Newsletter January 2020

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MAY 2020 BE FILLED WITH FINE ART…

I’m very much looking forward to the New Year, although it’s fair to say, 2020 is going to be a challenging year for me. I’m kick-starting the year studying the post-Raphaelite artist John William Waterhouse, in particular The Lady of Shallot, hoping to recreate a David Henty version of it. A project that I estimate will take me the best part of the year, watch this space for progress…

I am also very taken with William Hogarth (1697-1764) after a visit to The National Gallery in London. His paintings are comical to say the least, observing and documenting history in a pictorial satirical illustration. There’s a lot to study with Hogarth, some very intricate details to get right, but again I’m relishing the challenge.

Later in 2020, I will be travelling to France on the hunt for an old canvas. With the rediscovery of Judith and Holofernes, a long-lost masterpiece by Caravaggio (1571- 1610) selling in Toulouse France (some experts still unsure if it is a Caravaggio) I am intrigued to see if I can paint a ‘new’ old Caravaggio. This particular project will be recorded for a documentary. More news on that as details become available.

The final painting to challenge me will be Derby Day by William Powell Frith, which hangs at the Tate Britain. This massive seven-foot painting caused a sensation in its day and is arguably the definitive example of Victorian modern-life.

Also on the agenda will be some charity events, one with my friend and fellow forger Billy ‘The Brush’ Mumford entitled ‘Fake and Forgery.’ Plus, I am very honoured to be asked again to donate a painting for the prestigious International Arbitration Charity Ball in aid of Save the Children, a very worthy charity indeed.