Karen Murray met Sue and David Jerdan, owners of the Jerdan Gallery in Fife, who are living out their dream of owning their own art gallery

Owning their own art gallery may be dream for many art lovers and collectors, but more often than that it remains just that – a dream. However, for Sue and David Jerdan, the dream became a reality and they could not be happier.

The more art they collected, the more they became interested and the idea of owning their own gallery began to take form. Illness gave the prompt for turning dreams to reality and the couple decided to take early retirement.

Having previously viewed the gallery in Crail, a village they knew well from regular holidays in the East Neuk, they jumped at the chance when it came up for sale. “It had everything we needed – the gallery, living space, a fabulous garden with great views and a chance for us to live our dream,” smiles Sue.

They bought the property in April 2002, were moved in by June and had their first exhibition in July, so it was certainly a bit of a rush to get everything in place for that first exhibition, but it was a huge success.

Sue had spent several years working on the Macmillan Art Show in Glasgow as well as being a council member of the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Art. This background afforded great contacts and as the Jerdans were members of Glasgow Art Club, they knew the artists’ work they wanted to exhibit in that opening show.

“We were thrilled with the success of the show considering how quickly we had had to pull it together,” explained David, but added that the subsequent show was a little tougher to put together.

“You really need to work very far ahead to secure the artists you want so we had some catching up to do,” he adds, commenting that 2009’s exhibitions are all tied up and those for 2010 are nearly finalised!

As for the artists featured at the Jerdan Gallery, both Sue and David agree that they like to hang work they appreciate and like themselves. “The work we choose and the way we hang it reflects our taste and while we realise art is entirely subjective, we do have a wide range of styles hanging and know something will appeal to most art lovers.”

Of course, Sue and David have met many new artists since they came to live in Crail, the East Neuk being a haven for artists. “There is certainly a demand for certain artists in this area and we do our best to oblige although we show the work of artists from all over Scotland.”

An added attraction to the Jerdan Gallery is its beautiful sculpture garden which serves to extend the gallery even further. A keen gardener, David was delighted to see the gallery came with such a beautiful space. The sculptures blend in perfectly with the garden and visitors can sit and enjoy both art and view. According to Sue, sculpture is simply not as popular a medium for buyers in Scotland as in England, but this may change and with somewhere as enticing as the Jerdan Sculpture Garden as a venue, change may come sooner.

So have David and Sue made the right choice in turning their dream into reality? Of course, they both enthuse.

“It is a very different way of life from 9-5 Monday to Friday city living. We are on duty seven days a week for most of the year and summer holidays are out, but we are meeting lovely people each day, we love what we do and we can take our holidays in the winter,” smiles Sue, who is looking forward to spending some time with her new granddaughter Grace in Michigan, USA.

As I wandered through the gallery I noticed a lot more than paintings – the work on display includes jewellery, glassware, carved wood, sculpture and stained glass as well as postcards and occasions cards.

Sue also points out that while art is often considered the domain of the wealthy; they do try and sell work covering a range of prices, with smaller more affordable gifts available too. They are also a participating gallery in the ‘Own Art’ scheme set up through the Scottish Arts Council, which allows buyers to borrow from between £100 to £2000 to buy an original piece of art, sculpture, glass or jewellery by a living artist and pay back the loan over 10 months - interest free!

Mind you, only the wealthy could consider the Vettriano hanging at first unobtrusively on one wall. I only noticed it on a second look, but it has been hung in a perfect position to capture the light and it is gratifying to see the work of this popular local artist actually on display in a local gallery.

The Jerdan has its regular buyers, but as an East Neuk gallery, it is naturally a gallery that attracts tourists and hence the need to include something for everyone and cover all aspects of the arts.

Sue and David know they made the right decision in opening the Jerdan Gallery and anyone visiting Crail should not miss out on popping in to see what is currently on display.

Upcoming exhibitions:

LITTLE LOVELIES
20 September - 26 October
Small Paintings Exhibition

WINTER WONDERLAND
15 November - 21 December
Christmas Exhibition

The Jerdan Gallery
42 Marketgate South, Crail
T: 01333 450797
E: info@thejerdangallery.com
W: www.thejerdangallery.com