Jacqueline Sarsby , social anthropologist and photographer, has guest-curated an exhibition at the Gloucester Museum which opened on 12th October 2019 and closes on 18th April 2020, so there is still time to take a look. It is called ’The Magical World of William Simmonds, Puppets and Paintings’.

A treasured image that I keep in my studio is a beautiful black and white photograph taken by Jacqueline , called’ Catherine White and Kitty’, in it she records a little girl with her black and white cat . It evokes fond memories of childhood and pets. In that photograph, at that moment, Jacqueline Sarsby captured something unspoken, the affection and shared trust between the two.

This week in the studio I spent an hour or two , playing with my little boxes of mixed typefaces, images and quick drying black ink . I used a very simple relief printing method to make a few thank you cards, something I began many years ago when I was unable to find the cards that I liked in the shops.

To feel at one with the earth and all things living .

To guide us as we enter a new year, here is Arch Angel Michael from a painting which hangs in All Saints Church Marazion .

Wishing you a very happy and healthy year .

At this time of year , we give thanks for the good people, family and friends that are a part of our lives and remember the happy times spent with those no longer with us.

Wishing you happiness, peace and good health in 2020 x.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

For in the Dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed .

Lines from the prophet.

As the nights draw in, its the perfect time to get ourselves cosy and warm, with some good music and company , here are some of my companions in the studio at the moment.

On this important day, I share in remembering much loved members of my family and all the brave men and woman who have, and continue to sacrifice their lives for ours. We will remember them.

When “All Hallows’ Eve”  or Allhallowtide is celebrated, it is a time to pray for recently departed souls who have yet to reach heaven, and a time to honour the saints. As in many traditions, it follows natures calendar, a time of dying back. 

Below are just a few of the 80 etchings and aquatints, made by Goya, entitled ‘Los Caprichos’, they were made in 1797 & 1798 and are just as relevant and awe inspiring now . 

In this series he recorded the true horrors of war and life . Not only did he interpret how base human nature could be, but how a persons grotesque fantasies could lead them into an abyse, lost to this world. 

So ,don’t forget to light your lantern, to keep those evil spirits at bay.

This wonderful work by Goya is at the Prado Museum, Madrid.

It would be great if we could all do a bit more of this ……

Considered an English Romantic, Blake was a visionary painter, printmaker and poet. Through life, he explored the powers of the imagination and of creation. He questions the meaning of being, his relationship to the divine and the fundamental tension between the individual life and human condition . 

11th Sept 2019 – 2nd February 2020. 

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

By William Stafford

Canon Nigel Marns lovely book, the ‘Cornish Celtic Way’ had a great review in the Guardian .

It highlighted one memorable quote by Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. “Love the animals, love the plants, love everything,” it urges. “If you love everything you will perceive the divine mystery in all things.” 

cornishcelticway.co.uk

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/feb/18/cornwall-celtic-walk-coast-path-trail-hike

Raise a glass to those we love who are no longer with us.

And tell those close that you love them while you can.

Wishing you my friends good health and happiness in 2019. x

Today we remember those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for us.  

Few families remained untouched by the First World War . My own Grandmother lost her beloved Father, Thomas Henry Hearder Perring , of the Devonshire Regiment . They lived at the time at the Barbican Plymouth, in upstairs lodgings which remain almost unaltered, as it is now the museum. 

When I visited the house with my Grandmother before she died she explained how they had lived, where her fathers easle stood, and the yard below where the local boys played football with a makeshift ball . Thomas Perring a scenic and landscape artist studied painting under Opie in Plymouth until one day he left and never returned. A stretcher bearer killed in action on the front . 

This is a little painting I made of his son , my Uncle Coyte, a man I knew and loved .He served in the second world war, and did come home. He wrote poetry in quiet moments and this painting includes one of his I discovered in his small note book, long after he too had died.

We remember them.

Looking out of the window in the studio, with the cat and some mellow music for company, I welcome autumn and its colours.

Wishing everyone happy viewing and a happy day in Windsor.

This Papier – mache sculpture that I made in the 1980’s, (having just left art college), is coming up for sale through Chorleys Auction house Gloucester , at 10 am on May 15th 2018 . I used to sell through Rooksmoor Gallery Stroud at that time ….  estimate £60 – £80 .

