Bag yourself a Wainwright

This isn't something I have done before but as I am having issues with uploading data onto the current website I thought that a blog post would keep you up to date.
 Here in the studio I have a selection of Wainwright in Colour completed fells. They a fully complete and ready for purchase. Even though I have not completed all the fells yet for the whole project these few are now looking for good homes. Most of them have previously been ordered by customers but for one reason or another the transactions were not completed. Consequently they are now up for sale on a first come first served basis. Remember that there are actually very few of the Wainwrights in Colour unsold so this is a rare opportunity to acquire one of the fells from this unique project. They are one off originals and no copies or prints will be made of any of the sketches. The only other way to see these works at close hand is when the Wainwrights in Colour book is published.
 So have a look and if you would like more information or perhaps purchase one of the fells then just send me an email to: info@theteesdalegallery.co.uk

Burnbank Fell- Western Fells

5 sketches, frame size 42cm x 59cm £425

What makes this fell so special is the fact that in the revised version of the Pictorial Guide there are now only 2 sketches, the other three have been omitted.

 

Thornthwaite Crag- Far Eastern Fells

7 sketches, frame size 55cm x 79cm £730

Possibly the finest summit beacon or cairn of all the 214 fells. Thornthwaite Crag perhaps has an important claim to fame in that it was very likely the first ever of the 214 fells which Wainwright ever climbed, the day after his visit to Orrest Head in June 1930.

 

Green Gable- Western Fells

5 sketches, frame size 40cm x 71cm. £460

This fell was sold but the client swapped it for another fell which became available. One of those fells which walkers usually visit en-route to the mightier Great Gable. The sketch of the summit includes a view of Pillar.

Graystones- The North Western Fells

6 sketches, frame size 60cm x 51cm, £510

One of the fells north of the Whinlatter Pass. Usually done as part of the round which also includes Broom Fell and Lord's Seat.

Hartsop Dodd- Far Eastern Fells

4 sketches, frame size 56cm x 74cm, £555

Even though it is only 4 sketches it is unique in that 3 of them are full page size in the Pictorial Guide. The sketch on the left is of Dovedale with the similar snow conditions on the fells as in AW's drawing.

Hindscarth- The North Western Fells

9 sketches, frame size 60cm x 74cm, £760

One of the fells encountered in the Newlands round. Two summit cairns, mine entrances ad even a little church give this fell lots of variety in the paintings.

 

Do remember that these are one off paintings and some of the very few which are left for sale. I can email images of all the sketches to potential customers so that you can view them in detail before purchase. Contact me for more information: info@theteesdalegallery.co.uk

Great Gable Memorial

As some of you may know, there is a memorial plaque on the very summit of Great Gable which is dedicated to the members of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club who made the ultimate sacrifice in The Great War. Every year on Remembrance Sunday hundreds of fellwalkers make a pilgrimage to this point to pay respects to all those who have given their lives in that conflict and the following actions.

 This year there was something different, the old plaque has been replaced with a new version, a bright shiny one and free of the spelling mistake of the original which has now apparently has been given to the Imperial War Museum. 

 

Great Gable.

Following this replacement I have had a couple of emails from followers of The Wainwrights in Colour as to whether I would consider revising my sketch for the project (above) to reflect the new memorial. Possibly more in jest than a serious question. However, there is a simple answer, no. It would be virtually impossible for me to revisit locations where some differences have occurred since I first obtained references. I do think that this one is slightly different of course as it is a man made feature and quite unique. The new version at this time is sparkly new and I imagine that in time it will tarnish. I must say though that I rather like the weathered look of the original and of course it would have been the very one which Wainwright himself would have drawn in his sketch.

 So it is an interesting point but I will stick with the current sketch. And not of course forgetting the reason it is there in the first place....

We will remember them.

Awash with Wainwrights

 Every now and then on social media I read something which gets my mind working. So it was yesterday, an announcement which caught me by surprise and the contents of which had me thinking for most of the day. Consequently, and after some deliberation I thought I would share my considerations with you. I don't think for one moment that everyone will agree with me but then that's what makes a blog interesting isn't it?

