The countdown continues. Well, not long now, exactly two weeks in fact, two weeks until the launch day for The Wainwrights in Colour Book.
It has been mentioned recently that I must be feeling elated now with things finally coming together and actually this isn’t the case. The fact that I am writing this at 4.20am may give a bit of a clue as to my mental state. My sleep pattern has been somewhat disrupted with so much to think of regarding the big event. With every sketches finished and the book printed those elements are now beyond my control, what’s done is done. Here in the studio I have 2 copies of the book, a pre-production copy which was made to confirm the exact size so that the dust jacket could be made to exact measurements and then there is the other copy, the very first one that came off the bookbinding line last week which you may have seen here. I have made the decision not to show anyone these books until the evening of the official launch- no-one. This keeps the anticipation element going but the downside to that is that as yet I have had no independent reaction to this work which hopefully will be met with a good response but I can tell you it does keep me awake at night pondering.
This week has been taken up with other details about the launch, more press interviews, organising the packaging, organising future talks around the country, sorting out the continuous pre-orders, going to the printers to see the dustjackets being printed (more about that later) and more importantly doing the final edits and narrative for the DVD which will be part of the book package itself. Alan Fentiman who has filmed me over the past eight years is doing a great job in putting together a 15 minute film of the back story to the whole project. He has used some footage which as it was taken some time ago and that I hadn’t actually seen before which features days out on the fells , some of which show Zeta wandering along at my side, it brings back many happy memories for me and reminds me of what a great companion she was (as were Zoe and now Bailey). It certainly brought a lump to my throat. The idea of producing a film of this challenge was a good one and hopefully those who buy the book will watch the DVD first to get an insight to the whole Wainwrights Journey which I have been on.
In the meantime I have put together this simple film about the book launch venue and Kendal Town itself. I am not taking up the position of tour guide for the town but thought that it may be of interest to some of you who do not know the Castle Green Hotel or the charming market town. If you are coming to the book launch you may take time to wander around the town at some point. It is one of our favourite places to go shopping, especially as it has such a strong connection to AW.
See you in two weeks.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcEJf5t6BBQ]
Thank you for reading The countdown continues
Andy Beck-
Having been a professional artist since leaving the Royal Air Force Regiment in 1988 Andy Beck has now become well known for his recent major project- The Wainwrights in Colour which has seen him exploring the Lakeland Fells to capture all the scenes in Wainwright’s Pictorial guides. Up until early 2013 Andy ran The Teesdale Gallery in the heart of Barnard Castle, County Durham which he did for 20 years. Reluctantly he had to close the gallery so that he could concentrate his efforts on completing the project. This has given him the freedom to paint at home in his studio or go out gathering references for his work. Andy lives in Teesdale in the north Pennines of England.