Lot 361: Zoe Cameron . Seaside Beauty/signed and dated to base 1981/papier-mâché, 56cm high

http://www.chorleys.com

This small watercolour is of my old embattled cat,  once a stray. Now in his dotage, he is my constant companion . As I watch him in deep slumber, warm and safe, his paws and whiskers twitch as relives his  youthful adventures .

Taken from a poem about a cat by Pablo Neruda –

Sometimes it grew so much in sleep

Like a tiger’s great-grandfather,

And would leap in the darkness over

Rooftops, clouds and volcanoes.

For all lovely Mums on Mothering Sunday ….. and remembering those not with us x.

Doreen’s Anemones.Oil on board.

(The lavender heart is made by the crochet queen Mary Redden).

I would like to wish my dear friends a Happy Christmas, and a healthy & peaceful New Year x . Raise your glass to all those we love that are no longer with us, for they remain in our hearts and thoughts x.

Me and my friend Mark, playing Lady Penelope and Parker on the village green in the 1960’s.

Christmas is a time we try and spend with our families. It is also a time of year I especially miss loved ones that are no longer with us .This painting made in 2009 , depicts a small group of female members of my family.

I have placed my grandmother in the centre of this picture wearing a hat, and wings to denote her passing . She is painted as a young woman before she married and went on to have 7 children . To her left is her beloved sister Dora who died in childhood . My mother is on her right , wearing a ballet dress, she has always loved dancing, especially when she was young . I am the child on the far left , wearing an Hawaiian costume that my Grandmother made for me to enter a fancy dress competition, memorable because I was chosen to give the lady Mayoress flowers ,  it seems I had a nice curtsey . On the ground close to my mothers ballet shoes is a heart shaped pendent , which holds the picture of my much loved little sister who now has her own daughter . We stand in front of a distant horizon , as girls or young women , before starting on our adult life journeys .

Film maker Buttz and I spent time this year, on a warm summers day at St Breaca Church , Breage , Cornwall. It’s a beautiful ancient Cornish church that houses some wonderful early Christian murals. This space holds for us all, a peace and tranquility, that for me can only be found in nature or other ancient churches.

I was sad to hear the news about Cornwall Councillor Candy Atherton . I met her many years ago when I painted a her portrait .

We met the first time at her home in 2002 , and I remember there was some excitement, as she was about to be married, and showed me her pretty wedding dress.  I then began working on ideas for this painting, and felt at the time, it was important to include her engagement ring within the final portrait, to mark that happy time in her life.

In this short film by Buttz Mulvey, I try to give some insight into the stories behind my painting at All Saints Church, Marazion.

To all those visiting Helston on Flora Day, have a happy time!

These paintings will be at the Lander Gallery in Truro, Cornwall until June 4 2016. The Gallery Cafe is always a nice place to stop and have a cup of tea too !

This is a large oil painting made in 2009 depicting Ken Livingston. It’s title is ‘Recycling Ken’. At that time I decided to have him remade,  in my mind he is being sewn into a draught excluder, as I have always found him a bit of a wind bag.

Here are some of the pieces that left my studio in December 2015, destined to become Christmas gifts.

A Portrait commission –  oil on wood. This triple portrait was painted onto a pine wooden box, designed to be both useful, and a reminder in years to come of the families happy times. Inside the musical angel is symbolic for one of the family.

Two painted wooden tea boxes.

Two cases designed to hold spectacles, painted with angels.

‘An angel singing to birds’. Oil and gold leaf on board.

I was sad to hear of the death of 82 year old Cynthia Payne last Sunday. She was a real character and a sweet lady with a twinkle in her eye . Some years ago I met her at one of Lord Bath’s Do’s, at a London Embassy. Before parting she gave me her card , when I turned it over it had this message on the back …. she was cheeky !

The ancient Church of St Breaca , found in the Cornish village of Breage , is known for its beautiful medieval murals one of which shows St Christopher carrying Christ as a child on his shoulder .

Last year I made a painting for Godolphin Chapel in St Breaca Church  , it depicts Mary with Christ as a child.  My hope was that by hanging the painting on the wall, originally to the left of the altar , that the image of Mary and Christ might in some way welcome visitors that enter , particularly as the space is also known as a healing chapel. For that reason I did not paint Christ as a babe in arms, as to me, this is a demanding time for any mother, rather, I chose to present them more informally, Christ as a small child, wrapping himself in his his Mothers cloak, compositionally freeing Mary , to ‘connect’ with the visitor  .

