Tim Gustard 12 - 20 May 2018
What a pleasure it is to work alongside Tim Gustard and reveal this collection of 22 fabulous new paintings. He is a truly great artist with his outstanding technical ability, relentless desire to develop and evolve and quite remarkable level of self discipline. Each and every Gustard painting is very much a labour of love and it’s not unusual for Tim to spend several hundred hours on one painting only then to have to pass it on rather reluctantly to a quite delighted new owner. As always his minimum standard is excellence and this, his latest collection, has delighted, surprised and even amused us with its quality, originality and ingenuity. Beckstones has had the pleasure of working with Tim now for more than 20 years and we always look forward to the grand unveiling of new paintings, never knowing quite what to expect. This time is no exception with the introduction of many new complex subjects and challenging textures as Tim strives to innovate and push himself into the unknown. Tim’s sparkling personality shines through the whole collection with his regular play on words and witty titles adding an element of fun to some seriously good art – it is the perfect combination and we are delighted to share them with you. Over the last 20 years Tim has held an endless succession of sell out shows at Beckstones and his work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy, The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, The Royal Scottish Academy, The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, The Royal Scottish Society of Watercolour Painters and the Royal Glasgow Institute. He has also had his own TV feature, been written about in many magazines and is the recipient of countless awards. At the tender age of 63 he is surely in his prime and we look forward to working with him for many years to come.
This is my first show wholly painted in the new studio. I moved in just before Christmas 2016 and quite frankly wonder how I ever managed without it. Marion was most reluctant for me to move down to the bottom of the garden, she liked to hear me beavering away in the house, now I’ve gone she loves having the house to herself and only occasionally comes down to the studio to see if I’m still alive. I had quite a few daft ideas for the show which Marion kicked into touch but may eventually see the light of day. I did want to include the conker theme, Karen was keen that I should repeat it in some way and suggested two opposing conkers hence the ‘contenders’ and, quite naturally, I had then to include the ‘conkerer’. The centrepiece ‘Soup tomorrow’ was some time in the making and is the largest still life I’ve done so far, it was partly set up and then the various parts were added over several weeks. When I began, I intended to paint it in stages whilst working on other pieces, but it just flowed and I worked until it was finished. I enjoyed it so much that I was disappointed when I had to move on, I’d love just to paint half a dozen large ones a year but then there would be no exhibitions. As ever I do hope you like them, without your approval there would be no point and without Karen and Niki there would be no show so thanks to them and thanks to Marion for enduring my tantrums and stubbornness.
1. A bunch of five 21 x 13cm It was one of those days when Marion comes into the studio declaring ‘you need to paint these....now’. Well what do you do, the boss has spoken, even though you’re halfway through the most complicated section of a painting that you really want to finish. She had in her hand a bunch of five cherries all still attached by their stalks, it’s usually hard to find two decent ones attached never mind five, so I dropped everything and started painting them, something very difficult in the last studio but in the new one with three painting stations it was much easier.
2. Jemima 21.5 x 18cm There are moments when Marion comes into the studio and suggests a painting and I think... no. Now she may be petite, but one says no at one’s peril. So she set it up and said ‘Trust me’ (it’s one of those annoying phrases a wife makes to convince you to do as you are told, and she’s usually right ...even more annoyingly). So here’s the outcome; it’s different but it works and having done as I was told, I’m pleased I did.
3. The restoration man 23.5 x 27.5cm I have often said that we have a home for ‘distressed antiques’. It’s fun painting a less than perfect piece of beautiful porcelain and making it look complete but sometimes I like to paint them ‘warts and all’. If some of these were indeed perfect, as many of my props are, they would be worth a few bob. It always amazes me that the Victorians’ idea of restoration was to drill holes in the porcelain and insert dirty great staples.
4. Three grannies 17.5 x 33cm So, while the studio was a little smelly from the last piece of cheese I started another one. I had put a six year old commission called ‘four grannies’ on social media and got a very strong response so I decided to repeat the theme. Composition is similar but the cheese is different and there are just three apples. What a choice I made for the cheese, they looked a good contrast but boy were they ripe, I had to open the windows on a regular basis despite it being the beginning of February; I was dreading anyone coming to see me in case they thought it was my feet!
