Nick Rendall’s Exhibition and Book Launch
Nick Rendall (right) with his parents John
and Melanie.
ick Rendall is a highly
distinctive artist as he
creates works solely with
the use of a black pen. The
complex patterns of his
black and white illustrations
draw us seductively into the
worlds of myth, legends,
dreams and fantasies which
he conjures up so vividly.
His publication, A Book By
Nick, was launched at the
Osborne Studio Gallery in
Motcomb Street. Its charming
handwritten poetry is enhanced
with delightful illustrations and
it contains highly sensitive and
often romantic thoughts and
Some of Nick’s drawings are on
an amazing scale. The most
stunning creation is the vast
The Forgotten Realm, for which
he created his own mythology
and which is illustrated in
fascinating detail. The sheer
scale of this work is just
amazing. Yggdrasil or World
Tree, is also sizeable as is his
highly imaginative rendering of
the nine worlds of the Norse
myths. These and works such
as Astral Plain and Vision,
which contain similar conceits,
indicate to me that Nick would
be an excellent designer of film
Photo Credit: Derek Cattani
N
ideas which flow from his
stream of consciousness.
His father, the former
Social Editor of Hello! and
a friend of The Datebook
since its inception, John
Rendall, gave a short
speech and said how proud
he was of what his son had
achieved. Judging both by
the standard of the work
and by the encouraging
number of sales, his
confidence was wholly
justified.
A highly distinctive artist with some
of his work.
sets such as those for the
science-fiction films or
medieval fantasy series which
are currently so popular.
Comparing these with his first
such landscape illustration,
Lost Valley, shows his progress
as an illustrator.
The seemingly impenetrable
vortexes in works such as
Obsession, Possession and
Centrifuge reminded me of
paintings by Bridget Riley but
these are wholly original. His
Nick’s work entitled ‘World Tree’.
rendering of flowers and trees
is especially striking; they flow
organically from the pen of a
young artist who, as this show
clearly proves, has a fascinating
future ahead of him.
RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS
St John’s Hospice 30th
Anniversary ‘Big Top Ball’
A
‘Big Top’ themed ball,
organised by St John’s
Hospice, raised more than
£13,000 for the charity. The
fundraising evening, which
took place on 19th March at
the Castle Green Hotel in
Kendal, marked the
organisation’s 30th
Anniversary and welcomed
more than 150 guests from
across the South Lakes.
The evening began with a
drinks reception, generously
sponsored by W M Mclure’s
and served in style by the
‘Occasional Bartender’. Guests
were treated to ‘big top magic’,
by ‘Joe Thomas Magic’ and
‘Bongo Balloons’, with the
evening hosted by presenter,
John Dodds. Following a fourcourse dinner, an auction and
raffle took place, with guests
Margaret Holmes (centre), winner of H.Hogarths diamond necklace, with
presenter John Dodds and St John’s Community Fundraiser Jill Santamera.
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THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK
giving generously with all
donations match funded by
charity partners, Yorkshire Bank
and Barclays colleagues.
“We are beyond delighted that
the ‘Big Top Ball’ has generated
such a fantastic level of
support and funds!” said
community fundraiser, Jill
Santamera. “The feedback we
have received from guests has
been wonderful. It was a night
when the local community
really came together – once
again - to support St John’s
Hospice. We are so very
grateful to all those who
supported us on the evening,
those attending, those who
have donated their time and
the suppliers and local
companies that gave so
generously.”
St. John’s Hospice has been
supporting patients, families
and the wider community in
A ‘Big Top’ fun evening!
North Lancashire and the
South Lakes since 1986.
Serving a population of over
250,000 people, they are
specialists in palliative care for
a wide range of life limiting
conditions. They are not part of
the NHS; they are a local
charity and funds raised at the
Ball will help the hospice
continue their important work.
www.sjhospice.org.uk