Blog Post

'Wild at Heart' Live Show and Auction Result

Kate Downes • 30 October 2023

Incredible news from Kirsten Mirrey's solo exhibition 

Watson Gallery had a fantastic time last week with Kirsten Mirrey’s first ever solo exhibition, Wild at Heart. There was a lot of excitement beforehand as Kirsten was profiled in the Edinburgh Reporter, gaining increased attention for her work in the lead-up to the show.


Kirsten has had a remarkable year, with one of her artworks – the original “Nala,” which was purchased by a Watson client last month – going viral on her Instagram channel, with over 12 million views to date.

The opening night of the exhibition on 20th October was a delightful time for all, although there was a litte tension ahead of time when we realised that we would be battling Storm Babet! While some of the guests understandably couldn’t make it, those who lived within safe traveling distance brought a lovely atmosphere and thoroughly enjoyed Kirsten’s live painting demonstration, as well as the Q& A session hosted by Watson’s art director Bob Corsie.

However, the storm did bring a bit of drama to the evening, along with a story that will certainly always be remembered at Watson Gallery…


Having fallen in love with a particular painting, one of Kirsten’s fans from down south was determined to make the live event, despite the weather, and booked an early train from London – or so he thought. Due to flooding, the client was stuck on the train for an extra six hours! This turned a four-hour journey into a ten-hour trek, with the train arriving just as our event was supposed to end.


Of course, we kept the gallery open an extra hour to allow the client time to explore the collection, and to enjoy a one-on-one chat with Kirsten, who was incredibly touched by the distance travelled and the effort made.


This client's new original painting, Kirsten’s stunning artwork “The Crossing,” will be traveling down south this week to its new home. We can’t help but think that the epic journey of the wildebeest, captured by Kirsten as they cross the muddy waters, had at least some small echo in reality…

The Wild at Heart exhibition continued for the week until 27th October, when we had the pleasure of announcing the results of our silent auction to benefit Kirsten’s chosen charity Wildlife Act.


The auctioned piece was a unique hand-embellished giclée edition of Kirsten’s tiger artwork “Illumination.” The winning bid was an incredible £2,500.00! We enjoyed surprising Kirsten with the news, and even caught her reaction on camera…

Thanks to all those who came to the event, as well as those who have followed the exhibition online. Remember to browse the remaining artworks available through Watson Gallery! Please get in contact if you would like to make a purchase or reservation, or book a viewing.

Photorealistic wildlife paintings by Kirsten Mirreyu of a lion, a panther and an elephant herd on display at Watson Gallery Edinburgh
Original wildlife paintings of wildebeest, gorillas, eagle, bison and a tiger by Kirsten Mirrey
by Kate Downes 13 December 2024
The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.
by Kate Downes 8 November 2024
Each work has its own narrative, in which Jane highlights the details and themes of the piece. In 'Masters of Skullduggery,' Jane reimagines the infamous Burke and Hare as two hares surrounded by skulls and corpse lights as evidence of their misdeeds… “Oh, these two are really bad boys… William Hare and William Burke, show committed a series of murders in 1828. They sold the corpses to Dr. Robert Knox for dissection in his lectures in anatomy. To make things more nefarious, when captured Hare turned King’s evidence against Burke and Burke was hanged. His body was donated to the anatomy class; it can still be seen today. Hare disappeared. A fitting story for dark Scottish nights…”
by Kate Downes 6 April 2024
A look back at some of our favourite artwork installations from Watson clients' homes, and our take on what made the artworks work so well in each space...
by Kate Downes 10 January 2024
When the time comes to say goodbye to a precious artwork, whether to bring something new into your collection or to free up some cash, it’s important to find the right sales option. With so many art collectors now looking for their next piece online, EzelDotz’s web-based sales platform allows artworks to be discovered by collectors seeking works by their favourite collectable artists. EzelDotz also has a database of over 15,000 collectors to whom they will market new works, or help in their search for a particular artist’s work. They have recently been working on a brand new sales platform and will be relaunching soon! Watson has been working with EzelDotz for a number of years as a resale partner (previously under the name 'Sell My Artworks'.) We have even had the opportunity to display artworks owned by local Edinburgh clients at the gallery, by request of our own collectors. If you are looking to move on any works in your own art collection, visit EzelDotz to see how they can assist you as their new sales platform gets underway.
by Kate Downes 30 August 2023
Enjoy a video tour of the gallery with art director Bob Corsie
by Kate Downes 10 July 2023
Local street artist Sleek’s Edinburgh workspace is located in the Queen Street Art Studio below Watson Gallery, and we enjoyed co-hosting his live painting demonstration… in keeping with his street art roots, he decided to work outside!
by Kate Downes 1 May 2023
All of our guests had a fantastic time listening to David’s stories, behind-the-scenes adventures, and insights into his craft. We also had the opportunity to present a number of exclusive editions, which had been curated around the theme of David’s ‘Homecoming’ to Scotland. The series included three of David's rare and remarkable Scottish pieces, in a special smaller-scaled AP format. While these are not available for general release, if you would like to learn more about them you can contact the Watson Gallery team directly .
by Kate Downes 18 October 2022
New artists and new collections for the changing season...
by Kate Downes 7 March 2022
David's fluid, spontaneous style, used to capture the energy and spaces of the cities that inspire him, has been described as “sketching in paint”
by Kate Downes 17 January 2022
Over the past two years, many businesses have learned to adapt to new ways of interacting with clients and customers, and Watson is no exception; during the UK’s various lockdowns, we were forced to rethink the experiences our art collectors would have when looking for their next painting or sculpture. We did find some interesting ways to increase our local accessibility, such as offering pavement-viewings of artworks through our windows – you can read more about that in a previous blog post. However, we also wanted to make sure our artworks were available for online purchase, and adding a “ready to buy” option on our website was key for us during the time we spent with the gallery door closed. We added additional information about each artwork, including an "in-situ" viewing room for each piece so a buyer could imagine the artwork in their home...
More posts
Share by: