I found a wonderful piece of ceramic art at Skylark Galleries. The piece really caught my eye due…read moreto the color and composition. My daughter is a ceramic artist so I have spent a lot of time looking at and collecting beautiful pieces of ceramic art. This one is special. I live in the USA but when I saw it, I just had to have it and the shop wrapped it carefully so that I could transport it safely back home in my luggage. This came with a wall hanger. I can't wait to find the perfect place for it so that I can enjoy looking at it for many years. Gorgeous! I love the bold color and organic inspired pattern.

Skylark Gallery is run and curated by the artists who exhibit their work here and other great…read moreindependent artists as well. I really like the fact that Skylark offers inexpensive pieces of art as art is something I always love to look at but never have the money to buy. I would really recommend you support Skylark as these artists are independent, upcoming / established and exhibit work that's varied and original. You can pick up some cool pieces of art in here and I got a really cool painting for my Mum's birthday in here once. A brilliant place to get something thoughtful or pretty to brighten-up your wall at home, a must for art buffs.

An artist friend of mine once advised me to invest in art. It will nearly always appreciate in…read morevalue apparently. If I save up enough money, I would buy my art here, at Elphick's. Everything that I see in this shop inspires me. I know that art is objective, but there is something about the contents of this shop that make me think that anything brought here would be a wise purchase. On a Sunday the artist, Sharon Elphick is often here. She sells her work here. They are large prints, or on canvas of patterns of letters, textures, numbers, skies, buildings. They are truly beautiful, and well worth seeing. She also sells work from other artists here. (and runs a blog about all the art in the shop - check out her website blog for more details). One of my favourite prints in this shop is by a label called Dandy Star. It is just a simple print with the letters LOVE emblazoned across it, and call me a sucker for modern art, but I L O V E it too.

This is a fabulous little gallery shop. What attracted me was the work of artist, Jen Franklin. I…read morewas impressed at how supportive they were of their local artists and were knowledgable about their education, background and style. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I visited this gallery while on holiday and I bought a cool book on bubble lettering for a gift to my niece. This shop has great art work, it's very streamlined and has nice gifts. Looking forward to visiting this street and this gallery shop on my next holiday to London.

I went to see the exhibition of Churchill paintings. It was absolutely stunning! It was well…read morecurated, and the audio guide really gave you a sense of importance of painting in his life. I walked through the rest of the collection, which is almost overwhelming. There is a lot to see there. You really do need to use the audio guide, because there is so much art in a small space. I also appreciated the staff. They were helpful, without being intrusive. One of the things I enjoy the most was that people there were truly interested in art. They stopped and looked. Unlike the crowd at the National Gallery, which just went up to a painting, took a photo, and left without ever even looking at it.

Wonderful collection of European paintings and decorative objects. Whole gallery were well…read moredisplayed and easy to navigate. The best part of the collection was, to my taste, European weapons/armory on the first floor. This section is huge and ranging from Middle Ages to late 18th century. The gun selection is exquisite. If you are studying armory, this is a place to visit. Admission is free and accessible. You can easily spend two to three hours wondering and enjoy the atmosphere. Staff are helpful and willing to help. There is a restaurant/cafe to refresh after long day of sightseeing.

When you are in the City (Square Mile) of London, be sure to think about stopping in the wonderful…read moreGuildhall Art Gallery. This is a free art museum so all you need is the time. There are many British paintings but the largest collection is from the Victorian era ... yes there are lots of Pre-Raphaelites. The 18th Century American painter John Singleton Copley is represented by his huge masterpiece 'Defeat of the Floating batteries at Gibraltar.' And at the lowest lever level of the museum are the discovered ruins of the great Roman amphitheatre in Londinium. Everything is displayed nicely and the Guildhall Art Gallery staff are especially friendly. Don't miss it!

This gallery is a diamond in the rough. I had no idea this place even existed *bows head in shame*…read more I went online to find free art galleries in London and was lead to this place. Best. Find .Ever! Hallelujah! They have free guide tours on specific times and days - It is so worth checking out. The tour guide was incredibly informative with the history and knowledge of the artist behind each paintings. There was a group of us who was shown around the gallery (it is huge!) and our heads were filled with so much incredible information about the history of London. The highlight of the gallery is the last remains of amphitheatre which is down by the basement. For someone who has a passion for history, this place blew me away. It is certainly worth checking out!

