The Easter Exhibition in the Villa Marina Arcade was a great success.   There were 349 works exhibited, of which a massive 104 were sold. Works varied from painting in oil, acrylic, watercolour, silk, mixed media and textile, plus wooden sculptures, ceramic works and others.

Manx artist David Byrne with his watercolour of Old Kirk Braddan Church which will be a raffle prize at the Isle of Man Art Society’s Easter Art Exhibition sponsored by Manx Telecom.

A painting by renowned Manx artist David Byrne will go to the lucky winner of a raffle to be held at the Easter Art Exhibition being organised by Isle of Man Art Society. In all, more than 100 artists will be exhibiting over 400 paintings which have never been publicly displayed or put on sale before. Most of the paintings will be available to purchase and, for the first time at the event, there will be a craft section featuring stunning 3D artworks such as wood carving, ceramics, jewellery and gift cards.

The exhibition, which is being sponsored by Manx Telecom, runs from April 17 to April 25 and is open daily from 10am and 5pm in the Villa Marina Arcade (except April 25 when it will be open from 10am until 1pm). A preview evening will be held on April 16 for invited guests, when His Excellency Lieutenant Governor Mr Adam Wood will officially open the exhibition. Entry is £1.50 which includes a catalogue of paintings. Raffle tickets will be on sale every day during the exhibition to win David Bryne’s watercolour painting of Old Kirk Braddan Church. The painting will be on display and the raffle will be drawn on Friday April 25. There is a second prize of £50.

David Byrne is Manx-born and has lived on the Island all his life. He began painting in 1956 and works mostly in watercolours and pastels exhibiting landscapes and seascapes regularly in local shows and galleries. David has had work exhibited in the Royal Institute of Watercolour Painters in London, The Pastel Society and The Royal Cambrian Academy in Wales. He also occasionally exhibits work featuring subjects painted on holiday – Venice being a favourite venue – but mostly concerned and preoccupied by the Isle of Man and it’s ‘Manxness’. He is presently Vice-President of the Isle of Man Art Society. Des Clague, President of the Society, said:

“We are delighted in having Manx Telecom, a local company, as the sponsor. The Easter Art Exhibition will again offer the public a very high standard of workmanship from our very keen amateur and semi-professional artists.”

Voirrey Barron, Manx Telecom’s Marketing Communications Manager, said:

“We are very proud to sponsor the exhibition. It will be a great opportunity for the public to see the impressive standard of art which we have on the Island, and the exhibition is also an event which complements our role as the official communications partner for Island of Culture 2014.”

For our next Easter Exhibition we will be returning to the Villa Marina Arcade Thurs 17 – Fri 25 April 2014