Gemma Sherlock,North East and Cumbria and
Stephanie Cleasby,in Bishop Auckland
BBC
Dick Scott said it took him two days to complete each painting inspired by Francisco de Zurbarán
A hospice patient has had his wish come true as a set of his watercolours, previously hidden away in a cupboard, have gone on display.
For ten years Dick Scott’s paintings, inspired by Francisco de Zurbarán’s 17th-century portraits Jacob and his Twelve Sons, have been tucked away at his Longbenton home in North Tyneside.
Now the 13 paintings are being viewed by the public for the very first time at Bishop Auckland’s Artists’ Hub.
Mr Scott, 86, who is receiving palliative care at St Oswald’s Hospice in Gosforth, said: “All I’ve ever wanted is for people to see my paintings.”
He added: “For them to make their debut in such a prestigious setting is beyond my imagination.”
Speaking about his influences, he explained: “I’m not a religious man, but there was something about those paintings that really moved me.
“It took about two days to paint each one. I did one and thought ‘that doesn’t look that bad’ and I put it under the cupboard.”
Oswald’s Hospice
Mr Scott’s paintings were created in watercolours, depicting the vibrancy of the original paintings
It was not until a conversation between social worker Marisa Woodward and his sister Sue Coxon that Mr Scott’s paintings were discovered.
Mrs Woodward then contacted The Auckland Project – a regeneration charity working to establish Bishop Auckland as a cultural destination – for advice on how to display them.
Richard Hinch, chief operating officer at the Auckland Project, asked for the paintings to go on display for the first exhibition in the new Artists’ Hub.
Some of the original Zurbarán portraits on display at Auckland Palace
“When I told Dick, he was overwhelmed with emotion, he never thought anyone would see them,” Mrs Coxon said.
Mr Hinch added: “The fact that Dick has done these over 20 years ago and they have been locked in a cupboard, there’ something quite special about that.
“These are done as watercolours and he has done them just from looking at a picture in a magazine and that’s quite incredible.”
Mr Scott first tried painting in 2000 during his recovery from a liver transplant.
In 2012, after reading about the original artworks being saved and the creation of what is now The Auckland Project, he was inspired to emulate Zurbarán’s series.
Mr Scott’s pieces will be on display for a month before they are donated to St Oswald’s Hospice.
For his next project he hopes to create a mural to celebrate hospice care.