Tis the season to be jolly

I was starting to really sweat when the numbers looked like topping 500. I was shopping for the drink when a mildly nervous Phillipa called to say there was another influx of people asking to come to the Danny Cawley preview. What do we do? Tell people they can't come and risk turning away potential customers? Aaaaaaargh the vein in my forehead was starting to pulse and it felt like an almighty cock up was heading our way.
Someone please correct me but I really don't think anything like it has been done in Manchester before. John Bramwell set up a stage in the gallery and played a 45 minute set to a growing crowd in the gallery. It was an art event with a difference.
Needless to say we filled the gallery. With 68 pieces of art it is a whopper of an exhibition and all credit to Danny who nearly burnt himself out getting it all finished. Transporting it from his studio in east manchester It looked great then, but awesome when hung on a white wall. When we had cleared out all the work he had one piece left on the floor. Like a muppet I managed to tread on this piece but in my defense it was kind of camouflaged against the floor. It survived so these things are pretty tough.

Getting it all into the gallery its like Christmas morning. Phillipa gets all giddy and bounces around for a while laying claim to a few of her favorites. She genuinely had a mardy face on when the first piece to sell was one of these favourites. A clear winner and it could have sold 5 times over. Its weird how people think its a cheap selling tactic to get people to buy when you say it will be gone the next day. They only make that mistake once.
We had the task of hanging which generally involves us placing stuff around the gallery. Hand on chin, standing back, ponderous and aimlessly carrying artwork and me and Phillipa disagreeing on where it should go. Once decided though its all about getting it on the wall and endless fine tuning.
The sound guys came to set up the stage and speakers, Ryan came to set up the projector with the film. John came to bring his guitar and amp. I met him 20 metres from the gallery in the triangle completely oblivious to the gallery (is the signage that bad?). A really sound guy it was a chilled out afternoon of him doing his sound checks. Smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee inbetween him rambling into the mic trying to get the reverb into the sound system to create that John Bramwell sound.
Danny Cawley wise, Plenty of his work sold, loads of people came and everyone seemed to have a good time. I spoke to quite a few people and think it came across as a reasonable together guy. I can't help but feel I had the face of someone who is grossly constipated, worried about his own very well being. If I did then it was only towards the beginning of the night.
We got a few emails thanking us for it which is something which is rare for an arty event. Of course the dust has settled and we are still trying to rearrange the gallery space to fill the pieces that are being picked up and being delivered.

It has really done my nut in today and trying to get the right balance of work in the space sometimes is much harder than you think. The pieces that have sold have left a big hole in the exhibition which needs to be filled with other art. Its a good problem to have so I shouldn't complain. I feel like ramping up these events. It can only get bigger and better and next time I reckon I may be able to put on my regular face.

Manchester Pride

This week I've taken a lesson from a spanish girl who's working at the gallery on placement from an International language school. Yesterday I came in from the rain and had a bit of a moan to her about the fact we had small ponds collecting on the adjacent road. Bego said she likes the fact it rains a lot in manchester, "It's always so fresh". Her English isn't good enough for sarcasm and she wasn't being at all ironic. This made me smile.
She loves everything about Manchester which initially baffled me. She comes from Barcelona but raves about the architecture, the music, the people, the bars and just about everything else. One the way walking to the Triangle we passed the Urbis and the cathedral when she said how much she loved the buildings. "But the buildings by Gaudi are amazing in Barcelona" I said. Yes she said, "But its only Gaudi, Gaudi, Gaudi"
Manchester is still the underdog though, and that's what makes people defend it so fiercely. My best friend who now lives in London commented on the magazines dedicated to Manchester and how great it is. I agreed that some press felt a need to justify Manchester as a great city which smacks of insecurity.
Bego is right though, it is a cool city. A creative one that can't and shouldn't compete with London. The largest student population in the country is one of the reasons it's at the forefront of fashion, music and art. Being at the forefront though means people can get it horrendously wrong. I've been to enough degree shows to know that the majority of the work is dross and can sometimes be slightly worrying places to visit when you consider that for 3 years a student has been working towards a video of them drawing lines on the ground around people when they are stood at a bus stop. No amount of academic posturing can justify the crap art that is produced for these shows.
I'm keeping going though, and I'll keep bleating on about how great the talent is around here. My international customers clearly agree. If nothing else I know I work in a superior city to Barcelona.

