North Shields born artist Victor Noble Rainbird (1887 - 1936) was widely recognised in his early artistic career. He served with the Northumberland Fusiliers during WWI, an experience which affected him greatly. He painted many Tyneside and Tyne river scenes around the fish quay and river mouth capturing the mood. Latterly he made little income through his art work, but used poor materials. The Friends of Victor Noble Rainbird held an exhibition at the Old Low Light in autumn 2015 raising enough to pay for and mark his paupers grave with a sculpted headstone (photo).

Heather Macpherson runs Raspberry Creative Type. She is a typesetter, cover designer, ebook creator and graphic designer based in Edinburgh. She has been designing for over 12 years and works with many major UK publishers and international clients. Heather created the design layout for the books 'Fish Quay Folk of North Shields' and 'Birds, beaches and boats' by Daniel M Turner. (The image shows page 81 from 'Fish Quay Folk of North Shields')

This interesting building at Seaton Sluice dates back to the eighteenth century and became an art gallery in 2016. The exhibits on display are for sale and include original paintings and drawings, prints, ceramics, glass, jewellery, mosaics, etc. The artist in residence is Rose Di Mascio who can also commission work for customers. There are occasional special exhibitions.

Wild and Free Gallery is based at their Studio and Gallery … … 3A Ilfracombe Gardens, Whitley Bay, NE26 3ND. Here you can explore your creative self and meet new friends. Gail Curry runs the company ... with poetry, art and craft (including felting) groups and workshops.

Emma Holliday is an artist based at Newcastle upon Tyne. The front cover of Daniel Turner’s book ‘Birds, beaches and boats’ features one of Emma’s paintings: Two Lighthouses (in oil on linen). This painting depicts the mouth of the river Tyne including the north and south piers and lighthouses, with the Black Middens and sandy beach in front of the Low Lights car park beside North Shields fish quay. Within the book, Emma’s painting also features as a bookmark at the start of each chapter.

After almost 20 years working as a television director, Catherine Hardwick decided to combine her tv production skills with her love of graphic design and set up CatwitchCreative. Cat’s creative work is very varied and includes artwork for print and electronic media, directing/filming/editing videos, photography, exhibition design and brochure production.

CatwitchCreative created the design layout for Daniel’s book of poetry and photographs, Tyneside verses from river and coast.

Extract from Stephen’s AxisWeb profile …

‘Stephen Livingstone is an artist whose work explores human impact upon landscape and habitat, drawing upon a range of concerns from earth sciences through ecology to archaeology. He is particularly attracted to working directly with sites associated with old industrial activity and to museum collections. His work with the moth and butterfly collection of Oxford University Museum has received international recognition and was exhibited in 2012 at the Museum of Art and Design in New York.’

Stephen worked in collaboration with Daniel Turner on the Tidelines exhibition at the Old Low Light (North Shields fish quay).

The Boat is part of the Heritage Gallery in the Old Low Light, North Shields fish quay. It comprises the Cabinet of Curiosities, three plinths, a computer screen, display boards and space to hang art work. This Boat is used, on a rotation basis, by a group of artists overseen by fellow exhibitor Stephen Livingstone. Each artist will take a turn to present an exhibition, perhaps in collaboration with others. Local natural history may be involved as part of each exhibit. Each exhibition will run for three months or more. From October to December 2015 Ben Lawson exhibits in this area with a presentation called ‘It Came from 30,000 feet.’

The Northeast England Beached Bird Surveys (NEBBS) Group performs monthly beach surveys of our coastline. Some specimens are collected for study - such as fulmars ... as part of an international project on litter and plastics. Each volunteer is allocated a stretch of shore to monitor.

The Tyne Kittiwake Partnership is looking after the interests of the river nesting kittiwakes on Tyneside in northeast England. Due to pressures from business and the public there can be conflict with these seasoned travellers when they come to raise their chicks. The Partnership works to alleviate this.

See some of Daniel Turner's facts and figures about the Tyne Kittiwakes via the link below ... ... 

The Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club has a strong membership which tackles the recording of our avian species. There are outings to observe birds, evening presentations during the darker months and members are encouraged to submit their sightings for the monthly and annual reports. The Club's main aims relate to research, education and publications. A sightings page is included on their website.

The Net is based in the Old Low Light, Clifford's Fort, North Shields Fish Quay. This building has been developed into a Heritage Centre dealing with the local fishing and shipping industries, natural history, the community, etc. There is a cafe and shop on the ground floor; first floor holds the Interpretation Gallery while the top floor is for meetings, exhibitions, presentations and events. There is a lift, stairs and toilets with disabled facilities.

'North Shields Fish Quay Opinions' is a facebook group interested in the North Shields fish quay area. There are many members and frequent updates with a wealth of photographs and information