5. Four fat figs 17 x 25cm I thought about calling it ‘Fig. four’ but I have a feeling somebody else has used that title. I saw them in the supermarket and couldn’t resist the colours; they almost look like a family. I began with a graded grey background and soon changed it, it was so dull and the much brighter one sets them off perfectly. It’s a simple painting but quite satisfying and surprisingly painstaking to get right.
6. The three flowers 32.5 x 22cm The bowl is late 18th Century Worcester from the Dr Wall period known as ‘The three flowers’ pattern, probably the most common but also one of the nicest. The glass I first saw on Jersey being used in an upmarket cocktail bar (yes I do occasionally frequent them...and look out of place). I sourced it when I returned and I believe they are becoming rather popular for those who like champagne (it gives me heartburn, oh the joys of growing old). The bottle is of course Dom Perignon and this particular one was given by a grateful client for whom I had painted ‘Strawberries and Dom Perignon’ some years ago.
7. The contenders 21 x 13.5cm Following the interest in the single conker exhibited in the last show I had to do another. Karen suggested there should be two, and I always take the hint from a woman, it’s the safest way. So which one will win; the smart example with the thick red cord or the bigger muscular one?
8. Conkered 21 x 13.5cm And here’s the answer. Having donned the requisite goggles, crash helmet and padded gloves (oh how did we play conkers in years gone by?) the contenders fought a brave battle. In the left corner with red cord, the slightly bruised champion and, with a huge central split, the loser recumbent upon the deck…should have used a shoelace, I always used to.
9. Nuts in white satin 16.5 x 28.5cm I have a little red book, no silly not like that. It’s for when Marion or I come up with a title for a painting. Titles are so important, I don’t want them all to be light hearted but nor do I want them to be boring like ‘still life with nuts’ or suchlike. On this occasion I was listening to the Moody Blues and on came ‘Nights in white satin’ I guess you’re with me now. I’ve had the title for years and only just decided to paint it.
10. The untitled volume 32 x 26cm This is one of my most treasured possessions; it’s pure silver laid over heavy lead crystal and made by the Alvin Company in America around 1900. I bought it mail order, forgetting there would be a heavy import tariff to pay as well but it was worth it. Mind it nearly drives you crackers staring at the pattern and making sure you get it right, but spare a thought for the craftsman that had to cut the pattern out of the silver once it was laid on the glass, no mean feat and I bow to his supreme skill. The title is one of Marion’s, she knows I hate doing writing, it always seems to detract from the painting itself so she suggested this.
11. Pass the port please 29 x 21cm This splendid Georgian port decanter from around 1810 lay at the back of the cupboard forgotten in the old studio, I had so much ‘stuff ’ I had overlooked it. When I moved to the new studio I vowed I would include it in the show, it’s in such fine order with a prominent potil mark on the underside and so much evidence of age and usage but without any chips or cracks, I so enjoyed painting it.
12. Soup tomorrow 40 x 68cm This began with the gargoulette, a super find by Marion in a local emporium. I placed it on the stand at the far end of the studio and gradually added different elements; I knew I wanted a large domestic painting I just didn’t know the exact components. Then Marion came home at the end of October with the little squash, they were in the shops for Halloween. I now knew how it was going to look and so it began, thankfully the mini pumpkin kept for several weeks; I really didn’t know how I was going to tackle the textures on both it and the flagon. I intended to do it in stages, switching to another and coming back to it, but I got so involved I did it all without pause, what fun it was and no sleepless nights.
13. Peeping out 14 x 12cm There’s a magnifi cent horse chestnut 50 yards along from the studio, it usually only produces small conkers but quite early in the season Marion spotted this one, conkers are swiftly becoming one of my favourite subjects after avoiding them (despite Marion’s insistence that I paint them) for some years.
14. Life is still... 30 x 21cm It was another one of those times when Marion appears at the door of the studio with something she has found, on this occasion Rainier cherries. They only come into the supermarkets once a year for a brief period and it was just after Christmas and I had to drop everything to paint them. They are so bright and cheerful, and some years ago I painted ‘Life is just’ so this time I called it ‘Life is still’ quite appropriate I think.
15. The sweetest peas 34.5 x 18cm I vowed there would be no sweet peas in the show this time; the frustration involved with painting them is almost too much. The moment they enter the studio they start moving and as one frantically tries to paint them they change so extensively that they are unrecognisable by the end of the day having changed shape so much. But, I met this very nice client who asked if there would be any in the show because he had missed out the last time, and my neighbour just happened to have a fine display, probably the finest she had grown and was pleased to oblige, so it happened. The varieties are ‘Anniversary’ and ‘Edward Prince of Wales’.
