WINDSWEPT & INTEREST ING
BILLY CONNOLLY
With a career spanning over five decades, you might forget that the best-loved comedian, actor and musician Sir Billy Connolly has also felt the exhilaration of watching a live per formance. Released in time for the launch of his first- ever autobiography, the ‘Teddy Boy’ inspired graphic from his new Windswept & Interesting collection harks back to the rock ‘n’ roll fashion and electrifying stage presence that shaped his legendary comedy sets. “Teddy Boys were windswept and interesting,” says Billy, who has continued to delight collectors with his humorous Born On A Rainy Day series since 2012. “They chose their clothes to differ from everyone else in society. And that was the hippie thing as well, just choosing your clothes, wearing policemen’s capes and big hats with snakeskin bands. It was a good time.” Available in four vibrant colourways, the limited edition giclée prints are presented on a 100% cotton watercolour paper and framed in a sustainable black pine and spruce that highlights the vivid colours of the blazers and clashing socks. Each ar twork was hand-signed by Billy at his home in the Florida Keys, where he now lives after retiring from stand- up comedy in 2020. The collectible graphic features on the internal front cover and end pages of the Waterstones Exclusive Edition of Billy’s autobiography, also titled Windswept & Interesting . True to
his minimalistic drawing style, Billy is refreshingly frank about the simple inspiration behind his figure. He adds: “They’re just Teddy Boys dancing with maracas. My favourite is the yellow one. He’s the most gaudy and ‘clashy’.” Billy himself is no stranger to flamboyant stage outfits: while per forming for his sell-out one-man shows, his ‘glam-rock ’ style included anything from leotards to his now-infamous banana boots. In the 2020 BBC documentary Billy and Us , his eccentric aesthetic was likened to that of David Bowie, whose Ziggy Stardust persona inspired Billy to experiment with his look. His own musical background – both as a solo ar tist and a member of The Humblebums – also formed a fascination with the link between music and fashion. Billy explains: “Maracas were very popular in the 1950s and 60s to allow a signature look and to leap around. Mick Jagger used to make great use of them.” Billy has used more colour in this collection than ever before. His penchant for standing out from the crowd can be summed up in his hilarious anecdote about buying a pair of brothel creepers. He recollects: “They were lilac with black soles, and I had lime green socks on. I was marching up and down the shop, trying them on, and the shop owner said, ‘They clash great with your socks”, which sums up the whole ethos.”
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Windswept & Interesting Red Double Hit Flatbed Giclée Print on 100% Cotton Aquarelle Arches - Torchon 300gsm Paper size 57 x 77cm | Framed size 65 x 85cm Edition of 295 | Framed £1,250
Windswept & Interesting Green Double Hit Flatbed Giclée Print on 100% Cotton Aquarelle Arches - Torchon 300gsm Paper size 77 x 57cm | Framed size 85 x 65cm Edition of 295 | Framed £1,250
“I was too young to be a Teddy Boy. When I was a schoolboy - around 13 or 14 years old - I saw a great Teddy Boy in the ar t galleries in Glasgow. I saw many Teddy Boys on the street, but this guy was amazing. He was just a Teddy Boy from his head to his toes, with his suede beetle crusher shoes, drainpipe trousers, draped jacket, and velvet collar and cuffs. “He had an earring; I’d never seen a man with an earring before. He was with his girlfriend, and she looked great as well. They were in the ar t galleries and they looked like an exhibit. I thought they were brilliant and that I’d like to be one of them, but by the time I got old enough, it was gone.”
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Windswept & Interesting Yellow Double Hit Flatbed Giclée Print on 100% Cotton Aquarelle Arches - Torchon 300gsm Paper size 77 x 57cm | Framed size 85 x 65cm Edition of 295 | Framed £1,250
Windswept & Interesting Blue Double Hit Flatbed Giclée Print on 100% Cotton Aquarelle Arches - Torchon 300gsm Paper size 77 x 57cm | Framed size 85 x 65cm Edition of 295 | Framed £1,250
Windswept & Interesting - Portfolio Set of Four Set of 4 limited edition prints Pictured above unframed in presentation portfolio Unframed £3,750 | Framed £4,850
Biography
Sir Billy Connolly [B.1942, Glasgow]
Sir William “Billy” Connolly, CBE is an award-winning Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer. His career as a comedian and actor took off in the 1970s and he went on to appear in over 50 films, including The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies (2014), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Last Samurai (2003), Mrs. Brown (1997) and Indecent Proposal (1993). It was on a rainy day in 2007 that Billy first embarked on his ar tistic journey. Taking refuge from the grey drizzle of Montreal, Canada, he entered an ar t shop with a twinkling curiosity and left with an armful of supplies and the urge to create. Over the next five years, his felt-tip drawings evolved into his debut fine ar t collection, Born On A Rainy Day , which has enjoyed seven successful releases since its launch in 2012.
2001 Awarded an honorary doctorate from University of Glasgow 2002 Presented with a Special Award by British Academy of Film and Television Ar ts (BAFTA) 2003 Made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Bir thday Honours list 2006 Awarded an honorary doctorate from Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama 2010 Awarded an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University
2010 Made a Freeman of Glasgow with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow 2012 Presented with the Outstanding Contribution Award by BAFTA Scotland 2016 Presented with National Television Awards (NTA) Special Recognition Award 2017 Received a knighthood in the Queen’s Bir thday Honours list 2021 Presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Edinburgh TV Festival
The images contained within this literature are an ar tistic representation of the collection. To best experience our ar t, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. © Washington Green 2021. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no par t can be reproduced without prior permission.
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