Follow a creaky staircase leading up to the rafters of this quaint old repurposed church, (making…read moresure you love on Lolly, the gallery dog, along the way,) and you'll instantly be rewarded with one of the coolest little galleries in London. The fine ladies at Vyner Street have devoted their gallery to showcasing and selling UK student and graduate art, and making this art accessible to the new art buying public such as myself. It's really just a win-win situation for the novices in the art world on all sides, and it's certainly one of those "hey... why didn't I think of this" experiences. I'd highly recommend popping by during the first Thursday of each month, where the reward at the top of the creaky staircase is bound to be something of the sweet and/or alcoholic nature. Affordable art + booze + a loving gallery pup? Sounds like an adventure waiting to happen!

One of my friends in London lived at the end of Vyner street across from Victoria's park. So for…read morehe and his girlfriend, this was pure stomping grounds. I guess periodically they have art openings on this street, where everyone seems to converge. One part Chelsea and one part williamsburg, you'll find plenty of free beer, wine and snacks to choose from. Afterward, a quick walk along the canal will take you to Broadway Market, and as I recall a carlsburg special in hand I was feeling no pain... We went to a gastropub on that block, though I don't recall the name...

Will's Art Warehouse is a commercial gallery with a difference. It attempts to cater for all of…read moreit's customer's needs providing them with a friendly but not pushy approach, a wide variety of art work, and affordable prices. The price range of the art work never exceeds £3,000 and start as low as £50. The owners of this gallery also happen to be the creators of the now renowned 'Affordable Art Fair' which takes place twice a year in London and has now spread through other locations in Europe. Unfortunately for this gallery, I find that it is located in a rather unlikely place, in the middle of a residential upmarket area and is a bit hard to access. I feel that it could do much better in a more accessible and central location.

This light contemporary space in West Smithfield is attractive with its floor to ceiling glass…read morewindow front, allowing the art to be seen from across the street. There was work 15 living artists when I visited, all from Barcelona, and there was a predominantly 'street art feel' to the exhibition. However the shows change every couple of weeks and the gallery does not specialise in any one particular style of artwork. It was totally unintimidating and although my friend and I were the only two in there, we felt at ease taking our time around the room. It is nice place to pop in when passing by, and to enjoy a creative talent of living artists without needing to dedicate a whole morning or day to doing so.

This gallery for hire is a well appointed space to the north (City-side) of Smithfield Market. Very…read morenear Farringdon Station (and actually not too far from Barbican or St Paul's Tube stations), it's nearby a handful of excellent restaurants, cafes and pubs ... as well as some interesting sites such as St Bartholew's Church and, of course, Smithfield Market. The lighting is awesome (surprisingly, this isn't always the case in London galleries) and the exhibition space is open and "vanilla" enough for any variety of shows to slide in and set up. I was there recently for the awesome Barcelona XL: Homage to Catalonia (http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/2008/12/barcelona-xl-spanish-street-art-at.html) street art exhibition. I was really blown away by that show and felt that the gallery was perfect for displaying the exhibition's different artists and their varying styles. It wasn's my first time to the Smithfield Gallery but it was the catalyst which will now ensure I keep better track of what' s on there.

I have said before that East London's art scene will whack art anywhere you give them the chance…read moreto, and Shipton Street Gallery is a great example of this: a gallery in the confines of someone's living room. Part of small and serene-looking housing estate between Columbia road flower Market and Broadway market in an area that estate agents like to call 'Haggerston', it's a great place to stop by on a Sunday afternoon once you've had a coffee and grabbed some flowers for the home. With it being a part of someone's house, it has an understandable intimacy about it; it's also very small, so they tend to favour photography, and work that fits their cosy white room. They open only on Sundays, from 11am to 2pm and at other times by appointment, which is unusual for a gallery but probably understandable in their case as they do have neighbours! They pride themselves on showcasing 'challenging new work' and have recently exhibited works by the likes of Banu Demirci, Lisa Griffin, and Cristiana Montis.

