OPIES' PALETTE (correct apostophe)

Following the note about the palette which had belonged both to John Opie RA and to his great- nephew Edward Opie .. a whisper tells me that the new owner is indeed the most suitable possible, with an identity which will not remain secret for long.

ART ON THE BEACH

PORTHOWAAN looks like a good place to be for their ART ON THE BEACH event in August.

Have a look at the website
http://www.mpecopark.co.uk/?p=2156

Cornwall Big Paint In

3^rd – 5^th August 2012

ON THE DAY … Meet at the Eco Park at 10am to walk down the valley footpath to the beach, bring your painting materials and join in the fun! As well as the painting on the beach we have workshops and art projects goin on all day at the Eco Park: Kiln-building and smoke firing ceramics (a chance to decorate your own heart shaped tiles using all sorts of strange and wonderful things) Cyanotpe photography workshop, Kamishibai Japanese storytelling workshop, carrot-cars workshop, + grinding natural pigment paints from stones collected around the Eco Park. Or bring some materials and make your own sculptures, inspired by this stunning landscape! Artworks created during the day can be entered in the Sunday Charity Art Auction, to raise valuable funds for the new education building and offering the public a chance to bid on your masterpeices!

Established in the name of creativity and freedom to enjoy the surrounding natural landscape, Cornwall’s Big Paint In and Build Project invites artists from all walks of life to come together for a weekend of painting, drawing and sculpture.

The Big Paint In was conceived in 2011 after artist Paul Wadsworth was asked for written permission to paint on his local beach, surely this was sign of bureaucracy gone mad? In response 80 fellow artists joined Paul on this beach for the first Big Paint In; a day open to anyone who wanted to come and create, and a reminder that individual freedom and human interaction are vital to the creative spirit.
Now firmly established as an annual event, this year the Cornwall Big Paint In will be taking place over the weekend of the 3^rd – 5^th August at The Mount Pleasant Ecological Park, Porthtowan and local beach. We have expanded the opportunity to cover the whole weekend and to include works in sculpture, interactive works, environmental and ecological art, responding to this spectacular landscape for The Build Project.
The Big Paint In 2012 also gives artists the opportunity to donate works for a
LIVE CHARITY AUCTION on Sunday 5^th August at 2pm.
The project as a whole is being organised by artists working in collaboration with The Down to Earth Foundation, a non-profit organisation promoting sustainability through education and creative initiatives (http://www.dtef.org.uk/). Through the charity auction, we hope to raise considerable funds towards the construction of a new DTEF eductation facility, a fine example of contemporary sustainable construction to be built on-site at the Eco Park.
THE BIG PAINT IN – SATURDAY 4th AUGUST 2012
Open to all and free to attend, from 10am on Saturday morning at Mount Pleasant Eco Park, artists will walk to ‘a nearby beach’ from which to draw, paint and create, leaving the build teams sculpting on the land … don’t be shy, bring your paints, along with your creative spirit and join in this FREE CREATIVE DAY!
The Build Project, taking place at the Eco Park offers … WIDE OPEN SPACES, spectacular and inspiring views across the landscape, various natural materials from which to build, lots of keen participants to work with – and all on a site open to the public from which to showcase your talents!
An opportunity to create large scale structures, which can be temporary, permanent, semi permanent… we will be making, in response to the surrounding landscape, with a working brief, HOW CAN ART HELP US CONNECT TO THE LAND?
Projects already in discussion include – building a wood Fired kiln for smoke firing ceramics, earth sculptures and interventions in the natural landscape, along with tribal painting on the Cob Courtyard wall; grinding our own earth pigments (kids will love this)…if you would like to get involved with any of these mentioned projects or have an idea for another, please get in touch!
On Saturday evening from 7pm till late, LIVE MUSIC + PERFORMANCE IN THE ECO-PARK BARN – with a licensed bar and compare Bob Deveraux in a jam-packed night of entertainment! £4 entry … more details to follow
The Mount Pleasant Eco Park Wild-Campsite is offering you the chance to envelop yourself in this creative experience, with an all inclusive weekend ticket of camping, breakfasts and evening meals served in the Cob Courtyard, along with Friday and Saturday night entertainment – (fri – sun all for £46!) – but book in early as there are limited weekend tickets available more info here
CHARITY ART AUCTION on Sunday at 2pm. After spending the morning finishing off our build projects, we are raising money for the construction of Down to Earth Foundations new education facility – by auctioning off donated works by some of the talented artists from the weekend. We hope to offer works by big named artists up for sale, along with works by the local community, and all the participating artists from the weekend … this will not be a pristine hung show but a chaotic collection of work for people to come and see … no frames needed!… with local auctioneer Philip Buddell leading the sale, this will be a real crowd draw and also provide an opportunity for the public to view many of the works created over this weekend.
If you would like to get involved with the Build Project, or be one of the performers in the Barn or Cob Courtyard, contact Tim or Amy on 01209 891500 / info@mpecopark.co.uk
To find out more information or to join the crew of The Big Paint In, visit Paul Wadsworths websites or contact him on 07814897447 paulwads@btinternet.com
website: www.paulwadsworth.co.uk facebook group: cornwallbigpaintin
Facebook event: Cornwall Big Paint In + Build Project‘Start spreading the word, the more the merrier… no art police so anyone and everyone welcome, even if you have never touched a paint brush or if you have shown at the Tate… any creativity welcome: 2d, 3d, digital, installation … sandcastles!’ Paul Wadsworth

