Manga and comic book character art materials now in stock at Skills Stony Stratford

The wait is over as the sought after Faber Castell Manga pitt pens are now back in stock, along with our popular manga & comic tutorial book.  The manga pen set has 8 shades of grey for effective monochrome character illustration.  All the shades of Faber Castell Pitt Pen sets are now available to buy individually, give you your dream palette.  These include primary basic, skin tones, bright shades, landscape shades and sepias.

Also available at Skills is the versatile Letraset ProMarker set.  The inks are alcohol based, which gives incredible tonal range, blending ability with a blender pen included.  These pens can be applied to a diverse range of materials, not just paper; apply to paper, card, acetate, glass, plastic, wood, etc .
The book ‘The art of drawing manga & comic book characters’ gives detailed analysis of character drawing for fine art and digital illustration.  This includes 21 engaging projects by talented artists Bob Berry and Jeannie Lee, who also share their professional tips and hints.

For ideal presentation and portfolio display their are two illustration pads we have with top notch paper quality for pen and markers, with the Bristol pad including a layout comic border for storyboards.  We also stock ink transfer medium should you want to diversify and experiment with your manga designs onto furniture or wood panels.  The possibilities are endless!

Visit Skills in Stony Stratford

Skills for artists and art lovers

Skills lives up to it’s name

• specialist artist materials
• specialist art and photography services
• an exceptional framing service
• highly experienced staff providing art valuation and restoration

We are passionate about encouraging your creative path whatever your age or stage in life.  We are proud to be one of Stony Stratford’s vibrant independent shops.  Skills stocks only authentic specialist art materials, which contain the high quality an artist deserves.  We also let customers try before you buy.  Why gamble with online purchases when you can confidently buy from Buckinghamshires only independent art shop.  In our company, we have no less than five artists and two photographers, because of this we understand your needs and ideas.  Stony makes a perfect summers day shopping without the hassle of crowds.

Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire Street art project needs you.

Pick n Mix of Fine Art ~ Which is your favourite?

The wind that blows the barley ~
Eleanor McGowan is a Scottish artist who works from her home in Largs, Ayrshire.  She is an elected member of the Paisley Arts Institute and Glasgow Society of Women Artists.  She is a regular exhibitor in many popular UK Galleries.

Shaggy Sheep and The Colonel ~
Lucy Pittaway studied Art & Design at college, before taking a place at Northumbria University to read Graphic Design where she developed her skills in digital art, photography and mixed media.
After graduating Lucy took a gap year and ran her own business in creative crafts, before pursuing a career in Graphic Design. After two years as a Graphic Designer she was offered a teaching role at the college where she had previously studied- she claims to have learnt as much during that period as she did whilst she was a student! Like many teachers she was given generous holidays and spent as much of that time as possible drawing and creating canvases that were sold to various clientelle in the Uk and Europe.
As time progressed, Lucy came to the conclusion that she enjoyed creating her own paintings and drawings far more than teaching, so gave up teaching to pursue her lifetime passion to become an artist.

Solway Breakers ~
Born in Coalsnaughton, Clackmannanshire, 1943 Secondary education in Portland, Connecticut, USA Rhode Island School of Design, 1961-1963 Edinburgh College of Art, 1964-68
The works of Hugh Mcintyre, D.A.Edin are most typically out of doors, enveloped in atmospheric overtones and continue the long tradition of Scottish painting. Never working from a subject directly, he walks the riverside or seashore in all weathers and then returns to his studio to relive his experiences by putting them down on canvas. once he has decided on a particular arrangement, it will be repeated over and over until the concept is exhausted. Never working on fewer then three canvases at a time, Mcintyre is able to maintain a high level of intensity by constantly changing from one canvas to another, thereby seeing each with a fresh eye. This technique allows the artist to produce the prodigious amount of work for which he is noted. He regularly returns to themes, sometimes years after the initial investigation. Hugh Mcintyre knows his subject matter intimately and from the time he began exhibiting, twenty years ago, has been recognised as an artist who could distil essences from the landscape which were unique. Never a slave to the physical reality of a situation he has created a more meaningful and accurate representation by painting from the heart those ordinary moments which make our landscape extraordinary. Over the last few years, Hugh has travelled widely working in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Brazil. This has introduced a number of new themes into his work and enriched his palette in a very positive way.