I was ambling down curtain road with a friend with the intent on visiting the white cube, when we…read moresaw a man in sportswear and white trainers, covered in paint daubing a wall next to a bar I once frequented. Stopping to wonder whether it was a commissioned piece he was doing, I discovered that he was actually a painter, rather than a graffiti artist and furthermore, that he had a show exhibiting in a gallery right next to us. The signal gallery is a tiny, single-roomed space with exposed brickwork that looks more like one of the local fashion showrooms than an art gallery. It therefore gives work that exhibits a there an edgier feel than they might have had if they were in your usual pristine white box. Not to say that the work I saw there wasn't edgy enough. It was a shown called echoes and exorcisms, by Dale Grimshaw (the name of the man I learnt was painting outside). It was a series of unintentionally autobiographical works (hence why all of the paintings looked faintly like him) mainly in black and white, with decidedly eerie-looking reflections, aggressive paint splashes and deep contrasting shadows. The story was one of a lot of pain and internal turmoil, and his next show, Heart in Darkness promises to carry on that theme.

I can't fault them for trying to get more into the street art side of things. I mean who isn't…read moretrying to get into that these days, but what always drives me barmy, is, as with the gang over at the Pure Evil Gallery, they charge West London prices for these things, when you can get better value in the area elsewhere. They have interesting shows and it's definitely worth being on the mailing list and going to previews, but as with the aforementioned galleries, I look forward to breaking that mold and making my first purchase.

Ok people, berate me for being a good for nothing lazy arts reviewer. Pelt me with rotten…read morevegetables even! One of the most original and exciting new spaces that has opened up in Hackney this year was right under my nose, I was told about it time after time by artists friends and still I managed not to go. Shame. On. Me. Ok, you can stop now because I've been, and it is truly the star of Homerton. Depending of course on how much you like experimental and site specific art. It's a not-for-profit exhibition space, placed temptingly close to Homerton and Hackney central rail stations (that means you can get there easily, non East London dwellers). It has a very strange look about it in some ways, which I'm later told is due to its heritage. It has been a squat, a china warehouse nand a Victorian factory. Although not necessarily in that order. It's also huge. 10,00sq ft huge to be precise. I went to see Matter of Time which consisted of a number of large scale location-based art installations. I was treated to some wooden sculptures by Paul Mart, glittery floor paintings by Alistair Levy, and some swings (I love art you can play with, even if it's simple) by Elisabetta Alazraki. They apparently broke during the exhibition (!) so I'm grateful that it wasn't me sitting on the swing at the time or I may have been typing this from a hospital bed. When I left it did dawn upon me how much I would buy the space for if I had a spare million quid down the back of the sofa. Go and have a peek before the some property developer has the same idea as I did.

Lazarides is one of the most unique art gallery spaces in London that I've visited. The current…read moreinstallation they are exhibiting is for a group of artists showcased in a book called Outsiders. Most of these artists are from street art backgrounds, but none of their work is graffiti. In fact most of their pieces are really intense, formidable modern works that are definitely worth viewing. The walls in this space are not stark white. They are painted with rogue imagery, stapled and abused, adding an additional flair to the display of these artists' works. I found some paintings selling for just over £100 and others selling for thousands. If you have a hundred quid to spare you may be purchasing a work by the next Andy Warhol. You never know.

Ever fancied owning a piece of original art? Well, here's your chance, by popping along (May 16-18)…read moreto the annual Battersea Contemporary Art Fair. Now in its sixteenth year, this is the largest artists' fair in the UK, and features over 150 artists from the UK and overseas, selling paintings, photographs, sculptures and prints directly to the public (ie with no commission - saving up to 40%). I went there a few years ago with my partner's cousin, who was exhibiting her photography there. The venue is part of the Old Town Hall complex, and is about ten minutes' walk from Clapham Junction station. It is a little pricey to get in, but the range and quantity of art on display is impressive. Not every stall will take your fancy though - some of it is very mainstream, others very eclectic, so it depends on your taste. As well as straightforward art, there are artists who specialise in painting things like your pet's portrait, if you are so moved. But there's bound to be something that takes your fancy. Unfortunately for me, I seem to be born with expensive tastes: rather than the stuff around £40, I seem drawn like a bee to a honey pot to the stuff in the £4,000 bracket. I don't know if this means I have good taste, or just an eye for the commercially popular. My other half and I eventually bought a photographic print for around £90. Refreshments are available, and there's a jazz band playing during the Friday evening reception.

Orginally named Battersea town hall then to Battersea arts Centre now contemporary art Fair i used…read moreto do volentry work there in the canteen when i was younger you can see live bands and proforming arts plus drama plays they used to run classes for children such as tap dancing , ballet and potery and have fates outside to raise money for certain charitys inside the place itself is a small bookstore with plenty of good books to buy and postcards, there are many works of art on show and to buy all in all it is a fun time looking around so if you like any kind of art this is a great place to visit.