Keswick’s newest art gallery, The Blencathra Gallery, situated on the third floor of the Northern Lights Gallery, 22 St Johns Street, will host a new showing of Godfrey Tonks’ oil paintings from 10:00hrs this Saturday, 01 December until the end of 2018.
"Godfrey’s vibrant oil paintings perfectly suit this new exhibition space”, said Tim Fisher the gallery owner. Each month one represented artist will have the opportunity to have a solo show of new paintings / artwork hanging within this newly commissioned exhibition space; we are now taking bookings beyond Easter 2020 so popular has this venture been.”
Godfrey Tonks, and his wife Jane moved to Penrith in 1995 from west Yorkshire where Godfrey had taught art, commented that ”I am hugely inspired by the Lakes, so much variety and so many possibilities, the extent of this landscape is on a far greater scale than many imagine”. By his own admission, Godfrey is distantly related to the famous turn-of-the-century painter and surgeon Henry Tonks (1862 - 1937) who once ran the Slade School of Fine Art in London with an iron grip & was an official WW1 war artist.
Commented Tim, “In truth, and knowing that I specifically wanted Godfrey to be our inaugural artist, the colour scheme for the gallery was a little bit tailored to his oil and canvasses”, we may have to tone down some of the paint scheme in the new year, but we will see what the next artist, Maria Burton from Penrith, has to say on the matter”.
Tim, a professional photographer himself confided “I own a few paintings, one being a Tonks” though Godfrey is, he says, unaware of this fact, though I suspect that cat is now firmly out of the bag!
Godfrey (70) was represented in London with the Medici Gallery until recently, only curtailing the relationship due to the extended travel commitments; now represented by the NLG in Keswick. Godfrey’s greatest inspiration is very much grounded in the northern Lake District, which is self evident in his sumptuously vibrant oil paintings which have a new lease of life in this exhibition space.
“Historically in the art world, landscapes were seen as very much subordinate to portraiture, though this has seen something of a volte face of late, if you look back, still life, religious and genre paintings, through to the early 1900’s, landscapes have always been less important in the auction houses, galleries and art rooms, though I would argue that smart phones and social media have brought about a change in the public’s perception and buying habits of landscape art”, “.. though we currently do not show portraiture in the gallery, which on a personal level, is a great shame.” Tim added.
