Broad Canvas

Now available - the delightful range of pencils and accessories from Blackwing. They are a team of a writers, artists, musicians, designers, and DIYers that champion independent businesses like us. Their range consists of drawing pencils (included colours), pads and accessories. Drop by and take a look, or purchase on our website.

Art classes by

Blackwing Independent Bookstores Limited Edition, now available in store.

To take your paint colour selection to the next level, you'll need to view colour mixing as both an art and a science, requiring a basic understanding of colour theory, pigment properties and the interaction of light and materials.

Our new article How to Mix Paint Colours gives you a guide to start using science and light as a basis for your painting projects.

Read more at: www.broad-canvas.com/blog/how-to-mix-paint-colours-in-your-art

Sunday opening is back from the 30th June.

Exhibition Review

‘A Conversation’
Emma Davis and Sarah Mossop

22 to 28 June
Magdalen Art Space

When you are kindly invited to a Private View on a Friday evening, you might expect it to be a relaxing way to ease into the weekend. Nice weather, beautiful artwork, interesting company; it sounds ideal. What your reviewer was not prepared for was to be profoundly moved by the collection of work he found there.

Emma’s mostly two-dimensional work and Sarah’s mostly three-dimensional pieces come together seamlessly in this space because of the shared theme of memories and the objects that trigger them. While Emma might collect and collage together old bookplates with sentimental messages on, for instance, Sarah might recreate a treasured object from her past in finely detailed ceramics.

Wandering around and seeing all of these random trinkets which mean so much to each artist, your reviewer found himself reflecting on the miscellaneous bits and pieces filling his home after the loss of a parent and wondering what to do with these belongings which now come to sum up a person’s life. I’m sure most of us could collate their everyday family treasures like this and each collection would be personal and entirely unique. It was unexpectedly emotional.

Emma and Sarah also exchanged a few personal objects in order for each artist to create a work in response to the other. This played with the original concept by requiring a conversation to discover the hidden, personal meaning each item had to the owner and to make something new and meaningful from it.

Your reviewer made their way home with a headful of thoughts about how to transform and honour the ephemera currently hidden in cardboard boxes in his own home.
Thought provoking, inspiring and highly recommended.

Sarah and Emma will be manning the exhibition between them every day from 22nd -28th June. They will also be giving a talk at the studio on Tuesday 25th June (6-8pm) organised by Art-Sauce bookable via their website https://art-sauce.org/artist-talks/
Limited parking at the studio (accessible via Iffley Rd and into Magdalen Rd.)

Exhibition review:
Marcus Hodge: The Osborne Studio Gallery

Pre-show, we’re sat with a tall glass of something cold outside the pub in the sunshine, feeling a pang of sympathy for the guy struggling to park his Porsche in front of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant just across the street.

Yes we’re back in London again this month for the Private View of Marcus Hodge’s latest exhibition at The Osborne Studio Gallery on beautiful Motcomb Street, Knightsbridge.
Once inside we’re presented with a glass of something delicious and we set about perusing the work. On show are many of Marcus’s paintings of horses and several from his travels to India. We are struck by his use of colour, especially the subtle flicks of pink which infuse each picture with the atmosphere of the Indian landscape. The subject of each piece is captured in fine detail against a flurry of muted shades, focusing the eye.

Gallery owner Geoffrey Hughes is warm, welcoming and very good company. My guest and I chat to him about Marcus’s paintings of Indian sailboats and also about a previous show by artist Georgea Blakey which I enjoyed. Horses appear frequently in the work shown by his gallery, with many of the artists capturing them in oils but occasionally, in the case of Blakey above, in collage.

At last, after greeting the many guests coming through the door, Marcus is free for a chat. He mentions his travels and how he’d ideally spend all of his time going from place to place, capturing the scenes he finds. Wouldn’t we all, we think. My guest shows an interest in an unsold picture of a man in a striking red silk head covering but decides against making a purchase on the spur of the moment. Maybe later.

Marcus is one of our most regular customers over the past few years and an authority on oil paints and painting. We began stocking the popular Cranfield range on his recommendation. It’s great to see him here in his element, amongst the people who love his work.

You can view the exhibition catalogue here:
https://www.osg.uk.com/ebooks/marcus-hodge/2024/index.html =1

The exhibition runs until 6th July.