One year on.

"You guys have a gallery in London don't you?.." The woman was confident she had seen a Mooch art in London. It occurred to me to say yes but telling lies to me is like throwing a ball with my left hand. I'm just so bad at it that even if I wanted to I'd end up looking like a fool.
I'm sure at some point mooch will open a gallery in London but its great to know that when we do, there will be one woman who will think it has been there ages.

I didn't make a big deal of it but on the 26th June, Mooch art was 1 year old. It's hard to fathom the distance that a small gallery can come in that time. Art galleries along with other luxury goods have taken a hammering since the crunch hit. Rumours are circulating about the latest casualty so surviving and even prospering in the worst economic crisis in 70 years is something to celebrate.

Oldham street is still the Mooch epicentre and that is the way it is going to stay. Things are turning and there is a change in the tide of confidence. Sales have been fantastic in the past 2 months and at the time of writing the FTSE has seen it tenth consecutive session of gains. Is this is a sign that things are on the up?

What is certain is that mooch shows artwork that people want. The starting of a gallery is a risky thing and more that a few people had doubts about it. One of my friends took me to task when I had just signed on the lease for the gallery. He has a lot of experience in business and strongly believed I was chasing a fanciful dream. I wouldn't be able to make enough to live and that it wasn't a viable business. It gave my confidence a serious knock but after some soul searching I went ahead and did it anyway.

Around that time I remember a talk by Trevor Baylis, the inventor of the clockwork radio. He came across massive resistance to his ideas. Like me, (although to a lesser extent) people thought he was just a dreamer with a crazy idea. Trevor sent his idea to the National association of watch and clock collectors who took enormous pleasure in ripping his ideas to shreds. The letter he received back was highly detailed in its criticism. He has kept this as a sign that most people find it easier to knock an idea that to create one. It is easier to be sceptical that to believe in a positive change. Trevor can say it much better than me, "The key to success is to risk thinking unconventional thoughts. Convention is the enemy of progress."

Mooch is still growing and is likely to make some bigger moves very soon. The only difference now from last year is that when I say I'm going to do something, people take me a bit more seriously.

Hungry Pigeon festival

The Northern Quarter in Manchester is becoming known for its cool bars, quirky fashion and serious music shops. It treads a fine line of respectability with its fair share of adult shops and old school pubs with guys who are there waiting at the door come opening time. It reminds me of Kings Cross in Sydney. It's a place where backpackers and tourists mix with prostitutes and drug pushers. It's a red light district where the Mcdonalds sits next to a lap dancing bar. Smut sits next to mainstream without anyone blinking a disbelieving eye. You may assume that this would make the place unsafe, but you would be wrong. The area mooch gallery occupies isn't anywhere as "Red" as that, but it has that feel.

The northern quarter is cool, its quirky but in some places bizarre and a little intimidating. It shows that people are prepared to turn away from the homogenisation of the high street. Perhaps more now than ever. I lived in the northern quarter so knew of its resurgence. The streets we moved into 8 years ago were derelict and have now been filled so that its the nightlife centre of the whole city. Sunday morning used to be quieter than a remote cottage in the highlands. Quieter in fact because there was no wildlife.

More luck than judgement has been responsible for the area leading the Mancunian cultural scene. The creativity and ideas aren't a result of hours of planning and council funding. In fact its precisely the opposite. An untended garden will flourish with wildlife without any planting, pruning, watering or fertilising. Maybe the best strategy is to just let things be, watch it grow.
Most people didn't give a monkeys about the area until some young businesses decided to take advantage of cheap rents and start injecting some colour and vibrancy into long forgotten buildings. So its a chance occurrence. A result of low barriers and free thinking, of plucky business owners and broad minded customers. Yes there has been key investment from property companies like Crosby and Urban Splash, but this hasn't given the area its character and it hasn't contributed to its soul.