16. A day at the races 36 x 26cm I met up for the day with a very good friend, he had just lost his wife and it was a good day with some laughs and some tears. At the end of our time together he remembered he had something for me, he had found it in a junk shop and was sure it would appeal to me. The case was battered but inside was this lovely pair of old binoculars. I set them in the studio with a bottle of bubbly and a pair of kid gloves, Marion suggested the gloves weren’t quite elegant enough and found amongst her treasures this pair. I had no idea whether I could paint them so I did them first in case I had to scrap the painting. Next I did the binoculars for the same reason; Marion likes a challenge for me!
17. Port and stilton 20 x 24.5cm Here’s another reason to sit down and relax, what better than a fine stilton and a glass of port. Actually I don’t really care for either, but the casual observer may think that my lifestyle seems to revolve around alcohol; it seems there is any excuse to get out a bottle of something and relax…well I do work long hours.
18. Strawberry picking 24.5 x 34cm ‘I think they’re getting brighter’ said Robin, my framer. I tried scattering the strawberries but somehow they have to be rearranged to make the composition work. The dark background sets them aglow and the jug is my favourite Chinese one, as fresh and perfect as the day it was made; can’t quite say that about the artist.
19. The little red bowl 29 x 22cm I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, ‘the simple ones are the best’. I picked three simple objects for this painting, plenty going on in the Chinese vase and plenty to reflect in the jug, without the complication of reflections the silver is almost impossible to create. I chose the little Chinese tea bowl for its unusual red glaze and the fact that its interior reflects nicely in the silver, a very satisfying result.
20. Portrait of the artist with glass of wine 28.5 x 23.5cm It never ceases to amaze me how many people like to see my reflection in a painting, mind you there are some that simply won’t entertain it and who can blame them. So here we have an old favourite decanter from the 1880s which produces a perfect reflection. It’s beautifully made, very heavy with solid silver fitments and even its original stopper. The grapes are ‘muscat’ grapes, one of the few I am able to buy that are still perfectly round and touched with such delicate colour.
21. Executive toy (Tim Cook edition) 16 x 21cm ‘Executive toy’ was extremely popular in the last show, six hanging strawberries made to look like the office toy from the 1970s. I would never repeat a painting and had no intention of painting anything similar. Then one day I saw a photo of Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple and I thought ‘What would he have as an executive toy?’ ‘Simples’, as that infuriating Meerkat would say. I reduced the number of apples to five to correspond with Newton’s cradle and here we have it.
22. At the end of the day 21 x 26cm You know when you do another couple of hours work after dinner and then sit down for an hour to relax; that’s the time the bottle is reached for and you can’t have a drink of wine without a nibble of some sort. The silver preserve pot is English and in particularly good condition and although perhaps not something that might normally accompany a late glass of wine, it seemed just right in this composition.
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1. A bunch of five // 2. Jemima // 3. The restoration man // 4. Three grannies // 5. Four fat figs // 6. The three flowers // 7. The contenders // 8. Conkered 9. Nuts in white satin // 10. The untitled volume // 11. Pass the port please // 12. Soup tomorrow // 13. Peeping out // 14. Life is still... // 15. The sweetest peas 16. A day at the races // 17. Port and stilton // 18. Strawberry picking // 19. The little red bowl // 20. Portrait of the artist with glass of wine // 21. Executive toy (Tim Cook edition) // 22. At the end of the day
The works illustrated will be available for sale prior to the exhibition immediately on receipt of this catalogue. To check availability and place orders: • telephone 01768 483601 • visit the gallery in person • email enquiries@beckstonesartgallery.co.uk All paintings are in acrylic. Sizes shown are in centimetres and give the dimensions of the actual image excluding the frame. The exhibition runs from: 10am on Saturday 12 May to 5pm Sunday 20 May 2018. The full catalogue can also be viewed nearer the date online at: www.beckstonesartgallery.co.uk We regret that paintings cannot be held on reserve for approval. Paintings can be collected after the exhibition ends (21 May onwards).
Please note that paintings are available to purchase immediately
Beckstones Art Gallery Greystoke Ghyll, Nr. Penrith, Cumbria CA11 0UQ Tel: 01768 483601 www.beckstonesartgallery.co.uk Opening Hours: 10am to 5pm every day Tennant Design - Tel. 01228 514668