{"id":525,"date":"2007-10-13T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-13T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tonenoir.co.uk\/?p=525"},"modified":"2007-10-13T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-13T11:30:00","slug":"actress-with-a-love-of-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?p=525","title":{"rendered":"Actress with a love of art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Lowestoft Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n

AS a character in one of the most popular comedy series ever, you would never expect Helen Atkinson Wood to be sitting on the beach at Walberswick capturing the scene with a set of watercolours.<\/p>\n

But for the former Blackadder actress, it is the inspiration of north Suffolk that has given her the drive to pick up the paintbrush again.<\/p>\n

Dividing her times between her homes in London and Blythburgh, the stage and screen actress, who is probably best known for her portrayal of Mrs Miggins in Blackadder The Third, is currently seeing her work celebrated in a completely different way with six of her local watercolour scenes taking up residency in Southwold Gallery.<\/p>\n

Helen, who studied fine art at Oxford University, saw her passion for art resurface after she took part in Celebrity Watercolour Challenge, which she went on to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI began to love painting again and had forgotten how much I had enjoyed it. Around that time I met someone who was part of a painting group at the church I go to in Blythburgh, Chris Sinclair who is a brilliant inspiration and his wife Wendy. There is a small group of us who have a cup of coffee, a piece and cake and paint.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have some really inspiring ideas about painting and I really came back to it. I paint only for pleasure. I have a very good living from my other career and this is something that I decided to venture into, but I do take it very seriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Helen\u2019s first exhibition was in the summer of last year at Walberswick Village Hall but she now plans to provide paintings depicting scenes of Walberswick Church, marshlands, seascapes and images of Blythburgh for as long as the gallery asks for them<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI live and work in London, which is not particularly conducive for painting and drawing, there is no time and space to do it. My dad enjoyed painting and I picked that up from him. I started when I was at school but I knew I wanted to be an actress. I was accepted into the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, which was part of Oxford University and I knew I would get an opportunity to act.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was there as a teenager she met her friend and fellow comedian Rowan Atkinson, with whom she still spends her Christmas\u2019 with.<\/p>\n

And while starring in a number of productions, she used the theatres she was appearing at to sell some of her paintings.<\/p>\n

It was her association with the comedy star that led her to meeting Ben Elton, who years later created the part of Mrs Miggins.<\/p>\n

During her career Helen has worked on a variety of productions with Elton including The Young Ones, Happy Families and Silly Cow.<\/p>\n

In more recent years she has turned her skills to TV presenting and travel writing as well as being a guest on shows such as Have I Got News For You.<\/p>\n

She has joined forces with journalist John Simpson to host Radio Four show travel quiz and recently finished a pilot for a new situation comedy, which also stars actress Liza Goddard.<\/p>\n

Aside from her life on the stage and screen and away from the hustle and bustle of her London life, Helen spends time riding her horse Adam, who she always takes to the animal services at Blythburgh Church. She also loves swimming in the sea as often as possible and taking a picnic to a local beauty spot and settling down with her paints.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Lowestoft Journal AS a character in one of the most popular comedy series ever, you would never expect Helen Atkinson Wood to be sitting on the beach at Walberswick capturing the scene with a set of watercolours. But for the former Blackadder actress, it is the inspiration of north Suffolk that has given her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cast-crew"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p54TBn-8t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":454,"url":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?p=454","url_meta":{"origin":525,"position":0},"title":"A trip to Mrs. Miggins’ Pie Shop","author":"admin","date":"13 October 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: EADT A SPECIAL TV documentary this week celebrates a 1980s comedy classic: Blackadder. Steven Russell hatched a cunning plan and paid a nostalgic visit to Mrs Miggins\u2019s pie shop with actress Helen Atkinson Wood. SOMEWHERE in Essex (we won\u2019t blow his cover) is a real Laughing Policeman - an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cast & Crew"","block_context":{"text":"Cast & Crew","link":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":976,"url":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?p=976","url_meta":{"origin":525,"position":1},"title":"Blackadder actress Patsy Byrne (Nursie (aka Bernard)) dies aged 80","author":"admin","date":"21 June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Another day passes and we lose another fantastic Blackadder actor. It has been reported that Patsy Byrne, Nursie (or Bernard) in Blackadder II and Blackadder's Christmas Carol has passed away at the age of 80. According to reports Byrne passed away on June 17 at Denville Hall \u2013 a retirement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cast & Crew"","block_context":{"text":"Cast & Crew","link":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"pm_12614878","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blackadderhall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/pm_12614878.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blackadderhall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/pm_12614878.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blackadderhall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/pm_12614878.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":503,"url":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?p=503","url_meta":{"origin":525,"position":2},"title":"Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson to star as Fagin in the West End","author":"admin","date":"26 March 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Rowan Atkinson is to star as Fagin in the forthcoming West End stage production of Oliver! The cast will also include the winners of the BBC show I\u2019d Do Anything - one actress will play Nancy and three boys will take turns to play the lead role. Blackadder star Atkinson,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cast & Crew"","block_context":{"text":"Cast & Crew","link":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":884,"url":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?p=884","url_meta":{"origin":525,"position":3},"title":"New Blackadder Sketch Performed","author":"admin","date":"29 November 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: The Prince's Trust charity have confirmed that this sketch will NOT be broadcast on television. I will endeavour to locate the full script and publish it here on Blackadder Hall. A new Blackadder sketch written by Ben Elton and starring both Rowan Aktinson and Tony Robinson was performed last\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cast & Crew"","block_context":{"text":"Cast & Crew","link":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blackadderhall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/rowanatkinsontonyrobinson2012wama536.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blackadderhall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/rowanatkinsontonyrobinson2012wama536.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blackadderhall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/rowanatkinsontonyrobinson2012wama536.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":607,"url":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?p=607","url_meta":{"origin":525,"position":4},"title":"Blackadder returns for a good cause","author":"admin","date":"14 January 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"A new sketch by Richard Curtis is going under the hammer to help Book Aid International - and 30 other writers are backing the charity too. Their adventures spanned five centuries and featured mad royals and barking army generals, not to mention at least one giant turnip. Now, at last,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Specials"","block_context":{"text":"Specials","link":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1395,"url":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?p=1395","url_meta":{"origin":525,"position":5},"title":"Bob is Back(adder)! Character returns in Elton’s Upstart Crow","author":"admin","date":"8 June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This is jolly exciting news indeed. I've just had confirmed from Bob (actress Gabrielle Glaister) herself that her character 'Judge' in the final episode of Ben Elton's quite frankly bloody funny Elizabethan sitcom Upstart Crow\u00a0 is indeed Bob from Blackadder II whom we last saw running off with Lord Flashheart\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cast & Crew"","block_context":{"text":"Cast & Crew","link":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"442x433","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.blackadderhall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/442x433.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}