Clare White Gallery

Look at this beautiful painting shared with us by George Sell whose parents are its proud owners. Painted in 1981 or 1982, it depicts the annual flower festival at St Uny Church in Lelant, near St Ives. George is even in it! He is the boy in the middle of the painting at the front of the church playing the flute :-) George's family knew Clare and he says he remembers her well and she was 'a lovely lady'. All Clare's St Ives paintings are all such treasures and lively historic documents of Cornish life. Thanks so much for sharing George. Our painting

Another fascinating scene from Clare's travelogue for this week's . The Mlincici water mills near Jajce in Bosnia and Herzegovina, painted in the 1950s/60s. (This was part of Yugoslavia when Clare went) She travelled all over the Balkans and captured snatches of life and landscape in her usual relaxed and sensitive style. These little family mills are still standing if you'd like to go visit. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1759889-d7117268-Reviews-Mlincici-Jajce_Central_Bosnia_Canton_Federation_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.html

Got to be a sunshine painting this week. We're in Barbados for this busy harbour scene of fishermen working on the ‘Mary H Lewis’ . Clare loved to capture everyday working life on the island and her popular Barbados watercolours featured in her first one-woman exhibition at the Salthouse Gallery, St Ives in 1981.

Our painting this week takes us to Palermo in Italy where this yellow baroque church is built in to the rock, creating a grand entrance to the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia - an ancient cave shrine buried deep below. Clare White paints her own 'picture postcard' of this stunning 17th century building, adding a little extra story as a bride descends its steps after her blessing in its candlelit cave. Yet another captured by Clare in .

As Easter weekend draws to a close, we thought we'd share a painting from inside St Mark's Cathedral, Venice, which was a favourite place of Clare White. This intimate study of a devotee praying by the glow of candlelight captures the hushed ambience of the moment.

We're back home in Devon for our today. Born in Sidmouth, Clare regularly visited family and friends here, and this picture of a thatched cottage with English country garden in full bloom is captured in her distinctive and joyous style. Probably painted in the 1960s. We love it.

For our this week we thought we'd focus on Greece and share four beautiful paintings by Clare

Many of Clare White's pictures, painted during the 1960s, act as historic documents as well as beautiful pieces of art. Today's shows women chatting in the cathedral entrance in the medieval market town of Trogir in Croatia 60 years ago. She scribbled Yugoslavia on thie back of this one - so much has happened since then. Sitting at the entrance of San Lorenzo cathedral, Clare captures every nuance of this scene - the nonchalance of the women taking a break beneath the grandeur of Trogir’s much-admired stone lions; and the town’s iconic clock tower in the sunshine standing over the busy town square. Confident draughtsmanship and an ability to capture subtlety of expression and movement in figures, animates this painting in Clare's unique style. We wonder how much this scene has changed today?

Thought we'd have a . Here are some images from previous Clare White exhibitions. Such wonderful times. If you spot yourself, say hello :-)

Its snowing outside! So, let's have a look at Clare White's study of a lovely and warm Murano glass workshop in Venice :-) In today's painting, ridiculously dapper Italian men, in flares, shirts and sideburns, blow glass beside a hot furnace and the glow of the molten glass just drawn from the fire casts a red hue on the scene. Painted in the 1960s, Clare loved to capture people at work wherever she travelled and these fashion-conscious Italian glassblowers – with very little regard for safety gear – seemed happy to pose for the English lady sat in the corner with her watercolours.

Our painting this week features the colourful houses of Grindelwald, Swtizerland. Clare loved to sit down and paint this beautiful town in the Alps. She probably loved it all the more if a young couple walked out in front of her wearing traditional lederhosen and a crisp white apron! This painting is a good example of Clare’s illustrative style which combines strong line, bright colour and an eye for architectural detail. It also captures a sense of place and a moment in time as the young couple walk along together, perhaps still a little nervous, with their hands plunged deep in to their pockets. https://clarewhitegallery.co.uk/

This painting by Clare inside Bourges Cathedral, France, was probably painted in the 1950s and is this week's because we wanted to highlight her beautiful earlier work. Less vivid in colour than her later paintings, this scene is still distinctive as Clare’s work from her confident use of bold lines, her natural grasp of perspective, light and shade, and her engaging illustrative style. Clare loved to study and paint beautiful buildings and this watercolour evokes the calm, quiet and timeless beauty inside Bourges Cathedral.

