Bricking it - How Hadrian's Wall was painted by numbers
12 November 2015
Painting by numbers has delighted wannabe Rembrandts since the 1950s and is still a popular pastime for children and adults alike. And on Saturday 7 November, as part of BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival, a giant paint by numbers proved popular with visitors to Sage Gateshead.
It took ten hours and lots of eager artists to paint No.1 Cadmium Yellow to a No.20 Cobalt Blue to complete the painting of a dramatic sunset over Hadrian's Wall, based on a picture taken by Hexham-based photographer Roger Clegg and converted into a step-by-step painting by artist Geoff Tristram.
The paint-a-thon was part of a series of Voluntary Arts events in the concourse of Sage Gateshead for BBC Get Creative.
About Geoff Tristram
Geoff Tristram has been a highly successful professional artist and illustrator for well over 35 years, and also a top flight cartoonist.
He has worked for many well-known companies such as Penguin Books, Embassy World Snooker, Tarmac, Cadbury's, Thornton's, Past Times, Winsor and Newton, Reeves Paints, Paper Rose Greetings Cards, Ravensburger Puzzles and the BBC - to name but a handful.
His artwork has been seen on fine art prints, collector's plates, magazines, postage stamps, jigsaw puzzles, greetings cards, press advertisements, billboards and packaging, and he also accepts private commissions, especially enjoying portraiture.
His one regret is that he's never been able to sing in a way that would give anyone pleasure, and his dearest wish is that someone will see sense (and profit) and adapt one of his beloved novels as a comedy film.
