Westcotts Gallery, St Ives

Since this was written Wescotts Gallery has sadly closed but has in mid 2012 reopened as an exhibition space for the Porthminster Gallery. Jonathan Grimble Modern Art & the Sandra Blow Estate are now based at Bullans Court, Bullans Lane, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 1RB. Sandra Blow's paintings and prints can be bought from there and studio tours are available by arrangement. See the website for further details.

Sandra Blow

St Ives is stuffed full of galleries. One of the best is Westcotts, which features modern British art and is owned and run by Jonathan Grimble and Denny Long.

The gallery is a great space which is packed with art and ceramics plus a few books etc. Jon is an executor for the Sandra Blow estate and does tours by appointment around her former studio which is nearby.

When I visted the gallery a couple of weeks ago the highlights included a number of works by Sandra Blow and some by Breon O'Casey.  O'Casey, who sadly died at the end of May, was one of the last of the St Ives school - an artist who was versatile in several media and, incidentally, was the son of playwright Sean O'Casey.

The gallery features a mixture of established artists: Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Peter Lanyon, Ben Nicholson and others, but also newer ones too. Works by the big names are mainly priced in thousands but other stuff is more affordable. Amongst these are some fine retro-style linocuts by Laura Weston, a print artist from the Wirral:

Since doing a printing taster course at Double Elephant in Exeter last year I've become more interested in linocuts and I have invested in one of Laura Weston's artist's proofs (not this one).

The Wescott gallery occasionally also has prints by Joe Tilson, pop art veteran and contemporary of Peter Blake. I didn't see any of his prints the last time I was there but I've recently shelled out for, and am now the proud owner of, a small Tilson print of my own:

Westcott's is just along from the harbour, opposite the Arts Club.