‘Quiescent’ (Old Isleworth) oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Thanks to all who braved the gales last weekend to visit the island’s Open Studio Show.
Twickenham Lights
My studio is usually open to visitors but to be sure I am there or not teaching Tel: 07900242997
Twickenham Lights – Lee Campbell
A selection of new oil paintings:
Sylvan Gold 35″ x 35″ oil on canvas Lee Campbell – SOLD
Golden Hollow 30″ x 30″ Lee Campbell
‘Symphony’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell
New scenes of Twickenham – also available as Giclee Prints from ‘Frames’ of T’ham:
Twickenham Dusk – Lee Campbell
Miniature oil on paper paintings available as greeting cards ready to frame:
Eel Pie Bridge – Lee Campbell
Treasure – Lee Campbell
King Henry’s Mound – Lee Campbell
‘Renaissance II’ oil on canvas – Lee Campbell
Summer pics. of the island past and present: http://www.messynessychic.com/2014/08/21/the-tiny-island-on-the-thames-that-once-held-the-rolling-stones-david-bowie-and-the-uks-largest-hippie-commune/
It’s been a very busy month preparing work for Art District: a fine art gallery in Amsterdam who have commissioned a series of large paintings 130cm x 130cm. These are loose atmospheric landscapes inspired by Turner and a delight to do. Having been doing finely detailed miniature paintings 10cm x10cm for greeting cards working on a large scale allows grand gestures and require a lot of energy.
The cards are ready to frame and at only £8 ea provide an affordable way to own an original oil painting.
‘Awakening’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell
New work available this month includes the following paintings:
‘Lake of Memories’ oil on canvas – Lee Campbell
‘Second Revelation’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell
‘Arcadian Thames’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell 2014
Mythologique – Lee Campbell
Studio Clearance
To make space I am also offering big discounts on a selection of older paintings – see below :
Going through some old photos of my early post grad paintings I thought they may resonate with others also raised in rural isolation (Near the Rangatata River in Canterbury, NZ). Some of the paintings have meanings known only to myself (and my therapist) but they served me well in laying the ghosts to rest and can now be seen as milestones along the journey, old friends – long gone but fondly remembered.
Prints of some of these images are available from The Bridgeman Art Library:
The painting below was done for the Eureka Magazine produced for the Kingston Chamber of Commerce by The Creative People. The painting is oil on paper 10″ x 14″ and available for sale . It is also available as a limited edition giclee print the same size.
Kingston Bridge – Lee Campbell
New perspectives:
Every year I produce 3 x tiny post card-sized paintings for the The Royal College’s ‘Secret Exhibition‘:http://home.secret.rca.ac.uk/ and this year was delighted to be contacted by someone who had queued to buy one of my paintings of roses. She had missed out as the queue was very long so requested that I make her a copy which I was delighted to do. The painting had actually been done with my left hand as I was still having trouble with the right, so it is a comfort to know that I have useful degree of dexterity in both.
RCA ‘Secret’ Roses-Lee Campbell
FLIMMERN-GEISTS – Flicker Spirits
Shadow People or dark hooded figures that can only be see with your peripheral vision
The words “Flimmern” and “Geist” are Germanic in origin and translate as Flicker-Spirits or Flicker-Guides. This unexplained phenomenon was first described by the alchemist Jakob Bohme in the 16th Century as the ability to see shadowy figures out of the corner of your eye. Generally, these beings flicker in-and-out of a person’s peripheral vision and appear to be humanoid, dark and agile. The truth is that almost every person alive has at some time seen a fast moving shadow just at the edge of their vision and turned to look but seen nothing more. These observations are most often accompanied by shivers, chills and a sensation that something odd has happened. Scientists are quick to suggest that this phenomenon is just a “trick of the eyes” but fail to explain both how and why. Some explainable scientific phenomena: matadornetwork.com/bnt/60-insane-cloud-formations-from-around-the-world-pics/ Halos – http://www.atoptics.co.uk/opod.htm
august-2011-aurora-borealis-calgary-
It is possible that these unexplained apparitions are just the hallucinations of the brain as it tries to decipher the edge of visual perception but others believe that it is in this marginal zone that the eye and the mind is able to perceive another more paranormal dimension. These Flickering Spirits are often described as being cloaked but those that have trained themselves to observe this phenomenon simply describe a blurred outline that can easily be mistaken for dark clothing. According to late 16th century culture and superstition, these Flimmern-Geists were largely associated with death. They may well have given rise to the popular image of the “Grim Reaper” the personification of Death – a dark hooded figure that flickered in-and-out of a person’s vision shortly before they died. There is a current school of occult thought that proposes that these “Flicker-Ghosts” are somehow the guides that lead a person’s soul to the afterlife. The reality is that nobody really knows why or how individuals see these things but there is no doubt that many millions do. In fact, so many humans see them that they treat them as just-one-of those-things that, you know, just happen.
