Mousehole artist Lizzie Black paints en plein air and impressively captures the character and atmosphere of the village. From the colourful fishing boats to the harbour views out to the Mount, Lizzie's use of light and colour create joyful pieces reminiscent of long summer days spent in Mousehole.


"Painting within the landscape is an utterly absorbing art practice. By working onsite my aim is not to copy, but to find a way of communicating experience. This might be the physical activity of movement, sound, wind or light changes. In some respect I seek to unlearn what I know and describe the subject objectively and without prejudice.

Preparation is crucial with a trolley loaded with an easel, pochade box, paints, rags, brushes, canvases sun hat etc. Painting outside brings with it a certain ceremony and protocol. I am aware that if I forget just one item then the trip has to be abandoned.  The scene changes constantly. While out painting, the wind is the most tenacious trickster. It can upturn the easel or even blow the canvas away and face down onto the sand.

I am happiest out painting every day, being constantly inspired by the surrounding landscape of Cornwall, and feel privileged to live and work where I am."

Andrew Lanyon is an artist son of the esteemed St Ives and Newlyn artist George Peter Lanyon, and grandson of Herbert Lanyon, the important photographer-recorder of the St Ives colony of artists from the earliest days.  Andrew wears this family mantel with great wit and charm, creating pithy and witty works of art in sculpture, found objects and collages, and tells their stories in fiction laced with allegory. His work, both in books and in various media forms, is eagerly sought by collectors and museums.

Von Ribbentrop in St Ives is an exhibition and a book by Andrew Lanyon. The...

Jill Eisele is a Cornwall artist that loves to paint in oils.  Jill says "I am always trying to use it in different ways…thin, thick, with collage or with sand and raw pigment. Paintings are typically on Canvas, but some are on paper and therefore under glass. Colour is enormously important, and I hope all my pieces resonate in some colourful way. I always have several pieces on the go at any one time. Paintings are finished when they say something beyond the obvious".

Having painted and drawn for most of her life, She has been influenced by countless artists. such as Barbara Rae, Gerhard...

The St Ives School




Although they did not see themselves as part of a group or school, the term St Ives School is often used to refer to the artists associated with the fishing town of St Ives in West Cornwall, which became a centre for modern and abstract developments in British art from the 1940s to the 1960s


With its special quality of light, artists have been drawn to the small fishing town of St Ives in west Cornwall since the beginning of the 19th century. After the extension of the railway in 1877 it made access to the remote town an even more appealing destination for them.


In 1928...

Steve Slimm is from The Black Country in West Midlands. He later lived in the Cotswolds and attended Cheltenham Grammar School. Moving to Cornwall, in 1970, he joined an art group under John Miller for a brief period. Painting began to feature as a main interest in his life, with periodic encouragement from John through the next two decades. 

Steve has been producing and exhibiting paintings in Cornwall since 1979 and has developed his art along very personal lines that both absorb and transcend tradition. He has become recognised as a noteworthy Cornish landscape painter, especially for...

  • 18th January 2023 to 22nd April 2023

Now in its fifth edition, Penlee Inspired makes a welcome return to Penlee House Gallery & Museum, exhibiting artistic responses from the public to the Gallery’s collections of art and artefacts.

This unique exhibition will showcase contemporary talent: professional artists, amateurs and total beginners have been invited to create works in a variety of media, including paintings, prints, poetry and more. Filling the galleries alongside the pieces that inspired them, these modern works will highlight not only the breadth of artistic skill in contemporary Cornwall and further afield, but...

Born in 1938, Gill Watkiss moved down to Cornwall in the 50s with her late husband, artist Reg Watkiss, living predominantly in West Penwith. They lived in Mousehole. Newlyn, and Zennor, before moving to a house at Cape Cornwall, St Just in 1969. This move was a key turning point for Gill's artistic career, and she continued to paint the inhabitants and surroundings of the market town of St Just for the next eight years, capturing the drama of daily life. Watkiss’ work was greatly influenced and inspired by the Cornish cottages and wind-swept streets of the local community there.


The...

Joan Gilchrest was born in London in 1918 and went on to study at the Grosvenor School of Art under Iain Macnab, as well as in Paris at Gwen John’s studios. Early on in her career, she held exhibitions at the Royal Academy and the New England Art Club.

In 1958, Joan moved to Mousehole and started exhibiting her work at the Newly Art Gallery and the St Ives Society of artists. She painted alongside artists such as Francis Bacon, William Scott and Augustus John. 

