I have just taken delivery in the studio, of this recycled wooden chair . It is the second that I have had made from drawings, by a friend and carpenter, he can make and fix almost anything …. brilliant !

After some trial and error I decided on these base colours , which suite the theme I have in mind, but these colours may or may not remain dominant, that will depend on how it all develops and comes together over the coming weeks.

So this will keep me busy for a while.

Right , music on ….. ideas flowing ….. paints lined up, a pile of brushes, empty pots, rags, some soapy water and we are off!

There are artists who lift the spirit with their paintings, perhaps with their skill, portrayal of great beauty,  colour or narrative , top of that list for me with his figurative and very personal choice of subject matter is Ben Hartley 1933 – 1996 .

When Ben died, he bequeathed all of his work to Bernard Samuels who was then Director of Plymouth Arts Centre , and in response Bernard put on many exhibitions and made publications sharing these lovely works with us all. Pigs Must Eat on Sunday, by Green Books ltd , remains a much treasured gift on my bookshelves from a dear friend who many years ago introduced to his work . We both enjoyed Bens wonderful observation and the tender humour in his work .

Bernard later discovered letters that Ben wrote to Susan his niece in Manchester during the 1960’s , which were compiled into a book of his drawings of rural life, entitled, Dear Susan by Ben Hartley.

I shall continue to enjoy his uplifting work, perfect any day, but especially on rainy or sad days x.

Link- (which doesn’t seem to be working just now , but it was the authentic site )http://www.ben-hartley.co.uk

Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride,

friendship without envy, or beauty without vanity?

Here where grace is laced with muscle and strength by gentleness confined.

Lines from ‘The Horse’ by Ronald Duncan. © (Copyright of) the Ronald Duncan Literary Foundation

I was reading an article the other day and thought , they are odd bedfellows, profit hungry firms and animal welfare practices. It seems that there has been a call for Equity Giants to be investigated as more than half of Uk Veterinary practices are now owned by six companies, creating a monopoly.

In advertising, subliminal methods are used all the time to encourage us to make purchases , we are encouraged …. subliminally to think we need some new cream or a particular car to live happy lives. So this works on that psychological spectrum , as pet owners know only too well , a sick animal is family , our defences come down when we go in search of urgent help. So does that make us animal lovers perfect prey for the profit hungry companies? It would appear so, if the newspaper reports are true.

There are stories of pet owners having problems with some private equity vets, being in some way held to ransom, by the prices of out of hours clinics in an emergency. I read that Tory peer Lord Blencathra has become involved and doesn’t want our pets health to be in the hands of venture capital firms and asks for an ‘immediate freeze’ on private companies buying UK veterinary practices, which sounds very sensible.

It seems Medivet, has more than 300 practices and is part-owned by Inflexion Private Equity, which has referred to its vets as ‘cash-generating units’. IVC Evidensia owns 993 vet practices out of around 6,000 in total. It’s owned by Swedish private equity group EQT, with food giant Nestle holding a minority stake. Where did James Herriot and his values and priorities go, all the while we remain in the dark about these mergers and the price links between what we had imagined were different vet practises. Worse, where does that leave the sick animals belonging those unable to meet the inflated costs?

In the meantime , I realise that the majority of vets and their teams have only animal welfare at the forefront of their actions, if they answer the equity companies or not. However , If this take over bothers you, as it does me , you might like to check out your own vets status .

A dogs loyalty is well recognised the world over , their forgiveness and love is so bountiful, even from those that have short and pitiful lives . In my experience having a dog as part of the family is brilliant, sometimes messy , occasionally worrying but mostly good fun and a laugh. The worst and hardest bit, is when you have to say goodbye, they leave a massive dog shaped hole in your heart. In this post I want to honour all dogs with a few of my paintings and some wonderful vintage photos,( unfortunately I am not sure who took those), they all record some very special relationships x .

To support St Petroc’s: https://www.stpetrocs.org.uk

This poem by Edna St Vincent Millay, for me, sums up when they have sadly gone.