Exhibition Review: Julia Whatley - Chelsea Arts Club

On a damp May evening, your Broad Canvas reviewer finds himself furtively knocking at the door of a private members’ club just off the Fulham Road. Rest assured this is not a regular occurrence. To his astonishment he is allowed in but warned that photography is forbidden. He promises to obey.
He is here at the Chelsea Arts Club at the invitation of our much loved customer Julia Whatley whose exhibition occupies the prime location at the foot of the stairs. Her drawings, whether framed or displayed in sketchbooks are joyful, delicate, occasionally risqué and highly decorative despite her economy of line.
Each of the illustrated figures are captured in the fluid swish of a fine-liner and embellished with coloured pencil and some intricate collage. What pleases this reviewer perhaps more than anyone else here is the collection of stubby Coloursoft pencils, too short to be of any further use and so scattered decoratively around the sketchbooks in the cabinet. It’s a safe bet that both pencils and sketchbooks passed through our shop on their way to their current position on these hallowed walls.
Despite the acres of white space in each picture, there’s always something that reveals itself in Julia’s artwork if you give it enough time. Someone in the group to my right, who had also travelled from Oxford, exclaimed, “Look, there’s a woman inside that horse!” and we all gathered closer and squinted and sure enough there she was, hidden within the delicate line work.
Julia got her degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, London and has been a professional illustrator since 1978. She dedicates this exhibition to Ian Irvine, a much missed former member of the club with whom she used to work.
All of the prints in the show are available to own via a donation to ‘Painting and Everything Else’, a charity which offers financial assistance to children, enabling them to undertake creative activities. All of her drawings are presented online at gadfly.squarespace.com.
I’m sure those gathered in this impressive space this evening will donate generously to this cause which is close to Julia’s heart. For now, this reviewer is happy with the picture that she drew especially for him in the shop which makes him smile every day.

Saturday 11th May marks the beginning of the Oxford City segment of Oxfordshire Artweeks. The weather is expected to be glorious so why not pop in, pick up a brochure or trail map and spend an afternoon wandering from studio to studio with perhaps a well earned treat at the end.

Broad Canvas was honoured to be asked along to a very prestigious Private View on Friday. Esteemed artist, colour expert and leader in the field of design, Annie Sloan CBE is showing a collection of paintings, ceramics, textiles and furniture in the historic Divinity School as part of Artweeks and this was the opening event. Now we love a Private View, big or small, but this was off the scale. It was awe inspiring to even set foot in this beautiful room which has been used by a host of tv and film-makers as a backdrop to their stories. A pianist played show tunes as we entered and we were encouraged to take a glass of wine as we perused the pieces on show. So far, so fabulous.

Annie Sloan, perhaps best known for inventing Chalk Paint (TM) in 1990, has taken her inspiration for this show from medieval illuminated manuscripts and the bestiaries in the Bodleian Library’s Medieval Collection in particular. Her versions of the imaginatively illustrated creatures shown in these ancient artefacts adorn beautifully printed cushions and hand painted ceramic plates. Her paintings are also on show separately in the Bodleian Library shop.
This is the Bodleian Library's first participation in Oxfordshire Artweeks and they've done a hugely impressive job of it.

Check your Artweeks brochure (available from us) or go to www.artweeks.org for opening times and details.

Made of oiled beechwood, the MABEF M105 pochade box features a sliding palette with holes to hold five brushes. The sliding supports can hold two canvas panels and there is a threaded fitting on the bottom that works with a photography tripod or the MABEF Wooden Tripod (M/A30).

The M/105 box easel by Mabef has three compartments for storage of paint, brushes and accessories. It can accommodate canvas panels up to 9 x 12.

Depth: 12 and 1/2inches or 31cm
Width: 16inches or 40.5cm
Height when closed: 5inches or 12cm
Weight: 7lbs or 3.2kg
Maximum Panel Size: 15 and 3/4inches x 9 and 1/2inches or 40x24cm.

SAVE 38%
WAS £260.00 / NOW £162.00

The sun is on its way, so it's time we dusted off our watercolour kit ready for some spring colour.

While we’ve at it we’d like to treat you all to some savings too, so right now we have 37% off Winsor & Newton Professional Water Colour 14ml tubes (Various prices)...

We have 39% off Winsor & Newton's Professional Watercolour Whole Pan Blocks (Was £16.25 - Now £9.86)...

And if you need a full watercolour package, there is also 37% off Daler-Rowney Artists Water Colour Half Pan Wooden Box (Was £237.50 - Now £150.00). It features: A high quality wooden box containing 15 x ½ pan and 2 tubes of Artist Watercolours, a 5 well China palette, 3 x Series 40 Sable brushes, cleaning cloth, watercolour postcards and technical leaflet.

