Members update: Christopher Clack

Christopher Clack has some small portraits in the Café Gallery's 'legendary' unselected exhibition, which has led the field in hang the lot aesthetics since 1984. This exhibition gives artists the opportunity to present their work in an enjoyable exhibition that is one of the annual highlights of the Gallery's Calendar.

Members' update: Christopher Clack and Pouka

'Big Brother' by Pouka

'Feeding Time' by Pouka

 

Two of commission4mission's most innovative artists are currently part of group shows.

 

Christopher Clack has some of his large black and white portraits in the Cork Street Open which continues until 16th August. For the past five years the Cork Street Open Exhibition has provided an opportunity for both emerging and established artists from around the world to compete for an invitation to have their work shown in Mayfair and the heart of London's art dealing centre.

 

Meanwhile sculptures and large-scale paintings by Pouka, including The Rapture (4 x 2 metres) and Sinking Earth (2 x 3.5 metres), can be seen at the Random Acts of Artistry Exhibition in the Daniel Libeskind Space (Islington, N7 8DB) from Wednesday 14th until Friday 16th August in collaboration with the Guerilla Galleries and many other artists.

Portraits

Our recent exhibition at St Paul's Goodmayes included three portraits of local clerics: Michael Creasey exhibited a striking portrait of The Rt. Revd. David Hawkins, Bishop of Barking, in reflective pose; Henry Shelton showed his portrait of Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field, Vicar of St Paul's Goodmayes; while Peter Webb included his quirky painted wood relief portrait of Rev. Jonathan Evens.

Portraits are an aspect of the work by our artists which is not well known currently but, in which, several of our artists possess considerable expertise. Peter Webb, for example, has been working on a series of painted and also wood relief portraits as a fundraising project for St Mary's Woodford, while the characters in his major paintings for church settings, such as The Denial at St Mary's Woodford are often based on life studies.

c4m's Goodmayes exhibition

Painted wood relief portrait of Rev. Jonathan Evens by Peter Webb

St Jerome by Ross Ashmore

Tree of Life by Danielle Lovesey

Among the works which can be seen at the next commission4mission exhibition (St Paul's Goodmayes, 1st - 7th July, 10.00am - 4.00pm daily) are three portraits of local clerics: Michael Creasey will exhibit a portrait of The Rt. Revd. David Hawkins, Bishop of Barking; Henry Shelton will show his portrait of Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field, Vicar of St Paul's Goodmayes; while Peter Webb will include his painted wood relief portrait of Rev. Jonathan Evens, commission4mission's Secretary. Other works which can be seen include an impressive series of large impasto paintings by Ross Ashmore based on works by Michelangelo and Carravagio, plus work by Danielle Lovesey, our newest member.

No One May See Me And Live

Christopher Clack is showing a new series of work entitled No One May See Me And Live as part of the Dulwich Festival and Artists Open House 2013. His work (which also includes a set of large format Black and White portraits) can be seen at 73 Oglander Road SE15 4DD on Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th May and Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th May, 11 am - 6pm.

Ranulph Fiennes portrait

Henry Shelton has painted a portrait of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Patron of the National Kidney Federation (NKF), which he has presented to the NKF and which is displayed at their Head Office in Worksop.

New portrait by Henry Shelton

A portrait by Henry Shelton of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Patron of the National Kidney Federation (NKF), was presented to the NKF last week and will be displayed at their Head Office in Worksop.

Church transformed into gallery for community Art Trail

St Barnabas Church Walthamstow has been transformed into a gallery for a community art trail.

The E17 Art Trail, one of most exciting community events in London, is now in its fifth year and the ten-day programme includes work by hundreds of artists exhibited in 120 venues. St Barnabas participated for the first time in 2009 with work by Henry Shelton but this year is displaying work by ten artists and is described by the Art Trail organisers as “a major venue”.

The Grade II* Listed church is open during the Art Trail to exhibit its own collections of fine Arts and Crafts furnishings and the contemporary work including fashion photography, portraits, silverware, a 20 foot wall installation and a newly-painted altar triptych.

Portraits, by artist Emma Scutt, are hung in the spaces usually occupied by the church’s stations-of-the-cross. They relate to the Art Trail’s 2010 theme “Welcome to Walthamstow” and include depictions of 10 Walthamstow people past and present, including Walthamstow-born William Morris, artist Grayson Perry, TV presenter June Sarpong, pop-star Brian Harvey and the church’s parish priest Father Steven Saxby.

