City & Landscapes Collection
Christopher enjoyed walking in the countryside. Following his stroke, he was limited in the choice of places of the scenic value he sought. Many of his landscape paintings were from memories of scenes in earlier life or painted during journeys when accompanied by his twin brother. Christopher had a preference to life in less populous settings than large cities and towns. There are fewer examples of city life in his work. He enjoyed painting genre scenes, landscapes, portraits and pieces with a religious theme. Illustrations were often made at places of personal interest in the City of Oxford.
Cityscape paintings depict the physical characteristics of a city, urban life, and sections of a town or other metropolitan areas. Landscape paintings showcase the natural beauty of the great outdoors with its mountains, valleys, meadows, trees, rivers, woods, sky, and weather; they can even include the countryside with farms and structures.
Entrance to an Oxford university built during the 14th century. To survive, new and better ideas have to be grasped by old institutions. Painted 1984.
Annandale - The old land of the Blake's - after moving from Liverpool, the family amassed a fortune, studied chemistry, produced many copyrights and owned plantations in Guiana. William Blake alludes to this area. Painted in 1986.
Painted by Vera Shore in 1920 shortly before her marriage to my Uncle George Godfrey Leigh Blake while in Binfield. Painted in 1920 by Aunt Vera.
Town of Chania on the Greek island of Crete during a visit with George and James. The smell of fresh fruit at the markets was intoxicating. Painted in 1983.
Our history is coupled by wars, calamities, disasters, and great examples of courage. The casualties are stupendous. The Imperial War Museum records many triumphs and defeats right up to these days. At the beginning of the Second World War I was 9 years of age. I recall seeing large formations of German bombers high in the sky on their way to bomb Southampton. Also, in the sky could be seen the vapour trails of fighters attacking them. Later we would see fortresses streaming vapour, on their way to bomb occupied Europe. Painted in 1983.
Oxford High Street 1979. Awash with students, black gowns flowing and brilliant white dress shirts. The Oxford University education is for a privileged few. Parents chaperon their precious jewels. Painted in 1979.
Beauty is fleeting. Sunset over a car park. Oxford. Painted in 1980's.
Corries form over millions of years in mountainsides as glaciers erode. There are many corries in Scotland. Not to be confused with the town of Corrie on the Isle of Arran. Painted in 1983.
A visit to Taunton, Somerset with George and James. We stayed next to an orchard full of sweet Cox's apples. Painted in 1982.
The graves of my decendants from the 17th century lay across the churchyard of Corrie and face in the direction of fertile pastures and rolling hills. George Blake of Tebank is laid to rest here alongside his wife Janet, son William and daughter Helen.
EXPLORE CHRISTOPHER'S OTHER COLLECTIONS
Christopher's use of colour brightens any room
Original works from Christopher’s collection of paintings are exhibited from time to time but are not available for sale. A vast selection of Christopher’s botanical illustrations are on permanent display in the Ethnology Department of the Sarawak Museum in Kuching, Malaysia.
Exhibitions of Christopher’s paintings previously planned in 2020-2022 have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Giclée prints and pieces of functional art make it possible to enjoy Christopher’s paintings at home. The original paintings are scanned at an ultra-high resolution and colour proofs are appraised as close to the original painting as possible. Giclée prints are made with state-of-the-art printers on a selection of papers including museum-quality heavyweight Fine-art print paper with a smooth, clean finish up to Fine-art quality archival Hahnemühle Cotton-rag paper giving the print the feel of the original watercolour. Giclée printing process will produce a print that lasts between 100-200 years in optimal conditions. A selection of functional art giftware is also available from our shop.
