Belinda King

Belinda King

Belinda King’s paintings sing with colour - the colour of landscapes rooted in memory which, though descriptive, are never exclusively about the place, but always about the moment.

Her early work focused on printmaking, creating images which describe, often through mythological references, an internal emotional landscape related to life events, dreams and memories of her childhood in Africa. Eventually this period and method of working came to an end - “I felt I had said all there was to say” - so Belinda returned to her first love of painting and landscape for new inspiration. She says that she doesn’t miss the printmaking and considers printmaking and painting as two separate journeys, one completed and the other now in full flow.

Belinda’s painting involves a spontaneity which has given rise to a new and increasingly assured means of emotional expression. However this is underpinned by a rigorous understanding of the way colours work in combination. Gestural marks and saturated tones, often in surprising combinations, pull the viewer in, and passages of light and shade can stop you in your tracks. Colours are not literal. The earth in her childhood Kenya was red, the stormy skies black, the trees gold.

The paintings sometimes come together in a matter of days but often canvases are worked on and refined over a long time. Small field sketches often with added colour notes are her source material and from these larger compositions are planned, reduced and refined in pencil before being committed to canvas. The paintings are completed in the studio where Belinda feels free to pare down, simplify and so clarify the final image.

Some themes repeat throughout her work - the land dominates; there is very little sky. In fact that sky is often divided, hinting at a fear and sense of foreboding for the future - a poignant metaphor for these worrying times. Paths and tracks provide a way into the compositions - “Even if there isn’t a path I’ll make one”. Certain motifs are repeated across her work - a solitary tree on the horizon, a leaden sky, the brilliant white of a sunlit rock face. A common feature is that these landscapes are empty of people. Belinda feels most moved by the solitude - as opposed to the loneliness - such places evoke, and feels that figures in landscapes work against this and can too easily become the subject of the painting, so she leaves them out.

But often her work concerns very human issues. ‘Spring in the time of Lockdown’ with its brightly lit cherry tree set against a harsh dark background of sinister buildings illustrates her anxieties around the pandemic; the beautiful spring blossom in stark contrast to feelings of bleakness and despair. ‘Missing the Grandchildren’ ,with an abandoned pink ball and Wendy house, was painted whilst separated from her grandchildren by the virus.

There is a gradual movement in Belinda’s work towards simplification and reduction. Her aim is to create images which suggest a landscape through abstraction but always hang onto their subject matter. Influences include Keith Vaughan and Ivon Hitchens through to contemporary artists such as David Prentice and David Mankin.

Colours chosen on an emotional level create a powerful response. These contemplative images generously give the viewer time and space for their own interpretations and in so doing they speak of our shared humanity.

Brin Edwards

Belinda King was born In Kenya in 1944. She came to England in1962 to study art at St Martins School of Art, receiving the National Diploma of Design (NDD) specialising in painting in 1966, followed by a post graduate teaching diploma. She spent several years teaching art before giving up to raise a family.

In 1980 she joined the newly formed Gainsborough’s House Print Workshop, later taking on the job of technician, running printmaking classes and finally becoming chairwoman. She became a member of 12PM Twelve Printmakers. In 2003 she changed direction once again and returned to painting, mainly in oils.

Exhibitions

(*= Gainsborough’s House Print Workshop group exhibitions)

1980 Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury, Suffolk *

1981 Scribes Cellar, Blackfriars, London (solo)
Gallery on the Cam, Cambridge *

1982 Gallery on the Cam, Cambridge (solo)
Greenwich Printmakers *

1983 Present Prints - Forum Gallery, Hadleigh, Suffolk
Christchurch Mansions, Ipswich, Suffolk *

1984 Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury, Suffolk (solo)
Pimlico Properties *
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (Image used in the RA calendar, and on the cover)
Welsh Touring Exhibition

1985 Fir Tree House Gallery, Lavenham, Suffolk *
Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury *
Fraser Gallery, Woodbridge, Suffolk *
Chelsea Physic Garden, London *
Portland Studio, Southwold, Suffolk *
Gallery on the Cam *

