Continuing a good start to the year of paintings sold I am extremely pleased to report that The ARThouse Gallery in Bournemouth have added to the 2014 sales tally.   The latest sales by the gallery are of my Temple paintings.

Both paintings sold are of Mayan Temples,   ‘Temple Of The Moon’ and ‘Temple Of The Sun’. Each measuring 50cm x 100cm and, through my own use of symbolism, with these works I consider the contemplative nature of the moon and the contrasting fire of the sun, in relation to the Mayan star gazers and their architecture and belief systems.

Painted as a complementary pair they sit well together so I am absolutely delighted that they have both gone to the same home.

‘Temple Of The Moon’ ~ 50cm X 100cm ~ Chris Billington ~ Latest Paintings Sold

‘Temple Of The Sun’ ~ 50cm X 100cm ~ Chris Billington ~ Latest Paintings Sold

My huge thanks go to gallery owner Paul Watts.

The ARThouse Gallery

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Well this has been another wonderful start to a year, with my first sold painting for 2014 in what seems to be a trend with several sold paintings in the first few days of January over the previous years.

Last January I started the year with a sale to New York quickly followed by another sale here in Cornwall. This year my first sold painting has gone to a lovely young couple from Bristol who visited my studio earlier today, and it couldn’t be much earlier in the year than January 2nd.

I am sure that their newly acquired painting of ‘The Boat House’, which I completed in 2009, will bring them them many years of enjoyment.

The Boat House (2009) ~ 60cm X 80cm ~ Sold Painting, January 2014 ~ Chris Billington

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2013 has been a good year for contemporary art, and a most tremendous year for my art in particular and as another year comes to a close I would like to wish all of my customers, friends, followers and lovers of my art  from around the world a most wonderful and Happy New Year for 2014.

The Juelich Museum hanging Forest Chapel ~ contemporary art from Chris Billington

For me this has been a most spectacular year for my own individual style of contemporary art, with its continued focus on strong colour and reduction of form, and I am most pleased and thankful that my work has been in increasing demand at home and abroad.

There was a strong European bias to my exhibitions in 2013 starting with the Lille Contemporary Art Fair in France  and I went on to have a very packed year taking in Barcelona and Reus shows in Spain, but undoubtedly my main highlight of 2013 was my exhibition at the Juelich Museum in October and November.

Chris Billington talks contemporary art at Lille Art Fair with Maf and Jennie

I continue to be overwhelmed by the warm friendship extended to me by the Juelich Museum. Incredibly the staff sent me a Christmas Card, signed by each and every employee who was involved in my exhibition, and on Christmas Eve a disc with additional exhibition photos arrived in my post, one of which can be seen below, showing some of the glory of the exhibition building.

The Daytime Cycle ~ contemporary art at the Juelich Museum ~ Chris Billington with J W Schirmer

During 2013, amongst my exhibitions, I have completed more video and digital work, and I have worked on album cover artwork, and I have managed to fit in a few commissions.  Most notably was my commission for Velux where I was asked to produce a video for their Daylight Project, which is a celebration of light in all forms.   I produced Light Waves, a short video that explores the subject of daylight, in particular the range of natural light conditions that I experience here in Cornwall.  My last painting of 2013 was a commission for a client in the South East who asked me to paint her dog Millie, not my normal type of work but as she is a dear customer who has some of my paintings I agreed on my usual basis, that I paint Millie as I see her, not quite as abstract as usual but a piece of contemporary art nonetheless.  Whilst Millie was in Cornwall for a few days in the summer I spent an afternoon with her at Church Cove, the resulting painting is still drying on my easel but the irony is that the poor little thing has gone missing down a rabbit hole and her owner is so glad that she commissioned the painting.

Millie Jumping The Riverbank, Church Cove (2013) ~ 32in x 32in ~ Chris Billington

During 2013 my support for local and national charities was as strong as ever, and donations of my work included paintings for Exeter based Charity Dream-A-Way, 20th Birthday Year, who offer grants towards holidays for disabled and seriously ill people of all ages living in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.   Dream-A-Way is one of those very rare charities where nobody from the Chairman Jeff Merrett down take any remuneration, or payments for expenses for their work.

Dream-A-Way Charity providing holidays and outings supported by Chris Billington

I also donated a painting to the The Humphry Davy Project group to help with their fundraising efforts for the setting up of a new Museum in Penzance, to mark the life of noted Cornish scientist Humphrey Davy.

Looking forward to 2014 my main project is my ‘Punk: The Transatlantic Paintings’, this has been more than a year in the planning and will open at The Gallery Liverpool in September before moving on to Gallery 2091 in Ohio for October, work for which will begin next week.  I also have many other exciting projects for 2014, UK and international and I already have two commissions to start my new year in January which I have managed to slot in alongside my mounting workload.

Finally, and most importantly, I could not have done it without you, especially those of you who have purchased my work during 2013 and over the previous years, thank you.   I would also like to thank all of the galleries, gallerists and museums for your faith in my work and your enormous support, and last but not least a special mention for the journalists, critics and members of the press – at home and abroad – who have taken the time and energy to write about me and my work.

A very Happy New Year to you all!

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