Season's Greetings!

Wishing you the warmest season's greetings and a peaceful, healthy 2018.

Mountain Bathed in Mist 1974 Gouache 11" x 16" - sold

Below Hungerford Bridge 1992.

Canada Goose.

Winter Show 25th November - 8th December...

Blackheath Arts Society will be trying out a new venue in the heart of Greenwich for our Winter selling exhibition. The Greenwich West Café Gallery is in Lovibond Lane, a short new pedestrianised road created just adjacent to Greenwich Railway Station. As usual a huge variety of work will be displayed across a range of mediums. Come and see work by our talented members and if you are local to the area and enjoy painting you might like to join us...

London by Night - Grace Ainley.

Moon Moth - Lindsey Malin.

View from Greenwich Park - Althea Battams.

Barmaid at the Barley Mow - Terry Scales.

West Greenwich Café Gallery

Lovibond Lane

SE10 8JA

Opens 12noon to 7.30pm, closed on Sundays.

To find out more about Blackheath Art Society please visit our website Blackheath Art Society

and our Facebook site.

Cristiana Angelini & Irene Butcher Exhibition 30th October - 2nd December 2017.

I have returned to this exhibition on at West Greenwich Library, a few times now and there is always something new to discover. The exhibition shows a range of work in pastels, drawings and mixed media.

From the mysterious, timeworn detail in the Egyptian pots...

Egyptian Pots - Irene Butcher.

To the quiet intense, drama of the sea...

Breaking Waves Against the Wind - Irene Butcher.

To the joyful Summer and depth of colour in Cristiana's flowers..

The mix of work makes an interesting contrast and encourages you to pause a little longer to take each one in.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Butcher.

The exhibition runs from 30th October to 2nd December 2017 at West Greenwich Library 146 Greenwich High Road, Greenwich SE10 8NN. The artists will be available to tell you a little more about their work and a chance to ask any questions at a 'Meet the Artist Day' on Friday 24th November 3 - 4pm.

Exhibition Opening times;

Monday: 2pm to 7pm

Tuesday: 9am to 5.30pm

Wednesday: Closed

Thursday: 9am to 7pm

Friday: 2pm to 5.30pm

Saturday: 9am to 5pm

Sunday: Closed

Darnley Fine Art, Gordon Scott exhibition 11th - 18th November 2017.

If you missed the recent Abbott and Holder exhibition, Darnley Fine Art Gallery in Chelsea, London is holding a selling exhibition of Gordon's work and would I highly recommend taking this opportunity to visit and see his work. A downloadable catalogue on the site shows a wide range of works; figurative, architectural and street scenes. More information can be found here; http://www.darnleyfineart.com/exhibitions.

Gordon Scott 1914 - 2016, a personal tribute.

I first met Gordon in my first term at Camberwell School of Art in 1946. I was then only 13 years of age. His duties were to teach the Junior Department the history of architecture from the Roman times onward. His first lessons were drawing on a blackboard plans and profiles of various buildings, many from the Gothic period. In later terms he escorted us to view and draw many of the Wren churches in the City. Owing to the flattened spaces caused by the Blitz, our views of Wren edifices were mostly uninterrupted. The City itself was quite silent. In correcting our sketches, Gordon's ability to sum up the structure of a church in a few swift lines greatly impressed his pupils and he became quite popular.

Ten years passed before I met Gordon Scott again. My first teaching engagement at Camberwell was to be his assistant on his drawing classes around the City. Having had the benefit of Gordon's wisdom in my teenage years, I relished the opportunity of working together, since much of what he taught me previously had inspired a life-long interest in architecture and I was now quite knowledgeable.

Throughout our long period as colleagues, as with other staff members, I had never seen any of Gordon's paintings. He did show regularly in the Royal Academy Summer Shows, but many of us despised and refused to visit the Academy. It therefore came as a shock when in 2017 the Abbott and Holder Gallery held a large retrospective of his work. Like many others I was utterly astonished at the brilliance of his paintings. The portraits in particular were very fine and I am emboldened to suggest that all those intense studies of architectural forms strengthened his sense of structure regarding the human form. It is gratifying that his life's work is now being appreciated. I am only sorry it didn't happen in his lifetime.

