Summer show 6


Hi, hello and welcome to the reprise of our final summer show at Gallery Tresco. The schedule of 6 exhibitions in 60 days is a huge undertaking, but a challenge I love none the less. Featured above is the attending artist Maggie O'Brien, who over the years has built herself a big following with our clients. Her painting above my right shoulder has been sold, but the star of the show had to be her large homage to the swallow, a lament at the decline of our bird population in general which is one of Maggie's passions. See the entire show here


Maggie and I are both putting our best foot forward in our frocks of the evening. Maggie is wearing her new dress by Whistles, not brown but snakeskin print she corrected. And me, I'm wearing a Monsoon gown (pre-loved) which of course, isn't beige, but vanilla. Whew, thank goodness we've got that all straight!


I bought the beautiful satin and chiffon dress from the Cancer Research shop in Truro when I was over there last month for my medical appointment. I'd walked past there in the evening when all the shops were closed and this was hanging against the door. I promised myself that I'd return the next morning and if it were less than £30 I'd buy it. It cost £18 and is worth every penny. The dry cleaning label was still stapled inside which itself had saved me about the same amount of money. Hurrah! You do know how I love a bargain.





It may not be the biggest swoosh factor of the summer, but this gorgeous gown certainly wins in the glamour stakes, don't you think?


I added my favourite oversized Debenhams pearls to the column dress for a bit of impact and two pre-loved rings in neutral tones. The sunglasses of the day are by Guess


The satin kitten heel shoes by Wallis must be vintage by now as I've had them for over 20 years. They've hardly been worn. The first outing they had was on a New Year's Eve party which nearly spoilt them for good. We walked home in the rain and it was only the next morning that I discovered that they were soiled with muddy splashes. Some gentle mopping and drying redeemed them and I wrapped them up in tissue in their box, put them into the top of the wardrobe and promptly forgot them. It was only earlier on this year that I rediscovered them. Their best feature has to be the pale green lozenge gemstone surrounded by smaller gems - another touch of glamour!


And here, as promised, is the dream team from that evening. From l to r, Duffy, yours truly, Polly and Hannah. The girls worked wonders on the Opening Night party, zipping back and forth with bottle after bottle, keeping the clients topped up with refreshments and canapes. Thank you ladies for the endless support this summer - I couldn't have done it without you!



As we say goodnight in the glow of the evening sun, I also had to say goodbye to Polly. My wonderful assistant of the past 5 years has moved to an office job on the island. Her admin skills will be put to very good use in Human Resources and she is looking forward to new challenges within this very different role. Her departure was sudden and without much notice; a complete surprise to me if the truth be known, but I don't begrudge her the new start and have wished her well on the next phase of her journey. In the meantime, I've been given part-time help to tide me over the last few months of the season (not quite enough to cover her full time support, but hey, such is life). I shall miss Polly's bright, enthusiastic input, her capacity for hard work, her ability to wrap a painting which defies all efforts by the courier service to trash it, and let's not forget her talents as my blog photographer. Thank you for everything and good luck Polly!


Anna x

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Summer show 5


Hello and welcome to the reprise of Tuesday night at the gallery where Tom Rickman was our artist in attendance for the opening of his summer exhibition with us. I'm not sure who was the most delighted with the outcome as Tom sold 6 of his 10 paintings. We're both grinning madly here at the end of the night and for good reason! Tom has been showing his work with us for many years now and his passion for the North End of the island hasn't faltered over that time, nor has our guests appreciation for the subject either. Thank you Tom, for making the effort to come across the water from mainland Cornwall to attend the party. The other two contributing artists are Jenny Ulyatt and Alasdair Urquhart. The entire show can be viewed online here


I've shopped my closet this week for my exhibition outfit, purely because I love this frock by Finery and have only worn it once before. I fancy that I probably paired it up with the same shoes that time too, but goodness why on earth not? I'm a big fan of Finery as a brand because they do a great job to what you'd call grown up dressing. The cut is always stylish and flattering (see this other dress in the sale currently for more of what I mean). My orange frock was a TK Maxx find last year, so I picked up a bargain there too.


The satin floral shoes are my favourite summer stilettos meaning you'll have seen them many times before I expect. The always earn me lots of compliments, especially for those shiny gold heels. I'm learning to keep it zipped when someone says they love these (and yes, a few ladies did the other evening) as my default setting would be to blurt out the fact that they cost me £5.99 from Primark. Sharing that here somehow doesn't seem to count. Mad, eh?




This frock is all about the f's - flouncy, frilly and fun!



I'm hoping to round up my lovely helpers during the next and last summer show to get a photograph of them all together. The girls are always in a rush to go off for a celebratory meal together at the end of the shows and I seem to get caught up in saying farewell to the artist of the day, missing my chance of a group shot. Needless to say, I'm so grateful to them for all the hard work they put in to make these nights a success - especially Polly who helps to hang the show too - I couldn't do it without you, so thank you all ladies!


I usually have a swoosh factor shot, but this is the best I can do given my limited resources this time!




