James Gillick
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Norfolk, England, UK
NationalityBritish
Known forFigurative Oil Painting, Drawing, Church re-ordering
Websitehttp://www.gillick-artist.com

James Gillick (born 1972, Norfolk) [1] is an artist who works in the figurative tradition. His studio is based in Louth, Lincolnshire.[2] He is known for painting still-life work, and also other subject matter which include game paintings, portraits, horse paintings. He is also known for his work in church re-ordering and gilding.[3]

'Chrysanthemums', 2009

Life and work

Gillick gained a degree in Landscape Architecture from Cheltenham and Gloucester College in 1993.[4] He is the son of Catholic activist Victoria Gillick,[5] and theatre set designer and former UKIP county councilor Gordon Killick.[6][7]

James Gillick has an identical twin, sculptor Theodore Gillick.[4] He is a cousin to 2002 Turner Prize nominee Liam Gillick, and his great uncle and aunt were sculptor Ernest Gillick and medallist Mary Gillick.[8]

Gillick has a special affection for the Flemish, Dutch and Spanish masters of the 17th century, in particular Velázquez and work in the Bodegón style.[9] Using techniques from this era, Gillick claims to handcraft all the materials he uses within his studio;[10] including oil paints, waxes, glues, varnishes, canvases and stretchers.[11] He uses a limited palette of six colors plus black and white, having prepared the oils from ground pigments.[12]

In 1998 he won a commission to paint Margaret Thatcher. The three-quarter length portrait was commissioned by the University of Buckingham to commemorate her six years as the chancellor of Britain's only private university. Thatcher is recorded as having been delighted with her portrait and supposedly commented, ‘Can I thank the artist for doing the impossible – a kind portrait of me in a way I would like to be remembered.’[13]

In 2005, a portrait of Pope John Paul II commissioned by The Bishop of Nottingham, the Rt Rev. Malcolm McMahon, was completed. The portrait, as of 2009, hung in the Lady Chapel at St Barnabas' Cathedral in Nottingham, and an identical copy toured the country's parishes on request.[14]

'His Holiness Pope John Paul II', 2005

Gillick also completed various church restorations. This included the churches of St Gregory and St Augustine in Summertown, Oxford. This work included new reredos . Panels were painted featuring the patron saints St Augustine, St Gregory and the Virgin and child, plus a further ten panels in a type of iconostasis.[15]

Exhibitions

Gillick's work has been consistently exhibited at Jonathan Cooper's Park Walk Gallery, London since 2000. It has been included in several mixed exhibitions including; Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Mall Galleries and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters also at the Mall Galleries.[1]

His work has also been exhibited at various art fairs including; Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fair, BADA British Antiques and Fine Art Fair and the London Art Fair. He is often included in the annual RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the CLA Game Fair and the Burghley Horse Trials.[16]

'Killard Point & Denvale', 2008

References

  1. 1 2 Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery 20th Anniversary Exhibition Catalogue
  2. ↑ "Brush strokes of Beauty and Pure Genius", The Journal for Lincolnshire Homes of Distinction, pp.4–6 (October 2009)
  3. ↑ "August 2009 by Whitespace Publishers". Issuu.com. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 Lincolnshire Pride Magazine (August 2009)
  5. ↑ "Catholic Artist shows new work", The Catholic Herald, 10 April 2009.
  6. ↑ "Mother loses contraception test case". BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "UKIP councillor Gordon Gillick: 'Poor, badly educated people are fat because they like it'", independent.co.uk, 24 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Shock of the new", Artists & Illustrators, pg. 34 (February 2007).
  9. ↑ Menzies, Janet (18 July 2015). "James Gillick, sporting artist". The Field. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Bridgeman Collection". Bridgemanartondemand.com. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Today's Artists", Leisure Painter, pg. 34 (March 2006)
  12. ↑ "StackPath". www.indcatholicnews.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Portrait of a lady that united old foes", The Times (pg. 7), 4 September 1998.
  14. ↑ "James Gillick Artist Louth Lincolnshire Paintings Portraits Still Life Drawings Iconography Game Purchasing Commission Portofolio Biography". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  15. ↑ Joseph Shaw (20 January 2009). "Interview with Fr John Saward on the restoration of SS Gregory & Augustine". New Liturgical Movement. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  16. ↑ Stanford, 10-11
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