Lee Campbell

A warning to fellow artists:

For the second time in 5 years I have been contacted by a scammer or scammers using the same ruse.

Firstly a flattering email requesting the price of one or several paintings (note very bad English and punctuation, also an unusual email address) saying they are working overseas (Paris or Denmark) and saying they will have the work collected.

Secondly, they will request the address to send the cheque - despite being told pay with bank transfer or PayPal.

The third stage is to request money from you  on the pretext of delivery fees or similar, along with a cheque - the cheque may arrive but in the case of the first scammer, this will be a stolen cheque.

So please be aware and pass this on.

Good luck

Lee

During the Rugby World Cup I am offerering special prices for overseas visitors.  

You are invited to visit my studio on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham to view original oil paintings which can be purchased direct and shipped overseas. Prices to suit all budgets.

I am a NZ-born artist who has been based in Twickenham for 20 years and over the last 6 months I have been working on a series of paintings of the Thames in central London and views of the river closer to my studio on Eel Pie Island.

I have a selection of original oil paintings, prints, drawings and cards available to suit all budgets.

I also have a series of miniature oil paintings as cards ready to frame.

For further details please see www.leecampbell.co.uk

For 60's music lovers there is a Music Museum here in Twickenham which charts the bands who played in the famous hotel on Eel Pie Island

Earlier this month I was employed by ABP (Assoc. British Ports) as the resident artist for Southampton where I have been making a series of oil on paper sketches of the various aspects of this very diverse environment. The town itself has some historic buildings and a city wall which looks out towards all the industrial activity happening around the port. When the large cruise liners dock they tower over the edges of the town dwarfing the daily activity below. There are also yachts, tugs, container ships, car ferries to the Isle of Wight, and next month some sailing ships will be in the port - quite a challenging subject I think. 

I am also delighted to be a gallry artist with Art District in Amsterdam, making large atmospheric oil on canvas paintings exclusively for the gallery. These can be seen on this site and are available from the gallery.

I've just completed 5 landscape paintings much bigger than I've usually worked and found it be a real pleasure, especially as the gallery who commissioned the work was keen that I did not put too much detail in. Previously I've had requests to make quite detailed work of local scenes such as 'The View' from Richmond Hill looking down on the bend in the Thames River. This view has been painted by artists since Turner's time and beyond and is preserved from building development. The flood plane known as Petersham Meadow has cows grazing on it and the hill above is a favourite place for romance, with many weddings and proposals taking place with 'The View' as a back drop.

The Thames painters from the 18th century - J.M.W. Turner and James McNeil Whistler are both great heros of mine and the River Thames has personal significance so you can imagine how I appreciate having my studio on Eel Pie Island in the Thames just up river from the island in the view. Eel Pie Island was very famous in the late 1950's and '60s firstly as a jazz venue then the place where some of the first rock bands - The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart etc. played. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel_Pie_Island

The community of Eel Pie Artists have an Open Studio event this weekend. This is a bi annual event and the next one will be in December.  See my site for more details: www.leecampbell.co.uk

Great eventing mixing it with the hoi polloi - Dukes & dames etc. last night at Hampton Court Palace for an event celebrating the 'Arcadian Thames'. Richard and Doug http://www.richarddouglasproductions.co.uk/ had used my paintings of the river in a video that played behind the performance and speakers (Sir Trevor Mac D. Dame Eileen Atkins, Sir David Attenborough etc.) used to trace the history or the Thames with Eel Pie Island right at the centre of Arcadian London. Real thrill to hear the appreciative comments anonymously but best of all to see the old palace at dusk and be able to wander around without any tourists. It really is a very spooky place with creaky floors and gargoyles looking down from the gloom. Loved it!

I was invited to show my artwork at the Florence Biennale last year and was one of 6 artists (from 7750) selected for review by Bluearte the national Italian web site. For more news and images see my blog www.leecampbell.co.uk

My studio has many functions apart from being a delightful place to work with my dog Holly dozing in the corner. It also provides an inspiring teaching area for private students and a quiet reflective place to coach clients in. The surroundings are extraordinary: being a working boat yard there are always different boats with their hulls exposed for cleaning and repairing and many different people passing to the studios beyond. The riverbank opposite has York House, Marble Hill House and Orleans House while Ham House is clearly visible also. Geese, rowers, swans, gulls, boats of all descriptions float past and the notorious inventor of the wind up radio Trevor Bayliss is our most famous resident.

I welcome visitors

'Light Fantastic' an exhibition of work inspired by The Royal Ballet School 18 Oct -14 Nov 2011
at The Portland Gallery Richmond, UK e mail:
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.

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.

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.
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.

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:

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 - 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.

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 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 and 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.

Lee Campbell

Studied at The Heatherley School of Art
Chelsea College of Art
Canterbury College of Art (BA Hons) 1991
University of Kent (MA) 1994

In 1995 Campbell became the first Resident Artist of King’s School Canterbury. She was based in Blackfriars, a 13th century Dominican Priory home to the school’s art department. In contrast, she was also commissioned by The University of Kent to paint a mural for the Space Research Unit. Following this, she worked as Resident Artist at Canterbury’s Christ Church College, where she taught and exhibited work based on local architecture.

Returning to London in 1997 Campbell became the Resident Artist at St. Saviour’s Church, Pimlico; working in the cavernous gloom of the empty church she explored the dramatic play of light upon the rich interior surfaces.

Following a 2 year residency for Westminster Council (on Grosvenor Docks), studying the urban riverside of Pimlico, she is now based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham.

She has run painting workshops at Tate Britain and currently teaches at the Heatherley School of Art in Chelsea. Her work is held in private collections worldwide.

Artist’s Statement
The essence of my work is distilled from my immediate surroundings and the current series is derived from the seasonal fluctuations of Richmond Park and the Thames-side. My intention is to use colour to generate different moods and to suggest dimensions hidden within familiar locations.

My choice of colours is influenced by the lakes and rivers of New Zealand, where I spent my childhood. The vibrant turquoise blues of the Pacific Ocean and the golds of the South Island hill country are infused with the haunting mists of the Thames riverside, and the changing skies and leaves visible through the skylights of my studio. The recent work has evolved from my interpretation and fusion of these two realities.

Winner of the Worshipful Company of Painter Stainers Award 1998

When commissioning an artwork the best way to find the correct size for the space is to tape a sheet of paper to the wall in the desired location and measure it. This will ensure that the artwork's proportions will correctly enhance your chosen location.

Lee Campbell welcomes commissions and is happy to work from photographs see:Commissions