Pippa Blake's paintings tell story of a journey

Photo: JASON OXENHAM

ARTISTIC JOURNEY: An exhibition of Pippa Blake’s recent paintings is on at Louis Vuitton in Queen St.

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Life has been full of journeys for Pippa Blake, and now she is using canvas to tell the story.

An exhibition of her paintings, called Journey, is on at the Louis Vuitton store on Queen St.

The fine arts graduate and accomplished painter has been hard at work in London for the past six years completing a post-graduate fine arts course.

She says this exhibition is a collection of pieces from different series, all linked by the common thread of journeys, both literal and metaphorical.

Art has been a life-long passion for Pippa, starting initially at school when she was 16, before going on to do a four-year fine arts degree at Camberwell College of Arts in London.

But after meeting the man she would eventually marry, Peter Blake, a busy lifestyle made it hard to paint full-time, though she always continued sketching and doing life drawings during their many travels.

"Yacht racing and painting didn't really go together," she explains.

Several years after Sir Peter was killed in 2001, Pippa says she was looking for a way to get back into her art and the post-graduate course was a perfect fit.

"Since then I have become really immersed in it," she says.

It really put me back into connection with my art again. The 13 paintings in Journey all have different, special meanings. Some are inspired by an artist’s residency she did on board a vessel from Newfoundland to Iceland in 2006, others by the road at night while commuting between school and home in England. Pippa says she takes inspiration from fragments of images and photographs. She says this exhibition and its connection with Louis Vuitton is particularly meaningful.

Ever since Peter first became involved with the America’s Cup, there’s always been an association with Louis Vuitton.’’ The Blake family have been good friends of the brand, Louis Vuitton general manager Mark Browne says. ‘‘We have a strong bond.’’ He says the brand has worked with many artists as part of its fashion work. Pippa Blake: Journey is on until March 28 at Louis Vuitton, 56 Queen Street.

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