On 1st Nov 2015 , we attended a Sunday Service taken by Father Peter, a small part of the ceremony marked the refurbishment of The Godolphin Chapel ,( which is connected historically with the Godolphin family and Godolphin House, now a part of the National Trust) . The little Chapel now has new chairs, kneelers , an oak altar rail and wooden chest made by Trefor Bowen and I am pleased to be able to say that ‘The St Breaca Madonna, now hangs permanently in the Chapel, to the right of the altar by request. It seems the congregation wanted to be able to see her in the chapel from their seats , while attending service in the main church .

Last weekend we had to take down Ivy that had grown on the house walls. It was causing real damage . The problem was that our much loved resident sparrows had made it their home, so, after a sleepless night, listening to the rain lashing outside and imagining them clinging on to bare twigs in the dark and rain I made them these. I cut up old boxes , reassembled them, painted them up and today they have been put up in the porch ready for new occupants.

Cathy came to visit me at the studio last week and took a new selection of my paintings back to The Square Gallery. So if you feel like getting some fresh air, blow away those cobwebs, watch the boats bobbing on the sea and pop into the Gallery. You will receive a friendly welcome and get to see lots of inspiring work by Cornish based artists.

As the BBC are presenting ‘All Change at Longleat’ this evening at 9pm. I thought I would look out the study I have, which I made of the Marquess of Bath in 2002. It was painted at Longleat, in his private apartments.

He was a very sweet host , happy for me to check out his wardrobe for colours and fabrics I thought best suited him , but more than that, he was a very patient sitter and interesting to chat with as I worked away mixing colours , reworking parts of the painting as I tried to catch his sparkle and a likeness.

Back in my studio in Cornwall , I used the painting as reference for the large oil portrait I made of him with Boudicca his dog .  It now hangs at Longleat House.

Having heard on the news this morning that an Abattoir in Yorkshire was being investigated for cruelty to sheep and lambs, (kicking them in the head) . I thought I would post details from two larger paintings , that honour these beautiful animals.

1.‘Cornish sheep farm’ . I painted this in January, where the lambs and sheep are happy, well cared for and warm .

2.‘St Breaca Madonna and Child’ detail, a painting made for the Godolphin Chapel Breage.

The image of the lamb is a symbol that dates back to early Christian Art , eg The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, a sacrificial offering, John the Baptist, and many more references .

A small collection of my paintings are available from Haluna Gallery.

Last week a client and I picked up a commission that had been framed by Eat Art. Mark and his team did a super job, on this frame he used walnut and gold leaf, the finish is beautiful. It is always interesting deciding how best to frame a piece of work,  on this occasion  the client was a designer & maker, so between the three of us we had plenty of ideas to throw into the pot .

Last year I was commissioned to make an oil portrait by a lovely client who lives up country. I completed the painting over the summer and I am pleased to say, it will soon be hanging where it belongs.

Here are a few details taken of the work.

As the weather was so pleasant this summer, I decided to spend some time painting the work for Breage Church in the garden, it was lovely and the paint dried quickly, a bit of a luxury.

Recently working in the shed  , with the door ajar I could hear our flock of resident sparrows arguing in the bushes as I prepared and primed boards ready for my next body of work.

These photographs record the chapel as it was on Saturday 30th August 2014, decorated with paintings and flowers. The painting Madonna and Child will remain on site .

Thanks to everyone who helped, came along and took part on Saturday,  it was a busy and very enjoyable day, and importantly, raised funds for the church.

The  ‘St Brecea Madonna & Child’ is currently only on view during services because of concerns about security , however if you would like to view the painting , you are welcome to contact the churchwarden Trefor Bowen to arrange a time . Telephone – 01326 562 521

Photographs above. Ian Kingsnorth Photography.

Below photographs by Trefor Bowen

One of Zoe Cameron’s paintings which will be on display in St Breaca Church in Breage, near Helston, on Saturday

The 11 oil paintings were especially made by Zoe Cameron for the Godolphin Chapel at St Breaca Church.An artist whose Stations of the Cross series is enjoyed by worshippers at Truro Cathedral every Easter will be holding a one-day exhibition of new religious work in the village of Breage, near Helston, this week.

One of the most striking pieces depicts the war in Syria and represents conflict in the world. It is accompanied by flower paintings on either side, which act as symbolic memorials to the suffering and loss of war.

