Established in 1975, this specialist picture framer's has a quaint dark green shop front with gold…read morepainted lettering. They have a wide range of different frame types to choose from and do many things other than framing, including restoring old oil paintings and prints, mount cutting and wash lining (don't ask me what the last two things are). The staff at The Picture Framer clearly know their stuff, and it's delightful to see a shop performing such a highly-skilled, specialist service still going strong after 35 years. I will definitely venture to The Picture Framer for any future picture framing needs!

I had an oil painting left to me that my grandfather painted, but it was in a horrible white…read moreplastic-y frame and seemed welded to it so I couldn't easily take it out. I drove past The Leeds Picture Framer every day for a couple of years and onlu spotted it a few weeks ago, so I popped in with the painting, not knowing what to expect. I had no clue how much this sort of thing cost, but the lovely framer man was very kind and patient and explained that it would only be about £20-£30 and helped me pick a frame, and it took a week to do and now looks lovely. It was £25. Thank you Leeds Picture Framer Dude!

I visited Art of Gold whilst I was strolling around the shops on a lazy day and was quite amazed at…read morewhat they did. Amongst the paintings and art prints was a Jewellery section. After speaking to the lady in the shop, I found that her son designs and makes his own jewellery in a workshop based inside the shop. he'd trained in Italy for around 5 years before he came back to England to start his own business. All of the jewellery is bespoke and 18 carat. Amongst other jewellery designers, you will find the likes of; Deborah Kelly, Shona Carnegie, Iain Henderson & Lora Leedham. The shop also intends to stock Pandora in the future which I suspect will be extremely popular with the younger crowd. The lady who runs the shop is polite and passionate about the work they display and spent ages chatting over the background behind the art to me. Go speak her, she's got some very funny stories to tell!

I can tell you one thing that I really didn't expect - to find an excellent art gallery within the…read moreheart of Horsforth. It came as no surprise, to me, to find an art gallery in Otley and an art gallery in Leeds city centre - but Horsforth? What a fabulous surprise! So what do they have on offer? A range of arts, in different media and styles, jewellery and gift cards. The limited edition gift cards are of a particularly high quality, not the kind of thing you'll find anywhere else, and just that little bit more expensive - but worth the gesture in my opinion! The jewellery on offer is beautifully made, contemporary and appeared to me to be inspired by the natural world (lots of leafy shapes and such). A lot of the pendents seemed to be detailed in such a way that gave the impression it was pressed silver and certainly hand made. The artwork on show was a fantastic range too. There were some 'fusion glass' pieces which appeared to be photographs detailed with a sort of embossed piece of glass over the top, bringing out details like traffic lights and such. They were particularly interesting. As well as that there were some amazingly simplistic and sometimes textured sunset scenes by Barker, some amusing and poignant pieces by Todd White, some beautiful oriental ink nude prints by Qu Lei Lei (which were only £20!) and my absolute favourite (and stupidly, I did not note the artist) a sunburstingly orange horizon scene with a sort of marbled gold leaf effect and central silhouetted tree. I found the art work varied, challenging, decorative and inspiring. The lady who owned/managed the gallery was polite and thankfully did not try to go in for the hard sell either, which was much appreciated. I can imagine it is frustrating for them to receive browser upon browser, but I am sure if I ever manage to save I will be visiting this place for a central piece! Well worth the visit.

Studio Seven is a new, exciting and intriguing art gallery owned and run by James Davis, an artist…read morehimself whose areas of expertise lie in both graphic design and pop art. Although the studio itself is only a small space there is certainly enough art work within to keep you occupied, challenged and provoked of though for a good deal of time. At the time of my visit there were a number of pop art pieces, more notably a painting of Heath Ledger's Joker, immortalised in stark bold blocks, posed in an eternal passive aggressive smiling glare. As well as this a beautifully bold cyanotype Audrey Hepburn image was on show, amongst other famous icons. As well as pop art pieces there were some sculptures and more mixed media pieces, including a bizarre-yet-cute frame set with some cut out crafted ducks arranged inside. I think one of my favourite pieces was the image of a shop/building front, painted in these vibrant and aggressive reds, with the vintage victorian style clock face at the heart of the image - I'm no expert but I'd hazard a guess at calling it postimpressionist. As my boyfriend and I were gawping at all the different paintings the owner came in, it was oddly empty prior to this, and asked us how we were. We chatted briefly and discovered that he was quite a diverse artist himself and had only recently opened the gallery. He was really approachable, down to earth and genuinely making a go of surviving creatively. For that alone I couldn't be more impressed since there are plenty of us out there who yearn to live from our talents, but seldom take the risk and try to make it work. If you are in Otley, scratch that, wherever you are - make the effort to stop by Studio Seven. There you will find challenging pieces of art from a variety of movements all worth pride of place in your home.

A random google search for picture framers in Leeds brought me to Just Images. I sent a spec out…read morefor three made to order frames to at least five framers in Leeds, and as Just Images are just round the corner from where I work, plus quoted the best price I nipped round to see Thomas the framer. I am now the owner of three beautifully made frames, which were exactly as requested and immaculately finished, as the attached image should demonstrate. Thomas also helpfully advised on the correct framing materials, checking my prints for acidity so as to select an option that would preserve them, something I would otherwise have been blissfully ignorant of. On the whole I could not be happier, brilliant frames, the best price offered, delivered to my door and to top it off he's a very nice fellow as well. A big thumbs up from me.

