Haven’t done any portraits in ages but couldn’t resist this one. What a heroine she is – in this age of self self publicity and power seeking, a woman who had power thrust upon her at a early age, she accepted the role with grace and carried out her considerable duties with dignity and charm worldwide for all these years. A national treasure and a real diamond!
Jubilee Jazz Festival at Strawberry Hill House 3 -4 June
Jubilee Jazz at Strawberry Hill – oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Delighted to be invited to show paintings at the Strawberry Hill Arts Village and have produced some new paintings especially for the event.
Jazz 1 – oil on canvas- Lee Campbell
Jazz II- oil on canvas Lee Campbell
See link to site: www.jubileejazzfestival.com
Art Workshop at Warren House- 14th July 2012
In collaboration with Warren House I will be holding a one day Drawing and Water Colour Workshop. This an ideal place to explore drawing and painting skills in a fabulous location with a highly experienced professional artist – it is ideal for both complete beginners and those with some experience. Participants will be given a set of materials to keep and all techniques will be demonstrated. Buffet lunch, tea and coffee provided.
The Rose Room Warren House
Spaces are limited – to book please contact Warren House; http://www.warrenhouse.com/event.php?id=163
Other exciting news this month was collaborating with Mike of Asana Health in Kingston to provide artwork for the purpose built yoga and therapy centre on London Road, Kingston. There are now two of my larger pieces in the centre – see below:
Revelation oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Petersham Dusk – oil on canvas Lee Campbell
News from Asana Health
A new series of monthly “Optimum Health Evenings” commencing on Monday 21st May 2012 @ 7.30pm which Mike and his team of therapists and yoga teachers think would be of benefit to you.
For more info please visit the web site: www.asanahealth.co.uk
New Roses (or neurosis?)
Heart of Gold – Lee Campbell
Heart of Rose oil on linen Lee Campbell
Peonies oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Deep Red oil on canvas Lee Campbell
At least once every year I feel the need to paint roses and these are the latest ones. This began with a commission to paint a single red rose and reached it’s peak with the design of Union Jack comprised of roses on a baby grand piano during a public art project in Soho 3 years ago. May have been generated by growing up surrounded by rose patterned wall paper perhaps..they would ‘swirl’ in a disturbing way if I stared at them too long.
Since then I have produced several paintings of this design and it also available as a giclee print.
Union Jack/Roses – Lee Campbell
Highland Views
Loch Morar Sunset oil on linen Lee Campbell
Highland Cow – oil on canvas -Lee Campbell
Loch Morar – The Red Boat -Lee Campbell
Loch Morar – Oil on linen – Lee Campbell
Delighted to be commissioned by Edinburgh Arts who produce quality Giclee prints of my work to do some painting of the Scottish Highlands. This area is so similar to the South Island of New Zealand – an area I know very well having hiked both the Routeburn and Milford Tracks in Fjordland – that I feel a real resonance with these places.
Petersham Golden Green - oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
Happy to report an excellent turn out at the Open Studio weekend so a big ‘thank you’ to all who braved the cold and mud. I’ll be busy with commissions right into January and have enjoyed some interesting and requests as varied as boats in full sail and beach pebbles – also a large painting of The View from Richmond Hill using quite different colours – see above.
'Twickenham Gold' - oil on paper Lee Campbell
Twickenham Mist - oil on paper Lee Campbell
'Twickenham Blue' - oil on paper Lee Campbell
Thames Mist - oil on canvas, Lee Campbell
The Thames November Draw Off
This new series of local scenes feature the ‘draw off’ which takes place each November between Richmond and Teddington Locks to allow for the river bank to be cleared of debris. This year the draw off will last until 25th Dec to allow for repairs to Richmond Lock gates, apparently they are waiting on a cable to be sent from Russia.
This can result in some unusual views of the riverbed dotted with feeding birds – swans, ducks, coots, gulls, rooks, crows, cormorants, grebes and herons can all be seen easily from the bridge over to the island. Whilst these low tides reveal many horrors to be cleaned away by volunteers, they also reveal all sorts of treasures normally hidden beneath the waters. Under the rocks are hundreds of freshwater shrimps, crabs and eels. These range from 2-inch elvers right up to more mature specimens over a foot long. Marine biologists from the Zoological Society of London have previously recorded he freshwater gastropod, the river snail, pea muscles, zebra muscles, freshwater cockles, swan muscles, leeches and flatworms.
'Twickenham November' - oil on paper Lee Campbell
Draw Off - Sunday
Portland Gallery Christmas Exhibition
Opens 3rd December – all welcome
Christmas Exhibition Lee Campbell 2011
Other exciting news- I have been invited to exhibit 3 pieces of artwork in the
RCA’s Secret Eighteenth Birthday
Exhibition and sale of original postcard-sizzed artworks, donated by internationally acclaimed artists plus up-and-coming graduates from the
Royal College of Art from 18th Nov
To purchase ‘Secret’ Postcards register: www.rca.ac.uk/secret Postcards signed only on the reverse – last years contributors include Maggie Hambling, Peter Blake, David Bailey and Tracey Emin
Networking news
I have joined the very pro-active Kingston Chamber of Commerce run by Lisa Gagliardi and enjoyed an excellent breakfast last week at Bentalls – good food, good company and a goodie bag!
To find out more about the group see: http://kingstonchamber.co.uk/
Follies Galore
We visited the fantastic Pains Hill Park in Surrey with Holly one glorious autumnal day: http://www.painshill.co.uk
Folly on the lake
The Mill
Hours of pleasure exploring the winding water features, a mill, a grotto, a tower, a Medieval tent, bridges, forests and follies with excellent panoramic views across the Surrey countryside. Dog-friendly and on a week day very few people.
Dog Portraits
Speaking of dogs, after several commissions painting dogs I find I rather enjoy it and am now taking orders to do oil paintings of dogs from photos. This cute little chap was a pleasure to paint.
'Toby' - oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Have begun a series of drawings of Holly the Saluki and took this pic as she adopted her default setting – ‘Dreaming of Me’.
e mail: gallery@portland-gas.com Tel: 0208 3321200
'Frozen Light' oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
Since August I have been working with The Royal Ballet School at their White Lodge site in Richmond Park. Feeling at a bit of a loss since the Byrne Bros project was completed, I approached the Ballet School and was delighted when they agreed to allow me access to White Lodge over the summer. The exhibition at The Portland Gallery will contain over 20 paintings produced as I immersed myself in this fabulous environment.
I was given access to the archive where I was allowed to photograph the old ballet shoes worn by Dame Margot Fonteyn. It was a real privilege and I could only imagine how her feet would have felt at the end of a performance.
'Dame Margot's Shoes' - oil on canvas Lee Campbell
The forest surrounding the lodge contains many ancient oak trees and these have become part of the body of work along with the resident deer that inhabit Richmond Park. It was gloriously hot August day in Richmond Park as I navigated my way slowly past a heard of fallow bucks who were camped on the roadside and munching happily in the morning sun and flicking away flies with their antlered heads. There are over 300 fallow deer in the park and approximately the same number of red deer.
'Majesty' oil on canvas Lee Campbell
The view of the Lodge from the bottom of the hill was magnificent and I paused to admire the ancient oaks rising in a stately fashion form the bracken but I wanted to imagine how it would look dressed in autumn colours and late afternoon shadows.
'Autumnal' oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
The interior was equally fabulous and the first image I concentrated on was the main ballroom’s chandeliers and I attempted to capture this spectacle using mirrors and an unusual format:
'Paradox' oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
Continuing on a the theme of paradoxes I used ornate railings as a device to separate the dimensions within Le Reflet de la Lune which was given it’s title by my clever student Sandra who speaks French fluently.
'Le Reflet de la Lune' oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
I have also used tiny shoes as a means to return to still life painting, I find this to be a necessary balance to working from my imagination. With several weeks to go now to the opening I have still to complete a painting of floating feathers and hopefully one of oak leaves.
'Satin & Velvet' oil on panel - Lee Campbell
‘Tiny Dancer’ oil on panel – Lee Campbell
The show has also given me a chance to explore the mixed media collages that I enjoy in between paintings:
'Connections' mixed media - Lee Campbell
and to revisit the theme of bubbles:
'The Entrance' Oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
and works that simply suggested the ethereal atmosphere:
'Borne on the Mist' oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
However it was the Costume Room that provided the most colourful and rich cacophony of textures and vibrancy. I found rows of tutus stacked kebab fashion and hanging joyfully, hats, props and shoes patiently awaiting the next performance so I have returned to a technique of oil on paper to capture the delicacy and transparency of the fabrics:
'Costumes II' oil on paper-Lee Campbell
'Costumes III' oil on paper-Lee Campbell
'Costumes IV' oil on paper-Lee Campbell
White Lodge is a neo-Classical Palladian building and a rich history dating back to 1727 and built for George II. Since 1955 it has been home to the Royal Ballet Lower School which was founded by Dame Ninette de Valois and has just had a £22 million refurbishment.
