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S uggest to Billy Con- nolly that, as his must now surely see himself as a fully-fledged artist, and he’s reluctant to concede the point. There’s a pause, then he laughs somewhat incredulously and gleefully confides, “You know, at the BAFTAs, a woman came over and told me she’d bought one of my pieces, and howmuch she loved it. That was a first for me!” Having seen his debut col- lection, Born On A Rainy Day , launch just a year ago to an en- thusiastic reception, you’d think this kind of exchange shouldn’t come as such a surprise. Yet this artist still finds his gift for drawing both unexpected and hard to fathom. “I still think of it as a luxury, really. It’s like meditation. Sometimes I’ll be out or doing something, and then I think, ‘I’ll go and have a draw now’. I like the isolation… of being alone, on a page.” second collection of ink drawings launches, he
DIFFERENT STROKES The eagerly anticipated second collection of evocative line drawings by Billy Connolly from the Born On A Rainy Day series, tells a tale of evolution. Kate Foster investigates what inspires him and the influences of filming on location in New Zealand
That sense of isolation has clearly been fruitful. Connolly’s second collection launches in galleries in March across the country, and sees what some may view as an evolution of his highly distinctive, intricate style. His faceless figures are now joined by wings, birds, even a banjo. And there’s one famous face (or perhaps it’s the hair) that makes an appearance, in Self Portrait With High Horse . Surely the inclusion of a self- portrait in the collection points towards something of an artistic coming of age? Again, Connolly is dismissive of the notion, and claims the inspiration behind it is a simple one. “I delivered this line on stage once – I was being opinionated and angry about something and I said ‘some- times, there isn’t really a horse high enough for me.’ So it’s me and my high horse.” Despite insisting that his art has no deep-seated meaning, and is not about stories (“no beginning, middle and end”),
FINE ART COLLECTOR SPRING 2013
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