A Suffolk art group, which once exhibited works by famous painter David Hockney, is looking for a new home after a landlord decided to sell the premises where its gallery was based for 43 years.
Felixstowe Art Group's former location in Bent Hill, Felixstowe has been put on the market leaving the group looking for a new home to sell its artwork after moving out on Thursday.
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Yvonne Smart, the art group's chair, gallery manager and programme secretary, said the group needed the income through the sale of paintings at the gallery, which had space to exhibit up to 50 works.
However, she said the group was not a business, but instead a community of artists set up to provide people with the opportunity to learn and develop art skills, while also being a social group offering the chance to meet others and combat loneliness and isolation.
Members, who pay £20 annually, can participate in weekly painting sessions and take part in an annual exhibition, held in August.
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Yvonne said: "Doing paintings on a kitchen table is not quite the same. I have always been in the creative world and I have seen how much it helps people just to relax and enjoy the moment.
"So this is why it is very important to have somewhere where people can go just to see a face and talk about art, rather than doing everything online."
She added that she would be 'singing from the rooftops' if someone came forward offering new premises.
READ MORE: Felixstowe news
In 1957, two then unknown students from Bradford Art School visited Constable Country to paint and met a group member who suggested their work could be shown in the exhibition.
The two 'scruffy lads' with little money turned out to be Mr Hockney and East Anglia-based painter John Loker.
READ MORE: Suffolk news
Their works sold cheaply, however.
If you have premises you can offer, the art group can be contacted at https://www.felixstoweartgroup.org/contact-us
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