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A large screen print beautifully printed by Advanced Graphics when the late Chris Betambeau was running things. The ‘texture’ in the body of the whale is a masterful bit of printmaking. Bill West’s other passion (apart from art) was…sailing…this work merges those two interests. In Bill’s own words: ‘In 1983 I made a voyage in a small yacht from Northern France to Brazil-the Amazon. In the middle of the Atlantic we were attacked (?) collided with (?) a large sperm whale…it was an awful experience to kill such a magnificent creature. In 1986 I made a single handed voyage to the east coast of Greenland. I saw hundreds of whales of all kinds. I had all my drawing gear with me and made many drawings of icebergs, arctic coastline, mountains, seals and a school of Pilot whales, many hundreds. I contacted Greenpeace and offered to make a print for them to sell to raise money… hence the print. I had a show at Bernard Jacobson’s then in Cork Street in 1989 called ‘Arctic Voyage’ “. This work is being sold to raise funds for Greenpeace…resurrecting the original intention with both Bill’s and Greenpeace’s blessings. Own art/support a great cause :). (Postscript: Bill West died in June 2021…spending much of his later years living in Morocco…adventurous to the last…)