Golden Harvest, Shoreham

Just going through some records and had forgotten about this work... it would be lovely for it to emerge from the archives and be appreciated in someone's home...!

'Golden Harvest, Shoreham' (Kent). Water and gouache approx. 20" x 16", £550.

Castles and Others...

In 1977 I held my first exhibition of castles held at Woodlands Art Gallery, Blackheath, entitled 'Castles and Others', it also included other buildings in the picturesque tradition.

For the previous 3 years I had toured the country in search of likely subjects. My first discovery was Caernarfon Castle in North Wales.

Caernarfon Castle 1975, oil (sold).

From the top of a medieval wall tower I managed to paint a small oil panel in the midst of difficult circumstances. In the face of a howling wind I was only able to work by stuffing coconut matting into the battlements. Despite the hostile conditions the painting turned out better than I expected partly due to my enjoyment of the symphony of slate grey rooftops surrounding the castle. It was subsequently bought by The Landmark Trust who owned the property and hung it in a room below my rooftop painting perch. 

Then followed drives to Scotney Castle ...

Scotney Castle, Kent (sold).

Saltwood Castle...

Saltwood Castle, Kent 1976 oil on panel (sold). 

and Lauriston Castle near Edinburgh...

Lauriston Castle, 1977, oil on panel (sold).

My nearest subject was the towering landmark at Shooters Hill, Severndroog Castle, built to commemorate a victory on the Malivar Coast in 1735. Severndroog Castle also acted as a beacon for Thames shipping such was its height.

Severndroog Castle, Shooters Hill, oil on panel approx. 18" x 14", £375 (sold).

These paintings are romantic in spirit and owed much to the history and myths surrounding these fortresses. In past centuries artists had enjoyed a close affinity with literature and this produced a rich cross fertilization, very obvious in the painters I most admired such as Thomas Girtin and Turner. By the mid 20th century new developments moved rapidly away from this happy relationship. I personally found these later movements ultimately lacking in depth.

My fascination for Girtin subject matter has also remained constant e.g. river scenes, particularly the Thames, woodland glades, city vistas and also the occasional one house on the edge of a moor! Visionary in mood these latter are painted always from memory from a bank of images many decades old. Although mystery surrounds these isolated dwellings they remain a welcome sight for the weary traveller.

Bishops Palace, Durham 1974 (sold).

Highland Scene with Unidentified Castle, 1978, oil on panel (sold).

Eynesford Castle Kent 2000 £200.

Rochester Castle, from the Cathedral Close, oil on panel (sold).

Built in the early 1700's I have long been impressed by Vanbrugh Castle, high on the skyline overlooking Greenwich Park in South East London.

Vanbrugh Castle, a Winter Scene, 2005, oil on canvas 11.5" x 11.5" £450.

Beginning a medium sized oil of this subject 3 months ago I have just this week completed it. I was surprised at how Gothic in appearance it turned out with a mood of low keyed pervading mystery!

Vanbrugh Castle, a Gothic fantasy, 2017, oil on canvas 24" x 30" £350. 

West Greenwich Library Talk 9th June 2017

The 2 videos below are a recording of the talk I gave at West Greenwich Library in June this year. I hope they give an idea of my background, the city life that shaped me and what led me to become so passionate about painting the Thames. The recordings are by Irene Butcher and Delia Scales. Irene filmed the introduction with the jazzy music and did a brilliant job in editing. Delia, who did most of the filming, admits that as a first attempt at filming it's a bit shaky in places with some unusual angles and close ups but I think they capture the gist of it all! Peter Garretty mastered the mysteries of uploading videos! My thanks to a great team and also to all those people that attended the talk and I hope it will be of interest now to many that didn't. Thank you also to West Greenwich Library for their generous support, they truly are a fantastic local resource.    