Presence – oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Can objects contain ‘spirits’ I wonder? The Japanese have a wide variety of ghosts including those who inhabit objects such as ships. The above painting holds multiple meanings for me and a positive and guarding energy normally emanates from it but on one occasion it was the source of a ‘flicker – spirit’ which caused a visitor’s dog to leap up and run after it. My current series of work has involved issues of absence and perceived presences:
Visage oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Haiku – oil on canvas – Lee Campbell
What does a ghost look like ?? Each culture has it’s own concept of what a ghost looks like and it’s interesting to note that the image of the floating white/grey figure as a ghost has only existed in British culture since Victorian times along with seances and ectoplasm.
Hammersmith Ghost 1804
Japanese Ghosts All 3 images represent Japanese Ghosts and I wonder which of these my readers feel to be the most representative to their own personal idea of a ‘ghost’?
My old site had ‘expired’ so I was forced to either employ a designer or have a go myself – so with much technical help by Steve – we managed to put a new site together last weekend. It’s fairly basic and we’ve had to sacrifice the video but I think it does the job.
Raisin Hell – Grape and Rasin Toxicity in Dogs
Did you know that dogs can be killed by eating grapes and the dried fruit derived from them??
Well, fortunately we did – but were unable to communicate this to Holly (our Saluki). On one of the rare occasions that she was left alone she decided to punish us by eating a whole malt loaf (with raisins)- she had ignored the dog treats on the bench.
We rushed her to an emergency vet where she was made to vomit and spend 48 hours on a drip. Happily she survived and is safely back at home – she treated the experience as something akin to a detox weekend at a health spa thanks to to 2 lovely Belgian vets (both called Julien) and the nurses who made a huge fuss of her. Not an experience I would like to repeat though.
Thanks to all the visitors (and organisers) who braved the cold to make the Open Studio show the best ever! Thanks also for the ‘Twickerati’ for his photo and excellent Twickenham blog: http://www.facebook.com/pages/twickerati/125429094134238
Mailing List
If you would like to be invited to future exhibitions and events on Eel Pie Island please contact me.
News – Nov
Delighted to see one of my older paintings on the cover of the Times Literary Supplement in November. The rights were purchased from The Bridgeman Art Library:
‘Quiet Place’ – Lee campbell
This autumn I returned to an old theme – Battersea Power station seen from the Pimlico Embankment, but this time in a misty damp evening light – a view I remember well from living in Dolphin Square in the 1990’s and cycling up to Grosvenor Dock along the Embankment. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was the architect who designed both the iconic phone boxes and Battersea Power Station.
‘Thames Embankment’ Lee Campbell
‘Eternal’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell
‘Beyond’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell
New Series
When I was at the Royal Ballet School last year I was enchanted by the patterns the dancer’s feet made on the polished studio floors. The layers of texture was made even more mysterious by the daylight piercing the darkened interiors and creating reflective pools of light – I photographed it at the time but only recently made the connection between these textured layers and the tissue collages that I make:
‘Ghost Dancer’ collage – Lee Campbell
Mixed media collage – Lee Campbell
I began the new series by doing several small oil paintings based on the photos:
Traces series – Lee Campbell
These were followed by a larger piece which sets the ‘traces’ within defined cylinders:
Triadic Optics – oil on canvas Lee Campbell
This image links in turn to an earlier body of work entitled ‘Rothko with Altitude’ Rothko-inspired abstracts with an upper band of skyscapes and will hopefully lead to more work along these lines.