Mindful of you the sodden earth in spring,

    And all the flowers that in the springtime grow,

    And dusty roads, and thistles, and the slow

Rising of the round moon, all throats that sing

The summer through, and each departing wing,

    And all the nests that the bared branches show,

    And all winds that in any weather blow,

And all the storms that the four seasons bring.

You go no more on your exultant feet 

    Up paths that only mist and morning knew,

Or watch the wind, or listen to the beat

    Of a bird’s wings too high in air to view,—

But you were something more than young and sweet

    And fair,—and the long year remembers you.

With this little painting, I would like to pay my respects to all those who have lost loved ones and friends in recent months, it’s life changing and painful . Today, like many of us, my thoughts are with Her Majesty the Queen, the royal family and friends who mourn the loss of Prince Philip ,The Duke of Edinburgh.

Today as part of Lent, the Christian community commemorates Angel Gabriel’s visit to The Virgin Mary . His message is that she will conceive a son , and that he will be called Jesus.

Traditionally known as Lady Day, it’s been celebrated since the fourth and Fifth centuries.

In this painting , my long-suffering sister modelled for me , dressing up, trying different poses and staying still . That day there was a lot of experimenting, and we spent some time discussing just how Mary might have felt about the appearance of an angel and the news he gave her . In the end it was Mary’s modesty and grace that decided this pose, although I did make some other studies that danced to a slightly different beat ……

It would seem odd not to mention – This morning, a Culdrose plane crashed in a field in our village, thankfully I am told the two airmen had ejected from the falling craft, and are now safe . The emergency services and recovery people where on site in minutes. My thanks to the pilots who manoeuvred the plummeting aircraft away from dwellings and to all of those who did such a professional job during this emergency, x.

In progress.

I was given a small posy of flowers and wanted to capture them before they faded. In the end, I decided to use a bright palette of colours to hasten spring… in my studio at least.

Work continues.

Enjoy your weekend x

This is my old rescue dog Ruby, part whippet part terrier. She was known for sharing happiness and any food you might have. When I had a painting studio at Porthleven on the harbour, in the old net lofts, she would come with me each day . While I worked, she would snooze in the chair until lunch time when we’d take a walk to blow the cobwebs away, then it was back to painting for me and back to sleep for her. Contented , with twitching paws, she’d dream of seeing the Ship Inn cat again tomorrow !

Hope is the thing with feathers

by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

Image taken from the inside lid of a painted box : DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, I LOVE YOU.

Hokusai returned again and again to Mount Fuji as subject matter. He considered the mountain to be the source of secret of immortality because of the goddess in the tale of the Bamboo cutter, who deposited the elixir of life at its peak.

Katsushika Hokusai, (1760–1849), is a wonderful artist, printer and engraver. I was introduced to his work at college where I realised I was already familiar with his famous image of the wave, because it is so universally popular. Wood block printing is a real craft, a traditional form of art in Japan known as ‘Ukiyo-e’ which refers to pictures printed in many colours using woodblocks, and popular in Japan around the 18th century .

He played a significant roll in influencing Western artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries , an influence that is evident in many of the works by Monet, Manet, Renoir and Van Gogh. I was surprised as a student to learn that this influence on the impressionists and post impressionists began, in a way, because of the ceramics that were being exported to the west, they were being wrapped in Ukiyo-e prints, because they were were not valued, and were used as wrapping paper to protect the pots on their journey. Of course when the western artists saw how different they were, their influence began to spread .

These images come from the series of 36 and more wood block prints that Hokusai made of Mount Fuji, and I this thought it might be a good way to celebrate the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

A special good wish to John Rudd and all , he is leading Ireland’s Swimming and Diving team in this years Olympics.

I have over the years often returned to children and childhood as the subject of my paintings. This follows two paths of exploration, my own childhood memories and experiences, and the lives and moments I witness of children that are part of my family or that I happen to encounter.  

