Friday 22 March 2024

NEWS & UPDATES: OBITUARY, ARTIST, GILL WATKISS 1938-2024

 Gill Watkiss, Artist, 1938-2024

Gill Watkiss has been a leading figure in the West Cornwall art scene for several decades.

Born in Walthamstow, London, in 1938, at eighteen, she visited Cornwall with her husband, the artist Reg Watkiss.

Gill fell in love with the rugged beauty of the West Penwith coastline, mining villages, and harbour towns and relocated permanently from London to Cornwall.

They lived in St.Levan, Zennor and, in the late 1960s, moved to the small mining town of St.Just, the inspiration for much of her work and sole subject of her paintings for the following eight years.

Gill's unique imagery of Cornwall, the people, the places, and hauntingly beautiful coastline have become highly sought after and collected internationally.

Despite her increasing popularity and recognition, Gill was a very private person. She did not seek or enjoy publicity and lived only to paint and enjoy her family.

After moving from St Just to Penzance, her subject matter moved on, encapsulating the winding lanes, coastal paths and unique towns and villages across Cornwall.

Local parks and playgrounds were a popular theme, each painting telling a story of love, loss, life and everyday events.

A quote from a 2017 article in the Guardian, written by Paula Coccoza, provides a great tribute to her work.

Wind is a metaphor for change, the passage of time, the past and the future (the answer, my friend...”). It blows in the art of Van Gogh, through Hokusai to the far western tip of Cornwall and Gill Watkiss, whose landscapes are peopled by figures permanently bent, snapped over by the wind, hair whipped.

The writer Judith Cook wrote,

Lost as we now seem to be in a sterile desert of minimalism, Gill Watkiss' paintings sing out from the walls with energy in a marvellous affirmation of the strength of human spirit.

Gill enjoyed a close relationship with her brother, David Tomlin, a lithographer. They worked together for several years on lithographs of her work.

Gill's passion for painting was only equalled by love for her family, her six children, Dawn, Sharon, Louise, Rebecca, Rachael and Julian, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

This vibrant, unique and extraordinary woman leaves behind the legacy of her outstanding paintings.

The painful physical absence felt by family and friends will be filled with many beautiful memories.

Oil on Canvas After The Party 2024


Tuesday 28 February 2023

New Release OUT NOW

 



Those were her last words 'wish me luck!'
What happened to Jessie the day she left Greasy Joe's?
Twelve dark or darkly funny contemporary short stories.
Spend time with each, very individual character as they narrate their story.
Discover their jealousies, loves, delusions, dreams, crimes and acts of kindness.
Greasy Joe's.
Not Like Back Then.
Curriculum Vitae
Number Thirty-Four, The Ivy House
What They Don't Know
Henry The Eighth
I Didn't See Anything
Ouagadougou
Green Eye's
Jimmy and The Ferret
In My Dreams
Strangers On A Train



First Amazon review 

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 25 April 2023
Short stories that drew me in and kept me engaged. Everyday life both strange and familiar observed through a range of diverse characters.


's review
 

it was amazing
bookshelves: favourites


Intrigued by the cover and title, I downloaded this new release.
Outstanding. I loved this collection of stories. Some are pretty dark, some sad and funny, though all have a strong vein of humour that brings the characters and stories to life.
The dialogue and narration running through each story are a joy.
There are twelve stories and it's hard to choose a favourite.
Greasy Joe's is sad, and Henry The Eighth is dark and also funny. I loved Jimmy and the Ferret and Ouagadougou was laugh-out-loud brilliant. Oh, and I have to add the final one, Strangers on a Train.
Each story left me wanting more and the book left me wanting a second collection from this author.
Different and original.

Sunday 1 March 2020

NON FICTION at Pillar Press


In Conversation with Gill Watkiss
In Conversation with Gill Watkiss CLICK HERE to find it on Amazon 

 In Conversation With Gill Watkiss is a faithful and candid transcript of three separately recorded conversations with the artist during October and November 2019.
The biography begins with Gill's experiences of growing up in Walthamstow, London, and her evacuation to the countryside during world war two.
The second conversation explores the series of events which led to Gill's move from London to Cornwall at the age of nineteen, the inspiration behind her work, and the emotional attachment she has to Cornwall and the West Penwith in particular.
The third and final recording focuses on Gill's thoughts on life in general.
This book has been devised to give the reader the impression of personally engaging with the artist.
Some paintings included in the book are from Gill's private collection and have not been previously exhibited.


The Clock Tower, St Just. Gill Watkiss


Monday 10 June 2019

Pillar Press CONTEMPORARY DRAMA

Lies & Revelations.

"What I realised after reading L&R is that we are left to speculate about who Zeta really is. The book's POV is limited to what is in Zeta's head, and you have deftly woven a picture of whom she is within the narrow scope of her own thoughts and perspective. Having said that, she sees herself as troubled and misunderstood, innocent and naive."

Zeta May is a woman in her mid-twenties.
A traumatic accident dramatically shaped her early childhood, although the memory of that day eludes her.
Angie remembers everything and decides that the only way to help Zeta is by telling her the truth.
Will that truth help or send her on a path of personal destruction?
We meet Zeta as she stands watching from her bedroom window as a young family moves into the cottage next door.
Zeta feels an immediate resentment towards the new neighbours and instinctively doesn't like Ray, the father. Something about his whole demeanour makes her feel uneasy.
In this story, we travel with Zeta through a decade of her extraordinary life.
Lies & Revelations is a gripping and compelling novel looking at emotional extremes, moral dilemmas, love, deceit, and not-so-simple, twists of fate.



Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 
Report
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 

Wednesday 1 May 2019

Pillar Press. CHILDREN'S BOOKS







Caterpillar Cat is a delightful and entertaining story about a stray cat and a little girl called Rose. Rose first sees Caterpillar Cat walking along the snowy rooftops outside her bedroom window. Caterpillar Cat is cold and lonely. What will Rose and her mum do to help, and how did Caterpillar Cat get her name?



A very sweet story, my granddaughter loves this as her new bedtime night read, finally I can stop reading Hungary Caterpillar her old favourite at bed. Illustrations charming and funny.

5 stars A funny heart-warming story about a cat.

My daughter loved this heart-warming story about a cat. Fun illustrations that made us smile. A great book at bedtime for younger children.