Part 1

Part 2

Vogue!

Just found out that I'm in this months' edition of Vogue, sadly not for my great fashion sense but for an image of London featuring alongside an article by Cristina Ruiz...

Blackheath Halls Summer Exhibition

Last chance to visit our fantastic Summer exhibition at Blackheath Halls, the exhibition is open until Thursday 29th June 10AM - 5PM daily. For more information please visit our Facebook page https://en-gb.facebook.com/www.blackheathartsociety.org.uk/ . This year the society celebrates it's 70th anniversary and as such is the oldest art society in London, launched in 1947 with Graham Sutherland as first President.

A Huge Thank You!

To everyone who visited the exhibition and to all those who made it to the talk and to West Greenwich Library who hosted the exhibition and were so generous with their help and support.I have hugely enjoyed this trip down memory lane and hope you did too? For those that missed the talk but would like to see it I will be posting a video of the talk on this blog soon.

Photo courtesy of Irene Butcher

Photo courtesy of Irene Butcher

West Greenwich Library

West Greenwich Library is a grade 11 listed building designed by Sir A B Thomas in the early 20th Century. It has been greatly loved and valued by the local community over many years as a haven for learning and a quiet place to knuckle down and work or study. More recently exciting events take place there which are advertised by the library. You can find more information on their Facebook page plus a great (first attempt!) video of the Private View for the current exhibition https://m.facebook.com/West-Greenwich-Library-118580911529228/#_=_  . The Library is helped by the Friends of West Greenwich Library, you can find out more about them here;  http://www.greenwichlibrary.org/greenwich-library/friends-of-greenwich-library/ . Please help keep this valuable community resource going by joining up, it's very reasonable and they help support the following;

• Children’s Outreach: supports the Summer Reading and Reading Readiness programs and partners with the Head Start program to encourage development of early literacy reading skills
• Greenwich Library’s Book Van: provides weekly delivery and pick-up service to senior residences in Greenwich
• The Friends Friday Film series: for nearly 40 years has provided an eclectic mix of new releases, classics and foreign films
• Children’s Programs and Shows: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Grammy winners Brady Rymer and the Little Band that Could
• Concerts in our Cole Auditorium: distinguished Musicians from Marlboro and pianist Jeremy Denk
• The Flinn Gallery: offers a range of exhibits focused on contemporary artists.
• The Oral History Project: a collection of more than 800 interviews with people who have helped to make or witnessed Greenwich history.

Contact Anne Shafqat in the Friends Office (203) 622-7938, or email the Friends Office.

Scenes from Post-War London 1946 - 1960 exhibition

Some photos from the exhibition currently on at West Greenwich Library...

Photo courtesy of Irene Butcher

Photo courtesy of Irene Butcher

Photo courtesy of Irene Butcher

Scenes from Post-War London. The Early Paintings of Terry Scales.

9th May - 10th June.

West Greenwich Library, 146 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8NN.

Opening times;
Monday: 2pm to 7pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5.30pm
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 9am to 7pm
Friday: 2pm to 5.30pm
Saturday: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: Closed

Date of artist talk; 9th June 3 - 4 pm, free.

Blackheath Art Society 70th Anniversary Show

Our 70th Anniversary Show will be held at Blackheath Halls, 23 Lee Road, SE3 9RG from 3 to 29th June. More details to follow...

Scenes from Post-War London 1946 - 1960 exhibition

This is the last of my blogs relating to the 3 large paintings that will be on show at West Greenwich Library 9th May - 10th June 2017...

Detail from 'Before Canary Wharf' , oil on canvas, 28" x 37". £900.