Zoe, who lives near Helston, said: “This painting was inspired by a news report I heard in June about a woman living in Syria. She told a reporter that in the morning she was making breakfast for her family when she heard a helicopter flying over her house. They dropped a bomb which destroyed her home and shattered he husband’s leg. This troubled me, and I decided to make a painting about it.

“So when this opportunity to put work together in the chapel at St Breaca Church came along, it seemed appropriate to show the painting there for the first time.”

Several of the pieces going on display in Breage this Saturday feature angels, including two small paintings about St Ives.

“Canvases of Adam and Eve will be fitted into the chapel’s oak entrance doors, the subject intended to remind visitors of the biblical creation story,” said Zoe. “A large Madonna and Child will hang to the left of the altar, in which Jesus is depicted standing as a small child, almost absent-mindedly wrapping himself in his mother’s red cloak. And under their feet, the decoration echoes the worn pattern found on the Godolphin Chapel wall.”

Zoe has worked as a lecturer at Falmouth College of Art and Design, Cornwall College, Plymouth University and Exeter University, and led workshops at Tate St Ives. She has held solo shows in Bristol, St Ives, Saltram, Truro, Topsham and Penzance, as well as contributing to numerous mixed exhibitions.

Describing herself as “a believer”, she added: “Although this may be something of a generalisation, I do believe that most Christians are trying to make the world a better place.”

Paintings by Zoe Cameron can be seen at St Breaca Church in Breage, near Helston, on Saturday, August 30, from 11am to 3pm. Admission is free and much of the work on display will be for sale as part of the village’s fundraising event.

Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/s-Religious-paintings-reflect-traditional-modern/story-22820677-detail/story.html#ixzz3Bs2uelAC
Read more at http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/s-Religious-paintings-reflect-traditional-modern/story-22820677-detail/story.html#LRQTiMv8T56FdRHF.99http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/s-Religious-paintings-reflect-traditional-modern/story-22820677-detail/story.html

Summer Party and Secret Postcard Auction.

I was pleased to be invited to contribute to this summers fund raiser, and was in very good company.

This painting went missing some years ago. If anyone has seen it , or has any information regarding its whereabouts, it would be much appreciated.

Recently while watching the news , a woman in Syria was interviewed, she said that in the morning she was making breakfast for her husband and children when she heard the sound of a bomb falling , the next thing she knew her house had been destroyed and her husband had lost a leg  . Troubled by her story, I made a painting.

A friend of mine is going to Mount Athos, The Holy Mountain . There are twenty monasteries in close proximity and  no women for over 1,000 years. I found out more on this YouTube film.

An interview with Donna Birrell, BBC Radio Cornwall on Sunday morning, 20th April 2014. Recorded at Truro Cathedral , talking about the paintings, The Stations of The Cross.

The interview, including her conversation with Canon Philip can be found at  02:37:12 during the program. http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/p01x3dgg/

Sorry no longer available on BBC.

The Chapel paintings will be on view a little longer than expected, now until May 1st 2014.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11132343.Truro_Cathedral_unveils_Easter_exhibition/?ref=erec

A kind friend at Truro Cathedral sent me this article to read because it reminded her of my painting of Veronica .

It is a dilema as a figurative painter , what to put in and what to leave out, especially because it seems, as the article suggests,  almost human nature to want to see as much as we can of God, through Jesus face as a man, even as means of contemplation.  It is I suppose, something we learn as babies , the face is the point of focus where we read each others feelings and thoughts . Bach’s chorals in avoiding visual imagery in favour of music , words and imagination perhaps offer a more uncluttered route to meditation, it seems close in many ways to abstract painting , a bit like using colour, shape and our imagination.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10730738/Bach-and-the-icon-of-Jesuss-face.html#disqus_thread

The Stations of the Cross have been put in place in The All Saints Chapel, and are on view this year for three weeks until 21st April 2014.

This small, simple piece of work in the form of a travel diptych, interprets the stories of  St Christopher crossing the water with  Jesus (as a baby) on his shoulders, and to the right, Christ on The Cross.

The oil paintings leave the studio next week,  destined for their new owner.

The ten site specific oil paintings of ‘Stations of The Cross’ , will be on view this year in All Saints Chapel,  Truro Cathedral , Cornwall from 3rd April until 21st of April 2014.

The booklet that accompanies the work, combining prayer and ancient poems, will also be available during this time.

I took a trip on the ferry, and delivered the new work to Cathy at the Gallery, St Mawes. The village really is a pretty place to spend time .

