BORN ON A RAINY DAY
BILLY CONNOLLY
The irrepressible Billy Connolly returns with the eleventh instalment of his Born on a Rainy Day collection for Castle Fine Art, and it’s bound to delight anyone who’s ever found themselves agreeing with the hilarious world-view of the Scots comedian, musician, writer, actor and artist. Billy’s first Born on a Rainy Day works were launched in 2012, after he took up drawing whilst on tour in Canada, and eleven years later, he is still creating works at his studio in the Florida Keys. After a hugely successful career as a performer, he’s still finding a sense of wonder at the incredible success of his art. “It's a strange position to find myself in, as for 50 years I've been confident in my comedy, then suddenly, along
comes this thing and I'm not confident in it because it's somebody else's field. But I'm getting used to people liking it,” he says. The new limited edition works for 2023 are: ‘Pontius Tries Pilates’, a figure performing some pretty strenuous exercise; ‘Nightmare’, a real psychological piece (Billy admits to shouting, singing and laughing in his sleep); ‘One Armed Juggler’ and ‘Drunk Donkey’, an image of an animal of which Billy is particularly fond. Billy Connolly’s latest pieces will undoubtedly prove popular with long-standing collectors and new ones alike and will bring a very large dose of Connolly’s trademark warmth and wit into any home.
BROWSE THE COLLECTION ONLINE
WATCH INTERVIEW WITH BILLY
Featured artworks Nightmare, Drunk Donkey
Nightmare
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
Drunk Donkey
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
“You get a weird relationship with the pieces. They're not really yours. There's a gallery thing going on, and people go and buy them and you hope they like them as much as you did. You hope they see things in them that you saw.” – BILLY CONNOLLY
Featured artworks One Armed Juggler, Pontius Tries Pilates
One Armed Juggler
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
Pontius Tries Pilates
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
Born on a Rainy Day - 2023 Set of 4
Double Hit Flatbed Giclée Print on 100% Cotton Aquarelle Arches - Torchon 300gsm Unframed £3,300 | Framed £4,500
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 Quartet (2012), The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies (2014), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Last Samurai (2003), Still Crazy (1998) and Mrs. Brown (1997). It was on a rainy day in 2007 that Billy first embarked on his artistic journey. Taking refuge from the grey drizzle of Montreal, Canada, he entered an art 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 art collection, Born on a Rainy Day , which has enjoyed 10 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 Arts (BAFTA) 2003 Made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday 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 Birthday Honours list 2021 Presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2022 Presented with the BAFTA Fellowship. Awarded annually, the Fellowship is the highest accolade BAFTA can bestow on any one figure, recognising an exceptional contribution to film, television or games.
The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection. To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. © Washington Green 2023. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission.
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