A couple of key players are really going to put the Northern Quarter on the map . The arts council are building their head office on the adjacent road to Mooch taking 18,000 sq ft of the Hive building. Band on the wall are renovating the fabulous building that was the cornerstone of the punk scene in the late 70s and was where the buzzcocks, the fall and joy division first played. It is due to open September this year. These developments are part of a £30 million masterplan to turn the area into London's Camden locks. Manchester's Camden locks needed something to promote and celebrate the good stuff.

The Hungry Pigeon festival is the start of an annual celebration of art, music and cultural shenanigans. From 22nd - 25th May there were over 200 bands playing, dozens of events, the biggest staged in Piccadilly gardens on Saturday. I went along and the sun was shining, thousands of people were basking in a festival atmosphere. The organisers rolled the dice on banking on a good day and came out with a double six. It was perfect, and hats of to them for a well organised event. I had wondered whether there would be trashy music that makes me feel old and baffled at what "the kids" listen to nowadays. I was pleasantly surprised and thought that the unsigned bands I heard were actually something I could recognise and actually like. Like the Northern Quarter in general, the festival will only get bigger and better and that's great news for galleries like mooch.

Opening a new gallery - looking back

The picture here is a map of manchester from 1650.
The Electrician looked at our simple faces and said "You've got your work cut out for you".
I normally hate painting with a passion but the new gallery is making me change my mind. Creating big solid blocks of white with immaculate edges is curiously satisfying.
If art is any substance, arranged to make a statement then mine is "Clean white walls are gallery nirvana". Ugly brick walls are transformed into glorious white textured surfaces. It's clean and fresh and like a little piece of heaven, only you don't have to be good to get there.
I need to be involved in painting the new gallery for me to feel a part of it. I need my shoulders to ache and my scruff jeans to be encrusted with paint. I even put up with curious white bogeys and paint getting caught in my ring (wedding). I need to do this because as with many parts of this gallery I want to stand back and say with confidence that we did that.
I appreciate that there aren't too many people who have opened a gallery before but let me say.. Wow it's hard work. I mean, really it is. At opening events, gallery owners will smile and play down the shear effort that has gone into showing other peoples artwork. But trust me when I say that every one will need a holiday afterwards.
In June Last year Mooch art, Oldham street, opened to a receptive crowd. Perhaps people would have been more impressed had I have put the before pictures of the gallery up on the wall. There was a monumental effort involved by workmen and myself in getting it ready in time. Pure graft and passion went into that gallery.
Mooch is expanding sooner than expected and this effort is being repeated in the Triangle. We are in Unit 17, and we have already figured there is a great community in the triangle as there is in the northern quarter.
I had a chat with the guy who runs the Titchy coffee company and its fascinating to find out the history of the building. The triangle used to be the corn exchange "For many year's, (up to the time of the bombing), the building acted as a covered market hall, a Mecca for students and specialising in "alternative" produce - vegetarian foods, numerous "New Age" and Occult shops, palmists, tarot readers, books, aromatherapy prerequisites, music and clothing. Well worth a browse, even if nothing takes your fancy." But now the triangle is one of the most underrated retails spaces in Manchester. Glorious Victorian architecture houses a modern light spacious interior. Go through the fairly well hidden opening into a triangular courtyard. Calling the triangle a "shopping centre" is like calling Charlize theron a "tasty bird". It's just not classy enough. The gallery's doors will open inside to the interior but also onto Cathedral street. A beautiful cobbled street runs between the Triangle and Manchester cathedral that should be the biggest drawcard of the "Shopping Centre". Many shops for security reasons haven't utilised the best looking street in Manchester. I'm serious, it's picture postcard stuff and having lived in Manchester for 8 years kept wondering why I didn't know about it.
I have yet another spell of 12-13 hour days to get it ready and looking pristine, white, and as good as possible. The satisfaction is immense, the artwork will speak for itself. Great quality original art always does. Mooch art is passionate expression concentrated onto a canvas and I love it. If you want to come to the soft launch of the new gallery e-mail info@mooch-art.co.uk with the names of who wants to come. We are pinning in tuesday the 14th April but this may change. It will be fairly low key until the proper launch will be sorted out.

