AV News 197 - August 2014
O n e S tro k e a t a T im e
Colin Balls FRPS
In the last few years I have been fortunate enough to come across not one, but
two very talented, but unknown artists. One was Tony Bramham, who had an
exhibition of his work on display at a very small Town Museum in Leyland,
Lancashire. I met him as a result of going there on a January morning in 2010
to listen to what I thought would be a wildlife lecture; but which turned out to be
about geology! But, no matter, the lecture was very interesting and I met the
artist Tony Bramham who had just come in to remove his exhibition. From this
one-hour mutual overlap of our time we became firm friends and I produced
my AV about Tony and his work. I have been very pleased that the AV has
been so well received.
Amongst Tony's documents I
had noticed a sheet of paper,
which had a copy of the speech
given by a Mr. Frank Harrison to
open Tony's previous art exhibition
at the same venue in 2007. I liked
the words and wondered whether it
would be possible to visit Frank, if
he was still alive, because he
would have been 91! He was alive
and Tony arranged a meeting at
Frank's house.
Frank turned out to be quite a character. The walls of the rooms in his house
were covered in his own paintings. Each painting had an accompanying piece
of prose written by Frank. Each painting also had an accompanying story,
which Frank was more than willing to tell me!
I had recently completed a book about Tony to include all his artwork and to
include his life story. The book had come off the back of the AV. I decided to
make a similar book about Frank. I recorded him talking about each painting
while Tony photographed us
at each painting and I
produced the book. After
Frank had gone through it
with a fine toothcomb, he
asked for 40-50 copies to
send to all his worldwide
relations. He was one of
thirteen children and he and
his wife Mary had had six
children and so on…
It was always my intention
to make an AV about Frank
and his work. It was three years after producing the book and I decided to
produce the AV in time for the 2014 IAC Competition at Capel Curig. So I did!
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