The students are comprised of 120 11-16 year olds and among the allumni is Darcy Bussell and there are approximately the same number of staff attached to the complex.
There is a Museum in the crescent wing which has been imaginatively and instructionally designed to trace the history of ballet parallel with the history of White Lodge – museum@royalballetschool.co.uk Tel. 0208 3928440
Richmond Park has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve. The royal connections to this park probably go back further than any of the others, beginning with Edward (1272-1307), when the area was known as the Manor of Sheen. The name was changed to Richmond during Henry VII’s reign.
'Park Light II' - oil on paper Lee Campbell
'Park Light III' - oil on paper Lee Campbell
'Park Light IV' oil on paper -Lee Campbell
Exploring the building I enter through the rear of the building to discover it almost deserted except for some workmen and the security guard -
What a delight to have the freedom to explore this extraordinary interior alone. Beginning in the lower brick tunnels which link the classrooms and dance studios I crept respectfully through taking photos of all before me.
'Light Pools' - photo - Lee Campbell
Light effects ….on the shiny floors seemed to echo with the steps of dancers past and the kids artwork.
Moving through to the spectacular front of the house I noticed the ornate details and the statue of a dancer:
Looking out across the park to the lake I could see tiny figures moving slowly in the distant heat. The Shard which I had painted during my last project was visible trusting upwards through the heat-haze on my way up the hill.
'Allegory' oil on canvas -Lee Campbell
The garden had a display of gorgeous old roses which smelled heavenly and sculptured trees statues and a summer house.
Last autumn I began a collaboration with Michelle Tilley, Health and Safety Executive of The Byrne Group to produce a body of work based on two of their current projects – one being the state of the art Shard at London Bridge and by way of contrast – the refurbishment of the much loved old Savoy Hotel on The Strand. This project is almost completed now so time to reflect and share some of the artwork produced exclusively for their head office in Teddington. Due to the nature of the on going work it was impossible to do more on both sites other than take photos and make notes, but as with most of my work a degree of imagination becomes an enormous asset in these circumstances.
The Savoy
Working from photos taken during site visits I produced oil on paper sketches and charcoal studies of each of the sites.
'Ballroom' Savoy study Lee Campbell
'Serpent' study Savoy - Lee Campbell
I was fortunate to be able to visit The Savoy just before the furniture was installed and to see the completed interior beautifully lit and this formed the basis for the completed 4′ x 4′ oil painting that resulted. Using details from the interior and gold figure who stands majestically above The Strand entrance, I designed a composition which I hoped would capture the sense of history and the unique mood created by the presence of so many notorious guests and staff. The variety of different styles proved a challenge – how to incorporate the elaborate decoration of the ballroom with the stylish deco chrome pillars and leopard skin patterned carpet with gothic glamour. I have, of course also included the mysterious ‘white lady’ who has been seen disappearing into walls as recently as last year by the security men.
Study for Savoy - Lee Campbell
I also included Kaspar the shiny black cat in the lower right hand corner – the story goes that in 1898 a South African diamond magnate by the name of Woolf Joel was visiting London and held a banquet at the famous Savoy before returning home. At the last minute one of his guests had to cancel, leaving thirteen to sit at table, which one guest said was unlucky. After a successful dinner, Joel said his goodbyes and rose to leave; the same guest then said that the first person to leave would also be unlucky and would be the first to die. Joel was not superstitious and thought this remark very amusing — but a few weeks later he was shot dead in his Johannesburg office.
Kaspar
For some years after those events, anxious not to have a similar incident that could damage their reputation, the Savoy provided a member of the hotel staff to sit at tables of thirteen, to avoid the unlucky number, but that idea proved unpopular with guests wanting to talk about personal or private matters; so in 1926 a new solution was found. A British architect and sculptor called Basil Ionides was commissioned to design and carve a three-foot-high model of a black cat, which he produced from a single piece of London plane.
Kaspar in his display case at the Savoy Kaspar awaits a party of diners Named Kaspar, the cat now resides in his own display case in the entrance hall at the hotel, but whenever a party of thirteen requires an extra guest he is brought out to sit at table. He has a napkin tied around his neck and is served every course, just like any other guest. Winston Churchill became very fond of Kaspar, to the extent that he insisted the cat should be present at every meeting of The Other Club, a political dining club he had founded in 1911, and so Kaspar has been at all the fortnightly meetings — always held at the Savoy — since 1927.
During World War 2 Kaspar was catnapped by some mischievous Royal Air Force personnel and flown to Singapore, only to have Churchill himself demand its immediate return!
There are two theories as to the origin of the number thirteen being unlucky. One derives from Norse mythology, in which twelve Gods sat down to a banquet in Valhalla. The evil spirit Loki gate crashed the party as thirteenth member of the party and killed the Gods’ favourite, Balder. Thirteen also has significance to Christians, as there were thirteen people at the Last Supper, and the traitor Judas Iscariot was the thirteenth and last to arrive. As to why a cat — the animals have held an important role in mythology and superstition over the centuries, and black cats in particular are considered by many cultures to be lucky.
The refurbishment began in 2007 and over 1000 craftsmen, artists and builders had been involved in the £100 million re-fit. The whole neo-renaissance limestone facade had to be moved forward by hydraulics 0.75cm – a very complex feat of engineering. The original Edwardian style had previously been updated in the 1930s and these current sumptuous theatrical interior designs are by Pierre Yves Rochon. I was shown the sealed room No 878 where a murder had once been committed and told of the many famous guests who had graced this hotel with their presence; Monet and Whistler (a huge hero of mine) had both painted the splendid view of Thames from the hotels windows, Winston Churchill, The Beatles, Marylin Munro and Richard Harris. I was very gratful to my delightful guide Stuart Harvey, The Project Manager, who explained that the company enforced strict rules about good behaviour and to facillitate this ran an education programme for the 800 strong workforce. A very impressive opperation.
The completed large oil painting took many months and had many transitions before reaching the final composition:
First study - Savoy - Lee Campbell
Second study -Savoy - Lee Campbell
The Savoy - oil on canvas 48" x 48" - Lee Campbell 2011
For additional information see:
Gilt trip: Refurbishing the Savoy hotel 8.10. 2010 – Thomas Lane
The refurbished Savoy hotel looks a million dollars – which is just as well because it cost more than £200m to do up. Happily nobody was to blame for the cost and time overruns – except possibly the owner’s insatiably lavish tastes- see images:
www.building.co.uk/buildings/gilt-trip-refurbishing-the-savoy-hotel/5006858.article
For a comprehensive history of the Savoy: Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy_Hotel
The Shard
Renzo Piano, the building’s architect, worked together with architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage of the project. Funder by Qatar the tower will stand 1,017 ft (310 m) tall and have 72 floors, plus 15 further radiator floors in the roof. The building has been designed with an irregular triangular shape from the base to the top. It will be clad entirely in glass. The viewing gallery and open-air observation deck will be on the top (72nd) floor.
Keiren Long of the Evening Standard has written a piece examining the impact that the Shard will have on the area: http://the-shard.com/shard
Andy Bowden – crane operator has also written a piece about the experience of being at the top of his game://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/8314250/The-Shard-of-Glass-view-from-atop-the-tallest-skyscraper-in-Europe.html
When I first visited the site last year I wrote a blog about the experience of going up the side of the building to a considerable height in a wire cage and The Shard is now almost finished. In fact it is clearly visible from Richmond Park, the Thames at Hammersmith and probably from most of London. It is already truly magnificent! So what a challenge to complete a painting of an incomplete building. It seemed right to show the exposed core while simultaneously showing how the glass membrane will look. when completed on one side. Because the painting is being commissioned by the people building it, I also decided to use the main construction materials to represent the two Byrne brothers – one who specialises in steel and the other in concrete.
The textures that occur on the pillars of concrete are truly lovely and it seemed such a shame to render then with a smooth concrete over layer. The patterns on the raw steel are equally fascinating golden textures which occur as the metal oxidises.
Charcoal studies - The Shard - Lee Campbell
Oil study - Shard - Lee Campbell
Top Floor - oil study Shard - Lee CampbellGround Floor - Shard -Lee Campbell
Below - Shard oil study - Lee Campbell
The Shard oil on canvas 48" x 48" - Lee Campbell 2011
Finding a good imageof the Shard would have been impossible without the help of the photographer Mike ODwyer who was kind enough to allow me use his images taken from a helicopter to get a good perspective on the rapidly changing cityscape from London Bridge.
To summarise – the project has been hugely interesting and absorbing and I have learnt a great deal about both the process of refurbishment and the constructions of a new build. The contrast between the old and the new could not have been more pronounced but I have attempted to make the work fit into the modern offices of the Byrne Group and am looking forward to seeing it in situ.
A special thanks for the idea and support to the prize winning architect Cathy Stewart.