Probably the best new gallery in the world.

Mooch is opening a new gallery in the triangle shopping centre in Manchester city centre. I opened the Oldham street gallery in June last year so this is an exciting time. Mooch is growing fast and the additional gallery offers a huge amount of wall space to exhibit.
I have always know that people need to see the artwork to appreciate just how good it is. More choice from online galleries mean that the quality is patchy at best. The key to a great gallery is representing fewer, higher quality artists. The bottom line is that with fewer artists, a gallery can focus and boost their career more effectively which means the artwork is much more likely to rise in value.
Mooch has relatively few artists but even with the 20 artists, it is impossible to show all their work. The Oldham street gallery is a light and airy space that is in the creative heart of the city. However it's a bit of a walk for those shopping in the arndale or Deansgate so the Triangle will be a great location for more customers.
The gallery in the triangle will be open in 3-4 weeks so we have plenty of work to do in order to get it up to standard. Think of the amount of work you think is required and then triple it. Many galleries need a monumental effort for every opening and change of artwork. It's time to pull out the stops and make the new mooch gallery the best in Manchester, dare I say, the best in the country.

Photography and art, Digital trickery?

I have had more than a few photographers approach the gallery in the past week and have recently taken on another 2. For some reason there has been a big influx from people who are all keen to show off/sell their images. I have to be the bad guy and tell them that their work is tough to sell and isn't valued much by the people that come into the gallery.
It begs the question why we don't appreciate photography the way we did even 5 years ago. Have we seen too many mind blowing images that have desensitised our appreciation. I love photography, take photos myself and really rate the good stuff as art in its own right.
Digital cameras have opened up the medium to anyone and everyone. It has lowered the barriers and everyone is a photographer who can instantly show the world their work. There are billions of images out there and online imaging websites like FLICKR show that the standard is high. Worse for photographers is that if they do have a unique style, it is relatively easy to copy. By contrast the painter takes years to hone their skill with a paintbrush, the strokes akin to your own handwriting that are extremely difficult to reproduce.
Cameras with incredible spec are cheaper than they have ever been. There has never been such a level playing field in the world of photography. In many ways photography is going the way of the music industry where there is a proliferation of images that devalues each and every photo.
There is also the question of image manipulation. How much is too much? Where should we draw the line between photography and digital art? Magazines are being questioned for thinning and airbrushing their models but it is also prevalent in landscapes. The pristine white sand and perfect blue sky in "Wanderlust" is unlikely to be straight out of the camera. Colour will be boosted, distractions eliminated and you have to question how real the images you are seeing are.
The truth is that photographers have always used artistic license in their work. Before photoshop they would use different shutter speed, aperture, coloured filters or lighting. Post capture they would use different methods of developing the film and for example use silver selenide to give it sepia toning. I have to hold myself in check before I bore people too much about this stuff.
The fact that this manipulation has been taken to a new level doesn't make the images less worthy. I think its a great liberation where you can have anything you want. It also opens up the possibilities that have previously only been open to artists of the painterly kind. Work with photoshop gives that point of difference, that advantage over other photographers that may be thinking they can copy the style.
And this brings me to the photographers that are represented by Mooch art. We only show artwork that hopefully people recognise are by exceptionally talent people. This usually involves digital work that gives them the edge. If you want documentary images then watch the news. If you want outstanding art, come to mooch.

Mooch Boom time?

The past week has been just crazy. Sales have been great and It finally feels like people are coming out of their post Christmas/recession blues. I feel that enough has been written about the recession already and most people are getting a little tired of the media bringing us all down. Franklin Roosevelt said is beautifully in 1932 "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself". Therein lies the problem and the solution to our economic woes.

I see it a lot in some people buying artwork. The way people decide what they buy, and even if they buy, is fascinating to me. Much of the time you have to go with your gut instinct and for some people this is really strong and they can have reached a decision within 5 seconds.
Phil at Ascot studios see a lot of very successful people come into his gallery and believes they have a very opinionated and decisive approach when choosing their artwork. This makes sense as to be successful you need to know what you want and make positive decisions on how to get there. We are all the sum of our choices. Flapping and indecision only costs time and money.

Gallery owners appreciate honesty when people look around. If you had a big bit of Parsley inbetween your front teeth, you wouldn't appreciate going through the whole day without someone telling you. Feedback is really important and honest opinions are what drives the development of the gallery and the artwork it shows. If you are a customer reading this, and you come into the gallery, don't be afraid to say you hate something. The worst possible reaction would be indifference but we seem to be getting the right artwork in.

It's important for me to stay down to earth when talking about the artwork. Complex, poncey jargon is not what mooch is about. All I really want to provide is information because I strongly believe that quality sells itself.

New Exhibition - Angela Wakefield

the time has come again when the gallery undergoes an upheaval to change all the art on the walls. It's Angela Wakefield's chance to dazzle us with her skills. I have seen all new work now and can genuinely say I am very impressed. Art is subjective and I do need a balanced perspective but I just love her work.
Despite all its flaws, I love Manchester and think she has made the city look as colourful and exciting and maybe its reputation ought to be. The streets I have walked so often are captured with such a different perspective it has changed my view of the city.
Anyway so Wednesday is when we begin the long process of rehanging. Like anything it always takes 10 times longer than you expect. Its worth it in the end when you get that look on peoples faces when they first walk through the door.
Angela Wakefield Exhibition preview starts on Thursday feb 5th at 6pm and will go on until around 9pm. The gallery often stays open as people like to stay and chat and I don't switch the lights on and off, as a subtle sledgehammer hint. By that time I'm parched and starving having been running a la legless chicken for the past day.
The events are great though and people are always genuinely interested in the work. If you fancy coming along then send me and e-mail to info@mooch-art.co.uk.

The Manchester art scene - In a recession

Happy new year. My boiler packed in a couple of days ago and I awoke to minus 7 degrees. Sweet Jesus bring on global warming if it means I don't whimper getting dressed of a morning.
After the excesses of Christmas and New Year is there a finite amount of good will to go around? If so then its time for me to get into the mood, kick back and withdraw into 2 months of grouchy apathy "That's it my love, I'm spent". Listen to the gloom and you get sucked into it. Ignore the media and continue with a positive mental attitude. When you can do that, let me know how it's done.
There are still economic woes for many and there are a few big names yet to fall. So what of the art industry? Well in Manchester it is still pre pubescent and feeling slightly embarrassed at its high voice and lack of stubble. Underdeveloped doesn't come close, you can count the number of commercial galleries on one hand which for a population of half a million is shockingly few.
So if it isn't that great in the 1st place what's going to happen in a recession?
Clearly there has been a reduction in demand for art and anyone who says not is telling fibs. Mooch is really well placed, has already made a great impact and continues to grow, adding new artists every fortnight. I strongly believe that the recession could be a good thing for the businesses that are forward looking and positive in their outlook.
A guy called Maslow worked out our pyramid of needs, working up from psychological (I need air, water etc) up to self actualisation which involves creativity. There will always be a market for food; artwork on the other hand is on a roller-coaster of a journey. There are ups and downs and that's the key. Buy on a downer and you'll get a nice return on the upper.
You don't find galleries overtly slashing prices but they will be very carefully considered and will generally be lower than at any time in the past few years. Besides which, stocks and shares don't look anywhere near as nice on your wall. Think of a great looking room and your friends compliments as your dividend.
Buying artwork can however can be a little daunting so I will soon post a blog on how to buy art in a recession. It will give you an insight into how you should go about choosing artwork and hints and tips to get the best deal, the best investment and the piece that suits your home to a tee. We are also offering a free advice service for those unsure of what type of art is appropriate for a space. We can visit your home and help you make an informed decision.
When it comes to artwork there has never been a better time to buy so what are you waiting for?