Summer Solstice (Harvest Moon also available to view) ~
Charles Monteith Walker was born in 1957 in Falkirk and attended Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee from 1978-1982 where his influences at this time included Alberto Morrocco and David McClure. After graduation he concentrated mainly on landscape drawings in soft pastels. In the mid 1990’s his style began to evolve after several visits to Italy, Spain and Portugal. The warmth of light and colour, the piazzas, churches and towns provided him with a new, rich source of inspiration and led to the development of his own distinctive, unique style.
His work has become increasingly more bold in colour and composition, mixing imagery, symbols and shapes from a variety of different sources both geographically and historically. Charles is versatile in subject matter moving easily from representational landscape and still life to imaginative, vibrantly coloured stylised compositions all crafted in thick layers of oil paint giving his works a strong, sculptural quality.
Since 2000 Charles has worked on a series of larger scale pieces that are highly distinctive both in style and subject matter including a series inspired by Scottish and Mediterranean landscapes. His work is held in private and corporate collections both in the United Kingdom and overseas and he is now regarded as one of our most original contemporary Scottish artists at the forefront of the New Colourist trend in Scottish Art.

Sundown Fife ~
One of the best loved painters of the recent Scottish exodus into the London Art Market, Christine is a graduate of the famous Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. Her numerous awards have brought her a large following across the country and her extensive travels to Morocco, Tunisia and Italy remain her principal inspiration.

Passenham original watercolour ~
Edward Stamp came to North Bucks as a wartime evacuee at the age of 4. His love for this part of England began at this time.
He acquired an NDD (National Diploma in Design) at Northampton School of Art and became a full-time painter and engraver in 1973 and in 1980.  He was then elected as a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours. His election to the Society of Wood Engravers came soon after.
He currently has work on show at the Obsidian Art Gallery in Stoke Mandeville near Aylesbury.


Visit Skills in Stony Stratford or contact us via our website if you would like to purchase these wonderful pieces.

Northamptonshire's Fine Art and Picture Framers New NN5 premises

Picture Perfect and Primrose Gallery 6 Ryehill Court, Lodge Farm Industrial Estate, Duston, Northampton, NN5 7EU  call for details on 01604 591400



Northamptonshire’s most popular Fine Art Framers, Picture Perfect, have moved from Kingsthorpe old bookshop premises to a prestigious new showroom and workshop.  The company established 18 years ago has taken their services to a higher level.  Now incorporating high quality art printing and picture solutions into their other services of framing – from budget up to Museum conservation level – and picture and photo restoration.

Located in the far less congested area of Harlestone Road in West Northampton, near to Harlestone Firs in Lodge Farm, the new premises has free customer parking and has a forthcoming open event.  Proprietor Neil Duguid has produced a statement on this exciting new expansion.

Another wonderful painting finds a new home!

As soon as Stephen Hawkings original oil ‘Sheep on a September Morning’ was placed on our window easel, it immediately became the talk of Stony Stratford’s window shoppers.  After a very short space of time, and after many enquiries, a customer who owns a farm in Yardley became the proud owner. 

We have other Stephen Hawkings paintings on sale on our Primrose Gallery site for those of you who missed out.

Picture Perfect Relocation

Skills Sister Company Picture Perfect has expanded and is right now moving into a prestigious workshop and showrooms.  Customers will now have an interactive experience of Picture Perfects Fine Art Trade Guild team using the latest technology to produce budget, commended, conservation, and Museum grade framing results.  The customer can also relax with the free parking to make informed choices for memorabilia framing, picture and photo restoration, fine art printing, and other picture solution services.
Get Directions to visit Picture Perfects new Framing workshops and showrooms.

Artist of the Week - Ken Howard

 Low Water at Mousehole 1995 

Oil on board approx 11" x 14"

14" x 17" gold frame with slip mount

£3750

Ken Howard studied at Hornsey School of Art from 1949 to 1953. He then did his National Service with the Royal Marines before returning to study at the Royal College of Art from 1955 to 1958. He went on to win a British Council Scholarship to Florence from 1958 to 1959.

Howard’s first solo show was held at the Plymouth Art Centre in 1955. Subsequent exhibitions were held in 1966 and 1968 at the John Whibley Gallery. From then on he exhibited extensively, both nationally and internationally, particularly with the New Grafton Gallery from the early 1970s. He was given a retrospective in 1972 at the Plymouth City Art Gallery and in 1973 and 1979 was appointed by the Imperial War Museum as official artist in Northern Ireland. He also worked with the British Army in Germany, Cyprus, Oman, Hong Kong, Nepal, Norway, Canada, Belize and Brunei from 1973 to 1982.

