The Great Atlantic Galleries

margie bickford-smith

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Maenporth
90 x 121cm oil on canvas £995

Margaret Bickford-Smith was born in Saltash and spent most of her childhood at Trispen near Truro. Her childhood hero was her uncle, the painter and writer John Verney. At the age of twenty five she decided to fulfill a childhood ambition to be an artist and started painting. Her first painting was of a camellia, painted at an evening class in Helston. At the age of forty-two she went to Art school in Bath and now, the age of fifty eight she feels she is still only on the first steps of a long learning curve.

Margie shares her life with her partner Julian. Between them they have collected seven children, two son-in-laws and a grand daughter. They live in a converted stable in Wiltshire and they have an Artist’s retreat in Cornwall, to which they escape as often as possible.

My Paintings

“I am neither, peaceful, still nor quiet, all qualities I admire in others. In the paintings of the pots I have tried to capture the essence of peacefulness, quietness and stillness which so much eludes me but gathers round things I love.

“I have only recently discovered the Creek of the River Fal that runs up to Devoran. Here is a solitude and beauty that will take me the rest of my life to capture. Whilst painting here one morning, early; the sun blew away the rising mist; revealing an elderly man cleaning his boat. He said he had lived by the river for eighty five years. There is a whisper down by the creek that God steals down there every morning before the day begins and bathes in the ice cold water.

“I enjoy painting chickens, watching them boss each other around. I love they way they indulge in the latest gossip. At present they are discussing a new Breakfast cereal, called the Credit Crunch,

“The paintings of washing are really an illustration of what we human beings all have in common. We all think we are so different but in reality we are all the same. We eat, we sleep, and we wash our clothes and then we hang them up to dry. All over the world you will see washing hanging up to dry. In Venice, on the balconies in Paris, in India, in our back gardens. What ever our religion, what ever the colour of skin, we all hang up our clothes out to dry.

“I paint boats in Cornwall, for one thing, there are lots of them about. But they are very difficult to paint as they will keep moving.”

Margie Bickford-Smith, Cornwall Autumn 2008

Please call 01326 318452 (gallery hours) or 01736 786016 (evenings and weekends) to reserve the work of your choice.

Paintings may be collected by arrangement or we can arrange delivery from as little as £20 depending on size and distance. Money back if not entirely satisfied (provided we are informed within 3 days of your work being collected/delivered). Cheques and all major credit cards accepted. Colours may vary between the original paintings and the printed reproductions. All paintings are framed.