19 Jan Paintings as Prizes.

Racing has been hit hard by the pandemic, and the jump tracks have lost an entire season. It seems unthinkable now looking back that Cheltenham went ahead last spring, the last hurrah before multiple lock downs . I suspect no repetition of that this year for sure.

One of the reasons I moved to Fakenham was the strong link I have with what has always been one of my favourite racecourses. Normally I put up a tented Art Gallery there at each meeting, and it’s been a good source of sales and commissions over the years, but not of course this year!

David Hunter, the Clerk of the Course there, has always been an innovator, and a couple of years ago came up with the idea of offering a bespoke painting ‘in lieu’ of yet another trophy as the prize for the 2 feature races on the card at every meeting. These incorporate the racing silks and the horse, viewed from behind, walking out onto the track.

The two above, of recent winners “Not a Role Model” and “Pride of Pemberley”, are typical of the sort of thing we present to the owner, socially distanced of course!

I’ve been very grateful for the continued income this has generated through a pretty dismal time for my racecourse art sales, and have been really thrilled to get some lovely e mails and letters from winning connections, to say how much they like their paintings, and what a great idea of David’s it is. So a winning idea for winners all round!