A Barbados boatman is busy making the Rose Millicent seaworthy in this bright and beautiful watercolour. We love the sunshine and the colour in our Clare White painting this week. Also, the concentration of the man bent over his work and the tentative leap of the boy on to the little boat, which his friend is steadying as it bobs in the water. Clare could capture expression and movement in her figures with great skill in just a few brush strokes. Her trips to Barbados, where she made many friends, were the subject of several illustrated talks she gave at St Ives Arts Club on her return. They, no doubt, learned a little more about the Rose Millicent and its crew.

We are in Spain for this week's Clare White painting. Clare travelled the world with her watercolours, but there are very few paintings in Spain so this depiction of the ancient bridge in Toledo is a rare example. As always, the painting evokes the feeling of the place and the calmness of the day. It also demonstrates one of her trademark techniques very well - her confident use of bold lines to define natural and built features. Clare said she was influenced in this aspect of her work, by her father’s favourite artist Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867 – 1956), whose own decorative style used strong, dark outlines, often giving his paintings a stained glass effect. . https://clarewhitegallery.co.uk/clare-white/biography/

This week's painting celebrates the ceiling of the Doge's Palace in Venice. Just look at it! Architectural magnificence captured by Clare's skilled artistry, joyful perspective and colourful palette.

Our Clare White painting this week is a Swiss one. Clare loved to paint scenes of village life in Grindelwald nestled beneath the imposing face of the Wetterhorn. This painting is a perfect example of Clare's 'fresh air', ‘feelgood’ style, distinctive watercolour palette and masterful draughtsmanship which beautifully captures both the essence and defining detail of the landscape. The fine figure of the goatherd is a typical Clare White character, and he probably posed nonchalantly for her with his prize goat as she sketched out the scene. Fluent in French and German, Claire no doubt shouted to him and prompted his happy co-operation in her work.

Our Clare White painiting this week is 'Feluccas on the Nile'. As we know Clare was an independent and spirited travellor and set up her easel wherever she went, painting everyday scenes which piqued her interest. This watercolour was painted during a visit to Egypt in the 1960s and captures the colour, light and essence of the Nile with men in languid conversation taking a break on its banks, while others strain to carry heavy loads to the felucca boats on the river. We think this painting really shows Clare's distinctive use of a bold watercolour palette and strong lines around figures. With the ease of an expert she captures light, movement, mood and life in her illustrative style. We love it. https://www.davidlay.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-251---clare-white-1903-1997/?lot=103847&so=0&st=clare%20white&sto=0&au=202&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=24&pn=1&g=1

We are delighted to announce that we have started a partnership with David Lay Auctions in Penzance. Please take a look at their beautiful new Cornish and Fine Art sale which opens for live bidding later this month and features some of Clare's original watercolours painted in Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, and Barbados.

Cornish Art & Fine Art Lot 20 - Andrew LANYON (1947) Freud, Lost In The Labyrinth Of His Last Patient's Mind, Gazes Out At Ariadne, Who Also Loses The Thread, 1982

We were very pleased to recently donate some of Clare's original sketchbooks, notebooks, production notes and hand-painted posters for events at St. Ives Arts Club Club to the the team at St Ives Archive for safe keeping and future study. Andy was supported by Janet at the Archives when he was researching his dissertation on Clare's place in Cornish art history years ago. Here he is with Jason from the Archive Centre. (note Clare's own original box file bottom front!) We hope her paperwork and memorabilia may inspire further interest in future. They are where they belong - and in good company.

It's getting to the time of year when we want to climb inside this painting by Clare. Painted while staying with friends one Cornish Christmas.

Spot of art history research here folks. Does anyone recognise where these paintings are please? Clare was so well-travelled and painted everywhere she went 'en plain air' but she was not terribly good at noting on the back of paintings where she was! We think this first one may be or and the others may be similar ... or maybe not. Please let us know if your recognise these scenes. Thanks.