For a city that advertises itself as a vibrant, boiling pot of creativity, Brighton and Hove is somewhat lacking when it comes to decent art galleries.

Some, such as the White Gallery in Western Road and more recently the Window Gallery in Ship Street, have fallen victim to apathy and soaring rates.

Others, such as O Contemporary in Trafalgar Street and ArtRepublic in Bond Street, specialise mainly in limited-edition prints by international artists.

Three cheers then for Two Kats And A Cow in King's Road Arches, which has been one of the chief flagbearers of the Brighton arts scene for seven years.

It is fair to say the work of co-founders Katty McMurray and Kathryn Matthews - the titular Kats - and John Marshall - who paints cows - is a cut above the average.

Underneath the arches they may be but seaside tat this is not. All three have solid reputations - each is able to host regular solo exhibitions at some of London's most highly regarded galleries.

Their success in the capital has given them the financial freedom to stay in Brighton, which is where they started their careers about a decade ago.

They estimate 60 to 80 per cent of the paintings sold in the gallery travel back up the M23 to London. Brighton may be home but it is not their bread and butter.

No matter, 2007 has been another successful year for the painters. John Marshall has just had a sold-out exhibition at The Fairfax gallery in Chelsea, where his signature oil paintings of cows went for about £5,000 each.

A collection of Katty McMurray's idiosyncratic line drawings and oil paintings have been snapped up by Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and her work has been incorporated into the interior design scheme of the Hoxton Hotel.

Kathryn Matthews' colourful oil paintings of harbour and coastal scenes have been commissioned by the likes of P&O Cruises, Thompson, and Ask Pizza.

For several years the painters worked out of dark, dank fishermen's arches on Brighton seafront, with no electricity or running water, paying a nominal rent.

They decided to come together under one roof when their current premises, formerly an all-night greasy spoon café, became available on a ten-year lease in 2001. Kathryn said: "As our reputations grew and each of us were beginning to be taken up by galleries in London, we were becoming frustrated that we still didn't have a proper space to showcase our work locally.

"There really wasn't any sort of proper commercial arts scene in Brighton at the time - just us and a handful of other bohemian types in these tiny old arches attracted by the lifestyle and subsidised rents - but things were moving on for us.

"John's paintings were gaining international success and a cult following and Katty and I were becoming established with collectors from all over the country.

"We needed a proper space and none of us wanted to move to London." When they moved in it was an empty shell. They spent £16,000 installing display walls, new doors, lighting and generally making the place weather-proof.

Each year the maintenance bill for the premises is about £6,000. In many respects it is not an ideal place to run a business. But you get the impression working in a gallery under the arches on the beach is all they ever wanted and they cheerfully admit their success has come despite - not because of - any business acumen or commercial savvy.

John said: "We sort of fell into this because of a conversation in a pub. "It was the name Two Kats And A Cow - once we had come up with that there was no going back. We had to move in together. There has never been a business plan - plenty of cock-ups but no plan."

And the cock ups? "We once printed off 3,000 brochures advertising our exhibition for the Brighton Festival but forgot to put our address anywhere - and nobody turned up," said Katty.

"On another occasion we had a private view with free drinks but forgot to hire a waiter or waitresses so spent the whole night running in and out of the kitchen. Again, a complete disaster."

They toyed with the idea of becoming a company but "it was all very complicated" so they remain three sole traders under one roof. "It means we have three separate Visa machines," says John wryly.

In the end their individual talent - and a happy-go-lucky attitude - has won through, not a nose for business. Kathryn says: "We started out just wanting to live and paint in the town that we love and it has grown into so much more. We have managed to secure ourselves a place on the contemporary art circuit, both at home and abroad, and kick-start a credible arts scene down here. "Basically, though, we are just happy making a great living from selling our paintings on Brighton beach."