Fine Art Collector | Spring 2012

Billy Connolly

“My art is pure and un-judged, I amcreating formyself. It is personal and private; whereas with a film, comedy showormusic you expect people to be critiquing, watching, assessing. Art is different, it really does liberate you.”

1 Happy New Haircut Giclée edition of 95 Image 22" x 16" Framed £625 Paper only £395 2 Sandy & Andy McKay Giclée edition of 95 Image 22" x 16" Framed £625 Paper only £395

3 Blue Angel

Giclée edition of 95

Image 22" x 16" Framed £625 Paper only £395

then I realised I was quite good at it” says Connolly. He began sketching desert islands, one after the other, each island taking on its own characteristics and personality. “The fifth island was, I noticed, consider- ably better than the first one” he recalls. This progression in such a short time frame excited him and he felt compelled to pursue his sketching as a relaxing and rewarding hobby. Connolly has sketched and drawn characters direct from his imagination at almost every opportunity since then. Taking it up with more energy and passion just two years ago, he began to create the Born On A Rainy Day series, six of which are presented in his debut signed limited edition collection. “I like to think that people will take their own interpretation away from them. There is no story or human faces but they are just what my wife (Pamela Stephen- son, actress turned psycholo- gist) calls ‘a bit weird and a bit strange.’ Connolly's art has been compared to cave paintings and is what he would call 'primi- tive - half fantasists or naif's if you will' possessing a charming simplicity, yet an extraordinary self-awareness and humanity. The characters are face- less, completely anonymous; seemingly devoid of emotion or expression. It is perhaps, the simplicity of these characters that allows the viewer to connect with them so deeply, as there is nothing contrived or intended about this work. “I'm not entirely sure what the outcome will be each time I

begin to sketch, I just 'create'” explains Connolly. In Walkies it is an image about proportion and authority as well as our relationship with dogs that just makes him smile. Pink Tie & Hanky is an apparently ordinary trio of suited men; Connolly says he always wore a pink tie and hanky when he was ‘much younger and dandier’, so that was the starting point although it went in an altogether different direction and is open to individual interpretation. His personal favourite is the beautifully defined Blue Angel which in his words is simply ‘ a wee fed up angel,’ which makes him laugh. The six drawings have no connection to each other but all display Connolly’s incredible attention to detail and impres- sive dexterity with a pen. “I don’t even use a ruler” he laughs which seems almost an impos- sibility judging by the straight lines of the drawings. He likes to work in his Scottish home with a very strong ultra violet light that allows him to do the black pen

work in very fine detail. Inspired by the works of Magritte, Picas- so and Salvador Dali, Connolly says he had always appreciated art but never really imagined he could ‘do’ it. “I think everyone has an untapped talent, we all have a book inside us – it may be a rotten book but we all have that need for self expression and I suppose this is mine.” He describes his artistic process as something of an enigma, however it has been said to mirror that of the Surrealist Automatismmovement of the mid 20th century, whereby the artist allows the hand to move randomly across the paper or canvas, without an intent to create anything specifically. Artists who practised automatic drawing include Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, Jean Arp and André Breton. “It bears no relation to comedy or music,”

says Connolly. “My art is pure and un-judged, I am creating for myself, it is personal and private; whereas with a film, comedy show or music you expect people to be critiquing, watching, as- sessing. Art is different, it really does liberate you.” He admits to being quietly scared at the prospect of taking the pictures out to the public “It’s a bit like giving birth – I feel very protective of these draw- ings and I don’t want anyone to criticise them” he says in an open and unguarded moment. A charming, strange and idiosyn- cratic collection it is definitely a collection to question, watch and wonder at from the comic genius. Gallery Born on a Rainy Day by Billy Connolly launches in galleries around the United Kingdom on 17 March 2012 washingtongreen.co.uk

Born On A Rainy Day - Suite Of All Six Editions Framed £3,500 Paper only £2,250

4 Pink Tie & Hanky

5 Walkies

Giclée edition of 95

Image 16" x 22" Framed £625 Paper only £395

FINE ART COLLECTOR SPRING 2012

SPRING 2012 FINE ART COLLECTOR

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