said art helps her feel calm and focused. She also enjoys colouring herself:

“I like going to James’s exhibitions and seeing the art he’s done at home on display. I really enjoy doing art and spending time with him. There’s just a lot of things I can’t remember but art keeps me calm.”

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Mr Thomas said he was pleased with the effect his art had on his grandma’s health:

“It’s a form of therapy for her and it helps her. Now she can be a part of the pieces I create from start to finish.

“She does her colouring completely alone, even though she can’t do anything else she can do that which is pretty marvellous.”

Mr Thomas added his grandma’s choice of colours and style is “perfect”.

Mr Thomas is currently putting pieces together to take part in some local exhibitions including the Nidd Art Trail and the Mercer Gallery REACT exhibition.

Two titans of contemporary art, Peter King and Peter Wileman, are showing a collection of works in a joint exhibition at Walker Galleries starting this weekend.

The paintings draw on natural landscapes and still life, and while the artists’ approaches vary in degrees of abstraction, each piece is striking. All the art displayed will be on sale and priced individually.

A spokesperson for the Walker Galleries in Harrogate said:

“We felt that the two artists complimented one another. Both artists concentrate on traditional landscape subjects but give them a slightly abstract ‘edge’.

“Both of the artists are already well established at Walker Galleries and there has already been a lot of interest from regular and new clients.”

Peter King: ‘Winter Light, Arran’ £2,800

Contemporary Scottish artist Peter King takes inspiration from the light and landscape of his homeland, evoking nature through texture and free paint.

He was born in Glasgow in 1953 and studied art, specialising in drawing and painting, at the Glasgow Art School under the tutelage of David Donaldson RSA and Duncan Shanks RSA.

Walker Galleries described King’s style as “a range of motifs which he constantly returns to and reinterprets, focusing on aspects of changing moods of light, weather and season”.

Peter King: ‘Autumn Reflections, Arran’ £2,800

On the other hand, Walker Galleries called Peter Wileman‘s more abstract work “vigorous and full of drama”.

He was born in Middlesex in 1946 and has spent 40 years developing his bold, vigorous style to evoke atmosphere and explore the effect of light, winning many awards along the way.

Peter Wileman: ‘The Kiss of Dawn, Bamburgh’ £3,500

Wileman is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the former president and a fellow of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the East Anglian Group of Marine Artists.

The exhibition will be open between 10am and 5.30pm until July 10, and entry is free.

Peter Wileman: ‘Castle Nick, Hadrian’s Wall’ £5,850

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A brass band will give a free live performance tonight on the Stray in Harrogate from 7pm.

Harrogate Band will play hymns and gentle music alongside the In Memoriam artwork that was installed last week on West Park Stray as a memorial to NHS workers who have died due to covid.

In Memoriam, which is the first of a series of art installations organised by Harrogate International Festivals this summer, will be available to see until June 7.

Harrogate International Festivals organised tonight’s live music.

Harrogate Band consists of 25-30 members and has been performing for 51 years.

Band chairman Ed Dennis said;

“The band are delighted to be back performing after 14 months of not seeing each other of being able to make music together.

“We’re so pleased to be working with Harrogate International Festivals once again on this very special project.”

Catch them tonight in front of the memorial on the Stray from 7pm to 7:40pm.

A giant art installation has opened on the Stray today to help people reflect on those who have lost their lives through coronavirus.

The piece, called In Memoriam, measures 36 metres in diameter and features more than 100 flags made from hospital bed sheets.

As well as a memorial to those who have died, it is also a tribute to those who have been on the frontline trying to save lives.

It’s been designed by award-winning artist Luke Jerram and will be on West Park Stray until June 7. After that it will move to Edinburgh, Fleetwood and Weston-super-Mare.

There is no entry fee and Harrogate International Festivals has commissioned a reflective piece of music called ‘A Moment of Time’, which you can find here.

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This is the first in a series of installations and events delivered in the months ahead by Harrogate International Festivals, which this year celebrates its 55th anniversary.

In Memoriam is being supported by Hornbeam Park Developments Ltd, Harrogate BID, and Swainsons Funeral Directors.

Sharon Canavar, Harrogate International Festivals chief executive, said

“Two years ago, we were lucky enough to bring Luke’s Museum of the Moon to St Wilfrid’s Church, which was one of the highlights of that summer’s international festival, and was visited by more than 10,000 people.

“As an arts charity delivering festivals and events, we were first to close and will be the last to open, but we can’t just open the doors on our venues and go straight back to normal.

“We wanted to create something unique in Harrogate that acknowledged the last year whilst allowing us to create a safe, outdoor event for the town.

“We don’t want people to just look at In Memoriam from afar, we want people to experience it; we want individuals, families and friends to walk into the heart of it; we want them to sit under the flags and quietly reflect the events of the last 15 months.”

Work started this morning on a huge art installation on the Stray to commemorate NHS staff and care workers and those who have lost their lives through coronavirus.

The piece, called In Memoriam, is set to be complete for its official opening on Friday.

Volunteers are using red and white flags to assess where the various pieces will go, close to the centre of West Park Stray.

Award-winning artist Luke Jerram designed the exhibit, which will be on the Stray until June 7. It will then be moved to Edinburgh, Fleetwood and Weston-super-Mare.

Ben Osborne (left), on behalf of the artist Luke Jerram, and Adam Long, on behalf of Harrogate International Festivals.

In Memoriam measures 36 metres in diameter and features more than 100 flags made from hospital bed sheets arranged in the form of a medical symbol.

This is the first in a series of installations and events delivered in the months ahead by Harrogate International Festivals, which this year celebrates its 55th anniversary.

How the artwork will look on Friday.

Sharon Canavar, Harrogate International Festivals chief executive, said

“Two years ago, we were lucky enough to bring Luke’s Museum of the Moon to St Wilfrid’s Church, which was one of the highlights of that summer’s international festival, and was visited by more than 10,000 people.

“As an arts charity delivering festivals and events, we were first to close and will be the last to open, but we can’t just open the doors on our venues and go straight back to normal.

“We wanted to create something unique in Harrogate that acknowledged the last year whilst allowing us to create a safe, outdoor event for the town.

“We don’t want people to just look at In Memoriam from afar, we want people to experience it; we want individuals, families and friends to walk into the heart of it; we want them to sit under the flags and quietly reflect the events of the last 15 months.”

In Memoriam is being supported by Hornbeam Park, Harrogate BID, and Swainsons Funeral Directors.

The owners of the historic Guy Fawkes Arms in Scotton are trying to find out whether a mural, which appeared on their pub yesterday, is a genuine Banksy.

Danielle and Adam Vear were shocked to discover the image featuring Guy Fawkes, who lived in the village, when it appeared in broad daylight yesterday at about 3.30pm.

The spray paint and stencil mural, which bears a Banksy signature, shows covid passports dropping from a barrel held by Fawkes into a burning Houses of Parliament.

The quality of the mural, plus the fact it was done so quickly, suggests it is the work of a talented artist. But is it a Banksy? Ms Vear said:

“I really don’t know. Whoever did it is good and put a lot of thought into it. Everyone is intrigued by it.”

The couple think the artist appeared when they were in the pub. Remarkably, nobody seems to have spotted them even though the pub is situated in the heart of the village.

The Vears are now trying to verify the work by contacting the pest control website set up for such a purpose.

If it is a Banksy, it would be worth millions of pounds.

The pub, which dates back to the 1700s, reopens today for outdoor drinks only and Ms Vear insists the mural isn’t an elaborate publicity stunt.

“The whole thing is just bizarre.”

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