Art Attack's Neil brings his collection to Rubery

CREATOR and star of hit TV show Art Attack Neil Buchanan will be in Rubery next weekend with his debut art collection.

HOPE STREET, created by the artist, presenter and producer, features a series of 12 signed, limited edition prints, all themed around 'the story of childhood'.

Those pictures will be exhibitied at Jamie Leigh Fine Art, 112 New Road, throughout the spring and Neil Buchanan himself will make a personal appearance at the gallery between 2pm and 4pm next Saturday (February 4), where he will chat to those who go along.

After coming up with Art Attack, Neil presented 500 shows in 17 years, creating 2,000 arty ideas - four for each show.

Neil said: "People always used to ask if I could really paint and draw - they thought there was somebody else behind the scenes doing all the work.

"One of the reasons I did the collection was to prove I could actually paint."

Three years ago a sinister rumour was started on Facebook that Neil had died.

"My elderly mother was up in Liverpool at the time and someone came up to her and said 'I'm sorry to hear about your son'.

"I was on a walking holiday at the time in Wales and she could not get in touch with me.

"When I got back, I had 69,000 messages of condloence."

It was that incident which sparked Neil's thoughts back to his childhood and it was then he decided he wanted to do HOPE STREET - his first art collection.

Neil went back to Liverpool, stayed with his mum, and visited all the places he went to as a child. He made notes on the things he used to do and they have formed the basis for each of the paintings.

With a recent Play England survey suggesting more than a quarter of children in the region have never built a den and more than a third have never climbed a tree, the pictures Neil has painted seem all the more poignant.

They depict children playing care-free in the great outdoors in scenes which, according to that research, are becoming more and more rare.

He said: "The important thing for me in each picture was the narrative - each painting has its own story behind it."

The HOPE STREET pictures are available to view online by logging onto www.neilbuchanan.co.uk, but Neil said: "You can find out more on the website, but it'll be much better if you come along next Saturday, see the collection and we can have a good natter."

Customers who purchase a limited edition print from the HOPE STREET collection, will be given a ‘A Little HOPE’ canvas, worth £75, for for free.

Customers who want to buy ‘A Little HOPE’ during the afternoon will save £25 pounds as they will be able to buy the mini canvas for just £50, accompanied by a free souvenir brochure, signed by Neil Buchanan, normally priced at £10.

For more, call 0121 422 2503 or visit www.jamieleighfineart.co.uk