Reflections from the Art Studio

“How’s the new gallery going?”
I’ve been asked this a lot lately… and honestly, it’s going so well. The biggest joy? Hearing people walk in and say how light, bright and full of life the space feels now ✨ Same location, fresh new energy, and a beautiful mix of artists to discover. If you haven’t visited yet, I’d love to welcome you in.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who braved the wet and windy evening to join us for Bubbles & Browsing at the Charlotte Keating Art Gallery opening

Opening Reception & Exhibition – Thursday 12 March, 6–8pm

A fresh new art gallery and gift shop is opening in Newent this month, bringing contemporary art, handmade gifts and a welcoming creative space to the town’s much-loved Shambles Courtyard.

Local artist Charlotte Keating has taken on the premises following the departure of The Secret Gallery. The decision to move from her adjacent working studio into the space happened quickly but felt like a natural step.

“When I heard the gallery was becoming available it simply made sense,” Charlotte says. “It felt important to keep an art gallery and gift shop presence here in the Shambles and help maintain this creative corner of Newent as somewhere people can come to explore.”

The new Charlotte Keating Art Gallery & Gift Shop will showcase work from more than 16 artists and makers alongside Charlotte’s own tranquil, expressive paintings.

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of preparation. “It’s been an incredibly busy two weeks,” Charlotte explains. “There’s been plenty of hard graft – decorating, sourcing furniture and display cabinets, liaising with artists and preparing the first exhibition, all while finishing my own new series of paintings. I’m really looking forward to the opening and finally being able to relax and enjoy the space.”

The gallery is already looking bright and vibrant, filled with a wide variety of artwork and handmade pieces including paintings, prints, cards, jewellery, textiles, stained glass, wood and resin pieces.

Many of the artists are local, drawing on Charlotte’s links to the Forest of Dean’s farOpen Collective, the Gloucester Contemporary Artists Collective and Cheltenham’s Sixteen Gallery Collective, alongside a few carefully chosen makers from further afield whose work Charlotte has long admired.

“I’ve always loved bringing together interesting work from different artists and introducing people locally to makers they might not otherwise discover,” she says “I’ve been part of the team curating and hanging the very popular farOpen Group Art Exhibitions for the past 5 years so I have plenty of experience in this area which will stand me in good stead”.

Charlotte credits friends and family with helping bring the space together in such a short time. “They’ve been amazing – painting walls with me, ripping up carpets, fitting new doors and signage and being there emotionally too. It’s been a real team effort.”

Opening the gallery is the realisation of a long-held dream. Charlotte has been building her art career locally over the past seven years actively supporting the regional arts community. She has helped promote local art trails and exhibitions, curated group shows and mentored fellow artists developing their creative businesses.

“Opening the gallery feels like a natural next step,” she says. “I’m passionate about supporting artists and creating a calm, welcoming place where people can experience art in an unhurried and meaningful way.”

Charlotte will continue working from her separate studio on the premises where she can concentrate and deep dive into her own painting on Mondays and Tuesdays. Visitors to the gallery will also often find her painting in the shop space during quiet opening hours, offering a glimpse into the creative process behind the artwork.

“The local community and businesses have been incredibly supportive since I arrived in Newent,” Charlotte says. “It’s such a thriving market town where people genuinely care about shopping locally and supporting independent businesses. I’m really pleased to be part of that.”

The gallery’s opening reception takes place on Thursday 12 March from 6–8pm, with drinks and nibbles to celebrate. The evening also coincides with pre-Mother’s Day late-night shopping in the Shambles Courtyard, alongside neighbouring independents including Toadstools Indie Bookshop and The Museum of Board Games.

The celebrations continue the following week with Newent’s Spring Fair on 21st March, when The Shambles will host live music, book signings, art exhibition, book binding demonstration and a Monopoly Hunt with lots of activities across various venues in town for everyone of all ages to enjoy.

The gallery’s first exhibition, “North Shores”, is inspired by the coast and the quiet power of nature. Charlotte’s new series explores the quiet power of nature through depth and movement in deep blues and greens, echoing windswept skies, northern seas and lochside landscapes.

Alongside Charlotte’s paintings, visitors will find a rich mix of complementary work from fellow artists and makers, including ocean-inspired wood and resin pieces, lino prints of estuary birds, inky female figure studies, felted puffins and Highland cows, coastal ceramics, silk artwork and handmade jewellery.

