David Grey Ricketts Head Oil on canvas Signed and dated 1988 verso 61 x 91.5cm (24 x 36 in.) Similar works by this artist retail at: £1,250 David Gray Internationally acclaimed British singer/songwriter writes: I ve always been drawn to landscape painting and growing up in Pembrokeshire surrounded by incredible scenery certainly played a part in that. I painted and sketched this view many, many times. It s a view of a very distinctive rocky headland that juts out at the end of Newgale beach, a beautiful stretch of sand a few miles from Solva, the village in West Wales where I lived from 1976 1990. This version is one of a series I did in March/April 1988 while I was studying for a BA in Fine Arts at Liverpool Art College. The series of charcoal sketches and oil studies of which this picture forms a part, went on to culminate in a couple of large scale oils both of which I sold in the summer of 1989. I used the money from those sales to help fund buying microphones and sound equipment for my band at the time Waiting for Deffo . We were just starting to get serious about playing our own shows in Liverpool, Manchester and beyond. While I was studying at Liverpool I used to drive back home all the way across Wales every time the holidays came in order to make a few quid working in my Dads shop and also to get some serious painting time in, out in the windswept wilds. This was also the time of numerous IRA terrorist attacks across the country. The scene that this picture depicts is actually a few hundred metres from where a large cache of IRA explosives was discovered in the early 90 s. The IRA would often land them at various remote locations along the Welsh coast. I used to drive a large double wheel transit van at the time, unfortunately just the kind of van the police we re keeping an eye out for due to all the above reasons. I used to get pulled over driving through mid Wales time and again. I got the distinct impression that they didn t have much else to do. One dark night around this time I was driving back to Liverpool with the back of my van completely loaded with wet oil paintings for my college show. Heading up into mid wales and there they were, mid wales finest, speeding up behind me with the blue light flashing round. I pulled over, by the this point heartily sick of the hassle, as every time I was stopped it would invariably mean having to drive back the next day to produce my documents in some god forsaken place. What you got in the back there? Says copper number one. Oil paintings says I. Better open her up, there s a good boy. Says copper number 2. You ll need to be a bit careful I suggested they re still wet. Cue the sound of copper number 1 rummaging around and then a loud thud as a large canvas falls on top of him. A pause. A curse. The sudden realisation that I was telling the truth, and out he steps into the headlights where he realises that his immaculate blue uniform is now covered in large blobs of brightly coloured oil paint. A fair cop I d say.
David Grey Ricketts Head Oil on canvas Signed and dated 1988 verso 61 x 91.5cm (24 x 36 in.) Similar works by this artist retail at: £1,250 David Gray Internationally acclaimed British singer/songwriter writes: I ve always been drawn to landscape painting and growing up in Pembrokeshire surrounded by incredible scenery certainly played a part in that. I painted and sketched this view many, many times. It s a view of a very distinctive rocky headland that juts out at the end of Newgale beach, a beautiful stretch of sand a few miles from Solva, the village in West Wales where I lived from 1976 1990. This version is one of a series I did in March/April 1988 while I was studying for a BA in Fine Arts at Liverpool Art College. The series of charcoal sketches and oil studies of which this picture forms a part, went on to culminate in a couple of large scale oils both of which I sold in the summer of 1989. I used the money from those sales to help fund buying microphones and sound equipment for my band at the time Waiting for Deffo . We were just starting to get serious about playing our own shows in Liverpool, Manchester and beyond. While I was studying at Liverpool I used to drive back home all the way across Wales every time the holidays came in order to make a few quid working in my Dads shop and also to get some serious painting time in, out in the windswept wilds. This was also the time of numerous IRA terrorist attacks across the country. The scene that this picture depicts is actually a few hundred metres from where a large cache of IRA explosives was discovered in the early 90 s. The IRA would often land them at various remote locations along the Welsh coast. I used to drive a large double wheel transit van at the time, unfortunately just the kind of van the police we re keeping an eye out for due to all the above reasons. I used to get pulled over driving through mid Wales time and again. I got the distinct impression that they didn t have much else to do. One dark night around this time I was driving back to Liverpool with the back of my van completely loaded with wet oil paintings for my college show. Heading up into mid wales and there they were, mid wales finest, speeding up behind me with the blue light flashing round. I pulled over, by the this point heartily sick of the hassle, as every time I was stopped it would invariably mean having to drive back the next day to produce my documents in some god forsaken place. What you got in the back there? Says copper number one. Oil paintings says I. Better open her up, there s a good boy. Says copper number 2. You ll need to be a bit careful I suggested they re still wet. Cue the sound of copper number 1 rummaging around and then a loud thud as a large canvas falls on top of him. A pause. A curse. The sudden realisation that I was telling the truth, and out he steps into the headlights where he realises that his immaculate blue uniform is now covered in large blobs of brightly coloured oil paint. A fair cop I d say.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
