A Teesdale artist has brought colour to some of the Lake District’s most renowned pen-and-ink sketches with a reworking of the drawings of Alfred Wainwright.
Keen hillwalker Andy Beck has depicted each of the 214 fells originally captured by Wainwright in his seven Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. The labour of love has taken Mr Beck three years.
The professional artist has revisited the exact locations chosen by Wainwright for his sketches. From photographs taken at the scenes, Mr Beck, who has a gallery in Barnard Castle, County Durham, has recreated the view in watercolour sketches.
His work will go on display at Rheged, near Penrith, in October. His own gallery, which also features other artists’ work, is too small for the collection to be shown.
The 51-year-old, who earlier this year produced a watercolour of Search and Rescue Dogs Association collie Fly to raise money for the charity, said: “It has never been my intention for the project to be seen as copying the work of AW, an impossible task – more as a matter of interest as how his sketches compare to today’s scenes.
“Standing on the exact spot where he stood every time is not only a sense of achievement to me but also a feeling of closeness to the man and his work.”
grough readers can apply for an invitation to the opening of the free exhibition by visiting Mr Beck’s website. A catalogue for the exhibition can be ordered online and there is also chance for potential buyers of the artwork to register their interest in pictures of certain fells.
Ray Bradshaw
22 August 2009I know Andy a great guy and someone who loves the fells. He goes to extraordinary lengths to get the exact reference for the subject of the painting. Andy is often on the fells all day searching for that exact spot where AW stood. I recall calling into his Gallery one day and he showed me a loverly painting that he said he was going to have to re do. I asked why, he pointed out that when he compared his reference shot he later noticed that it looked about a metre to the right , when he rechecked the pictorial guide. of where AW would have stood. he then revisited the fell to get the exact reference shot.
Dedication !