Jini Fiennes. Willow Cottage Cookley. Halesworth. Suffolk.
IP19 OLW.
Tel: dramfield 302.
I was born in 1938. I lived in India until I was eight where
I received no formal education. From eight to sixteen, I was
educated at a convent in Kent. At sixteen I left school and
managed just three months at Farnham Art School on the foundation
course. For fairly chaotic family reasons, I was unable to continue
and subsequently lived alone in London where I did a variety
of singularly menial jobs and had a variety of so called nervous
breakdowns. This culminated in full analysis , afterwhich I wrote
my first novel, 'The Burial', published by Rupert Hart-Davis 1961.
My second novel was published in 1962, 'The Climate of Belief'
published by Victor Gollancz.
In 1962 I married Mark Fiennes. We lived in Suffolk. We had four children
and we fostered one son.
In 1970 we moved to Dorset. I had twin boys.
In 1973 we moved to West Cork Ireland.
There, I taught the children and several others and wrote my third novel
'Get Down There and Die', published by Harvester Press, 1977.
In 1976 we returned to England.
With the considerable help of an Arts Council Grant, I wrote
'The Dust Collector' published by Harvester Press.
We moved to South London. Throughout all this time, I had continually
said that I was a painter and not a writer. In our domestic
circumstances, there was neither space or money and painting reqires
more space and more money than writing.
In 1980 I published 'From May to October' published by Hamish Hamilton.
The frustration of not even starting to paint became overwhelming.
I went to Byam Shaw for three months to paint and it became
overwhelming.
This was an enormous encouragement. I left utterly resolved
only ever to paint. We moved back to Dorset. There was no
way I could attend any formal Art School.
Jini Fiennes cont. (2)
I have painted intensely on my own for the last five years.
I have sold enough work from home to keep me in materials.
I have exhibited at The Penwith Galleries in St Ives.
I am having two one man exhibitions this summer in Suffolk
where we now live.
The Halesworth Gallery June 24th--July 15th
Westleton Chapel Galleries