OPIES' PALETTE

AN ANTIQUE ARTIST'S PALETTE, SIGNED TO BACK EDWARD OPIE, ST AGNES, CORNWALL 1839, ALSO DATED 1788 IN BLACK PAINT WITH CHEQUE SIGNED AMELIA OPIE FOR £8 ON THE BACK MESSRS MARSH, SIBBALD, TRACEY, PAUNTLEROY & SON

http://www.bespokeauctions.co.uk/Catalogues/current/page3.html

An intriguing item was sold at BESPOKE AUCTIONS yesterday.

It was an artist's palette, much used and much coved with paint, that had belonged to EDWARD OPIE (1810- 1894) and apparently to JOHN OPIE RA (1761- 1807).
(Thus the apostrophe in our heading is in the correct position)

Edward was the great- nephew of John Opie RA

Edward grew up in HARMONY COT  the same house as his famous great- uncle John. It is still there at Blowinghouse, Trevellas, near St Agnes in Cornwall. No doubt there were hopes in the family that the artistic talent would pass down the generations, so the great success of Edward would have been a cause for celebration. Specialising in portraiture, Edward Opie was in great demand.
By 1830 he was painting a portrait each week in Truro; and he spent time at Plymouth also. The maritime business of Plymouth Dock brought a constante flow of customers for his portraits.
London remained the ultimate goal for any artist and Edward was journeying up there to study and to seek more portrait commissions.
His great aunt was Amelia Opie, widow of artist John. She and John and lived in Berners Street, London, but after john's untimely death she moved back to her native Norwich. She did continue to travel and did spend time in London. She certainly met Edward Opie.

1839 saw a major milestone as in that year Edward exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time. That is the date on the palette.
The palette was not new in 1839- it looks as though it may have been purchased in 1788 in which case it would first have belonged to John Opie.

If the palette had always been at Harmony Cot, it seems unlikely that Edward would have decided to write a date on it after owning it for a long time.
A more attractive explanation is that Amelia Opie had kept the palette back when she sold the contents of her husband's studio after his death. She decided to give the palette to Edward because he was carrying on the family tradition. This was in the year of his first Royal Academy success.

I was bidding for it but did not buy it. It would be interesting to know who owns it now, as there is potential for important research here

Sport on the Shore

28 July – 8 September

www.landergallery.co.uk /       info@landergallery.co.uk

 (now you can find us on FACEBOOK !!)

To coincide with this year’s Olympics in London, Lander Gallery artists have produced work relating to various sports and leisure activities seen around the coastline of Cornwall.

Not only are Cornwall’s beaches and shorelines special places because of their stunning vistas, but they are also a playground for the young and old, whether it is surfing the big waves, building sandcastles, flying kites or just walking the dog. 

Surfing is not surprisingly one of the most popular sports in Cornwall and features in the work of several artists in this show. None more so than Paul Nicholls, whose dynamic paintings feature  surfers actually in the waves, his titles such as ‘Grip lip’ and ‘Barrelled’ reflecting the technical terminology of the sport.

Newquay based artist Ian Fox has captured the more vigorous sport of gig racing with his portrait of the Newquay Gig about to get under way as well as surfers getting ready to go in the water.

After a hard day in the water, surfers walking across a huge expanse of beach on their way home are the subjects for Richard Lannowe- Hall’s impressive colourful paintings. Kevin Cooper also uses the imagery of surfers collaged with tidal maps and other graphics to make his contemporary limited edition prints.

Gordon Hunt uses his unique pointillist style to capture the reflected light from the beach and silhouettes surfers against it. He also uses the same technique to portray families playing beach games such as cricket and football.

Dinghy sailing is another popular sport on the coast of Cornwall and Bodmin based artist Sally Jones has created some vivid paintings of sail boats racing and jockeying for position at the start of a race.

Caroline Atkinson’s paintings of Praa Sands and Mount’s Bay are still predominantly about the view but do feature the more leisurely activity of walking.

John Laver, whose beachscapes are  always popular at the Lander Gallery, has included on this occasion  views of the North coast Harlyn, Tregirls and Trevone  beaches with  kite flying  and sea fishing as the sporting activity.

 But the beach, for children, is all about having a close encounter with a seagull or digging or building a sandcastle. Cathy Stringer’s paintings make all of these children’s activities the focus of her delightful paintings.

Whether you are a Sports fan or not, this show has something for everyone.

You will find details of some of these on our website, www.landergallery.co.uk

We can usually arrange to have things delivered to your door by the next day.

Apologies to those who tried to link directly to our website last time- the link was incorrectly spelled.

We are open Monday to Saturday, 9am – 5.30pm.

Twitter: @vivhendra         /     Sign up for our BLOG: landergallery@blogspot.com

Needless to say, you can now follow us on FACEBOOK

What was it Wordsworth said? “To see the children sport upon the shore And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore” ..

OLD CORNWALL

OLD CORNWALL is the current theme at the Lander Gallery.

On the modern side we have ancient stones marking the forgotten significance of moorland which may look warm and sunny or wild and desolate. Ruined mine engine houses stand silent in sunshine or sunset. Steam engines pull their cargo down to Charlestown while time seems to have stood still for the GWR  at Newquay Railway Station. Old miners’ tracks lead away over sun -dappled meadows, swallows nest in old walls and the sea crashes onto rocks just as it did when the Men An Tol was being constructed.

We have a lovely selection of Old Cornwall paintings here and they are already selling well.

On the classics side there are our works from the Newlyn and St Ives schools, alongside the intriguing and increasingly popular Tony Giles.

Especially for this exhibition we are offering some unique historic documents. One remarkable treasure is an indenture concerning the sale of land in the areas of Perran in the Sands and St Columb the Higher in 1682. Richard Carter is selling large areas including Gull Rock- the landmark now known as Carter’s Rocks. So this is the actual document where Carter is selling Carter’s Rocks!

Other treasures include the result of a tax appeal by Francis Paynter lawyer in St Columb in 1807- what tax should he pay if he employs his own son?

The 1661 letter from Truro from the previous blog has now been sold.

Another reminder of the tin industry is the shimmering panel of tin from the Daubuz smelting works in Carvedras here in Truro. You can see how it acquired its lettering and Carvedras crest because it comes complete with its original stone mould.

 OLD CORNWALL runs until July 21^st.

www.landergallery/co.uk