Walthamstow’s MP Stella Creasy (also depicted in a portrait) cut a tape to launch the Trail at St Barnabas’ private view and responded to Father Saxby’s description of Walthamstow as “the cultural capital of the Universe” by saying she prefers to call E17 “God’s own country”. There are also three events for the Art Trial at St Barnabas: a discussion on Pen Dalton’s work “Does your mother come from Ireland?; ‘the Art of Singing’ by the choir of the Rose and Crown Pub and a dance event including dance from the many cultures represented in the congregation at St Barnabas.

Father Saxby said, “It is wonderful to see the church being used in this way to welcome the wider community. We have already had scores of visitors to see the art work, including many from the neighbourhood who’ve walked through the doors for the first time. It was a challenge for me displaying work by ten artists but the work looks spectacular in the church!”

Opening times are Thurs 9th (7pm-10pm), Fri 10th (Noon-4pm), Sat 11th (10am-4pm) and Sun 12th (Noon-4pm).

E17 Art Trail @ St Barnabas Walthamstow

Fr. Steven Saxby has provided information about the diverse range of artists which St Barnabas, Walthamstow is hosting this year for the E17 Art Trail. Their private view and "meet the artists" event is tomorrow evening (Thursday 2nd September) from 8pm - 9.30pm. Click here for subsequent opening dates and times.

Anna Newson-Lyons presents 'From here to there', a collection of pictures including Funky Big Ben and Double Vision; London at night taken on the South Bank of the Thames. Mara Love and Pride are from a collection of wildlife photographs taken in the Masai Mara, Kenya. The collection also includes from dusk to dawn landscape pictures of Australia in Sunrise at Uluru and Sunset Storm in The Maldives. Handmade cards are also included in the collection of local winter scenes and summer flowers taken in Waltham Forest.

Anthony Lane presents “Lano” – two oil on canvas works.

Cinthia Oram presents two flower arrangements characteristic of her work which specialises in creating unique flower arrangements using fruits, vegetables and various materials.

Emma Scutt presents "E17 Portraits, Past & Present" inspired by the theme for this year’s Art Trail, 'Welcome to Walthamstow', which made her think of all the different people who live in the borough, and also St Barnabas church itself.

Johanna Melvin is exhibiting seascapes taken from old-fashioned nautical engravings. Jo has exhibited widely including the Royal Academy of Art, Contemporary Art Society, Flowers East Gallery and has work in several provate collections including Whitechapel Gallery Archives, John Cass Faculty of Fine Art and the Colony Room collection.

Pen Dalton presents a large wall installation 5 x 20 feet, concerned with issues of identity and entitled “Does your mother come from Ireland?” The title comes from a popular song in the early 20th Century. The installation uses documentary writings and images from the twentieth century: familial, legal, educational, popular, medical, academic, religious and cultural to show how people – in this case Pen's grandmother – interact and change their identities in and through the social world.”

Rebecca de Quin and Louise Loder are art school trained silversmiths. De Quin is a Master of Arts of the Royal College of Art where she teaches part-time. Loder received her Master of Arts award from London Guildhall University. They have shared a workshop in Walthamstow for six years where they work independently but enjoy the benefits of sharing knowledge and discussing ideas. Both explore the potential of silver to capture the imagination of a contemporary audience, but achieve very different results as shown in their exhibit 'The Art of Silver'.
Sean Pines - Fashion Photography. With a career in photography spanning over 20 years, Sean has kept ahead of current trends, consistently producing fresh, concept based images which present not only the garments, but the fantasy also.

WACVC (Walthamstow Amateur Cinevideo Club) has been going strong since 1949. The club will be exhibiting some its productions on local history and special-interest. This will include DVDs such as "Hollywood E17" which uncovers Walthamstow's secret history in the early years of the cinematic industry. Find out what the club is about and take part in a workshop on ChromaKey where we place you somewhere else using a green screen.

St Barnabas Walthamstow itself is a work of art, an architectural gem. It is a Grade II* listed building designed by W.D.Caroe and completed in 1903. The church also houses a wonderful collection of art works, some of which are highlighted below:

- ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’, lettercutting on slate behind the font (1994) by Charles Smith.
- Statue of St Barnabas (1946) by Faith-Craft Works
- a carving of ‘Christ the Good Shepherd’ (c.1890) by Peter Brunner and originally part of the Children’s Shrine at St Martin’s-in-the-Fields.
- Statue of Our Lady, Mary (1936) by Faith-Craft Works
- ‘Christ the Man of Sorrows’ – C18th copy of the painting by Luini.
- Reredos from children’s chapel of St John’s, Red Lion Square (c.1925) by Christopher Webb.
- East Window stained glass, depicting ‘Our Lord in Majesty and Twenty Four Elders casting down their Crowns’ (1903) by Clayton and Bell.
- 1902 Foundation stone (behind the main altar) by Eric Gill, then articled to W.D.Caroe.
- Statues of St Michael and two angels (by and above the main altar) (1910) by Alec Miller
- Organ corbels of David and Miriam (2000) by Charles Gurrey
- Oak Rood (large crucifix hanging above chancel steps), designed by W.D.Caroe and carved by Nathaniel Hitch (1921)
- Statue of St James (c.1950) by Faith-Craft Works
- Green reredos designed by Julian Litten (1989) and incorporating panels of the four evangelists (painted c.1860)
- Stations of the Cross – currently lying flat on pews in south aisle.

Michael Creasey's BASH exhibition

Michael Creasey will be exhibiting at the Visual Arts Centre in Frances Bardsley School, Romford as part of the Big Arts Submission Havering (BASH) programme. Michael's exhibition runs from 23 - 27th August beginning with a Launch Night from 7 - 9.00pm on 23rd and continuing from 9.30am - 3.00pm.

Michael is a largely self-taught artist, specializing in portraits and figurative work, mostly nudes. He says, "I am not especially a religious painter, as I mainly paint portraits and figure studies, but I do also paint abstract works which tap into emotional and spiritual aspects of my life and reflect my Christianity."

The Sculptress JOEL

JOEL is a sculptress working in clay and casting in bronze and other materials. Her work includes detailed figurative portraits and studies of people and animals. She makes sculptures in public and looks for opportunities to talk and share about the Christian faith.

Nadiya Pavliv

Joy and Sorrow

Trinity

Nadiya Pavliv is a student of Middlesex University in the final year of a BA Fine Art degree course. Her interests are in traditional oil painting and moving images or film. During 2005 she was apprentice to Clarence Crawford; where she learnt traditional oil painting technique with a particular emphasis on portraiture.

The aim of her creative practice is to convey to a viewer the message of unconditional love that connects us all and more importantly unites us with the Creator. Contemporary scientists armed with the latest equipment come to realise that the law of our universe is guided by what they call ‘Intelligent Mind’; who we, as Christians, believe to be God. Nadiya is very interested in researching more into this invigorated and transformed present dialogue between Religion, Science and Art.

As a member of the Waltham Forest Art Club since 2006, she has taken part in many exhibitions and events organised by the Club.

St George and the Dragon

'St George and the Dragon' by Peter Webb

St George and the Dragon (detail)

St George & the Dragon (detail)

St George and the Dragon (detail)

Peter Webb has provided photographs of his latest commission, a painting of St George and the Dragon for The Bishop Stopford's School in Enfield.

Peter was Head of Art at The Bishop Stopford's School until his retirement. To judge from the Wikipedia entry on the School he is fondly remembered both for his artworks and his personality. Peter painted many portraits of staff at the School on their retirement most famous artwork among the School community, completed with the help of the sixth form, is his statue of Bishop Stopford which is made out of papier-mâché on a galvanised chicken-wire frame. His Supper at Emmaus also hangs in the School where it has now been joined by St George and the Dragon.

The new commission came about as a result a Jack Petchey award won by a teacher at the School, which was then used to commission the painting. The painting was dedicated on St George's Day earlier this year.

An additional painting by Peter used to hang in the School. This was his The Denial Of Saint Peter, featuring a likeness of the then Chaplain Lowry in the role of the Disciple Peter. On his retirement this painting was moved to its current location in St Marys Woodford.

Michael J. Creasey

Spire, Gethsemene & Annunciation

All Saints & St Faiths Church, Childerditch

Michael J. Creasey is a largely self-taught artist, specializing in portraits and figurative work, mostly nudes. He also paints abstracts. He works primarily in acrylics, but also paints watercolours, and has recently returned to oils after a long break. He keeps up a regular regime of life-drawing, which he sees as central to his work.

Michael has exhibited locally in Havering and at the Mall Galleries and elsewhere, and has undertaken many portrait commissions. Though not primarily a religious artist, he has a wide knowledge of art history and is interested in the way art has been and should continue to be employed by the Church. Sutherland and Piper are important influences.

Though he sees his abstract works, of all his output, as most embodying a 'spiritual' dimension, he is at present working on more overtly religious subjects, as a result of his membership of commission4mission.

Michael says, "I am not especially a religious painter, as I mainly paint portraits and figure studies, but I do also paint abstract works which tap into emotional and spiritual aspects of my life and reflect my Christianity."