Artists featured in the exhibition include:

Charlotte Keating – Contemporary Painting
Ania Bond – Printmaker & Painter
Megan Pugh – Felting & Illustration
Katie Sanderson – Enamel Jewellery
Sarah Delahoy – Printmaker
Sadie Copus – Glass Jewellery
Florrie & Wren – Candles
Derek A. Lamb – Ceramics
Jane Clowes – Ceramics
David Kenworthy – Wood & Resin
Uschi Arens Price – Jewellery
Angie Keating – Textiles

The gallery offers a wide range of pieces, from affordable art and gifts to larger collector pieces.

Opening Reception
🥂 Drinks & Bubbles
Thursday 12 March, 6–8pm

Pre-Mother’s Day Late Night Shopping in The Shambles
Alongside Toadstools Indie Bookshop & The Museum of Board Games

Charlotte Keating Art Gallery & Gift Shop
Unit 12 The Shambles
20 Church Street
Newent GL18 1PP

what3words: ///initiated.brightly.profile

Opening Hours
Wednesday – Friday: 9.30am – 3.30pm
Saturday: 10am – 4pm

The gallery sits peacefully within The Shambles Courtyard, a cluster of independent shops and cafés in the heart of Newent’s historic market town, continuing the long-standing tradition of an art gallery presence there while creating a fresh, welcoming space for contemporary art and handmade work.

If you’ve spent any time in The Shambles courtyard in Newent, you’ll know it already has its own lovely vibe. It’s the sort of place where you can wander without a plan — perhaps call into Toadstools Bookshop, have a look around the Museum of Board Games, grab a coffee in the courtyard café, pop into the various boutiques — and simply enjoy a slower pace for half an hour.

Just a few short months ago, I moved my studio into a small retail unit there and immersed myself in creating a beautiful space for visitors and a nurturing environment in which to paint. I’ve hosted a community painting workshop, joined in with The Shambles’ late-night shopping events for Halloween and Christmas, launched the Love Letters series in soothing pinks and ochres and developed a new body of work, North Shores, exploring the quiet power of nature through depth and movement in deep blues and greens. It’s been a busy time — embedding into the local community and finding a new rhythm to my days. The space was small but, as it turns out, an auspicious stepping stone to greater things.

When the opportunity came up this January to expand into the neighbouring gallery space, formerly The Secret Gallery (now relocated), it felt like a natural progression — as though the stars had aligned. Art has been part of The Shambles courtyard for many years, and it felt important to both me and the town to carry that tradition forward with a fresh perspective and a new collection of artists.

The ground floor will house a gift shop, while exhibitions upstairs will showcase a carefully curated selection of work alongside my own painting series. Exhibitions will change monthly, with a late-night private view from 6–8pm on the second Thursday of each month — at least, that’s the current plan!

I now have a separate private studio for creating big magic on Mondays and Tuesdays when the gallery is closed, but I’ve set aside a small area in the ground-floor shop in which to work when it’s quiet, offering visitors a glimpse into the practice behind the paintings.

It’s been a lot of work getting to this point: making the big decision, sourcing work for the gallery shop from local and national artists whose work I admire, planning the first exhibitions featuring several artists alongside my new North Shores series (opening March 11th), fitting new front doors, ordering professional signage, redecorating the space to be light, white and airy, and moving my jam-packed studio across. Finally — the best bit — has been welcoming artists’ work and displaying it thoughtfully to create a harmonious, uplifting experience for visitors. So far it’s been hard work, but exciting, and I look forward to welcoming you.

Please sign up to the Gallery Email List here to receive updates and invitations to the private views of new exhibitions.

Ground Floor Gallery & Gift Shop
Browse a beautiful selection of artists’ work, chosen for their attention to detail, quality, and confident use of colour. Open now.

Upstairs Exhibition Space
Discover Charlotte’s uplifting paintings shown alongside a thoughtfully curated collection of contemporary artists aligned by a common theme.
Opening March 11th. Monthly exhibitions.

Represented artists: Charlotte Keating Paintings & Homeware, Ania Bond Printmaker, Jane Clowes Ceramics, Uschi Arens Price Jewellery, Jess Rayson Textile Prints, Sarah Delahoy Printmaker, Megan Pugh Illustrator & Felter, Wood & Resin by David Kenworthy, MacKenzie’s Silver Jewellery, Katie Sanderson Enamelist, Firefly Glass, Sadie Copus Glass Jewellery, Angie Keating Textiles, Derek A Lamb Ceramics, Brilliant Magpie Bookbinding Notebooks, Florrie & Wren Candles.

Explore the gallery page here

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