Castle is a small chain of modern art galleries with affordable original art and limited edition…read moreprints. We went in here to check out some 3D art that resembled a piece we recently saw at the British Library, and ended up talking to Stuart about another artist by the name of Bob Barker. Stuart did a great job sharing the stories behind each art work, and showing us the piece we really liked in different lighting conditions. We're still undecided, especially as we're going to an art show tomorrow, but we plan to buy two pieces from Castle after the weekend. We found the art very affordable, even the Bob Dylan prints they were selling. Castle Gallries is definitely worth checking out if you're nearby!

Project Space Leeds, or PSL, is an independent, artist-led contemporary art space. Located in the…read morebasement of the Whitehall Waterfront complex, it is barely a five minute detour out of the city centre in the newly billed West End of Leeds. But what an interesting meander it oft turns out to be. The art space was founded in 2006 by a few curators, working alongside a local property developer. It stages exhibitions of 'modern and contemporary art across all art forms.' During a recent visit to the gallery, I was fortunate enough to be able to browse the current exhibition. Entitled 'I Can Still See You', artist Diane Howse has combined a number of film stills and home movie footage to display and examine the intricacies of British life during World War II. The images are poignant at times, incredibly moving, and occasionally merely informative. Images depicting details of war which are now alien to our modern eyes, such as gas masks and equipment, are extremely intriguing, a reminder to what has preceded our existence. Supported by the Arts Council and Leeds City Council, art is sold commercially at PSL, and would be an original addition to the home. With a venue so dedicated to enabling local talent to flourish whilst putting the gallery on the national and international radar, Project Space Leeds does a fantastic job within the artistic community.

I can't make my mind up about this space. On the one hand I think its great that there is a…read morecontemporary art venue in Leeds that is fully engaged in the visual art discourse on a local and national level. It is refreshing to see an independent space that is run by artists, for artists. They host some cutting edge exhibitions and events but on the other hand I have found some of these and the work in them, unaccessible, visually and intellectually. I don't let this bother me too much though and am always willing to see new exhibitions. My favorite so far has to be 195 Miles, on a couple of years ago. The artist Janis Rafailidou had a live horse as part of her installation in the gallery during the opening event. The space is open only during exhibitions so be sure to check what's on before you wander along the canal. Its not a hugely convenient place to get to but there probably isn't a space like it to be found in a city centre building. It exists on the ground floor of a recent high-rise development and is perfectly warehouse-like for a contemporary gallery, I mean project space.

The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery is not very well known in Leeds. I have never before heard my…read morearty friends talk about it, or seen any promotion for it, and I am often taking short cuts through the University Campus. I heard about the gallery whilst doing data entry for an arts company, I was inputting data from a survey to decide why it wasn't very well attended. Since then I vowed that I would go and have a look, as everyone in the survey spoke very highly of it in their comments. You can find the gallery in The Parkinson Building of the University, just to the left of reception through some glass sliding doors. The exhibits I saw today were beautiful. The gallery used to consist of three rooms which have now been converted into one large space displaying the Universities permanent collection. It includes various bronze works, a display of Yorkshire pottery, a suite of glass cases displaying drawn works, and some really beautiful paintings. There is also another room which is used for temporary exhibitions. Today I saw 'Obsession: Contemporary Art from the Lodeveans Collection' which is running until the 28th November (2009). My favorite in this collection were some porcelain models of crushed cans (like coke cans) hand painted with blue flowers, as if they were an old china set. They have a variety of different pieces, from abstract to portrait paintings, sculptures, video, audio, and drawings, so if you are an art lover there will most likely be something for you. It is quite small, but it's free and also not far from the gallery in the city centre if you feel the need for more.

A very modern gallery, compared to other museums/galleries that I have visited this isn't the…read morebiggest but it is so modern and chic. There is a room which shows art and often switches it up

This new entry to Albion Street in the centre of town is truly a breath of fresh air. This…read moreparticular street is quite clogged with coffee shops and eateries as it is and so the addition of an art gallery shop is the perfect answer for diversity. The store itself is laid out like an art gallery with relaxing white space with which to adorn the artwork - perfect for maintaining an uncluttered feel with such a variety of artists on show. There is the main space on the ground floor and a further gallery down the narrow stairs. The lady who was working when I popped in was absolutely lovely, she was really friendly and talkative about the shop, but didn't push to sell me anything which I always appreciate. The art itself was wonderful and diverse, from the kitsch cutesy cow art by Caroline Shotten, to the modern pop-art stark portraits of Simon Claridge, to the bold graffiti art of Ge Feng there was something for everyone. My difficulty is that I could have purchased all of their pieces, since diversity is what I like best, however at around £400+ per painting I simply couldn't afford to be impulsive. I certainly don't think that it is overly expensive - art is quite often underpriced and undervalued, but in my current state of pauperdom I would have to really fall in love to make such a spend. If you are lucky enough to have that kind of cash to spend, I suggest you search for a gift in this gallery. You will find something unique and delightful herein.

I couldn't agree more with the first review. This is such a wonderful place to step into and at the…read moremoment they have a sale on so there are loads of completely juxtaposing pieces. From cartoon like paintings to classical fine art portraits of bare ladies. Rather scruffy looking as I was at the time I was pleased coercive such a warm welcome from the lady, Angela, who was working at the time I entered. Some truly breathtaking art work on display and ready for someone to buy and proudly display, unfortunately I need a new par of climbing boots before I buy anything else.