Christmas time. mistletoe and whine

The gallery is closing on Sunday for the Christmas holidays. I have relatives coming over to our house on boxing day so the car crash will begin. We moved into our new house in August and have sweated and bled our way to make it half presentable. There is now the pressure to sort out artwork for all the rooms. For a gallery owner my house should be an awesome showcase of artwork that has people gawping at the walls in wonder. I guess like top chefs who go home and have beans on toast, I haven't sorted even one wall out with loverly artwork.
The great thing is that i'm in the customers shoes only I have to kit out the entire house. The difference will be immense. When the builders came round to the gallery when It was completed, painted and with work hung on the walls they were stuck for words. The walls look forlorn and barren wthout any art on them and I am frequently reminded of this during changeover every 5 weeks.
So I will have to accept people into my forlorn barren house having not had the time to sort out some top art. This Christmas it will be a time to maybe get a few comissions ordered and select something to give company to the lonesome walls.
Christmas used to fill me with dread. Dread is perhaps too strong a word. Unease is perhaps more apt. A wanton display of forced festivity, totally devoid of any kind of meaning whatsoever. I used to get really drunk Christmas eve and have a lie in, a casual shower, then make my way downstairs. Christmas doesn't warrant losing sleep, Christmas shouldn't cause any more stress than any other bank holiday. What a miserable git.
My Christmas Nonchalance has been waning of late. My wife, Katie, treats Christmas exactly the same now to when she was 5 years old. She has just finished bouncing around the lounge saying how pretty the tree looks now we have all the lights up on it. On the big day she gets up at 5am, bounces around in her PJs and is exhausted by 3pm and has to have a nap.
This excitement is infectious and my hard Scrooge edge has softened. So here i go. its difficult to say and still makes me gag a little.
Merry Christmas

Multimedia art gallery

Post preview thoughts - Advice for artists

So we've had the preview on thursday showing Adam Hayleys work amongst others. The level of quality is really high especially for Adam and Victoria Ashworth who are still young (24). Artists normally mature into creating great work. Most people who paint will be at a fairly average level for years and only get into the groove later on in their life.
Artists in general have a bit of a reputation for flakiness and unreliability. If a poll were conducted to find the flakiness percentage in the total population I wonder whether artists would have a higher percentage than other demographic groups.
I receive around 10 artists a week wanting me to showcase their work. One girl came in a couple of months ago and ran around the gallery looking at the work, looking at me slightly out of breath, "Yes, I am and artsit" "Errrrr" "How do you show work? Can you show my work, what do I do?"
I asked whether she had a website, "no", I asked does she have a portfolio she can show me? "eer no", Does she have a card she can give me. Of course she doesn't because she has the foresight of a goldfish and couldn't be relied on to tie her own shoelaces.
She asked me for a piece of paper and a pen, scribbled her number down and told ME to call HER. For any artist reading this, pay close attention to a few mistakes she made resulting in her not creating the best impression in the world. I sat there with raised eyebrows (if i could've raise one I would've) and Imagined her waiting by her phone, then after a couple of weeks saying "well i gave it my best shot".
For artists reading this who want to approach a gallery there are a few things to think of to create a good impression and one basic that sounds so simple but still quite a few don't do.
The one basic is that you have to show your work, whether its on an email, a portfolio or the actual pieces themselves. Not doing this straight away is like saying to someone "My best effort is still a bit rubbish and I can only be bothered to walk through the door and offer my artwork in a vague hope that someone might see the creative genius in me and proclaim me the next Damien Hirst. Don't take it out on me because I never not done nothing to no-one" Or something like that.
Reliability is key, consistently producing good quality artwork sorts out the people who have careers and those who sell the odd piece. It is highly likely the girl who gave me a scrap of paper with her mobile number on it isn't reliable.
Its a good job there are some great artists out there who do their stuff without drama and these are all showing with mooch.