Children are so full of hope, and unencumbered by ego. They live for the moment and embrace life, real or imagined . They trust us to do the right thing, by them and for the world, the same things that mattered to us when we were small, and that so many adults have long since forgotten or abandoned, for whatever reason . 

In some paintings I have explored the moment a child recognises the power they hold over a weaker friend, I wonder, what path will they choose, to be kind or to harm?

Those I know hold a lust for life, like to laugh, are full of hope and want to learn, to know how things work. Viewing the world with humanity and openness, uncluttered by too much analysis. They are good company with amazing ideas, which are refreshing and humbling.

Just a few of the reasons children and childhood continue to inspire my work.

Have a great weekend ! x

I came upon the work of Photographer Craig Easton recently. He has made a wonderful study of contemporary Fisherwomen of the country. In his work he celebrates the roll of women in the fishing Industry, communities and their links to centuries gone.

Living and working in Cornwall I have gained the greatest respect for anyone who lives from the sea, out in all weathers and conditions, when any misjudgment can have serious consequences .

The Newlyn School Artists told of similar stories at the time. Perhaps offered in a less fashonable form. All the same, the painters skill and narrative brought those women to life , they’re faces and clothes, red working hands , the community, and the tragedies .

To find out more about both Craig Easton and some of the Newlyn Artists follow the links below.

https://www.craigeaston.com/fisherwomen

https://www.penleehouse.org.uk

I thought I’d post a painting made in 2008 of flowers and the produce from our garden ….. it wont be long before they are real , and we can enjoy them both in our gardens and on our tables . Hang on in there x.

Today Aesops wisdom rang in my ears. His stories sum up human frailties and universal life lessons for us all, a narrative that a few people in the public eye could benefit from right now.

self-aggrandisement#destructive cycles of behaviour#mental health.

It was world Pangolin day this month, highlighting their need for our help. Life for everyone is without doubt, very complicated and difficult right now , but as a painter, the disturbance I feel in my heart and head for environmental crime continues . It was in 2018, prompted by disquiet when their plight was first brought to the worlds attention, that I made this little Ex Votive painting about Pangolins, sweet natured , minding their own business, just living in the forest, but if found, their gruesome fate is made evident in the background of this picture.

Sir David Attenborough is vice -president of this conservation charity, if you’d like to give them a hand in what they do, here is the link .

https://www.fauna-flora.org/appeals/protect-our-pangolins

Another blog – endangered-species-our-planet/

On this day, and everyday …. we share in remembering .

Who tilts the scales?

Wishing you good health & happiness in 2021!

I came across these enlightened words of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, they seem pertinent as we consider our futures, and that of our planet .

Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water.

Lay your bed where the cat sleeps.

Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm.

Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit.

Plant the tree where the mole digs.

Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself.

Dig your fountain where the birds hide from heat.

Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds – you will reap all of the days golden grains.

Eat more green – you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest.

Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water.

Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear.

Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.”

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

“for there is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.” 

Milan Kundera, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of being’

Kundera’s novels are intense , and realms of moral judgment are suspended . As a young man in communist Czechoslovakia, he turned to the novel. Kundera recalls: The only thing I deeply, avidly, wanted was a lucid, unillusioned eye. I finally found it in the art of the novel. This is why for me being a novelist was more than just working in one “literary genre” rather than another; it was an outlook, a wisdom, a position . . . a considered, stubborn, furiousnonidentification.

It was as a young painter that I first discovered Kundera’s books, thinking at the time that his particular method of writing bore similarities to my partners working process, he was a painter. Revisiting one his books in my studio this week, it sparked my own thoughts about distortion in art and in life.

Kundera, in his collection of Essays entitled, Encounters, one of the cultural figures he considers is the Irish born figurative painter Francis Bacon, he asks the question, “Up to what degree of distortion does an individual still remain himself?” It’s a question that resonates throughout the book. To what degree can we be distorted by violence and fear … in short, by history … and still be ourselves? Kundera sees this distortion everywhere, a distortion that art and artists embrace and explore. 

