Latest News

AN AFTERNOON OF TALKS. SUNDAY 21ST JANUARY. 1.00 – 5.00
AN AFTERNOON OF TALKS. SUNDAY 21ST JANUARY. 1.00 – 5.00 2nd January 2018 The Percy Kelly Retrospective has but 4 more weeks to run and what a run it has been so far. Hundreds of people visited over the Christmas period and the visitors’ book is full of positive encouraging comments - some from people I know and some from  others who have just discovered Kelly. The shop is doing a wonderful job and keeps me busy rushing up to Carlisle with yet another car full of books etc. Don’t miss the final event – An Afternoon of Talks on 21st January which  begins at 1pm  in the... Read More »»
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS ON THE SHORTEST DAY
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS ON THE SHORTEST DAY 21st December 2017 It’s the shortest day today – things can only get brighter from now on. Over here in the North West we have managed to escape the snow  so far – we’ve only had a picturesque dusting on the tops. Nothing has deterred the people pouring into the Kelly Retrospective at Tullie House.   Everyone I meet is talking about it.  I have been stopped by people in the street, the supermarket, the cinema and theatre  to tell me they had no idea of the stretch of Kelly’s talent. Their eyes have been opened.  A... Read More »»
SPREAD THE WORD
SPREAD THE WORD 24th November 2017 Every time I walk in to Tullie House there are people I know. It’s never empty and it’s lovely to see people enjoying the exhibition.  There are so many familiar names in the visitors’ book that I wish I could be there all the time but it is physically impossible.  Of course everyone is coming to see the works of Kelly not me but I am hoping to get in to the exhibition at least most Saturdays until the end of January while the exhibition runs.  And how it runs!  Lovely comments appear in the vis... Read More »»
AN EVENING WITH CHRIS WADSWORTH
AN EVENING WITH CHRIS WADSWORTH 20th October 2017 In the midst of the most dismal weather we have seen for some time; hurricanes, torrential rain and apocalyptic skies in paint box colours, the Kelly exhibition has trundled on regardless and brought joy to many in these dark uncertain days. “Excellent and wonderful to see". "So beautiful, stunning works on show".  "The most absorbing exhibition I've seen for a very long time" are just some of the comments received during the first few weeks of the Percy Kelly Retrospective. Since the opening at... Read More »»
CORN FLAKES AND CALENDARS
CORN FLAKES AND CALENDARS 6th October 2017 Exactly 2 weeks  ago I was putting the final touches to the Kelly Exhibition before the opening.  It now seems a long time ago because so much is happening.  Visitor numbers are exceeding all expectations. I keep popping  into Tullie House and each time I see familiar faces (and lots of unfamiliar ones as well)  all eager to talk about Percy Kelly.  An excited woman chased me on Sunday for a signed copy of The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Drawing and laughed as she told me she’d never heard of him befo... Read More »»
THE POWER OF PERCY
THE POWER OF PERCY 25th September 2017 Walking through the shopping precinct and on past Carlisle Cathedral on Saturday I was meeting people I knew who were all heading in the same direction.  They were going to see Percy Kelly in all his glory in Line of Beauty at Tullie House  The afternoon brought close on 200 people to the gallery. People had travelled a long way: from Brittany, the south coast of England, London, Sussex, Edinburgh, Cheshire and it was a treat for me to watch them enjoying it all.  Having been in lockdown in the ... Read More »»
LINE OF BEAUTY - NEARLY THERE 22nd September 2017 It is impossible to drive through or walk around Carlisle at the moment without seeing a giant poster or banner with a beautiful Percy Kelly image on it. It makes my heart sing and brings a smile to everyone’s face. I have been locked in the beautiful gallery at Tullie House every day this week with an ever increasing team of people working hard to get it all hung to perfection. Only those directly involved have been let inside so the excitement has been building.  Tomorrow is the opening day wh... Read More »»
COUNTING THE DAYS
COUNTING THE DAYS 13th September 2017 The countdown to the Percy Kelly opening has begun - only 10 days to go.  I promised you more excitement and here it is in the shape of the first ever Percy Kelly calendar and it is gorgeous.  14 of the paintings that are in the exhibition are displayed each month plus a beautiful cover painting and an intriguing inner page.   I guess you’ll want to keep it long after 2018.  You can buy them at the exhibition or, if you can’t wait that long, on www.percykelly.co.uk/merchandise. We are sending it... Read More »»
LINE OF BEAUTY
LINE OF BEAUTY 8th September 2017 The Percy Kelly Retrospective catalogue is here. Its 108 pages are filled with lovely images tracing Kelly’s artistic development from his first found drawing at the age of 9 to the end of his life aged 74.  You will see many works here that have never been exhibited before.  They go from standard pale watercolours of West Cumbria, the Lakes and Kendal area where he worked in the Post Office as a teenager through big bold charcoal drawings to his massive panoramas of harbours and cliff tops and ... Read More »»
THE TULLIE HOUSE ETCHING
THE TULLIE HOUSE ETCHING 23rd August 2017 Preparations for the Kelly retrospective are accelerating at a pace.  The big news this week is that the etching of Newlands Church is printed, it’s here and it’s wonderful.  All I have to do now is to get the special folder organised.  Robert Adam of Graal Press has printed an edition of 75 from Kelly’s etching plate and there will be no more. The plate will be on display as part of the exhibition and cannot be used again. It is finished. I said I’d tell you the story in my last newsletter. Wel... Read More »»