Other News
Summer Exhibition – Portland Gallery 2011
A selection of new work is now on display at the Portland Gallery on Hillrise Richmond
Petersham Hotel - oil on canvas - Lee Campbell 2011
The above paintings show how I paint around the edges of the block canvas I use. They do not need a frame but can easily be set into a floating or suspended frame with a gap to expose the painted sides.
Eel Pie Sunrise - oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
Sailed up the Thames from Eel Pie Island to Chelsea on L’Estrelle – a big houseboat converted from a Dutch barge – she had been having maintenance done in the boatyard on Eel Pie Is. and was due to return to her moorings Cadaogan Pier. Lovely adventure! Thanks John and Harry.
Web Site Updates
The video of my moment of fame of telle – ‘House Gift’ can now be seen on my site: http://www.leecampbell.co.uk/Video
There is also a new Gallery entitled ‘ Commissions’ with examples of past projects and private commissions.
There was a magnitude 4.1 earthquake 20km north-east of Christchurch early this morning. The quake hit at 5.21am at a depth of 15km. GNS seismologist Caroline Holden said 19 people had reported having felt the earthquake to GNS as of 6.20am. It was slightly off shore and, at that magnitude, you would have to have been close to it’s centre to have felt it, she said.
“It was quite a gentle earthquake.”Yesterday was the first anniversary of the February 22 earthquake when 185 people lost their lives.
9,988 and counting
Feb. 20th Bev says they are ‘still having earthquakes …we are up to 9,988 now and that was a couple of weeks ago so be more than that now Just when you think they are slowing down to go away then we get another around 4.3 -4.5 just to let us know that mother nature hasn’t finished with us yet.
I feel that we will still get another bit one around the 7 mark yet before it is finished …forever hope not but it is in the back of my mind all the time’.
Darkness at the Heart – Christchurch one year on
From the Guardian 20th Feb
There are new shops built from shipping containers, a theatre and a rugby ground soon to open. But at night, the empty city centre is a dark smudge among the suburban lights
Shops built from shipping containers in Christchurch’s central business district a year after the devastating earthquake.
Viewed at night from the southern Port Hills, the centre of Christchurch appears as a dark smudge among the suburban lights. Almost a year after the earthquake that killed 185 people in NZ’s second largest city, much of the central business district remains in the “red zone”, cordoned-off and uninhabited but for the work crews that pass through the security gates each day in their hundreds.
This building site enclave is a strange echo of the city that stood there before it was thrust upwards and sideways by the 6.3-magnitude quake just before 1pm on 22 February 2011. Blinker your eyes and parts of the city appear untouched. But look to either side and the picture is of demolition work.
The broken shell of ChristChurch Cathedral, this South Island city’s most famous landmark, stands deconsecrated and uncertain in a central square that grows bigger by the day, as demolition booms peck away at the surrounding buildings.
In empty lots where buildings were bowled over, waist-high weeds grow from the cracks. Billboards are frozen in time, promoting events for March 2011.
So familiar have tremors become in Christchurch that locals are unnervingly good at instantly estimating the magnitude of an earthquake. They have had plenty of practice. Since the 7.1 quake in September 2010 – the first and biggest, which caused no fatalities in part thanks to its arrival in the middle of the night – geologists have measured more than 10,000 earthquakesin the region.
Of those, more than 400 have registered over magnitude 4.0; more than 40 have surpassed 5.0. A cluster of three earthquakes measuring up to 6.0 struck two days before Christmas, causing fresh damage to buildings, including the cathedral, and closing the airport.
Days later, the state geological agency predicted that the area could expect aftershocks to continue for more than two decades, albeit with the likelihood of diminishing severity.
From his sixth-floor office on the edge of the red zone, Roger Sutton, chief executive of the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority, lays out a map of the central city, with buildings shaded in black and grey that have been, or are likely to be, demolished. “You can see it’s pretty extraordinary really,” he says. Sutton, who impressed Cantabrians with his enthusiastic and engaged response to the February earthquake, when he was chief executive of the local power company, took a hefty pay cut to join the government agency. He remains upbeat.
“The level of destruction that we’ve got there is such that we’ve actually got an opportunity to do something really fresh,” he says. “And people are feeling optimistic now. What we had before was just mishmash from historical accident, so to speak. Now we can think about it much more carefully and do something much, much better.”
It is impossible to gauge how many people have left Christchurch for good. Predictions of a mass exodus have proved unfounded. An estimated departure of 10,000 could soon be offset by the arrival of workers, including from Ireland, lured by the appeal of a rebuild costing up to $30bn (£15.5bn).
With unemployment only slightly increased, and encouraging turnover at the port and airport, there is reason to remain positive, Sutton says. “The economy is still going gangbusters here. So despite the fact we have had a massive earthquake, and a large part of the central business district is still shut, all the economic indicators are actually positive.”
He believes 2012 will be a “defining year” for the city and points to the rebirth of Cashel mall’s shops, the newly opened Court Theatre and a soon-to-open 18,000-seat rugby stadium.
Together with the much admired Gap Filler community initiative, which illuminates vacant sites with everything from fun fairs to bicycle-powered cinemas, such projects have clearly encouraged residents.
Shipping containers have become the all-purpose emblem for the city. The Cashel mall has been built from them. They form makeshift braces for celebrated older buildings such as the cathedral. And they worm their way, stacked two-high, beneath the steep cliff on the road out to Sumner, protecting drivers from the ongoing landslides. Above, the frames of luxury homes lurch drunkenly from retreating foundations.
Sumner was among the worst-hit areas a year ago. The seaside village, less than four miles to the east of the epicentre, was pounded by falling rocks and landslides. Water, electricity and sewage systems were cut off for days.
Today, character is returning to the suburb. “I think there’s huge opportunity here,” says Karen Sheridan, who has opened a furniture store comprising two brightly painted shipping containers.
“The city’s changed now, there’s more focus out in the suburbs. Sumner was always very much a destination anyway, especially in the weekends and over summer. That’s coming back. Things like this are helping to draw people to the area. But it’s going to take a long time.
“People are sick of the earthquakes, the constant aftershocks. But we’ve all learned to get on with it. After February last year, the place was shut. It was like a desert. There was no one around. All the women and children left, and it was basically all full of men.
“I’ve been very, very lucky. Our house wasn’t too badly damaged and I haven’t had to move out. But a lot of my friends are having big trouble with their insurance companies, and struggling to move on. A lot of people are still stuck back in that day in February.”
But the mood in Christchurch is hardly one of unified optimism. Disaffection with the pace of recovery, especially in the eastern suburbs where thousands of homes are unsafe, is high.
Months of building frustration found a lightning rod in the recent decision of the city council to award its chief executive a $68,000 (£35,000) pay rise – a decision that in the circumstances “bordered on wilful ignorance”, according to the Christchurch Press.
Even after he agreed to forgo the increase, a protest calling for his resignation, along with that of the mayor, Bob Parker, the former TV host who had been so lauded in the months after the February disaster, attracted more than 4,000 people a fortnight ago.
Leanne Curtis, spokeswoman for CanCern, a network of residents’ groups, says people need to see firm timetables for the restoration of their homes and community facilities. “Without that you become a very depressed city,” she says. “It’s a very bad place for us to be mentally – you can’t build, innovate, be entrepreneurial. You lose motivation, capacity to get up and help ourselves. You can’t remake a city out of depression.”
Communities in the east, and especially those which still await a government decision on whether their land is viable for rebuilding, are boiling over with frustration – with the insurance companies, with the authorities and with a sense of being overlooked, says Curtis.
While roads have been patched up in most of the city’s suburbs, in parts of the residential red zone bordering the Avon river as it snakes from the CBD to the coast, streets still betray the bumps and fissures of the 2011 earthquake.
The approaching anniversary is weighing heavy on people’s minds, she says, with any adrenalin from the early recovery period having long drained away.
“There’s none of this ‘we’re so resilient, we’re so strong’ from anybody on the ground,” says Curtis. “In the east, people don’t feel resilient, they feel tired, frustrated, like nothing’s happening. There is very little vision, very little leadership, very little co-ordination.”
Jan 9 2012 A 4.1 magnitude earthquake has hit Christchurch overnight. The quake struck at 3.38am, 20km east of Christchurch, at a depth of 10km. GNS Science said the quake was felt across Canterbury. Earlier, two small earthquakes struck on the Hawkes Bay.
A magnitude 3.4, centred 20km north of Napier at a depth of 30km, struck at 1.48am, and was followed by a magnitude 3.6, centred 30km southeast of Havelock North at a depth of 20km, at 2.06am.
For a positive view of the re building of Christchurch and comparison with the Napier earthquake of 1931 in see Roger Sutton’s 14th Jan piece :http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/news/roger-sutton-recent-aftershocks/1235708/
For predictions of future shocks see Ken Ring(The Moon Man) a NZ writer who has used lunar cycles to predict weather and earthquakes. He terms his predictions “alternative weather” and has authored books about the weather and climate. Ring publishes almanacs each year for New Zealand, Australia and Ireland in which he provides weather predictions for the entire year.
