Hamilton is all go!

Hi everyone. Ron, who runs Exhibitions Gallery and manages the Auckland Lonely Dog Gallery for us, has secured an outstanding venue on Victoria Street in Hamilton. The old Sohl and Oliveto restaurant site no less!

Opening is this Friday the 18th of June and gallery - a true pop up - will only be open until Saturday 3 July. The 2010 Collection is on show, as are many of the other works, including sculptures. I spent yesterday helping Ron John and Garry set up, and it looks amazing! Half slick, half rough. Perfect Alveridgea! The hounds would love what we have done.

The temporary gallery will be open daily from 9am. (Sundays 10am) and closing hours will be a bit flexible as we are in the heart of the restaurant precinct. So come to the Field Days, come to the gallery, and enjoy a meal at the local hostelries! See you there.

PS. You are most welcome to the opening preview Friday night, 6pm onwards.

2010 Collection Venues and Dates.

The wine is sourced. The glasses are polished. It is going to be a fabulous series of openings!

Before giving you a few more details, here are the dates and venues.

6 February Queenstown

11 February Lonely Dog Gallery Auckland

17 February Exhibitions Gallery Wellington

21 February Gallery Beneath Maloolaba

27 March Borsini-Burr Gallery San Francisco

Now, a few extra details.

Queenstown. The preview and ongoing show will be held in Alveridge Hall, Bob's Cove. The property is the home of the Lonely Dog and contains much of the intrigue and inspiration for Ivan's works showcased in this museum style exhibition. This fantastic venue has the ability to display the entire Legacy Series - Series One, Series Two, 2009 Collection and the new 2010 Collection. It will be a treat to see the entire series of works together in one place.

Auckland. The dedicated Lonely Dog Gallery continues to thrive, with a large tourist component to its sales. The Cruise Ship season is wonderful! Ngaire and Lorna can't wait to hang the new Collection and to host you on the opening night, and throughout the exhibition.

Wellington. Ron is coming off a real high. The launch of Lonely Dog at Exhibitions Gallery mid last year was huge fun. And a real success. He has recently hosted the Doctor Seuss collection, again with great success. Now the Lonely Dog 2010 Collection. OK, he's done one or two other things in between! It is a delight to continue to work with Ron and we are looking forward to seeing you in Wellington in the middle of the Wellington Arts Festival. Perfect!

Maloolaba. Brent and Claire are thrilled that the roadworks outside the gallery are over! On the 21st of February the 2010 Collection will launch on the Sunshine Coast. Come and see the new works, and have a catch up. Brent and Claire would love to see you there.

San Francisco. Early one morning I received a phone call from a bundle of Californian energy known as Dianne Borsini - Burr. Within minutes of speaking I knew I was talking to an extraordinary individual. Acclaimed as an entrepreneur, lover of art, very successful art dealer, full on character, Dianne is introducing the world of Lonely Dog to SF and her clients throughout the wider US in March. We will be there to meet and talk. We can't wait. Look out the USA.

All that to say, as I have written previously, Ivan has excelled himself. Ivan, Garry and I can't wait to see the reaction to the new collection. We hope you love these works as much as we do.

2010 Collection Simply Stunning.

The selection process is complete. The Giclee printer is running furiously. Ivan's signing hand is getting sore.

The 2010 Collection sees the introduction of the Legacy Series. Each year Ivan will be choosing a group of paintings to feature as the part the Legacy Series. These will follow on from Series One, Series Two, and the 2009 Collection. These collectively, along with the 2010 Collection and future selections, will be known as the Legacy Series. The Legacy Series will continue to be the backbone of the Lonely Dog collection.

The 2010 Collection is simply stunning - as the headline says! Ivan's work just gets better and better. I know you are all itching to see them, and see them you will! We are currently putting the final touches on a series of exhibitions to launch these outstanding new works in each of the galleries. Don't fill your diaries too full in February is all I can say!

We'll be in touch with dates and venues shortly. Stay tuned!

We have a winner!

We have a winner!!

Ivan had a lot of fun judging the competition. I've included part of his note so you can see his thoughts, and see if he mentions yours! Thanks to all those who gave such creative ideas. What fun! Here is Ivan's note....

Guys,Wow, I'm really impressed at how much people are into this competition. Most people have got a good grasp of the LD world.So... The winner???

