Artist still upbeat despite deciding to close gallery

AN art gallery and shop in Henley is to close next month.

Artistry in Reading Road was opened by artist Sarah Pye in June 2021 following the second covid lockdown.

The gallery displays and sells paintings, sculptures and jewellery by local artists, including Ms Pye.

It is co-run by picture framer Kevin Woods, who has a workshop at the back.

The gallery will close on Friday, May 10 but Ms Pye will continue to work from her studio in Sonning Common while Mr Wood is moving to another workshop in Rotherfield Greys.

Ms Pye, of Damer Gardens, Henley, said she was “very sad” at having to close the gallery, saying her experience had been nothing but positive.

“We have lovely customers and we have lovely artists and you do feel part of the community,” she said.

“I think people will miss it. I think people will suddenly say, ‘Oh, my goodness, it has gone’.

“I don’t really want it to be a case of another shop dies because that makes it sound so negative. To me, everything in this shop spells positivity. It’s uplifting, it’s alive, it’s vibrant, it’s full of life, it’s full of colour and it’s full of people, if you see what I mean, because everything in here has been made by a person.”

Ms Pye said that while the gallery’s window displays had attracted a lot of attention the footfall inside the shop was not enough to keep the business going.

She said: “It has just trickled along with enough sales to literally cover my rent and my bills and that’s it. Part of it might be to do with the fact we’re not in the town centre but the rent is probably quite reasonable for Henley.

“For every one person that comes in, maybe 15 or 20 put their nose against the window. Sometimes I think people are frightened that they’re going to be accosted and it’s going to be embarrassing because it’s a small gallery.

“But we don’t do any form of sales pitch whatsoever — we acknowledge people and we just say, ‘Let me know if I can help’.”

Ms Pye, who lives with her partner Aussy, acknowledged that for some people owning art was a luxury.

She said: “I think it’s a necessity in life and my home is filled not with my work but with other people’s.

“But for a lot of people, it will be a luxury and buying original art is a considered purchase. You don’t need it like you do your milk, eggs and butter.

“Everything has gone up in price so art’s going to be something you buy when you have spare money or you can afford it.”

Ms Pye said that it had been a dream of hers to open a gallery.

She said: “I wasn’t even remotely apprehensive, if I’m honest. I had always wanted to have a gallery and I genuinely felt that with everyone being shut away from covid then was as good a time as any.

“I’m also somebody who believes that artwork is always best seen in the flesh. I never understand how someone can buy a painting online because artwork looks completely different when you see it in person. It’s to do with texture or colours that don’t always convert on screen and just the whole atmosphere of a painting is different when you see it in person.

“When they come in, people are so complimentary, which is lovely. They say, ‘The work is beautiful’ and ‘there’s no other shop like this in Henley’ and there isn’t.

“Everything in here has been crafted by hand. Nothing was created en masse and there aren’t hundreds of anything.

“Nothing’s ever going to be the same twice over because that’s the unique thing about handcrafted items.”

Ms Pye said she had enjoyed working with Mr Wood, who she described as an excellent framer.

The pair both grew up locally and have known each other since they were teenagers.

She said: “He has framed everything from golf clubs to baby shoes, wedding bouquets and a signed England football team kit — you name it.

“He’s a very good framer and the thing is if you bring something in that’s precious it’ll remain safe until its ready. It’s not going to be couriered to a framer in London and then sent back again.”

Ms Pye said she enjoyed working as an artist.

“I love it,” she said. “I get up every morning, go to my studio and splash paint around.

“I’m very happy to put my work wherever. As an artist, if you don’t put your work out there, then you haven’t got a hope of doing it for a living. You take every opportunity

“It’s quite hard work. You don’t have a regular salary coming in at the end of the month, so some months are really good and others aren’t.

“You just have to hope when you paint that what you’re creating is something that appeals to people.

“It’s about painting what inspires you and hoping that it makes somebody else smile or reminds them of something.”

Ms Pye, whose work features rural and coastal landscapes and floral imagery, draws a lot of inspiration from nature — she used to be a landscape gardener.

She said: “Art is not something I’ve done all my life. I started life as a hairdresser and then I gave that up when I was about 30 and became a gardener, which was something else I was passionate about.

“I did that for about 15 years. It was soft landscaping so I would do the border designs and the planting schemes for people and the planting and the digging and all of that.”

After back problems prevented her from continuing, Mrs Pye began to work as an artist.

She said: “I was incredibly lucky as I was picked up by a couple of galleries quite quickly. I just carried on from there and it has grown and grown.”

She first began painting when her three children were growing up.

Ms Pye said: “I didn’t start painting until my children were at school. It was something I did for ‘me’ time and was something I’d always wanted to do.

“I probably started when I was about 30 and then I was probably 41 when I decided to sort of go for it. I stopped gardening completely and just threw myself into the art.”