The Great Atlantic Galleries

from an introduction to the book 'Landmarks' by Jenny Grevatte...

Jenny Grevatte enjoyed, or endured, the opening of her first solo show as long ago as 1975 when she presented a collection of paintings at the St Martin’s Gallery in Leicester. Since then, there have been dozens of shows - solo and mixed - on a trail that has taken her from her native Midlands to galleries in London’s Cork Street, in Cambridge, Surrey, the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District, the Cotswolds, to the Saarlands of Germany and, of course, to her beloved Cornwall.

This is about an artist and her journey from being a talented but disillusioned art student to becoming a successful professional whose work is admired, purchased and treasured. Her story is far from unique. Countless artists have followed a similar path in the past and many more will do so in the future. It is about developing and nurturing a basic talent and set of skills into an art form that provides pleasure, provokes thought and shares vision and experience with the viewer. Along the way there are serious and recurring issues of self-confidence, of inspiration, subject matter, tools and media, discipline and the unwavering desire to achieve. Oh, and let’s not forget relationships, marriages and the rearing of children along the way.

Sound familiar? Well, of course. Everyone has their journey through life, their achievements and disappointments. In the case of Jenny Grevatte and others who make their living from their art, the journey is perhaps just a little bit more fraught and uncertain than for most.

Jenny Grevatte was born in Bristol, England in 1951. In her own words, “… from an early age I was always painting, drawing and making things.” Her mother, who herself had trained as a painter, encouraged Jenny and taught her useful basic skills. These skills and her interest in art, took her to Leicester Polytechnic, as it was then, to study Fine Art.

She describes her college days as “confusing” and “barren” due to the lack of structure in the curriculum and an obsession with installation work. An early love affair followed by marriage and the birth of a son led her to take a year out, which was perhaps a blessing, for she returned to college with focused determination and came under the steadying and inspiring influence of one particular tutor.

How many of us can look back at their education, be it at primary, secondary or higher levels and identify one or perhaps more individuals who had a major influence on the way things subsequently turned out? There were certainly two particular teachers in my career who unwittingly wielded such influence.

In Jenny’s case it was a tutor named Eric Hall who put her firmly on the straight and narrow. “Eric Hall was uncomfortable in those brash days of throw-away art; his roots were in traditional oil painting and his strengths in colour and texture”, Jenny recalls. Indeed, her new found mentor put her on a strict and comprehensive course, based initially on a thorough grounding in tone before introducing her to the infinite possibilities and endless delights of colour interaction. Hall introduced her to the vast knowledge of colour theory and experimentation by saying: “This is the colour keyboard upon which it is possible to play all the tunes necessary for any painting, be it complicated or simple.”

It was Hall who introduced the young Grevatte to Bonnard, Braque, Matisse, Vuillard, Degas and Cézanne among others. He encouraged her to get right up close to paintings in exhibitions to see for herself how they had been constructed and to record her observations and emotions in a note book. Describing him as a blunt Northerner who was deeply passionate about his painting, Jenny laments Eric Hall’s death in 1987 and acknowledges the huge influence that he had on her career. She treasures the three precious pieces of his work that she has and the many words of wisdom that he communicated to her, especially in the last months of his life:

“Remember, too many forms/colours/areas/directions which do not work for a painting will most certainly work against it” was one such piece of advice, much heeded now, many years after. Despite all the discipline and the considered approach he was wise enough to re-assure his student with these words: “Self criticism can lead to a full-stop if taken to excess”. Jenny treasures the influence of Eric Hall.

Out in the big wide world, newly married and soon to have two young sons, Jenny faced the daunting prospect of trying to make a living from her art. Some teaching in Adult Education helped but hardly filled the larder. Selling her work seemed the only way forward. But did the young Grevatte hawk her work around local galleries in provincial towns? No way. She took her portfolio on a hot August day in 1980 straight to the Holy Grail for up market commercial art - London’s Cork Street. There she was fortunate indeed to have her work considered by a remarkable lady called Lillian Browse at Browse and Darby’s. Lillian, sometimes known as “The Duchess of Cork Street” could so easily have dismissed the young and nervous Grevatte. Instead, she took her under her wing, selected a piece for an upcoming mixed show which soon sold for £100. Lift off!

Serendipity is ever present in the lives of artists - the Joker in the pack; always capable of making or breaking the innocent and unsuspecting. In Jenny’s case she was twice blessed by spurious chance. First, when Lillian Browse saw something of the artist William Nicholson in her early work and accepted that celebrated single piece. Then, after an artist backed out of a Cork Street show at short notice, it was Grevatte who Lillian called, on the chance that she could cover the gallery walls at short notice. And so it was that at the age of 29 Jenny Grevatte had a successful pre-season solo show in Cork Street. Lillian Browse has remained a friend and mentor to this day.

We now move on to 1991, Jenny’s 40th year and a retrospective of the now well established artist being held in the Abbot Hall Gallery and Museum in Kendal, in England’s Lake District. The show was held at the suggestion of Harry Rée, an educator and erstwhile Professor of Education at York University. Rée was another person who exerted great influence on Jenny’s career...

Michael JayThe Great Atlantic Map Works Gallery
St Just-in-Penwith, Cornwall
June 2005