Howard was elected a member of the New English Art Club in 1962, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1966, the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1979, the Royal West of England Academy 1981, Honorary Member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1988, Royal Academician in 1991 and President of the New English Art Club in 1998. Among his numerous awards are First Prize in the Lord Mayor’s Art Award in 1966, a Prize Winner in the John Moores Exhibition, Liverpool in 1978, first prize in the Hunting Group Awards and the Critics Prize at Sparkasse Karlsruhe in 1985. Ken Howard lives and works in London.

Skills have a Calorie Free Easter Egg for you

Golden Egg & Smartie by Ramond Campbell

Original oil on board
7.5 x 7.5 cm

Presented in a fancy warm silver/white gold frame and white slip
20 x 20 cm wall size

£220

Why Skills choose Loxley Artists Traditional Stretched Canvas

 

 

Special offer Triple Canvas Packs Available in Store Now for a Limited time

As an artist, choosing a well priced quality canvas can be confusing and often a mistake can happen when having chosen to buy a simple stretched canvas which is not prepared and your painting is ruined by lack of preparation or experience with a canvas as your chosen surface.  This article gives the low down on why Skills chooses Loxley Artists Canvas range over others you may find at discount chains.

1.   Double primed vs triple primed – Does one extra coat of priming make a difference?  Surely double is enough to ensure the the paint stays on the surface?  Take it from an acrylic artist, a triple primed canvas is necessary if you prefer a quick and hassle free choice.  A cheap double primed canvas = wasting paint and time wasted priming an extra coat on the cheap canvas when you could be happily painting.
2. Traditionally strectched and manufactured, the mitred corners are made with a free floating tongue and groove so that the canvas can be re-tensioned if needed using the supplied wedges.
3. The larger of the canvases have cross bars to add strength and stability to the frame.
4. The cross bars in the Loxley Gold 18mm deep range have rounded edges to prevent paint lines forming when painting with a ‘heavy-hand’ technique or palette knife.
5. There are a vast range of sizes available in the Loxley Gold Standard/Traditional 18mm depth and in the modern Chunky 36mm depth.

Having decided on a Loxley canvas, you can be assured that your painting experience will be immediately enjoyable and the results will be vibrant and long lasting.

Art Lovers Valentine Ideas

Feel the love in Stony Stratford at Skills with these wonderful Valentines gift ideas.  A bouquet of roses does not last, but these beautiful rose prints will be a lasting token of love.  The Jenni Murphy print ‘The Romantic Gardener’, framed in a gorgeous shabby chic duck egg green, is our window centrepiece.  We have the beautiful ‘Companion’ for dog lovers, and the fun ‘HareKare’ by the amazing printmaker Alison Read.  There is also the memorabilia framing service to surprise your loved one with a framed football shirt, photo booth keepsake, or 3D framing of the best souveniors of a fledgling romance.
Visit Stony Stratford, number 18 High Street, MK11 1AF.  See our website for details or follow us on Facebook or Twitter for art inspiration and new stock ranges.

Skills Guide to Picture Framing Levels

Top Quality Framing at Competitive Prices
Skills picture framing workshop staff are members of the Fine Art Trade Guild.  This means that they have received top quality training to ensure that any item will be framed perfectly to conserve it to high levels.  So many times Skills receives framed items from other framing outlets which have not been framed adequately.  Either the frame has started to fall apart or the item inside the frame is getting damaged through destructive display methods, including stitching an expensive item or from having acidic mounts put directly on top of work.  Skills can save a treasured piece from further damage and will adivse on how best to keep your treasured picture, embroidery, or memorabilia framed to the highest level for longevity and enjoyment on your wall.  The levels available are as follows:-