Meanwhile, I wanted to bring some light and colour into the winter studio so painted these pieces:
Nasturtiums – Lee Campbell
Always good to have some ‘warm’ paintings to liven up the studio on these chilly days so I’v been using the last of the nasturtiums in the canoe garden outside my studio as subjects. They’ll be gone with the first frost.
Studio Eel Pie Island
Commissions Welcome
If you have a photo of a special place that you would like translated into a painting email the image and the dimensions and I will send you quote. I also have a staggered payment plan with the final payment made when the painting is delivered
Student visit
Last year Laura Tosh visited my studio as part of a uni project photographing people on the island in their place of work and took the following shots – a real snapshot in time :
Holly ‘the muse hound’ continues to provide good company and a presence obvious only by the occasional snoring from the corner of the studio. Many visitors are unaware she is even there until she rises to stretch – perfect studio dog.
Appreciating the History of Twickenham
With thanks to our great local blogger Twickerati : http://twickerati.wordpress.com/
Trolley bus to Twickenham http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iySshjjujog
Eel Pie Island’s early history
The island was previously known as Twickenham Ait, and before this, in the Churchwardens’ Accounts for 1608, the Parish Ayte, reflecting the ownership. In earlier times it was actually in three parts and Jean Rocque’s map of 1741 shows two parts. It has been claimed that the island was once connected to the Twickenham bank by a pre-historic causeway. Mesolithic/Neolithic artefacts: flints, horn implements, axes and hammers have been found in the river bed and on the island. It seems to have been a place for recreation as early as the beginning of the 17th century. Moses Glover’s map of 1635 notes a plot of land as “hath bin A Boulding Alley”. Only accessible by boat it still supported a public house first named The Ship, later The White Cross, during the 18th century. Henry Horne (1724-1814) is noted as the licensee of the White Cross in the Ayte for a number of recorded years between 1780 and 1795. In 1781 Mary Horne was the named licensee and in 1801 Elizabeth Horne owned the licence in company with William Fielder. The earliest mention of a public house of this name is in 1775 although there was, in 1737 one called Ship in the Ayte. No doubt this hostelry catered for passing river trade as much as the local population.
Samuel Lewis’s map of 1784 shows the inn in the centre of the Ait inscribed “Mr Horn”. Henry Horne was also a waterman: in 1788 he took the lease of the from Lord Dysart, renewing this until 1803, for the last time. The White Cross was replaced with a much larger establishment in 1830 and the island became a popular resort for visitors and boating parties, some brought by steamer. A watercolour by Thomas Rowlandson gives a flavour of leisure: various boats coming and going and visitors enjoying alfresco refreshment beneath the trees. The eel pies served were famous and led to the renaming of the island although with increased pollution the eel population declined and pies are no longer made.
The larger establishment took the name Eel Pie Hotel and the contribution which this establishment made to the development of British Pop music is legendary. It closed and was burnt down in 1971 while being demolished.Twickenham Rowing Club was founded in 1860 under the presidency of the Duc d’Aumale (1822-1897) then living at Orleans House and in 1880 built its headquarters on the island. Like Twickenham Ferry and, later, Hammerton’s Ferry it acquired a celebratory piece of music. Composed by W Vincent Wallace, The Oarsman’s March was scored for solo piano and dedicated to the Twickenham Rowing Club. Published by Robert Cocks & Co it was apparently published while ‘his Imperial Majesty the Emperor Napoleon III’ was still on the throne. In 1889 there was a proposal to establish an open air swimming pool at the upstream (southern) end of the island together with a bridge for access. Today, the island is now largely residential but sustains a boat-building and artist and craft workshop community. It also boasts a small bird sanctuary at its southern end. It remains connected to the mainland by a new bridge, though comfortably detached from the hurly-burly of Twickenham, for its residents.
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.
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
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
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
He’s back! Watching the video below I was surprised to see the notorious wizard of Chch. So good to see Regent St has been so beautifully restored in fact the city is looking surprisingly colourful and positive.
