ONE of Wiltshire’s leading contemporary artists is celebrating her 20th anniversary by relocating her gallery.
Joanna May is planning to close her gallery in 16 Northgate Street, Devizes, and relocate to the Table Gallery in High Street, Corsham.
She will be sharing the premises in Corsham with her old friend of 27 years, antiques dealer, professional drummer and TV personality Paul Martin.
He is the presenter of the BBC’s Flog It!, Trust Me, I'm a Dealer, and Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution television series.
Joanna, 58, said: “I moved to Devizes from Marlborough in 2009 when I got married to my partner David Ladd.
“I have been here in this gallery in Northgate Street for four years and have enjoyed every minute but it’s now time to move on.
“Paul and I have known each other for 27 years, long before he became well-known, and he is like a brother to me.
“We used to have premises about three doors away from each other when we were both in Marlborough High Street and he has always been very supportive of my work.
“I am unbelievably excited to be moving to Corsham, as it will give me back my weekends and will enable me to spend more time painting.
“My last day here will be Sunday, September 10 and I will be holding a closing down sale with up to 50 per cent off in the run up to then.”
Joanna trained at Falmouth College of Art and worked as an illustrator before opening her own gallery.
She is well-known for her contemporary paintings of wildlife, as well as her new work on crop circles and wildlife, which features owls, foxes, hares, peacocks, bees and butterflies.
Joanna recently celebrated her 20th anniversary with a ‘Love Letter to Wiltshire’ exhibition of her work at the Devizes Museum.
“The exhibition was very successful, and I sold about one-third of the originals and prints that I exhibited,” she said.
Her treasure hunt book, The Hare on The Moon, is still unsolved, although some people are getting closer to the solution.
The prize for the person who correctly solves all the clues is an original painting of three hares with a golden moon worth £15,000. It has been painted in gold leaf and has a white and gold leaf frame.
During her final week in Devizes, Joanna will open her gallery from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 5pm.
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