He has recently broken his silence after creating near panic in Canterbury earlier this year with his prediction of a large earthquake.
The fallout from his March prediction led to hate mail and death threats against Ring who denies scaremongering. Dubbed the ‘moon man’, Ring said all he does is predict trends and patterns and he was only trying to be helpful. However he said he accepts people were scared and “I do regret that”. His comments created panic in Canterbury but he told Close Up tonight he doesn’t feel he terrified the people. “I apologise if anybody did take fear out of that situation.” Ring said he doesn’t hold any umbrage against anybody for the backlash because it was a time of great structural strain. He said that he has always maintained in his timeline the quake activity would start to diminish after April and although that is the case and the quakes are starting to move north, it’s not over. “People can start to rebuild their lives, people can move back to Christchurch, but there will be odd big ones still coming.” Ring said the issue is a big area of international research and the largest earthquakes always occur when the moon is closest to earth. There’s a definite pattern to it and the position of moon to earth influences earthquakes and the weather, Ring said. He said the information can be used to examine a trend, apply it to now and then extrapolate forward until “it’s a matter of history”.
See latest up date on his predictions (8/2/12):http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/news/ken-ring-says-another-big-quake-coming/1083669/
Discounted by scientists , Ring looks forward to a time when he can work with seismologists and geologists. “The more information we can bring to the picture helps everyone.” He said everybody wants information, certainty and predictability. “It is a very, very old science and the time is coming when we will all work together.”
Anna Turner- When a City Falls
Anna Turner is a Star Reporter and Saturday columnist at the Christchurch Star.
As the lights dimmed in the movie theatre I felt an anxious knot tighten in my stomach.
I was at the premiere of the Christchurch earthquake documentary When a City Falls with my good friend Emily, and about 200 other nervous Cantabrians.
I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to re-watch some of the horrific scenes from February on the big screen, less than nine months after they happened.
If I was feeling apprehensive, I couldn’t imagine what was going through the head of Emily – a reporter at CTV.
Emily was out working on a story when the quake hit, a fact which saved her life. For her, the footage was even more real; the bodies being pulled from the wreckage were her workmates and friends.
I gave her arm a squeeze as the movie began.
It wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I cried – that was expected. But I also laughed. It wasn’t just doom and gloom and scenes of terror, it also showed our city’s resilience and was, in a way, uplifting.
The audience was mostly silent throughout the movie; it wasn’t the sort of film during which you whisper or munch down on popcorn. Everyone seemed to be quietly reflecting on their own memories.
And that’s what I think the film is great for – it’s a moving, raw look at everything that’s happened to our city since September 4.
It isn’t a sensationalised Hollywood blockbuster. It simply showed what has happened. In the years to come I’m sure it will become a powerful record of everything our city has been through.
But there was one part of the film that made it particularly heartbreaking for me personally.
The movie was dedicated to my friend Rhys Brookbanks, who had worked on the earthquake documentary after September’s quake.
Rhys, the joker of our journalism class, was killed in the CTV building’s collapse. He had started working at CTV just weeks before the February quake. In fact, he was recommended for the job off the back of work he had done on When a City Falls.
The last time I saw Rhys he was just about to start working at CTV, and was very excited at the prospect. We talked about having after-work drinks every Friday – him, me, Emily.
Instead, less than a year later, here were two of us watching a film he worked on, about the tragedy that claimed his life.
Life is so unfair sometimes.
Leaving the theatre, I felt incredibly lucky to have Emily alive and well next me. But I’m sure both of us felt the presence of an empty seat in the theatre that should have been Rhys’. And I know we both shed a tear for him in the dark.
Update of Red Zone images – Sept. ’11:
see link:http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/photos/red-zone-tour/8935/
The Cathedral Sept '11
One year on from the September 4 earthquake, Cantabrians are still asking when the aftershocks are going to end. Just this week, three jolts magnitude 4 or larger have shaken the region, following weeks of a relative lull in seismic activity.
In the twelve months since the magnitude 7.1 earthquake, more than 8,000 aftershocks have struck the region. The number is likely to be much higher, with many of the smaller ones going unrecorded.
“Particularly after some of the bigger earthquakes you miss some of the smaller ones just because they are lost in the noise – so you don’t pick them up in the same way,” GNS Science seismologist and geohazard modeller Matt Gerstenberger says.
Casting his mind back twelve months, Dr Gerstenberger says the thousands of aftershocks fit what was expected at the time. “I think it has fallen in line with what we would expect,” he says. “It’s not unexpected given the size of the main one.” However the two destructive magnitude 6.3 tremors, on February 22 and June 15, were less expected.
“More often than not, you would not get two in that size range,” Dr Gerstenberger says. “It is certainly not unexpected that they occurred but it was not the most expected outcome.” Unfortunately another large one cannot be ruled out. There’s a small possibility now for another [magnitude] six, but if you look at the numbers we have it is quite small but we can’t ever rule that out.”
According to GNS latest forecasts, in the next year there is an 82 per cent probability of a quake measuring between 5 and 5.4, a 39 per cent chance of a quake 5.5 to 5.9, a 10 per cent chance of a quake between 6 and 6.4, a 5 per cent chance of a magnitude 6.5 to 6.9 and a 2 per cent chance of a jolt measuring 7 to 7.9.
Dr Gerstenberger says the aftershocks may continue for “decades”, although felt events could be months or years apart. For example, there are still small aftershocks from a magnitude 7.8 quake which struck Buller in 1929.
“As you can see in the last weeks and months, the numbers of events per day are gradually slowing down, [but] it will take many years for it to get back to the level that it was at prior to the occurrence of the [September 4 magnitude 7.1].
“But the felt events will get spaced further apart in time, it will soon be weeks and then months between the felt events.”
One year on, the sequence of earthquakes has given GNS Science a wealth of data, which is being used to help better understand the volatile ground beneath us. GNS Science is also involved in 22 Canterbury rebuild projects.
“We’re focusing a lot on the rebuild – that’s our main focus,” GNS Science communications manager John Callan says. “But in the background the scientists are doing research on all the data which has been captured in the last year. There’s a huge amount of data which will take them quite a while to sift through and analyse. They’ve only done first cut analyse at this stage. But it is a real treasure trove of information in terms of earthquakes. – Paul Harper, Christchurch Star
Aftersocks!
What a lovely surprise to discover that the enterprising Rural Women of NZ have produced stylish and practical socks to raise money for the earth quake fund. Even better to have been presented with a pair:
In the Cantabrian colours and made from Merino wool. Fabulous!
See www.aftersocks.co.uk
Snow on the Plains!
For the second time in a month heavy snow is falling again in Christchurch as forecasters warn of two more days of snow, hail, sleet and gales before the bitter Antarctic blast starts to lose its sting. Many roads closed.
Christchurch under snow Canterbury Plains
After an unusually mild June on the 27th July Christchurch had the thickest snow fall since August 1992 and the second coldest day since 1918, there has also been a heavier than usual smog blanket hanging over the city which is attributed to the aftermath of the earthquakes.
Hope perhaps?From the NZ Herald 8th July
An American expert believes the city can be cautiously optimistic that the worst of the earthquakes is over. Dr Mark Quigley says that prediction was based on the fact June’s aftershock sequence was less energetic than that which followed the February earthquake which is a fair observation.
However, Dr Quigley doubts it’s all over.
“We want to move on, we want to say this is it, but I think anyone looking at the data and anyone who has compared it to other cities, I think it would be silly to say we’re totally out of the clear,” he told Newstalk ZB.
But Cantabrians are not letting that threat stop them from rebuilding their city, with the largest construction site in the country currently inside the Christchurch Red Zone.
Close to 100 diggers and 80 trucks are working there for 20 different demolition companies.
Christchurch Press: ‘Damaging magnitude 6.0 and 5.5 earthquakes which rocked Christchurch today have not lessened the Government’s resolve to rebuild the shattered city, Prime Minister John Key says. The magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 1pm, 10 kilometres east of Christchurch at Taylor’s Mistake beach, at a depth of 11 kilometres, and sent people scrambling for cover. It was followed at 2.20pm by a more powerful magnitude 6 quake, centred 10 kilometres southeast of the city and 9km underground.
At least ten people were taken to Christchurch Hospital with injuries due to falling building material after the 1pm quake. Other residents from the devastated city cried in the streets and hugged their children. Police said there were no reports of injuries following the second aftershock today.
The quakes are the latest in a series of dozens of aftershocks to hit Canterbury following the devastating February 22 earthquake, where 182 people died, and a damaging magnitude 7.1 earthquake last September. The February 22 quake measured magnitude 6.3 and left 100,000 homes damaged – 10,000 beyond repair. Christchurch’s CBD was left in ruins, with 900 buildings – many in what has become known as the ‘red zone’ – expected to be demolished.’
There have been over 6,500 shocks altogether – all this in a city where earthquakes were unknown. Winter temperatures makes the lack of power and water particularly daunting but happily it’s back on now in most areas.
