Billy Connolly with 'Wading Bird', £5,950, at his home in Florida. He is involved in the creative direction of his sculptures.
Created in polished stainless steel with a black granite base, Billy's new sculptures follow on from the success of Walkies, Pink Tie & Hanky and And On Monday, God Made The World. They are based on two of his sold-out limited edition artworks, with Billy commenting: "Some of the drawings just tell you that they would be good as sculptures. They jump from the paper into the three-dimensional."
Bringing back personal memories – including playing with birds as a child, and his time on the Clydebank shipyards – the collectible sculptures were created by a specialist atelier team with creative input and direction from the comedian. Billy recently topped the book charts with his bestselling autobiography, Windswept & Interesting, and his Born On A Rainy Day collection offers even more personal insight into his incredible life.
You can discover the inspirations behind each of the artworks by clicking on their images above.
Each of the sculptures boasts incredible detail, including an imprint of Billy's signature. Featured art: 'Blue Angel', £5,950.
The limited edition prints are presented as fine art giclées on an opulent watercolour paper, highlighting his distinctive bold lines and vibrant colour palette. Billy "succumbed'" to the vivid greens of his imaginary 'GoZunder Fish', and became more fond of the characters of 'Direction' as he added colour...plus you just can't miss the 'Purple People Eater'! Billy says: “The colour palette I’ve used for this collection has had a profound effect on me. I didn’t realise it would do so much to bring the people to life. It took me by surprise.”
Showcasing Billy’s personal memories and anecdotes (along with his mischievous imagination), the collection explores everything from the rock and roll music of his teenage years to pantomime horses and yo-yos. His art has no less impact than one of his legendary comedy sketches, with his humour communicated through shapes and colour rather than words. Billy says: “They’re funny in a different way from how I’m normally funny. They’re odd. Some of them will make you think, and others will stop you thinking. Enjoy.”
Despite over 50 years in showbusiness, Billy remains characteristically humble. Expressing his gratitude for the success of Born On A Rainy Day, he says: “I’m flabbergasted that people are interested in it. It’s one of the biggest shocks in my life that people find my drawings interesting. It takes my breath away that people write such kind things about them. As time goes by, it gets no less amazing. I’m thoroughly impressed by their taste.”
Billy's art has previously been described as 'poignant', 'funny' and 'enigmatic' by The Times newspaper. Speaking on his new collection, Jade Jackson, manager of our Edinburgh gallery, says: "It's particularly exciting to see everything in full-colour; it feels like a real progression of his work. My personal favourite is 'Direction': it's very reminiscent of some of his classic, earlier pieces with the three quirky little characters. You see a trio quite often in Billy's drawings. With his new artwork, he has revamped this motif and given it new life through lots of colour. The people are very cute, like a little family.
"People are describing it as "new" and "different". It's so fun and vibrant, and really takes his art to the next level. People may not know that the Castle Fine Art galleries in Edinburgh and Glasgow actually hold the largest collections of Billy's art in the UK – next time you're in Scotland, it's well worth a visit to see Born On A Rainy Day in person!"
The six colourful new graphics make a fantastic collection on their own, or can be mixed with other series, including Windswept & Interesting.
"Some of the drawings just tell you that they would be good as sculptures. They jump from the paper into the three-dimensional."
Billy Connolly
02/09/2021
Featured on the Waterstones Exclusive Edition of Billy's autobiography, this colourful graphic is inspired by a rock 'n' roll 'Teddy Boy' figure. Available as individuals, they are the perfect gift for any Billy Connolly fan.Thank you for signing up to our newsletter.
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