Beach London is so much more than a gallery. The place is one of the phew art gems we have in East…read moreLondon. In a modern and well-decorated interior, famous designers and illustrators come here and create little pieces of modern art. Have you ever seen a gallery filled with childish drawings, pins of pizza, dog patterns or funny stickers? You can expect all kinds of awesome and bizarre creations here. You can even buy yourself a cup of coffee while gathering the gallery or buy unique prints. As a passionate art lover, I am obsessed with this place and often come here to find inspiration.

Par Ici is a completely unique store and is one of very few in London that only sells handmade and…read morelocal items. Filled to the brim with high quality paintings, jewellery, pottery, cards, sculpture, knitted and fabrics to name but a few, this is a fantastic place for all your gift needs as well as somewhere to pick up your unique and quality household items. For those who craft, you can also buy wool, vintage buttons and other items to help with your hobbies. I love this shop because every time I go there, there is something new to see. I could (and have) spent hours browsing the shelves. Sometimes I can't fully believe what people are capable of making so each visit is a surprise! Indeed it seems there is a lot of talent out there in Twickenham! Currently I'm really impressed with the handmade local soaps and bath bombs they have in there. However if you'd like to try them, as they aren't from a range or mass produced, you'll have to get to the shop as they tend to sell out quickly! Five stars guys, keep up the great work!

Such a great idea for a shop. It's been here many years apparently - even before being local became…read morecool. Really interesting local products, jewellery, paintings, gifts, books - a lot of it from artisans on Eel Pie Island. (Where the Stones used to record.) I bought my elderly parents a gadget here - a kind of hi-tech walking stick with an alarm, flashlight, magnet etc all built in, invented by Trevor Baylis, another local inhabitant.

This shop has a pin-up girl silk scarf for 70.00. It has these tastefully topless girls on playing…read morecards. I would have bought it were it not for the price. Lord knows. The modern art in this shop is also really appealing. I liked this one vase that was white and looked like an old ladies hat where you stick the flowers in little pots. I think this shop makes affordable art but I can afford nothing except a crap poster from Woolworths in the closing down sale. It was Little Britain but you know, the budget is just "so high class".

A really nice shop for both buying prints and getting frames made…read more They have tasteful posters and prints, some famous, many British, some local to Ealing. I picked up one of Hoxton artist Jon Carmichael's dog prints there, as well as an ultraviolet photo of Ealing's Walpole Park from Alex Arnaoudov. We've had a couple of custom frames made here, and they came out very nicely. Staff are friendly and knowledgeable.

I noticed Bankside Gallery when we were walking back from the Tate, a South Bank spot advertising…read morefree exhibits, original art, and affordable prices. I was curious about what might be in there, at a small gallery in the shadow of the Tate, and we decided to take a quick peek. We were with our two boys, who'd had their fill of art, so this was a real in-and-out situation. To our delight, though, we walked into an exhibit of new drawings by illustrator Quentin Blake. I didn't know him by name before we walked in, but I recognized his work as soon as I saw it. He's illustrated over 300 children's books, including 18 titles by Roald Dahl. Our six-year-old has been making his way through Roald Dahl's books, so this was pretty exciting for all of us (well, I guess our three-year-old didn't care). The space was pleasant and nicely laid out, and it was easy to make our way through and look at all the drawings. Several of them had sold already, but several were still available, and while the prices were a bit high for vacation souvenirs, they seemed affordable by art world standards. (Looking at the gallery's website, it's clear that a lot of the work they exhibit is in fact quite affordable.) Quentin Blake has apparently been exhibiting at Bankside Gallery for several years, with proceeds going to the newly opened Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. Bankside Gallery is well worth a visit if you're walking along South Bank. It's a quick stop where you can see interesting art, and you might stumble onto something really wonderful.

The Bankside Gallery has nothing on the hype and fame of the Tate Modern, but whenever visiting the…read moreTate I always leave time to look around this little gallery next door. Home to the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and the Royal Watercolour society, the exhibitions change regularly but are consistently of a high standard, featuring a variety of artists working in very different ways. The gallery is free with most of the work available to purchase for generally reasonable prices.