Link to photos taken shortly after quake on 13th June:
Other news of a happier nature from Christchurch is that thanks to this blog I have been contacted by Graeme Edwards from Chch who is living England and was searching for the History of Willow Nook – he has been able to fill in some gaps for me as to the house’s history and has just purchased it with a view to restoring it. What a great positive bit of news!
Timeline
1870 – Edward ARMSTRONG marries Sarah Elizabeth WILLMER
1885 – Sarah Armstrong arrives in NZ from England (Newport Pagnall?)
1886 – Edward Armstrong arrives in NZ from England
1896 – Parker Westenra – A farmer from Dunsandel purchased 40 hectares
1901 – Edward & Sarah Armstrong buy 4.5 hectares and establish Willow Nook farm.
1963 – Willow Nook sold to Kathleen & John Leversedge
2001 – Willow Nook 100 years old and still owned by John & Kathleen Leversedge
2001 – 2011 – Property sold during this time to Korean Young-Gi Lee who set up the property as a guest house named “Rodem House” for foreign students and this was also linked to the “Christchurch North Apostolic Church”
2011 – Property purchased by Graeme Edwards
Possible leads for further history from people who have been tied with this house are;
George and Ted Armstrong
Kathleen Leversedge, possibly a member of the Christchurch Bridge Club.
Young-Gi Lee
Anyone who stayed at Rodem House
Please contact Graeme or myself if you have any tales or memories of Willow Nook: weedie_one@hotmail.com
‘I grew up Mundys Road, near Burwood Park which is about a mile from Willow Nook. Purchased my first house when I was 23 which happened to be in Torlesse Street which is just around the corner from Willow Nook. I remember going past the house every day on my way to work and always loved it and wanted to own it. Now I have the opportunity to own it and hope to recover as much of the history as possible and restore this beautiful piece of East Christchurch’s history.
I first saw the house for sale in the beginning of Feb 2011 and recognized it straight away. My girlfriend also loves this house and we are both very keen to come back to Christchurch to set up a family home. My parents went and looked at the house for us and sent over some photos and informed me that it will take a lot of work to restore the property. The next day, the 2nd earthquake hit Christchurch. I informed my parents that if it was still possible to purchase the property then we were both still keen. We had to have an engineers survey and it all still looked good. The insurance Co. and bank agreed and I now own this wonderful piece of history. My girlfriend and I were not fazed by the amount of work ahead of us.
The house has suffered some damage, both the chimney’s have been knocked off, there are a few surface cracks and some of the night store heaters were damaged. There has also been some damage to the water heater. All in all there seems to be nothing major.’ Graeme Edwards Willow Nook – History
An Avonside settler, Parker Westenra, of Dunsandel, bought 40 hectares in 1896. His boundaries were approximately from Woodham Road (Mile Rd), Ngarimu Street (Westenra St), Kerrs Road and Avonside Drive (Rhen River Road). But he did not keep the land intact for long. Five years later, in 1901, Edward & Sarah Armstrong bought 4.5 hectares, the land that established Willow Nook farm. Armstrong was a Methodist lay preacher keen to establish a small farm.
Edward and Sarah Armstrong
Farmer Armstrong’s son, Ted, milked 12-18 cows for a milk round run in conjunction with Willow Nook farm. Delivery, as far afield as Litchfield Street, was with a two wheeler horse-drawn cart with a small rear-door opening. Milk ladled into billies and jugs was delivered to the door.
Before his homestead was built, Edward Armstrong lived in a sod hut along Avonside Drive (then River Road), about four houses from Retreat Road.
The Armstrong property was in two parts, Sarah’s farmland extended from Ngarimu Street to a couple of houses past Torlesse Street, back to Holland Street, while Edward’s land was an area that in now Avon Park, opposite Kerrs Reach.
An early directory shows Willow Nook homestead was 516 River Road. It is now 690 Avonside drive – a bit confusing because both sides of the river were then called River Road. Now River Road is the north side of the river and Avonside Drive on the opposite bank.
Edward Armstrong died on January 2 1930 in his 94th year. Some of the land had been sold for roading about 1926. The last of the Armstrong’s to live at the homestead was Ella, a schoolteacher.
The house now on 2519 square metres changed ownership from the Armstrong’s the first time in 63 years when the Leversedges bought it in late 1964.
The large villa type home has five bedrooms, two drawing rooms, two bathrooms, two kitchens and a large games room. John added a second storey to the house but in every other way possible has retained original features.
When they bought the property there had been a small dairy out-building, coach-house, and a tall water tank. An old shed is all that now remains. It was quite a showplace in its day with tennis and croquet on the lawn and grounds that extended to the edge of the Avon.
Red Sails (Thames Barge at dusk) - oil on canvas Lee Campbell
The painting above is one of the pieces on offer, a romantic view (30″ x 30″) of one of the last of the Thames Barges which I saw at Maldon in the Essex Estuary some years ago. Magnificent boats! and as my studio is in a boatyard I have learned a great deal about river boats over the years. The ones with the wooden hulls are the best to paint especially when they in dry dock and apparently a metal nail from one will bring good luck (I have 2 and they seem to be working).
Blossoms
Every spring I’m enchanted and seduced by the beauty of the blossoms en route to my studio and foolishly attempt to paint them – these paintings don’t usually survive as I need the canvas for other things, but this year 2 small paintings and one tiny painting (done very quickly from objects at hand) remain as a record of the joys of spring:
Easter - Lee Campbell
Blossoms - Lee Campbell
Daffs - Lee Campbell
Surviving Ghosts
I was delighted to be invited to give a talk to the Surrey Branch of the Fine Art Guild earlier this year. My topic was ‘Thriving on Adversity – Surviving as an Artist’ that covered my experiences of working as a Resident Artist since leaving art college.
Sockin’ it to The Fine Art Guild
It really has been quite a journey! It began in the summer of 1992 when I was commissioned to do a painting of the Haley’s Comet/Giotto Space craft encounter for the Space Research Lab at the University of Kent in Canterbury by Prof. Strange (yes really) – and having just left college so having no studio, I asked if I could produce the painting on location and so began a series of interesting and challenging locations which included a 12th C Dominican Priory- haunted by a weaving monk, an Age Concern Day Centre (doing quick pencil portraits), an 8′ x 4′ sentry box on Grosvenor Dock, St Saviours Church in Pimlico (also haunted – I would feel a presence wafting past me just as the bells chimed 5 pm), several empty shops and most recently the National Physical Lab in Teddington.
Being alone in quiet places can make one aware of many atmospheric entities – some more welcoming than others, and they do tend to creep into my paintings from time to time – observant visitors to my studio will see one who resides in a quiet corner of my studio. Being totally committed to my career as an artist and in need of places to work, I have refused to let such presences deter me from working – so rather than allow them to drive me away – I have ‘employed’ then as models and included them in my artwork.
Most recently the horrors of the earthquakes and the loss of life in Japan and NZ had me thinking of ‘ghosts’ and lost souls and inspired this painting:
In this painting I’m trying to convey the idea that for many there would be no cherry (or any other kind) blossoms this spring – and tiny lanterns floating on the water would carry the souls to a place of peace.
Transitions - Lee Campbell
Another painting in this reflective vein recently completed, was inspired by Japan and a photo I took last year of a heron:
Vigil - Lee Campbell
Commercial Success
Delighted to hear that the Bridgeman Art Library have allowed one of my spookiest ‘Flurry’ paintings to be used on a French novel with a credit on the outer cover no less. These are based on the Robert Graves poem ‘Outlaws’
Mythical - Lee Campbell
Outlaws - Robert Graves
Owls – they whinny down the night;
Bats go zigzag by.
Ambushed in shadow beyond sight
The outlaws lie.
Old gods, tamed to silence, there
In the wet woods they lurk,
Greedy of human stuff to snare
In nets of murk.
Look up, else your eye will drown
In a moving sea of black;
Between the tree-tops, upside down,
Goes the sky-track.
Look up, else your feet will stray
Into that ambuscade
Where spider-like they trap their prey
With webs of shade.
For though creeds whirl away in dust,
Faith dies and men forget,
There aged gods of power and lust
Cling to life yet –
Old gods almost dead, malign,
Starving for unpaid dues:
Incense and fire, salt, blood and wine
And a drumming muse,
Banished to woods and a sickly moon,
Shrunk to mere bogey things,
Who spoke with thunder once at noon
To prostrate kings:
With thunder from an open sky
To warrior, virgin, priest,
Bowing in fear with a dazzled eye
Toward the dread East –
Proud gods, humbled, sunk so low,
Living with ghosts and ghouls,
And ghosts of ghosts and last year’s snow
And dead toadstools.
MORE GHOSTS
I recently made contact with the people at St. Saviours church where I was resident artist for 5 months in 1997 when I returned to London from Canterbury. I was living in Dolphin Square and had nowhere to work so asked the caretakers if I could work in the church and to my delight they agreed.
