THE owner of West Kilbride’s pop-up art gallery says being able to showcase local talent again following lockdown is picture perfect.

Ian Roberts set up Gallery Sometimes almost three years ago and has hosted the works of local artists in his not-for-profit exhibitions on Main Street.

The gallery was forced to go virtual during lockdown but Ian says it has allowed him to reach a wider audience and continue to feature artists from the village.

He said: “I’ve been doing the gallery for around two years now, it started with just my work but I soon invited other West Kilbride artists to showcase their work.

“We had a plan fpr seven different shows this year, starting from April, but had to go online when lockdown started.

“It took off and I wanted to keep giving local artists an outlet as well.”

When lockdown restrictions were eased, Ian was keen to get the gallery back up and running and says the response to the first show of the year has been amazing.

He said: “I restarted the physical gallery and we have had a couple of shows so far. There were lots of people coming in and at times I had queues outside the door.

“Of course we have to observe all the requirements and we have been limiting the numbers inside, as well as using hand sanitiser and masks.

“It went better than we could have expected and everybody sold something. A lady from Fairlie, who had never attended an exhibition, before sold 14 of her prints, which was amazing.”

With many events in the village cancelled for the rest of the year, Ian believes the gallery will be more important than ever to attract visitors to West Kilbride and support local business.

He explained: “Pop-up events like these are the future of the high street. We have to make West Kilbride into a destination by putting on events like these.

“It seems to be working because people are flocking to them."

For more information on exhibitions, visit ‘Gallery Sometimes’ on Facebook.