He described Bacon’s portraits as “an interrogation on the limits of the self, and considers “the brutal gesture” , the “hand movement that roughs up another person’s face in hopes of finding, in it and behind it, something that is hidden there”, and I really do see and understand that driving force in Bacons work.

During our lives, most of us will consider to what degree of distortion does a beloved person still remain a beloved person? For how long does a cherished face growing remote through illness, through madness, through hatred, through death still remain recognizable? Where is the border beyond which a self ceases to be a self?”.

Critics tell us that Kundera’s subjects are mirrors, offering variously distorted reflections on his own work and situation, perhaps so. He did say, with reference to a remark by Francis Bacon about Beckett: “When one artist is talking about another, he is always talking (indirectly, in a roundabout way) of himself, and that is what’s valuable in his judgment,” so that does offer us some insight into himself and others .

Milan Kundera, Encounter

Milan Kundera and Francis Bacon, who transcend the mundane .

For all good Dads and those who have stepped in , have a lovely day x.

While civilisations moral compass lays trampled underfoot by so many in the world…. as reported 24/7 in the media. I hope that you can find peace of mind and good health on this wet and windy Sunday. So I thought I’d share with you this gentle painting of my cat and garden fruits painted in 2010, and show you the boxes of new paints that have just arrived in my studio and that will keep me busy. I hope that these colourful jewels … or these tubes of old holland oil paint, will aid my studio alchemy, we shall see x.

On April 15th 2019 the world watched in disbelief as the ancient Cathedral of Notre Dame burnt  before our eyes. This precious architectural Icon and Gothic landmark , built from oak and love was lost, along with much of its contents . 

Like so many others I was in awe of its beauty, scale, and the skill of the craftsmen who created that link between earth and heaven . 

This small Ex Votive painting marked that time . Today, two years on the restoration and funding to rebuild continues.

https://www.restoringnotredame.com

I awoke this morning and listened to the news on the radio about Scottish politics. I wondered why the name Alba was so familiar to me. Then I remembered Alfred Wallis’s painting. For some years, like a number of other local artists, I worked freelance at The Tate St Ives to lead workshops and tours, to offer an artists insight into their changing exhibitions.

This is the work of Alfred Wallis, a fascinating painter, self taught and sadly much faked. But his influence on the Post war artists from London, like Ben Nicholson , Hepworth and Christopher Wood is well known. His knowledge of the tides and sea evident in his paintings of ships and boats in a variety of situations and places. He was a mariner who had a variety of occupations, including scrap. In his painting below which belongs to the Tate he has recorded the terrible event of the wrecking of the Panamanian Steamer, the Alba , off Porthmeor beach in the winter of 1938.

Fellow painter , specialist in Wallis’s work and gent Rob Jones has written a great book about the man, to find out more : https://www.robertjonesartist.com/alfred-wallis-artist-mariner/

I watch with interest the ongoing Scottish political wrangles and wonder if ‘Alba’ will safely navigate their stormy seas .

Mental health is important for all sentient beings, and I include animals here. Our life experiences and our response to the difficulties along the way will be different for each of us, as will the quality of help and support.

What do I see when I pass a homeless person in a doorway …. a victim or someone accountable for their own situation and perhaps self destructive actions ? ‘There but for the grace of god go I’ my grandmother would have said to me as a child, she always gave half a crown to the tramp that lived in the woods on the way to my primary school . However she was also a shrewd judge of character, and could spot a user or ‘ner do well’ a mile off, to them she gave neither her time nor energy.

In 2018 the ‘beast from the east’ visited our shores, rough sleepers were helped and some interviewed , one particular comment made by a chap called Dave stuck in my mind, he said ‘I just want to go to heaven’ . In response I made this votive painting, and with sadness I contemplated his words, and his wish to escape this world to find a better place. (David is the figure in the hat in the painting above.)