Throughout the 50's and 60's the City of London spread itself serenely with only St Paul's Dome being a lone focal point when viewed from the heights of Greenwich Park. Between the South and the North bank in spite of the river there seemed to be a continuity. All this radically changed when the dynamic tower of Canary Wharf thrust skyward, followed some years later by the construction of a new cubist city. I have made several paintings of this before and after spectacle. This particular work explores the lower reaches of Greenwich Park with just a few industrial chimneys in the middle distance. Originally painted in 1960 and called 'Looking West' I re-titled it 'Before Canary Wharf' as it had such a dramatic impact on the view. The image above is a detail from the larger work.  

Not in the exhibition but by way of illustrating the contrast is this view...

Modern City Ancient Shore , oil on canvas.

Initially I was against the notion of a skyscraper opposite the Royal Naval College but when it was built I was fascinated by the way it changed colour and responded to the light of day. 

More information about the exhibition here and here and by scrolling down below!

Scenes from Post-War London. The Early Paintings of Terry Scales.

9th May - 10th June.

West Greenwich Library, 146 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8NN.

Opening times;
Monday: 2pm to 7pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5.30pm
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 9am to 7pm
Friday: 2pm to 5.30pm
Saturday: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: Closed

Date of artist talk; 9th June 3 - 4 pm, free.

Scenes from Post-War London 1946 - 1960 exhibition

BBC4 is repeating the excellent Timeshift programme Sailors, Ships & Stevedores: The Story of British Docks this evening at 8pm.

In the forthcoming exhibition I will be showing the following prints from when I worked as a sketch artist for Surdoc magazine...

Arthur Henry Goodwin.

Bill Waymouth.

Denis O'Gorman.

Sister Edwards.

Scenes from Post-War London. The Early Paintings of Terry Scales.

9th May - 10th June.

West Greenwich Library, 146 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8NN.

Opening times;
Monday: 2pm to 7pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5.30pm
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 9am to 7pm
Friday: 2pm to 5.30pm
Saturday: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: Closed

Date of artist talk; 9th June 3 - 4 pm, free.

Getting ready for the exhibition...

More information about the exhibition here and here

Vanbrugh Castle from Greenwich Park

This unframed painting was made from a quick pen and ink sketch and completed with watercolours in 2017. The view of Vanbrugh Castle is from the west side of Greenwich Park.

Vanbrugh Castle from Greenwich Park, pen & ink & watercolour, approx 11"x 16", £300 - sold.

I've always loved painting castles, below is a slightly battered Private View card for an exhibition held in 1978 entitled 'Castles & Others, 50 Romantic Landscapes'. 

Visiting Jay

This watercolour painting was made from a drawing I made in the back garden. I had no idea what the colourful bird was until I looked it up and discovered it was a Jay. It is unframed and for sale at £300.

Visiting Jay, approx 11" x 16", watercolour, £300.

To see more work like this please visit the 'Nature and Landscapes' page.

Warehouse Destroyed by Fire

'Warehouse Destroyed by Fire' was painted in 1948 and was a scene I saw in a nearby street. It was gutted by incendiary bombs and left for some years after the war ended. My painting was developed from memory and the experience of witnessing similar devastation on returning to London from my evacuation to Devon.

Detail from 'Warehouse Destroyed by Fire' 1948, oil on canvas, size 40" x 50", £950.   

So much rebuilding needed to be done, hopeless sites too difficult to repair were left in abeyance while more important reconstruction took precedence throughout the late 1940's. The above image is a detail from the much larger canvas and shows the dramatic composition of the girders, like charred bones reaching upwards. these contrast further with the diminutive scale of the scurrying figures below - to see these and the painting in full please visit my forthcoming exhibition at West Greenwich Library, details are below;  

Scenes from Post-War London. The Early Paintings of Terry Scales.

9th May - 10th June.

West Greenwich Library, 146 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8NN.

Opening times;
Monday: 2pm to 7pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5.30pm
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 9am to 7pm
Friday: 2pm to 5.30pm
Saturday: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: Closed

Date of artist talk; 9th June 3 - 4 pm, free.