I had the place to myself except on Weds and Sunday mornings and I hired the vestry and ran art classes there. It was quite gloomy though so I positioned myself in the only place where natural light came in. When the sun hit the pews they creaked as the wood expanded – as if someone was sitting down, but the spookiest thing was the waft of cool air that would whoosh past at 5pm every evening so I wrote this poem about it:
Beyond Silence
The clanging of a bell unseen
measures the hours and quarters
but childish squeals from school released
are carried away in a river of traffic
as the fifth hour approaches……
When summoned from the cavernous gloom,
A restless ghost
Or a sunbeam shaft on the well-waxed oak?
The dark pews resting solemn
now creak joyfully
as if welcoming a dusty presence
breathed to life by the warmth and light.
I feel the intruder,
a witness to a private union
and must return to another place
beyond silence.
– Lee Campbell
Within St. Saviours - Graphite drawings - Lee Campbell
St Saviours, Pimlico - oil on paper - Lee Campbell
Bev tells me that they are ‘still having earthquakes …we are up to 9,988 now and that was a couple of weeks ago so be more than that now. Just when you think they are slowing down to go away then we get another around 4.3 -4.5 just to let us know that mother nature hasn’t finished with us yet
I feel that we will still get another bit one around the 7 mark yet before it is finished …forever hope not but it is in the back of my mind all the time.’
23 August ’11 Heritage Buildings no longer insured
High-profile Christchurch heritage buildings damaged in the earthquakes are no longer insured. Insurance cover has been cancelled for the Arts Centre and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament after major claims lodged following the February quake. The claims already lodged will be honoured, but the buildings will not be covered for any damage from a future quake.
Arts Centre director Ken Franklin said he was “extremely concerned about the risk future earthquakes pose for the Arts Centre”.
Cathedral leaders were less concerned, saying further damage from any future quakes would not dramatically increase the repair costs they have already claimed for.
The Arts Centre was badly damaged in the February quake, with nearly every building in need of extensive repair, while most of the Catholic cathedral in Barbadoes St will have to be deconstructed.
20th May
News from Bev working for The Star in a porta cabin in Hagley Park:
‘we get around 6- 8 (aftershocks) each day and have just had a good one 5.3, which they are calling another one for claims as it did quite a bit of damage. Just yesterday we got a 4.7 which lasted for 4 minutes … the buggers are still here!’
The Kiwi spirit is alive and kickin’ as this new thread of blogs shows:
Pictures from The Red Zone City Centre – 30th March
Colombo St looking south to Tuam
Provincial Chambers
Cashel St Mall Area
Colombo St (between Lichfield & Tuam)
Grand Chancellor 1 Cashel St.
Manchester-Gloucester -SW corner
Manchester St - Lichfield St NW cnr
Montreal St - Old Girls High
Montreal St-Kilmore St old Normal School
Old Metro Cinema - Worcester St
Stonehurst - Gloucester St
Kenton Chambers - Hereford St
In Ruins
Christchurch Memorial Service Westminster Abbey 27th March
Not being a church goer it was truly memorable experience to find oneself in such a historic building with 2000 people, mostly ex pats like myself. Hearing the Maori language, hymns, prayers, singing the NZ national anthem – seeing Prince Charles laying a wreath, and when Haley Westenra – the young opera singer broke down while trying to read her thoughtful testimony – it was all many of us could do not to collapse in floods of tears. The complex organisation and security arrangements went like clockwork and were no doubt a good rehearsal for the royal wedding to be held there next month.
It will take quite some time to process the variety of emotions that the experience left me with. On the train home we shared the carriage with many NZers on their way to Twickenham to the rugby game with a Sth African team which had been due to be played in Christchurch but was re located here.
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Update from Christchurch 6th March
From Bev who is very happy to be alive:
‘Go to www.starnews.co.nz and you can see our building as well as the
papers we are putting out …
I am back at work and we are in a porta shed on the side of the road. It never lets up really as still having big after shocks and a lot are around 4.6 -4.8ish so makes you wonder if it is going to be another big one – they reckon we are going to get a big one – around 5 at least, every month for around 6-7 months and also in that time another 6 so guess just have to ride it out.’
This link is from the 2nd March here in London at Westminster Cathedral:
I’ve never felt so proud to be from there, what amazing people! In the midst of all the Middle East upheavals the tiny city of Christchurch lies in ruins with over 300 people confirmed dead or missing and the NZ’ers living here organised this beautiful tribute.
Intact
PHOTO UPDATE – 19th MARCH
Arts Center Christchurch
Christchurch was the hub of our community – the very core of our heritage and although it is many years since I lived there, my most poignant younger memories centre around Christchurch Cathedral – running up the spire with my father as a tiny child, my first hamburger from the bar beside it and picnics on the river Avon’s grassy banks and the wonders of the museum. Poring over the cabinets of butterflies and bugs, gazing in wonder at the huge dinosaur skeleton and being enchanted by the Victorian shops and coaches.
My grandparents (William and Maud Turnbull) lived in Sydenham and my mother had won a scholarship to attend the Christchurch School of Art – now the Arts Centre, and also badly damaged in the earthquake – until she was forced to go out to work by the depression. She spoke of watching the soldiers march in silence through the Bridge of Remembrance on their way to war as women threw flowers. Her father had fought in the Middle East in a cavalry unit in WW1. She also witnessed the horrific fire at Ballentines from the window of Beaths opposite, where she worked as a tailor.
My father’s family, the Armstrongs, were among the first settlers in Christchurch moving there from Newport Pagnall with a family of 10, in the 1800′s – my grandmother being the only one to be born in NZ. They owned property called Willow Nook on the banks of the Avon.
The Yardbirds
As a teen my friends and I would pile into Bruce’s old Humber and drive the 50 miles up from Ashburton to a sweaty, smoky underground disco dive to hear Hendrix played with strobe lights flashing – so decadent it seemed to us in the 60′s. Eating at the Coffee Pot on New Regent St was the height of luxury and toasted sandwiches and hot chocolate at the Albatross Coffee Bar – all within sight of the lovely old Cathedral. We also saw live bands such as The Yardbirds, The Beach Boys, The Animals and Roy Orbison who also played in Christchurch helping to ease the isolation and bring us closer to swinging London.
On a visit back ‘home’ in the 1980′s proudly seeing my cousin Vivienne Mountfort’s exhibition at the Art Gallery in the Botanical Gardens – a tiny 80 year old fibre artist who did huge weavings including one of the Edmonds ‘Sure to Rise’ baking powder factory, with famous women ‘s faces in each window.
Could this be taken as an inspiration for the future of Christchurch?
Will they re-build? It seems that a third of the buildings in the city center will have to be demolished as they are so badly damaged and apparently the liquifaction oozing up from the ground and doing so much damage is due to the water table being close to the surface – Christchurch was build on a drained swamp. My dear friend Bev, who works for the Christchurch Star sheltered under her office desk and survived but was badly shaken and had to wade through this muddy ooze to get to her car. Her daughter Carmen was bruised by bricks falling on her and still the aftershocks continue. How are people managing to sleep I wonder? After the first quake people had begun rebuilding but I fear that many will not have the heart to rebuild again.
So what does it all mean to the community? Christchurch had never had an earthquake before although most of us would remember the Inangahua earthquake in 1968 which we felt even though the epicentre was on the West Coast. My uncle Arthur Turnbull, was the notorious owner of the pub there which took a bit of a battering but everyone survived that one.
Lunch time in The Square
Did Christchurch’s official Wizard survive? Yes, but apparently he plans to return to Australia where he will no doubt be unwelcome by those who remember him as Ian Brackenbury Channell, a right wing activist who fled from 1970′s Melbourne after death threats from the lefties and reinvented himself as a wizard entertaining the lunch time crowds with his pro royalist rants.
Wizard?
This has also been the week in which I celebrated my 60th birthday and saw myself on ITV’s House Gift (see video link below) – so its been a real roller coaster of emotions.
FAME
Twickenham Rowing Club - Lee Campbell Prints from Par Ici
Last summer an ITV film crew shot some footage in my studio and around Eel Pie Island and it finally made it onto the telle this week- 22nd Feb.
See video on my site www.leecampbell.co.uk – Video
All good fun and Gillian said some very nice things.
Drawing – I love it and charcoal is such a fantastic medium to explore ideas and solve problems, so forgiving and suggestive. This is a ‘collage’ of images of the Savoy from photos taken during the refit last year in preparation for a large oil painting. So many ghosts seemed to be lurking in the lovely old building – so many stories of excess and larger than life characters.
Kaspar the Cat
It was in the 1920s that the hotel’s most famous resident checked in and never left. Kaspar the Cat, a 3-foot-high wood sculpture of a regal feline, was expressly created to ward off any superstitions of guests dining at the hotel’s Savoy Grill. Apparently, to dine with only thirteen guests is ominous, and the first to rise from the table will soon meet with tragedy. Kaspar’s role is to be the official fourteenth guest, served with every course as normal, should anyone unknowingly hit upon the unlucky number of diners.