"The Janitor" after hours cleaning port Alveridges Planetarium exhibit. NUTS!!!!! Love it.

This is from Meg Witchalls

It was hard to choose from some great ideas. I loved a lot of them. I enjoyed getting acquainted with Fluer another Feline from Tolleston and also meeting the Seawolves Ice Hockey team.

I have returned Amy's (10) little picture and included a little sketch and note for her as she went to a lot of effort.

Win Marmalade Mountain Open Edition. "Picture This" Promotion.

Ivan has often said that his best Lonely Dog ideas come from real life - seeing something that sets off a rapid fire chain of images in his mind.

Playing with this idea we suddenly thought it would be great fun to invite Lonely Dog fans to contribute to the world of Lonely Dog, by giving us their ideas for a new Lonely Dog painting.

Ivan will select the winner, and maybe, just maybe, even paint the picture! Now wouldn't that be something! Your idea as a part of the awesome world of Lonely Dog. So here is the opportunity to get that picture into reality - that event, that occasion that you think will enhance the world of Lonely Dog.

The winner be given a Large Open Edition of Marmalade Mountain - valued at $870. And you never know, you might get the pleasure of seeing your idea painted by Ivan.

So how do you do this? Simple. Study the website to get the world fully in your minds eye. (Or check out the art in one of the galleries). Pop into one of the four galleries, and on the entry form provided, write, sketch - or both - your idea. It is that easy. Entry forms are only available at the galleries - locations are on the website. The competition is open to New Zealand residents only and terms and conditions are on the entry form.

Happy thinking and dreaming. We are looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Can't wait.

What's up with Ivan Clarke?

After enjoying the opening days at the new Lonely Dog gallery in Auckland I went on to enjoy our usual three week winter escape Maui-style. My early love of windsurfing took me there years back. We've been returning as a family ever since. Remember this is where the early roots of Alveridge have grown from.

A subconscious influence from the rustic North-Shore sugar-cane mills and the up-country cattle country of Makawao towards to 13000 ft summit of Haleakula.

This along with my Kiwi roots helps percolate the fantasy world of Alveridge that lies embedded in my imagination.

2009 has been a busy year for the team at Lonely Dog. As many know the earlier than expected media announcement in Variety magazine about the Warners deal along with news about our publishing contract with London based Grove-Atlantic started a ground-swell of international exposure and interest in the world of Lonely Dog that we were not expecting.

Graham Burt (Lonely Dog Ltd. CEO) along with Garry Phipps (behind the scenes CFO) and Leanne and my Gallery team have done a spectacular job dealing with a thousand enquiries and demands that have come our way guarding my headspace and valuable time to keep me freed up to "create" which is essential to this project.

As there are now more galleries representing my Lonely Dog art now, I would encourage those that make purchases through those galleries to stay dealing with the same sales consultant and gallery for the long term. If you are interested in purchasing further works they will look after you.

As we pride ourselves in keeping detailed art provenance records and edition numbers set aside for existing clients to offer them "first look", the sales consultant that originally dealt with you and that gallery that will look after you.

Graham Burt has been busy "tooing-and-froing" from LA. A more recent adventure could headline the ongoing adventures of "A Kiwi goes to Hollywood". Part of the tale would be about a jet-lagged Mr Burt attempting to drive his over-sized SUV the wrong way up an LA freeway, and quick to react, rectifying the situation in true Kiwi style by using the SUV capabilities of jumping the median onto the "correct path".

Later the same day he became aware he was the ONLY vehicle on the freeway heading his direction. Something was wrong? The sound of helicopters overhead soon concerned him. Graham without knowing it had got onto the freeway that led to the final resting place of Michael Jackson. This part of the freeway had been closed to the public as the helicopters and procession carrying Michael Jackson’s casket travelled in the same direction as Mr. Burt headed towards Warner Brother Studios in Burbank Hollywood.

Some people wonder where I get my on-going inspiration for this fantasy world when it's all around us everywhere!

I am currently engaged in creating an exciting new body of artworks and paintings.

I've also enjoyed being involved in LD movie development tests and ideas with WB which is an exciting new experience for me.

Attached is a sketch of Maui-based, Hound Killett, my long-time friend and Art dealer of over 30 years. Yes he can be seen as a local identity riding a scooter just like that along Front Street most days.

All the best,

Ivan.