Nall and one of his beloved Chihuahuas on a beach in Yelapa, Mexico (Photo courtesy of Claudia Lake)
I am so sorry to hear that he is gone, and happy to know that his memory will survive, along with his life's work, in the hearts and minds of his many friends and acquaintances."
I am so glad I had the opportunity to walk with him for a little while in this life. He was a fast walker!!
I was a personal friend and former studio assistant/housekeeper-cook, who first met Nall in 1988 in Yelapa, Mexico, where I attended Nall's community drawing class and where we became friends. I assisted him in Yelapa, and later in the French town of Vence, where he employed me to help in the household and studio in preparation for his exhibition in Monaco in August 1989.
I have very fond memories of the time Nall and I spent together; in Yelapa, Mexico, and in Vence along with Jeeps and the pair of chihuahuas Dora Mae and her mate (whose name I do not recall) as well as other members of Nall's entourage at the time; Vania the Russian ballerina, the Swiss/German couple Gert and Mary who came from Yelapa, and stayed for a while, painting the exterior of the studio in Vence; the studio that had once belonged to the French painter Dubuffet overlooking the Alps-Maritime, with the wild garden that I tried to tame a bit, for a while, and where I practiced my yoga on the terrace there in the early morning sunshine.....very fond memories indeed.
Nall, Claudia Lake, and one of his beloved Chihuahuas on a beach in Yelapa, Mexico (Photo courtesy of Claudia Lake)
was honoured that Nall invited me to come and help out at the studio after we met in Yelapa, and it was that invitation that set me on the path to an interesting time in London a little while later, where I became the gallery administrator of the British art glass gallery and workshop, The Glasshouse, in Covent Garden.
I was very happy when Nall appeared in The Glasshouse gallery one day, on a visit to London, sometime between 1989 and 1991. Together we visited the British National Portrait Gallery as well as several north London art galleries, and where I prepared supper for Nall at my London home.
The last time I saw Nall was at the end of that 1991 London visit; after our last supper together, seeing him off at London's Ealing Broadway train station; grinning and waving madly from the train as it pulled away from the station.
We were good friends. I still enjoy some of Nall's artwork that hangs in my home here on the west coast of Canada; a pair of his original flower etchings (Tulip and Passiflora) and another print of his that I acquired during my time at the studio in Vence, as well as a couple of little sketches that were gifted to me by Nall.
Nall and I continued to correspond for many years after my return to Canada in early 1992, until a few years ago, when he became unable to reply to my annual Christmas greeting.
Claudia Lake
Nall and one of his beloved Chihuahuas on a beach in Yelapa, Mexico (Photo courtesy of Claudia Lake)