To support St Petroc’s: https://www.stpetrocs.org.uk

Yemen’s ongoing crises continues. Today on the radio, I listened to an article centred around education and the conditions endured by teachers and children in this war torn country . It seems that some teachers haven’t been paid for a year, schools continue to operate amongst the rubble and bomb damage of buildings, they have no chairs, doors, lights or enough food. Children say they have become used to the sound of gun fire and the need everyday to confront the possibility of dying. Still, schools continue to teach and their children remain eager to learn.

Today the UN warn of yet another threat to Yemen , famine, if as expected the Uk go ahead and cut Aid by perhaps as much as 50% . I can’t offer an explanation of the why’s and wherefores of the military campaign lead by by the Saudi Arabian coalition, I leave that to those more informed, but like you, I do witness the impact on civilians. The world is struggling on so many levels environmentally and practically, here with the fallout of the pandemic and in war torn countries where life is literally a fight to stay alive every day.

So, as an artist, it is towards our elected politicians , heads of state , weapon makers and international negotiators I turn my gaze, when I hear the UN make such grave predictions . However , the date of this paintings is a sad reminder to me, for things to get better, there has to be a will for change, and the Yemeni civilians in 2021 , they still wait.

The painting is a Votive offering, made in 2016. Title – One Hundred Painted Vows.

Who tilts the scales?

sacred-visions-stories/

At the end of last year I asked a friend who is a carpenter to make me a wooden chair. I had an idea of design I wanted, as I had seen a beautiful old lambing chair that was made from recycled timber, unified with a coat of paint.

I drew out the chair in pencil on a piece of A4 and with a tape measure I worked out the proportions . As my friend went out the studio door with the design in his pocket he said, “don’t worry I will make it, but I wont fix it , then you can make any changes you don’t like , and I agreed.

Some weeks later a message came to pop in and see the chair, and I nipped over. I had really been looking forward to seeing my drawing transformed into 3D, and finally there it was.

Looking at it from all angles the shape was just as I had hoped . We discussed the parts we liked and those we didn’t, he didn’t like the arms which we changed , and I wanted a drawer under the seat, and so gradually the chair took shape . The heavy recycled oak and pine chair finally arrived complete in my studio just before Christmas .

I had the in the back of my mind that this might be a ‘thinking chair’ , a space in which one feels safe and relaxed. The kind of chair that is rarely empty in any pub or meeting place and that has a good view out of a window. In the meantime, I put it in the corner of the studio to get used to its shape, and to consider how best to paint it…..

It was in the new year that ideas of colours and imagery began to emerge, and I started work. This method of working was all about putting paint on and taking it off or painting over the next day. But, this process did build up rich multiple layers and developed transitory imagery, which I thought could fit the chairs space and form more naturally than applying anything predetermined .

And so here are a few pictures of it in progress and situ. The drawer is a proving to be a useful space, the question is, what should I keep in there… drawing books, gin and tonic or a lamb …. as intended with the traditional chair.

I listened with great optimism to the radio recently, a rare thing with all the sad news and angry discord . The speakers were sharing information about Coronation Meadows .

It seems that in partnership with conservation charity Plantlife , farmland has been reclaimed for wild flowers, in places where the public can visit. The idea celebrates the beauty and diversity of wildflower meadows for The Queen. Sites where photographer Hugo Rittson Thomas has recorded the resulting abundance of orchids, insects and birds.

Environmentally this is great, and something to look forward to when things improve. If like me, you would like to enjoy the spectacle in Cornwall, at Godolphin Meadows Helston, Cornwall, or to find a site else where in Uk, Ireland, Whales, Scotland or our Islands, follow the link below:

http://coronationmeadows.org.uk/meadow/peoples-meadows-in-cornwall

Related blog: https://wp.me/p8Y0MW-IV

To find out more about the charity Plantlife : https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk

Have a lovely home made, hand knitted Christmas !

Stay safe, and don’t eat too many mince pies …. with love, Zoe x