A small collection of new oil paintings will be arriving at The Square Gallery, St Mawes the second week of October. Four of the works are directly inspired by old photographs of St Mawes and its characters. The annual Carnival, Castle and a Ship Wreck can all be found in the narrative of these new paintings .

Cathy , Mark and their team will give you a friendly welcome if you are passing and pop in.

email – squaregallery@mac.com    Phone Gallery  01326 270720 or 01326 318616

A ten minute film about Buttz, painting his portrait and its unveiling at Lander Gallery, will go out this Monday evening  9 – 10 pm , (in the 2nd half of the show). On SKY 212 or Freesat 401.

The film documenting the process of having a portrait made can be viewed with these links.  The subject/sitter & film maker is Buttz Yoddles of Jardis films/BUTTZTV.

Part 1. Drawing & getting to know the sitter – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIGFW6uUVgI

Part 2 . Composing the figure on the board & underpainting – http://www.youtube.com/watchv=JcP75UNsfQ4&feature=youtu.be

Part 3 . Painting  – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPQa5N9vbY

Part 4 . Bringing the painting to a conclusion & framing – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VfPSnjecjA

Part 5. Lander Gallery Truro, the unveiling – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-H1XfFU194&feature=youtu.be

The life size portrait of Buttz Yoddles was unveiled at Lander Gallery Truro, on Friday 6th September, to a good humoured audience full of tea and scones. This concludes the filming of ‘Portrait of a Punk’, which is made up of 5 parts, and can be viewed on Youtube , links to follow. Here are a few photos of the day.

Friday September 6th 2013, Lander Gallery, Lemon St Market, Truro at 2.30.pm.

Zoe Cameron’s latest work will be publicly unveiled for the conclusion of a documentary film.

Punk Singer & Filmmaker, has been making a video  documentary on the subject of sitting for a professional portrait.   The pair will be joined by SKY TV for a short piece regarding this film,.. and discussing the documentary “Livin’ Out Rock ‘N Roll” (produced by Paolo Sedazzari) about Buttz’s career in the London punk scene through the 80’s. The film has just had it’s premiere in London’s Soho, and been selected to show at the CBGB’s film & music festival New York, this October. It also has a screening on the 30th August at the Portobello Film Festival London.

The portrait will be unveiled  by Olympic and World record holding swimming coach Jon Rudd of the Leander Swimming Academy Plymouth who happens to be a fan of Buttz’s bands “The Babysitters” And “Last of the Teenage Idols”.

 

This summer, the ten ‘Stations of The Cross’ paintings will be returning to Truro Cathedral, in the All Saints Chapel.  They can be seen from Sunday 4th of August until Sunday 1st of September 2013. The booklet that accompanies the work, combining prayer and ancient poems, will also available during this time.

The Punk portrait is finished after five weeks and now being framed. There will be a public ‘unveiling’ at a Gallery in Truro. We will be there along with a Sky TV film crew to complete the story, of what happens when you have a portrait painted. We will post the time and date soon.

Currently working on a portrait of a Punk Rocker. This will be made into a little film for YouTube , showing the artists working process.

Returning to Venice in April gave me a chance to revisit Ca Rezzonica, which houses a wonderful art collection , the work of Longhi is special to me, he is the equivalent of a venetian Charles Dickens, his paintings are full of gentle humour, social comment and observation. G B Tiepolo’s ceiling fresco’s found there are another pleasure. Hotel Ca Sagredo has examples of both on their walls and ceiling , amazing.

Detail of oil painting by Longhi

Tiepolo ceiling Ca’Sagredo

On a recent visit to see family in USA , I visited the Detroit Institute of Arts or DIA . It is well worth a look if you are in the area.

It has a lovely collection, including Paula Modershon-Becker, Max Beckman, Oska Kokoshka and of course the Diego Rivera walls.

http://www.dia.org/object-info/c5404b86-5119-436d-a882-e76b67e4dc1b.aspx

Last few days this year , to view The Stations of The Cross paintings in All Saints Chapel at Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, UK .

These are the remaining dates of meditation and prayer before The Stations of The Cross paintings , in the All Saints Retro Choir, Truro Cathedral. They begin at 12 Noon.

March – Wed 13th, Wed 20th, Mon 25th, Tues 26th, Wed 27th.

A collection of 18 paintings made in response to long distance telephone conversations the artist had with her younger sister.