From the 1970s Gilchrest developed her distinctive naïve style, and her oil paintings were significantly influenced by...

Having painted and exhibited in Cornwall since 1979, Steve Slimm is recognised as a noteworthy Cornish landscape painter. Working mainly in mixed media- emulsions, acrylic and oils- Slimm has developed a recognisable style and a very impressive use of light.



With Turner as an obvious influence during the early years, the Cornish landscape remains the dominant inspiration reflected in his work. His work is now far from realism, with an emotional intensity that is self-evident. His shows are always colourful, with most pieces hallmarked by a deep sense of mystery.



Steve Slimm contemplates on...


We currently have a range of fantastic artists and pieces, ranging from emerging Cornish painters and established artists to prominent names from the infamous Newlyn School. 

Whether you enjoy traditional seascapes, abstract compositions or stunning ceramics, our extensive collection includes pieces and styles for a wide range of artistic tastes.

Please click the following link to view our full exhibition, which showcases a selection of fabulous paintings currently on display in our gallery: 


https://office.artlookonline.com/lightbox/1447/66367/march-exhibition-2022


The next exhibition at Penlee House will be a celebration of its fascinating and varied collection. It is twenty-five years since major refurbishment of the Gallery took place and in that time the collection has expanded significantly.

To celebrate this quarter-century milestone, the Penlee House team has taken a fresh look through the stores to draw out some of the most significant acquisitions in the Gallery’s history, with a focus on art and artefacts collected since 1997. Showcasing some of the earliest works to form the collection as well as more recent additions, the exhibition...

Renowned British abstract artist Terry Frost (13 October 1915 – 1 September 2003) studied at Birmingham College of Art, Camberwell School of Art and St Ives School of Painting.


It was during his time at the St Ives School of Painting that he had his first solo exhibition in 1947 at G.B. Downing’s bookshop. He continued to exhibit with the St Ives Society of Artists until he was elected a member of the Penwith Society in 1950 and maintained a permanent connection with the Newlyn school.

By 1951, Frost was working as an assistant to sculptor Barbara Hepworth in St Ives, where he was...

Colourful and lively acrylic paint installation by the American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt


Sol LeWitt was seminal in establishing the notion of ‘conceptual art’ during the 1960s. Wall Drawing #1136 Curved and straight color bands 2004 is one of a number of highly coloured wall pieces he made. It includes seven vibrant colours to create an overwhelming chromatic environment that envelopes the viewer. The curve, snakes along the wall. Every band in the wall drawing is of the same width and there is no area left empty of colour.

It has been produced for Tate St Ives by a team of...

Titian interpretations of classical myths at London National Gallery .

In 1951 Titian was commissioned by Prince Phillip of Spain to produce a group of paintings showcasing the classical myths taken from Roman Poet Ovid's 'metamorphosis'. 

The exhibition reunites all six paintings in the series , from Boston Madrid and London. 


A look at the extraordinary life of artist  Andy Warhol.

Warhol the son of immigrants , who became one of Americas biggest Artistic icons . Born in 1928 to working class parents from Slovakia .

It was in 1949 he moved to New York , he worked as an illustrator for some time before becoming the one of the most talked about Pop Artists of today.  

This retrospective is the first major show at the Tate for nearly twenty years . It includes never before seen work in the UK , along with the iconic 'Monroe' , 'Coca - Cola ' and Campbell 'Soup cans' .  

Born in London in 1933, Reg Watkiss went on to play a major role in the West Cornwall art scene as an outstanding painter, author and photographer.

He studied at Walthamstow School of Art and later at the Royal Academy Schools and whilst there he won the David Murray Landscape Travelling Prize.

He arrived in West Cornwall in 1951 and married his wife Gill Watkiss, another well-known local artist, in 1958. Both their work can be found in public and private collections internationally.

Reg Watkiss is well remembered for his paintings of the landscape of West Cornwall. His work reflects the...

It is one of the most

stunning beauty spots in Cornwall and one of the places that first

attracted artists to the far south-west of England. More than 100 painters,

sculptors, etchers and potters, as well as writers and poets, are thought to

have lived or worked near Lamorna Cove in the first 30 years of the 20th

century. But the cove’s future

now hangs in the balance after it was put on the market. Local people are

anxious about who may buy it, insisting that only a public body would be able

to protect the cove and could afford to maintain it.

 “What happens to Lamorna is a concern...