A shallow 4.1 magnitude earthquake has rattled Christchurch this afternoon. The tremor, at 3.33pm, was centred 20 km west of the city at a depth of 9km. It had a Mercalli Intensity (the strength felt on the surface) of 6, GNS Science said. It followed a magnitude 3.1 earthquake in the same area just after midnight this morning.
August 15 ’13
Aftershocks continue after a 6.2 earthquake hits Marlborough and Wellington – a great deal of minor damage and some injuries.
A minute-long earthquake has shaken New Zealand, halting trains and damaging Wellington’s parliament building. The 6.5-magnitude tremor was centred 35 miles (57 km) off the coast south of the capital at a depth of 6.3 miles. But while some structural damage and power cuts were reported, officials said there was no risk of a tsunami.
The quake hit at 17:09 (05:09 GMT) and was felt as far north as Auckland.
It smashed windows, knocked stock off shop shelves and burst some water pipes, but there have been no reports of serious casualties.
19th July Aftershocks follow 5.7 Cook Straight Quake
A 4.4 magnitude quake has shaken central New Zealand this afternoon, hot on the heels of the 5.7 earthquake rattled people in Wellington and Blenheim.
GeoNet reported it was “strong” intensity, 55km west of Levin, at a depth of 6km. The first quake struck at 9.06am and was centred 30km east of Seddon, south of Blenheim, at a depth of 8km. Rated as severe, it turned Wellington office workers white-knuckled as it swayed high-rises in the capital, with buildings also being rocked in Blenheim. The shallow tremor was felt as far away as Christchurch and New Plymouth. In Wellington it was felt as one jolt, gradually picking up in intensity, while those in Blenheim felt two shakes. GeoNet said the fact it struck off the South Island spared the region from its full force, though there were a few reports that it had a damaging intensity. Though it had knocked goods off shelves in Blenheim it was much too small to cause a tsunami, GeoNet said.An offshore earthquake needed to be at least magnitude 7.5 for a tsunami to be considered possible. The quake was preceded by a magnitude-2.9 “foreshock” in the same location 6 minutes before the main shock. By 11am there had been 17 aftershocks in the region, the largest a magnitude 3.7, 30km east of Seddon. Aftershocks were likely to continue for the next 24 hours.
Red Zone returns to nature – from Christchurch Star 22 April 2013
Shocks Continue
After all this time there are still regular aftershocks see this site for daily updates: http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz
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 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.
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 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”.
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.”
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. In the Cantabrian colours and made from Merino wool. Fabulous! See http://www.aftersocks.co.uk
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
Surviving Ghosts
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
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. 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
After a month of working on moody misty landscapes like the one above, the arrival of spring means that my painting is due to take on a more colourful attitude any day now. Coming from the South Pacific where the colours are brighter means that using bright strong colours comes naturally so it has been a real challenge to find beauty in subtle neutral shades – one I enjoy – but occasionally I need to replenish my soul with deep turquoise blues and red golden purples.
I’ve been exploring atmospheric optical effects and the latest I’ve found are Halos, Moon and Sun Dogs – A circular halo, is formed by the refraction of sun or moonlight through cloud suspended ice crystals as opposed to raindrops or other liquid water suspended in the air. Sometimes only arc sections are visible as opposed to a full circle. Brighter sections can occur above, below, and lateral to the center (where the sun is visible). The lateral bright areas are referred to as “sun dogs,” “parhelia” (plural), or mock suns because of their bright appearance and possible confusion with the actual location of the sun.
The use of this awesome phenomena may be a way to introduce more colour while keeping the ghostly atmosphere in the landscapes.
With spring’s arrival our wood pigeons have been very active and are keeping us entertained with their antics.The one on the right (we assume to be the male) has lost part of his foot while seeing off a rival but he seems to be doing OK and has learned to balance even in the wind with only one claw. They are nesting in the lime tree outside our kitchen window. FAT BIRD HAS DUVET DAY
Fat bird has duvet day
Columba Palumbus
That Monday morning feeling! This was the sight that greeted me along with a note under my studio door one soggy Monday. Some people have owls to deliver messages ……
‘Symphony’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell
Lee Campbell - Artist 