The rose gold ripple necklace was a purchase in a tiny side street boutique in St Andrews earlier on this year. I've added a rose gold ring (pre-loved) to that along with this bejewelled contemporary ring which I bought at an airport concession during the same trip. Both bangles are in rose gold, the sailor's knot is by Kate Spade and the other was from the gallery in the basement of the Barbican. The sunglasses of the moment are by Guess


Thanks so much for joining me again. I'm dreadfully aware how busy we all are at this time of year, all the more so when we have to make the most of these precious last few weeks of the summer. I've come to accept that my readership drops off around now, so I do appreciate those of you who are able to make the time to follow the story of my island life. It would be lovely to have your comments, good or bad - I love a bit of constructive criticism - to let me know you're out there, especially if you've never spoken to me before. I write my blog for you, each and every one of you and it's wonderful to create a connection to you. I'm always happy to widen my circle of friends. And a final thank you to those who comment regularly x

                                                                                         Anna x

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Summer show 4


This was Saturday evening, the 3rd of August and the fourth of our summer exhibitions at Gallery Tresco. Artist Chris Hankey joined us for the reception party, enjoying the opportunity to chat to our guests, explaining the locations of his work and his inspiration for this beautiful collection. See the full August line up in our brochure here


The outfit of the day wasn't meant to be this one at all, but the promised sunshine didn't appear making the flimsy frock I had planned look completely out of kilter with the grey weather. A last minute flurry of trying on commenced at 5.20pm which, when you consider that I was due at work at 5.30pm, made things a bit tight! Even as I legged it along the road to the gallery, I wasn't convinced that this was actually what I wanted to wear, but it was the only outfit that didn't need to be ironed, making it the winner.


I've worn this lace jumpsuit before, but not with these accessories which almost almost constitutes a new outfit doesn't it? The brand is Darling London and I found it at TK Maxx a couple of years ago. 


I added this (pre-loved) metallic belt to cinch in the waist as the cut of the all-in-one is bit straight. On reflection it may have looked fine without, but I was in a mad rush and didn't have time to co-ordinate a proper look as such. The necklace was from the Topshop sale this summer, as were the sunglasses and the rings are from Boots. 


I've had these pale gold sandals for ages and wish I could tell you what brand they are, but I slipped out of them at the end of the party when we were closed. I tootled around the gallery clearing up wearing some silver flatties and then left these glamorous heels at work. Do message me if you really need to know the brand and I'll check later today.


Cue a few actions shots for Polly before the rain appeared.





The post party shots are always the best, much more relaxed. Chris had a great evening, ending with a red spot for his first sale and talk of a commission to come. Chris's work is showcased across the whole of the island from the Ruin Beach Cafe to the Flying Boat Club spa and in many cottages in between too. The commission piece will be a copy of the large painting housed within the changing room at the spa - a painting that is much admired. 

And that's it folks - another show opened and another to come in less than 10 days now. Summer is rapidly slipping away bringing about a slight sense of panic in me. In just over a month's time I hope to swim the full 360 degrees around Tresco island. I don't know exactly how far that will be, but I think it might be about 7 miles, depending on the effects of the tide. My training, or lack of, is always at the back of my mind as I try to plan for another long stretch into deeper water away from the balmy turquoise shallows that are my daily playground. If the weather is reasonable on Saturday, Steve and I hope to venture out to the craggy North End of the island where the waves around Kettle Rock crash and surge in a way that creates fear in my belly rather than joy in my heart when I think about it. But, I've set myself this challenge and won't be happy until it's done. 

Wish me luck with the training!

Anna x

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Summer show 3


It's not by chance that we always have our group shot taken after the exhibition party rather than before, as by then the sheer relief and perhaps a glass of wine or two help us all look beautifully relaxed. The third summer show features artists Iona Sanders and Richard Guy (shown here) along with Neil Pinkett in a glorious collection of work (find the third July show images here). Each of the July exhibitions has been a diverse showcase of the artists' work and this final one is no exception. Red spots were dotted about, sales were made and we all had a splendid evening. Painting stories were exchanged between artists as to where's the best spot to see the finest Agapanthus blooms at the moment with my own particular highlight being when Iona's lovely father regaled me with tales of his time at sea as Coxswain aboard the ships that serviced the Trinity Lighthouses around the UK some 25 years ago. It was fascinating stuff.


And so on to the frock. This week's outfit is a mix of old and new; the new by way of this maxi dress by Zara which is on the website currently if you love it - see here.  I must admit I'm still utterly enchanted by these longer length summer frocks, not just for the romantic nature of them, but for the cool waftiness (made up word) which has come into its own during these wild summer temperatures we're having again. Loose fitting and lightweight fabric is a winning combination for this super maxi. I'll be dressing it down soon with simple sandals or those natty white trainers of mine for a cool and practical summery look.



This week's dress may not have the same big swoosh factor as last time but it makes up for this in its sleek contemporary styling. I know that white and black is an understated colour choice for me too, but sometimes I like to throw in the odd wild card with something unexpected. 





Pretty summer sandals would have been an obvious with this dress, but I chose these silver stiletto heel boots (by Buffalo) to give a bit more of an edge to the outfit. Polly tells me that this is Zara's dress of the moment as it's turning up all over Instagram. And if that's the case then styling this is more of a challenge to find that individual touch. I carried on the silver theme with all of my jewellery. The disc necklace was from M&S a few years ago, but still gets lots of admiration. The sunglasses are by Quay Australia and just happen to go perfectly with this black and white get up, don't you think?


The pre-loved accessories go a long way in helping this dress looking different. The Vogue clutch, bangles and rings are all charity shop finds, each one a delight at the time. These inexpensive trophies help me to stamp my personality onto an outfit. There's no better thrill than finding an unusual piece in a tiny charity shop, knowing it will one day add that certain twist to an ensemble. What simple pleasures I have!







My next post coming up will be on Monday when the ladies from the Style Not Age Collective and I will be delivering our latest offering. This month's theme is "Steal her style" which has certainly had me chopping and changing my mind over the past few weeks. I'm still in the throes of getting the look together, but fingers crossed, I'll be ready in time. I do hope you'll pop back to see how it goes. In the meantime, keep hydrated, keep slapping on the factor 50 and enjoy the sunshine!

                                                                                           Anna x

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