Oxfordshire Artweeks is coming up soon.
We have plenty of festival guides in store.
Pick one up soon & plan your trips around the various artists studios & events.

New supply of pencils in stock, including the Limited Edition Vol.2, finished with a cracked glow in the dark design.

Great local art classes with
Spaces available, please contact Cathy for details.

Winsor & Newton Spring Savings.

It’s a perfect time of year to be creative with all those lovely Spring colours.
Get huge savings on Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic 60ml tubes, Artists Oil Colour 37ml tubes, and painting sets: Professional Acrylic 12 x 20ml Tube Set / Artists’ Oil Colour Introductory / 10 x 21ml Tube Set

We’re looking for someone to join our team. It helps if you’ve worked in retail before and it would be even better if you’re interested in art. The most important thing is that you’re hardworking and want to help our customers.



You’ll be busy on the shop floor, keeping it tidy and well stocked. We need you to answer customer queries, use the till and help maintain our website.

You must also be happy to work weekends too.



Email your CV to [email protected]

Happy heART Day

We have some great savings – up to 31% off – our range of Old Holland oil colour paints and wooden box sets.

If you didn't already know, Old Holland have a rich history dating back to The Hague in 1664, when the Old Dutch Masters created guilds to share painting techniques. The quality and quantity of pigments used in their products cannot be beaten, so why not try them out... we'd love to see how they work for you.

There's almost a whole year's worth of great art events to look forward to in Oxfordshire. Here's just a small selection for your diary:

Ends February 25th: Monica Sjöö: The Great Cosmic Mother (Modern Art Oxford)

Ends March 10th: Ironstone Art Prize (Banbury Museum & Gallery)

March 23rd - July 7th: I Wannabe in the 90's (Banbury Museum & Gallery)

May 4th -27th: Artweeks 2024 (Around Oxfordshire)

June 21st -23rd: Handmade in Britain - The International Crafts Festival (Waterperry Gardens)

June 27th - July 14th: Oxford Festival of the Arts (Oxford City Centre)

July 6th - Aug 29th: OxTrail (Around Oxfordshire)

Who remembers the Brush & Compass on Broad Street?

We’re amazed that nobody has discovered the Merry Christmas ribbons for sale in our basement. We can cut any length by the metre to wrap gifts of all shapes and sizes. We’re closed on Christmas Eve so grab some while you can.

A reminder of our Christmas and New Year opening hours. We are closed on Sunday 24th December so please plan your visit in the next couple of days to be sure of getting that special Christmas item.

Deepwell Arts tells us they are starting an arts venture in Headington and asked us to share details of their first workshop - lino printing on Friday 15th December 2023 - on eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lino-printing-a-creative-introduction-tickets-762889421797 or deepwellarts.com

deepwellarts.com On Friday 15th December 2023 you are invited to join our first event - a Lino Printing workshop in Headington, Oxford, UK.

Lots of gifts ideas in store and online.

What to do on a damp Sunday afternoon? You could put your big coat on and come and visit us (we’re open on Sundays in December from 11am to 4pm) or you could settle down with a good podcast. Here’s one all about the art scene in Oxford, featuring interviews with its most influential figures. It’s fairly new so you can impress your friends by recommending it to them. Enjoy.

Saturday 2nd December is Small Business Saturday so it’s the perfect chance to find a unique gift for the artsy crafty person in your life. Come and see us and you’ll be supporting your local independent art shop (and any of the other indies in Oxford you visit later). If you can’t visit on Saturday, we’ll be open on Sundays throughout December from 11-4pm. See you soon.

Spend and save - only 10 days left.
Make your spending go further throughout November. If you spend £50 on our website we'll give you a £10 voucher. Even better, spend over £100 online and we'll give you a £20 voucher. T&Cs apply and voucher must be used towards your next purchase.

Go online, see our amazing savings and get spending.

Broad Canvas was delighted to be invited to the Private View of the OAS Young Artists’ Open Exhibition 2023 at Magdalen Road Artspace. The terrible weather didn’t stop visitors from cramming themselves into this compact gallery area and even though your reviewer was a little late, the place was still really busy. It was a great atmosphere with many of the young artists proudly showing off their work to friends and family. The work itself was of an incredibly high standard, with big, colourful pieces really fizzing off the walls. The exhibition is open again on Saturday 4th November (11am - 5pm) and Sunday 5th November (11am - 2.15pm). Go and see for yourself that the future Oxford art scene is in safe and exciting hands.

Magdalen Road Artspace, Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RE

Winsor and Newton Professional Acrylics. 25% all 60ml tubes, offer runs until 30th November.