Update: Jenny Wren Paintings’ pop-up shop has now closed, but you can still find out more about her work via her website.
Durham shopping centre Prince Bishops Place has really been ramping up its indie credentials of late, with the arrival last year of Discovering Durham and Elvet & Bailey – both previous cover stars – and the more recent relocation of family-owned The Gift Company.
Now, visitors to Prince Bishops this August can enjoy another distinctive independent experience when they visit the Jenny Wren Paintings pop-up art gallery.
Set up during lockdown, Jenny Wren Paintings is the creation of Durham-based contemporary abstract artist Jenny Rogers. Like many of us, Jenny used the time for reflection provided by the pandemic to take the plunge and pursue her passion – turning her talent for creating beautiful, unique pieces of art into a full-time occupation, selling online.
Many of Jenny’s works are bespoke commissions, created especially to match the personal style of her clients, and the rooms in which they are going to be displayed.
Yet, whatever the colours or size of the painting, and whatever you might read into the tantalising abstract shapes and patterns, Jenny’s particular style leaps out from the canvas – with vibrant acrylic colours, rich textures from her use of palette knives, and her signature gold-leaf details that add a gorgeous sparkle.
Now, with Jenny’s bricks-and-mortar gallery – open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to allow her time to create her artworks during the rest of the week! – we can all enjoy seeing some of the beautiful paintings in the flesh, and, if we want, buy one of Jenny’s original works to take home.
Paintings on display in the gallery are all individually priced, and we were surprised at just how affordable they are for original artworks of that size. As Jenny explains on her website, “Through my art, I strive to evoke happiness, individuality, and creativity. My ethos is all about creating beautiful, unique pieces of art and providing an inclusive designing process that results in great quality pieces of art at a very affordable price”.
With Jenny there in the gallery each day that it’s open, you can also chat to her if you have an idea for an original commission.
We were delighted that one of our previous Facebook posts about Jenny Wren Paintings generated 5,700 organic views, with Jenny reporting that many of her visitors had come in after hearing about the gallery via our Facebook page.
So, Jenny Wren Paintings is a nice example both of an online business moving into the bricks-and-mortar space, and of the power of digital channels to drive physical footfall – one of the things that the Indie Durham City project was set up to push, as businesses emerge from the pandemic, and evolving high streets look to attract and delight visitors.
On that note, be sure to check out Jenny’s online presence – besides the website at jennywrenpaintings.co.uk, you can follow her updates on Facebook and Instagram.
