There are a few people in life who you meet that instantly light up a room. Well, Jeff was one of those people. His constant smile and genuine friendliness made him one of the most popular artists on our label. He had one of the most interesting lives imaginable. Even though he always wanted to be an artist, he had many jobs before he finally made it in the art world. Amongst my favourites to hear about has to be his time putting the tops on custard creams for Mr Kipling. When he told his supervisor that he was leaving to be an artist, he was urged to think twice, as he had shown sufficient promise to be promoted to working on eclairs, and was he sure he wanted to throw away that opportunity! He also managed to get work as an extra in many northern-based films and television series, including Braveheart and a role being Jimmy Nail’s stunt double! Ironically, it was a happy mistake that turned Jeff into one of the country’s most popular JEFF ROWLAND 1964 - 2018
artists. Having become frustrated that one of his paintings wasn’t working out as he had envisaged, he started to paint over the canvas with a big white-dipped paint brush, only to discover that it was dry, but the little paint that did hit the canvas looked like rain, which transformed the painting and thus Jeff ‘the rain man’ Rowland was born! Jeff loved touring the galleries and meeting his many collectors, and would often say that he was the luckiest man alive to have achieved his life’s ambition of being a professional artist. Even through his long battle with illness, he kept smiling, continued painting and never stopped professing his love for being an artist. We will continue to represent Jeff and his art in our galleries, through the family that he left behind, so that his legacy will live on. He was also part of our Castle family, a big part, and as such he will not be forgotten. Ian Weatherby-Blythe, Group Managing Director, Castle Fine Art
90 FINE ART COLLECTOR SPRING 2019
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