Good to be back in the studio again too now the weather is warmer – it gets so cold in there that ice forms on the inside of the skylights.
Studio in snow - Lee Campbell
Old boat winch
Would like to pretend we had ‘two feet’ of snow but it was only about 6 inches – however this is what my feet felt like working in there until I treated my self to some seriously solid and waterproof Ugg boots. Fabulous!
Two Feet of Snow
Lost in Music
Xmas was a delightfully cosy and musical affair with champagne and a CD of Dylans’ radio show choices – ‘Theme Time Radio Hour’ – an excellent selection of early American music. This was enhanced by reading ‘White Bicycles’ by Joe Boyd which provides an overview of the birth of Rock n’ Roll. I also accompanied Steve to the radio station where he helps out with mikes for the live recordings – Radio Wey (named after the river Wey) where Martin Clarke runs a blues show on Friday nights (9 – 11pm). The live act that night was Marcus Bonfanti – who writes his own songs and sings them with the conviction and experience of someone many years older -
I also revisited an old favourite of mine John Prine and watched this video of him – what a lovely person he is with a rare mixture of humour and compassion in his song writing. Was lucky enough to see him in the 80′s here in London. Also revisited a favourite from the 80′s – great lyrics about ‘dealing with the hazards’ by King Trigger it was the soundtrack of my migration back to London from Melbourne in 1983.
Other favourites from this period were ‘Modern Love’ by Bowie, Joe Jackson’s ‘Stepping Out’ and ‘London Calling’ the Clash.
All this and Huey Morgan on BBC Radio 6 current on 6 times a week!
Peace Pagoda – Battersea Park
Last weekend we were visited by Reverend Nagase the Buddhist Monk who is the guardian of the Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park. I first met him when he visited my shop on Ebury Bridge Road in 1998 and despite not speaking English very well his delight in art was obvious and we have been friends since then. Sadly, he is being ‘terrorised’ at the moment by a particularly tenacious vandal and is particularly vulnerable due to cut back in park staff. He lives alone and needs support more than ever so please help if you can – he welcomes visitors and can be contacted on 0207 2289620.
The Rev. Nagase spends his day in Buddhist meditation, ‘other works’ and in maintaining the pagoda, a job not made easy by the fact that people climb up it and make a mess on the second floor, an area forbidden to the public. He relies on donations to live and is grateful to the bread he gets from a local Caribbean bakery and vegetables from a Chinese vegetable shop. Any help is welcome, not least with his heartfelt pleas for assistance in cleaning the pagoda.
The idea of Battersea Park being home to one of Japan’s foremost Buddhist sects may strike the casual visitor as incongruous – to say the least. But to early morning joggers and dog-walkers it will not be a surprise. A saffron-robe clad Buddhist monk, gently beating a drum as he does a daily perambulation at sunrise from his temple to the Peace Pagoda, is a familiar sight.
The Reverend Gyoro Nagase first arrived in England in 1978 from Aichi prefecture, near Nagoya, in Japan, to assist in the construction of the first Peace Pagoda in the UK in Milton Keynes. In 1984 he moved to London, as part of a team of 50 volunteers and Buddhist monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order, to construct the Peace Pagoda in the park, which was completed the following year. They were living in what is now the Children’s Zoo but, as the site was expanded, the Buddhist order was offered a storeroom, in the trees near the Old English Garden, by Wandsworth Council, on the understanding they carried out all renovations and the conversion into a temple. Gratefully the offer was accepted, the work was carried out by volunteers and today, with just one remaining monk, that temple has developed into a successful centre for the sect, attracting Buddhist followers from not just London and Japan, but also people from China, Sri Lanka, India, Burma and Taiwan who are now living in the UK.
The Peace Pagoda stands about 33.5m high, and is made of concrete and wood. It has four large gilded statues of the Buddha, one facing North, one facing South, one facing East and one facing West. A small temple has also been built nearby, with just one monk of the Nipponzan Myohoji order as permanent resident. The monk currently occupying this position is Rev Gyoro Nagase, who came to England in 1978 from Aichi prefecture in Japan. Each morning at sunrise Rev Nagase makes the short journey from the temple to the pagoda, beating his drum and chanting the Daimoku. He spends his day in Buddhist meditation and maintaining the pagoda, among other tasks. Rev Nagase is a regular participant in the annual London Peace Pilgrimage, organised by Westminster Interfaith, under the auspices of the Catholic Church.
Gathering Battersea Park
Each year in June a ceremony for peace is held at the Peace Pagoda. Monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji sangha are joined by monks and nuns from other Buddhist traditions, in chanting and offering prayers in front of a temporary shrine set up in the environs of the pagoda. Representatives of other faiths and of secular peaceseeking organisations also offer prayers for peace. The ceremony finishes with traditional dances from India and Sri Lanka, and music of various kinds.
Peace Pagoda, Battersea Park
Nasty Scam – Artists Beware
This scam is currently targeting artists and people selling goods on line and from web sites.
It was quite a convoluted scam that took place over 5 weeks from the initial contact from a chap in Denmark asking about the artwork on my web site. This is quite normal I get a lot of genuine enquiries, and after many e mails he finally selected paintings to the value of £6,000 and said he was also buying some furniture from Manchester and asked if the paintings could be transported there.
He then sent a cheque despite being asked to use Pay Pal or BACs transfer but alarm bells rang when I saw it was a UK company cheque – with someone else’s name.
Then he requested that I send him £2000 to cover transport – by Western Union – and this is where he came unstuck as I’d not agreed to pay for that.
I notified the bank and despite the cheque clearing initially it proved eventually to be stolen. Easy come – easy go! It seems that this scam is being used worldwide and they are particularly targeting artists at the moment. Such a waste of time but good lesson.
Points to look out for:
The amount offered not same as price of goods
Offer to send cheque only – they are stolen and will bounce
Been frantic getting work ready for my new Hampton Hill Playhouse Exhibition and what a delight to finally hang it today! I finished the last piece yesterday. This painting re-visits my old haunts in Pimlico. I lived in Dolphin Square and worked as Resident Artist on Grosvenor Dock during the week then Tate Britain in the weekends so I used to spend a lot of time cycling along this stretch of the Embankment.
I managed to get 12 fairly large pieces hung in the space without it looking crowded.
The Exhibition is at 90 High St. Hampton Hill and will run till 24th January. For opening times please contact the Hampton Hill Playhouse – 0208 4104541 or myself – 07900 242997
'From Above' - oil on canvas Lee Campbell
'Battersea Glow- - Lee Campbell
'Revelation' oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
Time now to concentrate on the on-going Shard/Savoy commissions for the Byrne Group and private commissions with Xmas deadlines.
Oil on paper study of the extraction tube at the Savoy - Sept '10
It’s been so good having Holly (Dog) and Huey (DJ) Morgan (Fun Lovin’ Criminal) to keep me company. I always try and get to the studio by 10 in time to catch the beginning of his show on Radio 6. He brings a gritty rock n’ roll reality to the station and has a genuine camaraderie with the musicians he interviews.
Twickenham Riverside
The Autumn colours have been fabulous and having a dog allows for much more time to appreciate them on the way to work and lurk in cemeteries (Holly’s favourite squirrel hunting ground) on the way home at dusk.
It’s also the time of the ‘draw off’ when the Thames is effectively shut down between Richmond and Teddington Locks so the river edges can be cleaned of debris – shopping trollies and the like. The boat dwellers complain of sloping floors as their home ‘bottoms out’ and things slide off tables.
Other news since the last blog was an e mail from my artist friend in Sweden, known simply as ‘Denis’ he sent me this amazing image of the painting that documents his battle with cancer.
He explains:
“I didn’t paint a face consciously. But rather worked on the whole painting in ‘one movement’ over a period of about six months. So the size (over 3mtrs) prevented me from making a deliberate choice of any specific image as such.(too close.. to physically see it.. I mean).
The work changed as I changed my acceptance and understanding of my illness and its psychological effect on my being as a male.(Penile Cancer does that to a man). I have worked on a version of ‘mind’ projection (sic: physiogenomic projection) method for over twenty years- now and over the last decade or so I have made efforts in integrating both emotional and spiritual content into an image relevant to my feelings and experiences of the world and life.”
What a journey and what a fine way of dealing with the battle.
Networking and enjoying my new role as Secretary /Treasurer of BNI Hammersmith, we have an all girl leadership team and with over 40 members are the most successful group in central London.
Breakfast networking people
One of the new members is the charming Dereck Celis who visited my studio with his girlfriend Georgina and entertained me with travellers tales and this great picture of himself with Johnny Depp channelling Keith Richards.
I took some great photos of Keith off the telle of him during an interview and although I haven’t done a portrait for many moons his face is such an inspiration that I’m really tempted.
More earthquakes! Poor old Christchurch has had nearly 4,000 aftershocks since the big one. Another big one 2 days ago.