1986 Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury, Wilts (Solo)
Digby Gallery , Colchester (solo)
12 Printmakers – Hadleigh Gallery, Suffolk
Chelsea Physic Garden, London *

1987 Fraser Gallery, Woodbridge *
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith *
Old Fire Engine House, Ely *
Seven Springs Gallery, Herts *
Framing Centre, Colchester *

1988 Century Galleries Henley on Thames, Berks*
John Russell Gallery, Ipswich, Suffolk *
Hayletts Gallery, Colchester *

1989 Quay Theatre, Sudbury (Solo)
Morley Gallery, London *
Seven Springs Gallery, Herts *
Playhouse Gallery, Harlow, Essex *

1990 Beecroft Gallery, Southend *
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London
Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury

1991 Bircham Gallery, Norfolk *
Heffers Gallery, Cambridge

1994 12 Printmakers – Rye Art Gallery, Rye, Sussex

1995 Printworks Gallery, Colchester, Essex (solo)
Spring Exhibition – Woodgates Gallery, East Bergholt, Suffolk
Chelmsford and Essex Museum *

1996 Crypt Gallery, Seaford, Sussex (solo)
Salisbury Playhouse, Wilts (solo)
Garden Gallery, Lewes, Sussex (solo)
East Anglian Printmakers , Gallery 44, Aldeburgh, Suffolk

1997 Old Fire Engine House Gallery, Ely Cambridgeshire (solo)
Twelve Printmakers – St John’s Smith Square, London

1998 Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury, Suffolk (solo)
Cambridge Contemporary Arts, Cambridge
Quay Theatre, Sudbury, Suffolk (Solo)
Heffers Gallery, Cambridge *

2000 Woodgates Gallery, East Bergholt
Galerie Latteman,Darmstadt, Germany *
St Johns, Smith Square, London
Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings *

2001 Wenniger Gallery, Boston, USA (solo)

2003 Hintlesham Hall, Ipswich Suffolk – (2-person)
Midsummer Magic -Woodgates Gallery, East Bergholt, Suffolk

2004 Hintlesham Hall Suffolk (solo)
Printed Impressions – University of Essex
12 Printmakers Chelmsford Cathedral Festival, Essex

2007 Crooked House Gallery, Lavenham, Suffolk

2009 Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings, Suffolk

2009 Artworks at Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham
Wingfield Art Centre, Norfolk

2010 Gallery 47, Sudbury, Suffolk (4 artists)

2012 Edmund Gallery, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk (4 artists)
Geedon Gallery, Fingringhoe, Colchester, Essex

2013 Aldeburgh Gallery, Aldeburgh, Suffolk (4 Artists)
Sea Pictures Gallery, Clare, Suffolk
Freudian Sheep Gallery, Ipswich, Suffolk

2014 Edmund Gallery, Bury St Edmunds (4 artists)
Sea Pictures Gallery , Clare, Suffolk

2015 Edmund Gallery, Bury StEdmunds, Suffolk (2 artists),
Sea Pictures Gallery, Clare, Suffolk
Sentinel Gallery, Wivenhoe, Essex
Pimlott Foundation, Old House Barn, Gt Horkesley, Colchester

2016 Sentinel Gallery, Wivenhoe, Essex
Sea Pictures Gallery, Clare, Suffolk
Sun and Moon exhibition, the Studio, Brightlingsea, Essex

2017 Burgh House Museum, Hampstead, London (solo)

2018 Sea Pictures Gallery, Clare, Suffolk
Apex Concert Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Brushstroke Exhibition, St Peters, Sudbury, Suffolk

2019 Burgh House Museum, Hampstead, London (solo)
Sea Pictures Gallery, Clare, Suffolk
Chappel Galleries mixed exhibition

2020 Brushstroke Exhibition, St Peters, Sudbury

Publications

Work featured in the following books:
‘Printmaking – Traditional and Contemporary Techniques’ by Ann d’Arcy Hughes and Hebe Vernon-Morris,
‘The Coach House in Gainsborough’s Garden’ Edited by Miranda Mott
‘Dreams of Flight’ by Anne Boileau