Putting Horncastle on the map for artists

Now two talented artists are hoping to change that view, with the opening of a new gallery.

Fine artist Anita Mortimer, who runs Mortimer Art, and painter and photographer Erica, who goes by the name of Erica’s Images, are hoping to put the town firmly on the map with the new Horncastle Galleries in North Street.

As well as displaying their own art, they will be inviting other artists to exhibit, and the gallery is free of charge for people to look around and purchase works if they wish.

Anita (49), from Tattershall, said: “We decided to open the gallery in Horncastle because we wanted to do something completely different and the people of Horncastle have been so friendly and welcoming.”

For Anita, drawing has always been a passion but it has only been later in life that she has been able to fully embrace it.

Her detailed drawings are in pencil, pastel, charcoal or liquid graphite and include portraits of both people and animals.

She said: “As a child I used to always draw. I was accepted into art college but I turned it down thinking I wasn’t good enough.

“After having children, and years later, I started drawing again to settle my mind and take me to a place of peace.

“I was suprised by the positive response from people. I started exhibiting and people began asking if they could buy my art. It helped me to see the worth in my work. I’ve now been doing this for seven years.”

Erica (41), who lives near Horncastle, said: “Art was a passion that I had as a child but at school it was usually restricted to painting things such as a bowl of fruit and it was only later, when I started to pursue my own style of art, that it re-ignited my passion.

“I like to paint something in its natural state and give it a little bit of magic. I use a different type of medium depending on what I am painting.

“Some of my work is fine art while some is contemporary. I like to transport people out of the modern world.”

This is shown in one of her pieces called ‘Breathe,’ which features a woman swimming underwater with just a small hint that she may be a mermaid.

The gallery is open Monday to Saturday 9am until 4pm.