Poor old Christchurch is still being rocked by aftershocks and according to my friend Bev, who lives there, they have had over 150 of them- follow this link to see them recorded as they happen.
So much damage and apparently there was a terrific roaring sound as it was happening – what a horror - however the true NZ spirit – thriving on adversity is illustrated well below:
On a happier note – fabulous weather last week and off to Brighton to deliver a painting to a customer – lovely excuse for an outing to the seaside – fish n’ chips on the beach and the countryside looking lush in the last bloom of summer. Coincidentally, within the last few weeks I’ve been contacted by 2 customers from the Claremont Gallery in Brighton which was run by the lovely Pat Dodd until 2001 and who I’ve sadly lost touch with. It’s so good to hear from people who have my paintings particularly people who had bought them many years ago. Although they’re sold they still continue to be an integral part of my creative evolution and it’s been an excellent reminder.
Holly at the beach
Another delightful piece of news: ‘Rosie’ The Patriotic Piano finally has a new home – she was purchased by a father for his daughter and is now residing in North Yorkshire having raised money for the charity in the process. What a lovely end to her long journey. A very big ‘Thank you’ to all who helped to make that happen and you can hear her being played beautifully by her new owner
Went to a reunion on Frid night held at my old art college in (KIAD as it was then) Canterbury and the only people I saw there that I knew were my old art tutor Tony Mott, who taught me to draw at The Heatherley School of Art in Chelsea long before I went to Canterbury, and a fellow student from the year below me, Sue Fisher, who didn’t even know it was happening but had popped in to see the MA show which was also on. Lovely to see her though and made it all worthwhile. Good also to see Ted Harrison’s MA paintings, very thoughtful spiritual work. So weird though seeing my old studio space all empty and bare – I felt like a ghost – an invisible memory echoing down distant hallways. After all it has been 20 years since I graduated and I would really like to contact Sarah Dodman who graduated with me in 1991. Sarah are you out there?
Finally finished this painting I’ve been working on all summer, it’s part of a series of river paintings like this one
'Submerged' oil on canvas - Lee Campbell
More young talent in the form of Danica who is 16 years old and has auditioned for the famous Berwick St Studio in Soho in London and she has just got a recording deal with a record company
Check our this link – you’ll be amazed
What a sensational voice!
SAVOY RE-FIT NEWS
Also last week, a visit to the Savoy to gather more images for the project I’m working on for The Byrne Group – overwhelming, sumptuous, hyper-decorative, fantastic – like a series of film sets – especially so as there was no furniture in place yet – waiting for all the actors to appear. A real privilege to have a preview as it doesn’t open till 10/10/10 – very auspicious I’m sure.
The blue feet are to protect the newly laid flooring – some carpets still had covers on.
2012 looming large and I’m happy to report that Holly is thriving and has grown her winter undercoat of white fuzz. We’re still running to the local old cemetery where Holly bounds around chasing squirrels and foraging in the undergrowth – so lovely to see her running free, wizzing around the gravestones and trees. We were surprised by a massive Great Dane last week who was also enjoying a free run with his owner but fortunately he was friendly and easily bribed with treats.
I’ve discovered that Holly likes sunflower and pumpkin seeds – is it okay to give these to dogs I wonder?
We went to Pets at Home to buy Holly a bed that her fur won’t stick to only to discover that all the leather ones had been withdrawn because apparently the dogs were eating them!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw
Dog running – July 2011
Almost a year now since we collected Holly from the rescue home and it’s hard to imagine life without her now. We’re both much fitter too having settled into a regular exercise routine of dog walking and running. We still don’t dare let her off the lead unless in a secure enclosure but she has learned to run alongside me while on the leash. So for as long as my legs hold out I can share the exuberance of bounding out the door at 7am and running with hound. This is not always safe (several collisions when she spots a cat have resulted in a great tangle of legs) or ideal – jogging with one arm stretched out while on the look out for cats - and people do seem to give us a wide berth, but the pleasure by far outweighs any discomfort or humiliation.
The next challenge is to plan a dog friendly holiday and to my delight I’ve discovered that there are several web sites with directories to dog friendly accommodation: http:www.dogpeople.co.uk
Guarding the studio
Riverside Delights – March 2011
Sunshine on the riverbank at Twickenham’s Embankment today, no ice cream van yet but hoping to see him any day soon. My journey to work is a delightful stroll from Queens Road across the tilted foot bridge to my studio on Eel Pie Island via the riverside. On days like this it’s tempting to have a bask in the sun on the benches with my ‘Muse Hound’ Holly the Saluki, who has become a regular feature of studio life.
Peter and his ferrets
Today we encountered Peter walking his 2 pet ferrets and Holly was astonished to see them curiously sniffing up to her and not in the least afraid, in fact she actually hid behind my legs. The riverside is a joyful collage of rowers, joggers and mothers with babies feeding the ducks, (I spot a pair of Ruddy ducks and several Egyptian geese) coots, rooks, crows, pigeons, gulls and swans that congregate noisily where the high tides wash right up to the grassy bank.
Holly amazed by fearless ferrets
Ready for my close up...
Pondering
Party Girl
December 2010
Festive
Holly - recovered minus toe
Happy to report that Holly has made an excellent recovery after her op and no longer has a limp. We had our first day in the studio since the really old weather and she was absolutely fine.
November Update
We’ve had Holly 4 months now and what a delightful companion and integral part of our daily lives she has become – so you can imagine the shock when we were told by our vet last Frid that she had a tumour on her toe and that it would have to be removed! She had a slight limp when we got her and had been checked several times by vets who had found nothing wrong. It became much worse so we had her seen by a local dog physio – Fiona Buchanan who actually makes house calls. Fiona noticed that one of her pads was larger and more calloused and she thought it might be a corn. (Steep learning curve here – who would have thought that dogs got corns!) so back to the vets which resulted in a speedy diagnosis and the amputation of her toe yesterday.
Post Op
The xray showed that her lungs are clear so we just have to wait for the biopsy results now to see if the tumour was malignant and this can take 3 -4 weeks. Meanwhile, she is hobbling around and emitting a series of moans, whines, growls and sighs and looking very sorry for herself. No squirrel chasing in the immediate future for Holly but with the cold weather she seems quite happy to make quick excursions to the garden after being carried down the steps.
Squirrels?
August 2010
We collected Holly from a rescue centre in Tottenham where she’d been since being rescued from travellers in Ireland. She’s about 2 years, very quiet and has been a delightful companion since she arrived (although I’m told it can take 2 weeks for a dog’s true character to emerge). Her foster carer was French and we thought she might suit a French name – any suggestions? Someone suggested ‘Rosewell’ as she has an alien look. We thought Dijon as she’s slightly mustard coloured. She makes a splendid ‘studio dog’ and I can talk to myself now with impunity. A visitor commented, while stepping over her to enter the studio, that she was the most chilled dog he’d ever seen.
Autumn at last – clear fresh air and bright colours, my favourite season. Having a dog means I have an additional reason for being out in the early mornings so can really appreciate the changing sky at dawn as Holly (aka Dijon – still haven’t decided which name) and I trundle the streets of Twickenham. The problems with sight hounds means that it’s difficult to let her run free as her recall is pretty well non existent and last week she merrily sailed over a high brick wall of the one place I had thought was secure – with an 8 foot drop onto a road! Miraculously she was unhurt but it means I daren’t let her run free until I find an even more secure place.
Holly is mostly Saluki – Salukis are apparently the royal dog of Egypt, and perhaps one of the oldest domesticated dogs known to man. They were named after the Arabian city “Saluki” in the Middle East, which no longer exists today. Their bodies were often found mummified along side the bodies of the Pharaohs themselves, and their pictures appear in ancient Egyptian tombs dating from 2100 BC. The Muslims considered them a sacred gift of Allah, and they were never sold but only offered as gifts of friendship or honor.
She’s proving to be an excellent ‘Studio Dog’ and I can see that it’s only a matter of time before she appears in my paintings.
The ‘Muse Hound’ sleeping on the job.
I worked all weekend – spent a whole day doing a painting which was rubbish and then the next day repainting it – the pain, the pain of wasted hours. It’s actually quite lovely in the shed though, shrouded in golden leaves and listening to Absolute 90′s Rock with the rain belting down on the tin roof – reminds me of our farmhouse in NZ. Having Holly (the muse hound) helps too, she’s great company – although not too hot on art criticism.
Surprisingly, she actually fits snugly in this bed when she’s curled up but spends most of her time stretched out on the carpet. I thought it seemed a shame to keep her tied up so one day decided to trust her of the lead while I went out to fill the kettle – seconds later I caught a brindle flash out the corner of my eye as she disappeared off through the boatyard at great speed. She was finally captured but with no recall, clearly can’t be trusted unleashed.
Loch Morar – Oil on linen – Lee Campbell
Feb 23 Early morning 4.1 quake in Christchurch.
Anna Turner is a Star Reporter and Saturday columnist at the Christchurch Star.
