Vicky’s winning ways

Leigh and Vicky Vicky Kirby first discovered a passion for framing in 1987 at the age of 15. Indeed, we featured Vicky’s earlier career story and her previous business, Wildwood Gallery, in Issue 34 of 4walls.

That was pre-Covid and apart from the obvious challenges brought about by the pandemic, Vicky also had some issues with her lease. She moved to gorgeous new premises in Bookham and, post lockdown, business was booming! Vicky explains: “Even though the business was going really well, turning 50 was a bit of a shock to the system and I thought it would be a good idea to retire...Ha! How wrong could I be?! So, after selling Wildwood in January last year, it took me about three months to realise retirement was not for me!

“I really missed the interaction with my customers, and the creative process of finding the best choice of mounts and frames to bring out the best in each and every piece of artwork that comes through my door. And the thrill of the customer’s reaction when I unveil the finished piece – it never disappoints!

Clover in Lincoln 473 000 137 Last Orders

VICKY’S WINNING

“I used to draw all the time and loved embellishing school exercise books. My classmates would get me to do pictures for them too (some of them tell me how they have kept them all these years).” Leigh Banks

So, I set about finding another premises to embark on business number three!”

WAYS

South Street Gallery in Dorking, Surrey, was born in July 2022 and is proving to be a fantastic location. Alongside Vicky’s core framing business, she has a much bigger gallery space now and she uses this to showcase local talent, of which there is a lot! Not least the wonderful Leigh Banks who features on this issue’s front cover.

“I would say my customer base is 50% artists and 50% local consumers. Tray frames, or float frames, are growing more and more popular – it seems the trend of having frameless canvases adorning your walls is over now, which is good news for us framers!

“I have known area sales manager Derrick Hicks for a very, very long time. It’s always nice to have a catch up over coffee and take a peek at the latest products from Larson-Juhl. After 35 years in the framing industry, I still get excited by new mouldings!

“Favourites include Simplicity, Micro-tech Veneers, Eiffel, Lancaster and Colorato. I’ve recently framed two gorgeous woodblock prints with a double mount and the dark blue Colorato.

“I use only Larson-Juhl mountboards. I especially like the extra thick ones, and the suedettes are truly scrumptious!

“My marketing is purely Instagram and my website, but my most successful form of advertising is word of mouth. It’s so lovely when people come in and say: ‘Are you Vicky? You come highly recommended’.

“I’m very excited for the future of South Street Gallery. I’m so lucky that I get to be in my ‘happy place’ in a job I love each and every day, for this I am truly grateful.”

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST

Leigh Banks was born and raised in Zimbabwe and her fondest childhood memories are of times spent surrounded by the beauty of the African bush. Now that so many species of African wild animals are endangered, she realises how privileged she was to experience such close proximity to them in their natural habitat while their numbers were still abundant. From a young age, she loved to draw and paint animals, encouraged by her mother Sally Banks – who is also an artist.

Leigh showed early promise, winning a painting prize aged seven in a competition for children hosted by the National Gallery in Harare. In her teens she went on to take O Level and A Level Art. She then received a bursary to further her studies at Messiah University in Pennsylvania. Leigh graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1994 with a concentration in oil painting, and exhibited in a couple of group shows in New York as well as in local galleries. She then left the USA and moved between Zimbabwe, London and Cape Town, continuing to paint while working for art galleries. In 1998 she settled permanently in the UK, initially employed by a corporate art consultancy in London until 2001 when she became a full-time artist.

Leigh has had two parallel trajectories over the last 20 years: one selling her artwork privately and through galleries, and the other doing corporate commissions for interiors and contract mural painting, in particular for the cruise ship industry. She has artwork in the permanent collections on close to 30 vessels for Royal Caribbean International and Viking Cruises among others. This has demanded a high level of versatility in subject and style. Although her love of animals has persisted as a favoured theme in her artwork, she does also gravitate towards portrait painting which had been the focus of her degree show.

Dappled Dream Royal Academy

THE POWER OF FRAMING

Leigh loves working with Vicky and has become a real advocate of creative framing: “I love to see all the different framing choices that Vicky comes up with. My inclination used to be to always go for simple white frames but Vicky has totally transformed some of my pieces with her creative approach and treatment. She might paint a tray frame and then add colour with a decorative outer moulding. Vicky has opened up my imagination with texture, colour and depth – as well as introducing me to the benefits of specialist glass.

“People appreciate this personal service and individual treatment and I always encourage people to use their local framer.”

LAST ORDERS

Leigh’s most popular piece is titled ‘Last Orders’, and depicts some iconic characters from the music world who are tragically no longer with us. The original of this piece (measuring 2m x 1.2m) was selected to hang in The Royal Academy’s 2021 Summer Exhibition and gained special recognition when Grayson Perry tweeted that it was one of his favourites in the show that year. Limited edition giclée prints of ‘Last Orders’ are still available via South Street Gallery.

When painting ‘Last Orders’ Leigh had no idea how long it would take: “I started painting at the beginning of 2019 and it took eight months to complete. What I enjoyed most was researching the lives of the chosen icons, many of whose music was weaved into my formative years. I really tried to capture something of their individual personalities and put a lot of thought into trying to position them in similar ways to the figures in the original Last Supper.”

You can enjoy more of Leigh’s stunning artwork on Instagram @BanksLeigh or on TikTok – where her ‘Last Orders’ video received 2.2 million views!

Follow Vicky on Instagram @southstreetgalleryframing or visit her website www.southstreetgallery.co.uk.