Budget Level Framing
It’s better than Minimum and better than ready made framing. If you can afford to frame your items or artwork at Commended Level, the Fine Art Trade Guild recommends you do so, as that gives it a degree of protection from physical and mechanical damage, airborne pollution and acid damage. Budget Level framing makes no pretence to protect the artwork or its long-term visual appearance. However, Budget Level Framing does provide a visually acceptable frame at a budget price and is suitable for replaceableartwork of no commercial or sentimental value.
Commended Level Framing
Guild Commended Level framing should visually enhance the artwork and will give a moderate level of protection from physical and mechanical damage, airborne pollution and acid damage. A windowmount or slip should normally be used to visually enhance the artwork and distance it from the glazing. Processes do not have to be reversible so make sure your framer knows if the chance to get your work back to its condition prior to framing is important to you. The Guild recommends that processes should be reversible whenever possible, as the future value of works cannot always be foreseen and work ‘in mint condition’ commands the best secondary market value.
The target time for this level of framing is around five years in normal conditions, but this can be improved by requesting Conservation Level quality of materials, such as mountboard, where you can afford it. Consult with your professional framer. Always have items and artwork that you value framed with the best possible materials; this will help them give you pleasure for longer. Commended Level framing gives you a wider choice of mountboard colour options than Conservation Level and some artwork will look better when dry mounted, a process that can also help disguise previous damage but that is usually not readily reversible.
Commended Level Framing is suitable for replaceable artwork of limited commercial and/or moderate sentimental value and where visual appearance is important. The target lifetime assumes that artwork is not inherently unstable. Commended Level framing is not recommended for high value limited edition prints or original artwork, which should be framed to Conservation or Museum Level.

Conservation Level Framing
Guild Conservation Level framing gives a high level of protection for your artwork or objects, whilst looking good and enabling you to view your framed work to best effect. It should give virtually as high a level of protection as Museum Level framing and in many markets, for example the USA, no distinction is made between the two. By using conservation quality materials and the best techniques, the framer can give your work protection from physical and mechanical damage, airborne pollution and acids generated by many framing materials
Conservation Level framing should be good for 20 years in normal conditions, but be vigilant: pictures are rarely hung in ideal conditions, so we recommend that you have the frame checked every five years or so by a professional framer .  The Fine Art Trade Guild recommends that you agree a ‘condition of artwork’ report on all works to be framed to Conservation Level that are not brand new, prior to framing. Appropriate remedial action on deteriorating artwork should be taken before reframing. Some framers can do this work; not all. Check and ask for credentials

Suitable for

Objects and artworks that are to be preserved for future generations and collectables should be framed to Conservation Level, if not to Museum Level. Original artwork deserves Conservation or Museum Level Framing. Limited edition prints of moderate to high value that are not framed to Conservation or Museum Level may not hold or increase their value over time as well as those that are. This is because Conservation Level framing, as well as Museum Level framing, requires that all processes affecting the artwork be fully reversible. In other words, what you have framed to Guild Conservation Level can be returned to its former state, i.e. prior to framing, at any time up to 20 years, assuming that the artwork is not inherently unstable

Good original frames should be retained wherever possible as these can enhance the value of the artwork. Frames can be replicated for display purposes, while the original is preserved in museum storage. Sometimes it is advantageous to retain an original windowmount (possibly gilded or decorated). A qualified framer will know how to do this and protect the artwork from damage this original windowmount could otherwise inflict on the artwork.

Museum Level Framing

Museum Level Framing is not confined to museums’ works. Some artwork gains museum-quality status over time. Works that are to be preserved for future generations, including high value items and artwork of potential or historical value should be framed to Museum Level, where possible. Processes are intended to be fully reversible up to 35 years, which means that the framed work can be returned to its former state, i.e. prior to framing, at any time, assuming that the artwork is not inherently unstable
Good original frames should be retained wherever possible as these can enhance the value of the artwork. Frames can be replicated for display purposes, while the original is preserved in museum storage. Sometimes it is advantageous to retain an original windowmount (possibly gilded or decorated). A qualified framer will know how to do this and protect the artwork from damage this original windowmount could otherwise inflict on the artworkMuseum Level framing should give the best possible protection for your artwork or objects, whilst looking good and enabling you to view your framed work to best effect. By using the highest quality materials available and the best techniques, the framer can give your work protection from physical and mechanical damage,  airborne pollution and acids generated by many framing materials. Museum Level framing should be good for at least 30 years in normal conditions. However, pictures are  rarely hung in ideal conditions, so we recommend that you have the frame checked every five years or so by a professional framer. The Fine Art Trade Guild recommends that you agree a ‘condition of artwork’ report on all works to be framed to Museum Level that are not brand new, prior to framing. Appropriate remedial action on deteriorating artwork should be taken before reframing. Some framers can do this work; not all. Check and ask for credentials.
Note: Any existing labels should be preserved as this can provide provenance for the art    

Visit Skills at 18 High Street, Stony Stratford MK11 1AF for a non obligatory quote and expert advice on picture framing.  Click on the map for opening times and contact details