Marie Hanging Washing

Marie hanging washing was painted in 1959 and will be exhibited in the forthcoming exhibition 'Scenes of Post-War London - the early paintings of Terry Scales'. The section below is a detail from the larger canvas and shows a scene I witnessed day after day. In the late 1950's Marie was my neighbour in our South Bermondsey village of Prefabs. So strict was the timing of her washing ritual I could set my wristwatch by it.

Detail from Marie hanging Washing, oil on canvas size 40" x 50". £950.

This large oil on canvas was made in 1959, a year before the Prefabs were demolished. For 15 years they had served our community most successfully, fitted as they were with built in refridgerators and cupboards, well ahead of their time and much loved by us occupants.The generous garden spaces encouraged a passion with many to plant shrubs and even fruit trees, so it was a sad occasion when in 1960 they were demolished and the happily established community rehoused in various flats. 

This is one of 3 large paintings to be exhibited, further previews to follow...

Scenes from Post-War London. The Early Paintings of Terry Scales.

9th May - 10th June.
West Greenwich Library, 146 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8NN.
Opening times;
Monday: 2pm to 7pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5.30pm
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 9am to 7pm
Friday: 2pm to 5.30pm
Saturday: 9am to 5pm
Sunday: Closed

Date of artist talk; 9th June 3 - 4 pm, free.

Self Portrait as Postman

Going through some early work I found this painting, painted in 1950. During my summer holidays while at Camberwell I got regular work as postman. The work was well paid and I was proud of it, though the uniform is sadly artistic licence, nothing so grand for me! Materials were costly so I frequently painted on the backs of paintings. Two for the price of one!

Self Portrait as Postman, oil on panel, size 530mm x 375mm - £450.

Nude in the Antique Room (reverse of the above painting).

In the spring of 1946......

together with my mother, for I was only 13, I waited to be interviewed by the Principal, William Johnston, distinguished head of Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts. He was not the academic looking type we had expected for he closely resembled James Cagney, an impression further heightened by his New York accent. I discovered later he had spent some years in the U.S.A. rubbing shoulders with the cultural icons of that period. Flipping through my folder he seemed quite satisfied and offered me a place in the Junior Art Department.

Girl with an Ivy Headband £120.

The school itself was a fine building of red brick and Portland stone. It's exterior design owed much to the influence of Ruskin who lived nearby and was was partly responsible for it's presence.

The term 'Juniors' has caused much puzzlement in recent years. It was in fact a brilliant scheme begun in the 1940's to allow those pupils not academically gifted to develop skills in crafts such as pottery, silversmithing, bookbinding and commercial art. Having experienced an assortment of these classes, pupils at the age of 16 would then choose to specialize in the one which best suited their ability and temperament. This highly successful programe lasted until the mid 50's and produced many famous artists and designers, one ex-student conceived the image of the Dalek in BBC's Dr Who!

My weekly programe as a Junior was both varied and stimulating. It consisted of drawing one day a week from costume models (only after becoming 16 were pupils allowed to draw from nude models), one day of sculpture modelling in clay and casting in plaster. In this department Mrs Burns was the excellent teacher. One morning was spent under the tutor Gordon Scott (who lived to be 100, dying in 2017). He taught architecture styles most brilliantly, drawing Roman temples and Gothic cathedrals on a blackboard which we then had to copy. Midweek there was a break from studies with a physical training period held in an old scout house in the street opposite. Drawing from antique castles also occupied one morning, but for me the favourite class was illustration, firstly under John Minton, then Keith Vaughan and then for a longer and personally very influential period under the young teacher Susan Einzig. An older man called Mr Norbert taught anatomy and demonstrated the muscle positions by drawing on a model in red crayon. Two evening classes repeated more costume drawing and the other a most valuable session on period costume from Greek to Victorian styles.

Nude Study £95.

The courses were well designed to give a sound grounding in many related subjects, making available the skills necessary to enter commercial studios and other cultural related employment. The key emphasis throughout was to instill a skill in drawing and observation so necessary in all visual fields.

Seated Nude £95.

This is the background to my forthcoming exhibition (opening in May)....details below.....