First Night Out - Presentation
January 2009
An oil painting depicting the scene and atmosphere at Bridgwater’s Cornhill on a fictitious 21st century carnival night, has been donated to Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee.
The spectacular painting, titled ‘First Night Out’ and which measures 50” x 40”, has been produced by Irish based artist, Angela Gawn, and is the first of a planned Bridgwater Carnival series of paintings.
Angela and her husband, Derek, are both keen carnival supporters and official patrons of Bridgwater Carnival, and despite moving to Southern Ireland some years ago, have not lost their love or enthusiasm for Bridgwater’s biggest event of the year. Amazingly, the couple regularly collect models which have been used on carnival carts, and have them transported over to Ireland where they end up as garden ornaments on their County Cork farmstead.
Angela decided to produce her work of art after becoming increasingly aware there were no paintings depicting the carnival in its present ‘electric format’. She said: “All I could find were paintings of the legendary Cornhill bonfires, which were shown in the carnival book written by former carnival president, Chris Hocking, and so I decided this would be a great opportunity to do something about it.”
“While producing the painting, I also became aware the carnival will need all the financial help it can get over the next few years in order to ensure this wonderful tradition continues, so I have decided to gift the original painting to the carnival committee, along with the associated copyright to enable a limited edition print run.”.
Doug Robson, president of Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival, added: “The painting is truly wonderful, and I would like to thank Angela for what she has done. It really does show Bridgwater Carnival at its very best!”
With the help of Peter J Nicholls Photography, limited edition copies of the spectacular painting are now available to buy. Framed copies cost £15 and unframed copies cost £10, and can be purchased from the online shop at Bridgwater Carnival’s official website or by telephoning Dave Croker on 01278 421795. The unframed mounted version (12” x 10”) can be posted for an extra £1.50, but the framed version is available for collection only.
Finally, Angela is very keen to undertake other carnival influenced work and would like to hear from clubs and carnivalites if they have any suggestions for future paintings.