 So, what was this big announcement? Well, it appears that the Wainwright Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells are up for their second revision.
 Why do I care? Well, as you know, the Pictorial Guides have been a huge part of my life for the past 6 years. Every page of my set have been well thumbed, drawn on, dog-eared and weather beaten. The dustcovers have long gone and the spines are split and tatty. I hold a great affection for these works as I regard Wainwright as a master in what he did.
 What's the problem with revising the guides? Answer, nothing wrong with it at all as long as its done sympathetically to the original. For Chis Jesty's revisions the publisher went to the trouble of designing a printing font which is hard to distinguish from AW's hand written words making the new versions hard to tell from the originals apart from the new routes which were defined in red ink. It jarred that in some places one or two sketches were removed for either the replacement with new wording or left out for no reason leaving an empty gap. (Grange Fell 4). Worse still the removal of full pages and the sketch of the summit (Burnbank Fell) I understand the reasons for doing so but it could have been achieved more sympathetically to the original. The time difference between the original publication and these revisions was about 50 years and the intervening years had brought about variations in some routes etc. which warranted a new revision. AW himself acknowledged that in time his guides would require updating and the fact that he approved Chis Jesty to do this work has some sort of official stamp in the first revisions.
 Now we hear that only 4 years after the revised version of Book 7 The Western Fells was published the second revisions are under way. I cannot believe that this is necessary so soon. Sure, there have been some slight changes in footpaths etc but hardly enough to justify another set of guides. After all, how many of us actually follow the routes in the pictorial guides religiously whilst out walking the fells. Sure, use the guide to plot a route in conjunction with a good map but don't rely on them totally. In all my days out I can hardly recall seeing anyone with guide in hand, on a very rare occasion they are sitting on some summit with the relevant Pictorial Guide observing the panorama and using the drawing to name distant peaks. Has anyone been rescued from the fells because they were not using the up to date version of the guides? Not likely. More likely is the case that they were not prepared in having a map, compass, or head torch.
 The more the guides get revised the more that Wainwrights originals get diluted. His perfect design for the pages is adjusted, some of his humour is left out and his quirky wording cannot be replicated.
For me the original versions are perfect in as much as they are what AW intended and when I open every page I know it is his un adulterated work. Sure some of the detail may be out of date but that's why I use a current OS map and part of the joy of being out on the fells is discovering stuff for myself, the new path, the repaired wall, the replacement footbridge. The work on the footpaths by groups such as Fix the Fells is on-going so how can revisions be totally accurate? (Don't get me started on those people who knock the work of Fix the Fells - another blog post perhaps)
 I recall that when we sold the guides in the gallery the original versions easily outsold the revisions and I understood from my wholesaler that it was something like a ratio of 7 to 3. Asking Wainwright fans to keep updating their bookshelves every 10 years at the cost of nearly £100 seems a bit un-realistic. I wonder if this is more of a case of the publisher trying to keep Wainwright's Pictorial guides on the shelves of bookstores whilst other more current guide books to the fells fill the adjoining space? Let's see how the fell walking public react. In the meantime, good luck to Clive who has been given the task.
 As I stated at the start, these are only my personal thoughts and I welcome comments.

Axed from the book.

 

My search for the final few references for the project nears the end with only about 20 to get. One of the most unusual is of the Stone axe in the Pike 0' Stickle chapter of the Central fells. I had deducted that AW had used one of the axes in the collection of Mr R Plint of Kendal which were in the care of Kendal Museum. After all, AW was a volunteer curator at about the same time and he would have had access to the complete collection. His details of it were very accurate so all I had to do was go and look though the archives and find the right axe. Sadly not as easy as it sounds.

 Firstly I went to the museum some time ago in the hope that the axe may have been on public display however, this was not to be. Even though there were some good samples on display they were not the right ones. To access the rest of the collection I had to book an appointment for another time. This is did and yesterday I made my way to Kendal to tick off the two required references of said axe.

 Once in the storeroom of the museum my task was there in front of me. The complete collection of axes belonging to Mr Plint were there on a table in 5 boxes for me to inspect.

There are over 300 items. Of course for some reason I was expecting 300 large chunks of rock in the vague shape of worked axes but this was not the case, many of the items were really quite small flakes of sharp rock. How anyone can identify these as workings from an axe factory is beyond me, most just looked like innocuous stone chippings. This made my task easier as their size was nothing like what I was looking for. The other advantage was that the boxes were not only labelled with the area from where the contents were collected but within was a printed list of every single item. This was done in 1994, long after Wainwright had used the sample for the Pictorial guide. There were just two of the boxes from the Pike o' Stickle region. One box of which were just small flakes so they were instantly disregarded. The other box was more like it, large rocks with some shape. However, it was not to be, only two samples were anything like the one I was after in shape or size. But, they were definitely not the right one.

The nearest.

Being the right length and width this one just isn't worked enough, how frustrating. I took my time and checked every other box and it's contents with no joy. I then read all of the printed listings in the boxes, all samples were present and correct and only a very few were of the right shape.

 In all my research for the project I had thought that this axe would have been one of the easiest to locate I Kendal Museum. I can only conclude that if the actual axe was in the museum at the time of AW's work then between that time and 1994 when the collection was catalogued the axe has gone missing, who knows.

 I have a couple of options, firstly, to admit defeat on this one and paint the sample shown above which is the nearest to the original or I will contact the local Kendal paper, just in the off chance that someone locally has somehow acquired the sample fro the museum. All in all, a touch frustrating, I don't like using second best.

I will keep you posted.



Taken from above

 Back in the summer I was asked to assist my film-maker friend Alan in a bit of a trial. He had teamed up with another film-maker who specialised in aerial photography. The plan was to use me as the subject in a short film as they worked as a team to fly and film from remote operated aerial platforms. It was an interesting day to say the least and of course great fun.
 I have just been sent the link to the footage. Impressive stuff I think you will agree. I hope to feature this in the new website.
Hugill">http://vimeo.com/77595875">Hugill Force a day out with Andy Beck
from BB">http://vimeo.com/bbstratus">BB Stratus Remote Aeiral Imagery on Vimeo.https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.>