Fresh and tasty

Mooch is hosting another event on thursday so the invites are out and its time to get hanging. Its strange really because the mooch artist of the year is a 24 year old guy from stockport called Adam Hayley. He does portraits which are not at all what I expected to gain the judges vote.
To be honest I hadn't a clue what would be sent in by the young artists or what the judges might choose. Some of the work was bizarre and not at all commercial. One artist had used his semen to add a bit of flair to his work. This was a piece that came to the gallery and had to be framed for the judges to inspect. I would've handled hot coals with more touch. I still wonder how a small yellow stain adds to the piece or even how the artist would consider reproductions.
So Adams work has already receive a fair bit of attention. He is part way through a Clint Boon portrait and has taken the preliminary photos and met up with Wayne Hemingway for his.
Who has portraits nowadays? Its just not something that I, or the judges considered, but Adams skill and talent overpowered any misgivings they had. He overturned all the preconceptions about portraits and i believe he gives it attitude and cool.
Adam pours attention over his work and they take him weeks and often months to complete. Unfortunately this means that his work aint going to be cheap. It would be tragic to undersell his work that smacks you in the face with drama and attitude. With passion and intensity he always chats to his subjects to really understand them before he undertakes a painting that captures what they are all about.

Affordable art show

Mooch art is putting some really affordable work on its wall. Its all going off on the 15th November. A saturday when we should all be thinking about getting prezzies for our friends and family. I go from last minute christmas frenzied shopping one year to a mass blitz in one session a month before the next. Without a highly specific list I just wander aimlessly drifting in and out of shops that make me feel like I don't belong. It ends in a strop, frustrated snap at my partner and a mature stomp off to the car.
The pressure is to buy something thoughtful, memorable and make someone smile. Even now I receive lists that specify the item, the size, the colour which leaves nothing to chance. Why not go onto amazon, order the lot and do a bank transfer from relative to relative at the end of it all. Where's the surprise, where's the thing that makes people smile because its just something they would never have even considered, but love it all the same.
Art is thoughtful, actually art can be anything you want it to be. For presents though we don't want to blow the bank. So here cometh the affordable art show from Mooch origin. When we say really affordable its from £30 to £300. We are selling mini canvasses still lovingly painted by our artists and set upon a tiny easel that makes a great original desktop work of art. We are also selling wall art that you can buy for others with the assurance that you can return it if it isn't quite right after a 6 week period.
So come along to Mooch on Saturday the 15th you just might find a present to treasure.

Mooch Art
88 Oldham Street
Manchester
M4 1LF

Mooch art - running a new art gallery in manchester

If anyone is curious what it is like to be in the art industry, work in a gallery and meet up with artists then this is your lucky day.
Whether you think art and the industry is pointless, poncey, frivolous or flawed I want to just tell it how it is. Clearly from a gallery point of view, art is the what drives creativity in this country. Without it we would be stuck a rubbish environment, Orwellian and bleak with little colour or style.
Mooch art is a gallery in Manchester (England) and we opened on the 26th June 2008. Things are still pretty new and we are still building a name for ourselves. As soon as the gallery opened its doors, a flood of artists came by to show their appreciation for the gallery and to try and get me to sell their stuff. Hopefully some artists should read this because some of their approaches would've made Gareth Gates sound smooth.
I have had some brilliant characters through the doors. I will be talking about some of these weird and wonderful people that seem to gravitate towards the art scene. I want to tell people about these characters partly because after they have left I am left thinking it could be me who has gone mad. If nothing else It may change the way other artists approach to galleries if only by learning what not to do.
The sorry thing is that similar to acting and publishing, the art industry is very unfair in rewarding the top artists with most of the money. This means that for every artist who makes a good living, there are 100 hopefuls. Art though is appreciated in the doing as well as the viewing. Artists often do it as a hobby so I don't mean to paint a bleak picture.
Saying that there are loads of great talented artists who haven't yet made a name for themselves and are just starting out. Thats where we come in.

Halleluja