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Many of the paintings you have seen are for sale. Prices for oil paintings range from £250 to £1200. Prices for watercolours range from £50 to £200. If you would like further information, please contact me on mail@geoffbeckett.com . If you have tried to contact me in recent weeks, I am sorry to say that a ’technical glitch’ has prevented me from receiving any e-mails. Please accept my apologies and try again.
Building the collection As you have seen, I am continuing to work on the Berkshire Heritage Collection and have a number of painting either underway or at an early planning stage. Anyone who has a knowledge of aviation in Berkshire will, of course, note that there are still stories to be painted, particularly in the post-war years. So far there is nothing of Fairey Aviation and ML Aviation and the important work both companies carried out at White Waltham. At the other end of the County, the work of Elliotts of Newbury should be included. There may be other companies or individuals that played a part in Berkshire’s aviation history that you feel should be included. The fact is, when I took up painting in 1996, I began with the aircraft and the stories of Miles Aircraft and Reading Aerodrome, which I already knew well. Then I included stories from the County’s earliest history, which I had studied with great interest from around 1985. As an aviation enthusiast, I already probably know enough of the aircraft built by Fairey, ML and Elliotts to start some paintings. However, because I try to make each painting a specific moment in time, I would like to find out more about these companies and their activities if I can. If you think you could help, I would be delighted to hear from you.
‘Brushes with Aviation’ Long before I began to paint the story of Berkshire’s Aviation Heritage, I travelled widely in the County, giving talks about the subject, with a presentation of the many photographs I had collected over the years. Subsequently, as I completed each painting, I have always written a brief synopsis telling the story behind it, as can be seen on this web-site. When in hospital in 1999,as an exercise on the computer to try and get my left hand working again, I began to write a “what did you do in the war Grandpa” sort of story about the events in my life that eventually led me to become what, no doubt, can be thought of as an aviation ‘fanatic’. That brief account of my life eventually became a 40-page, A4-size book, complete with photographs and drawings, titled ’Brushes with Aviation’ and, since 2002, when it was printed, it has created quite a lot of interest around my wider family. Later, following the acquisition of a better computer, software, scanner and printer, my Son persuaded me to upgrade ‘Brushes with Aviation’ to a larger format, to include my paintings and more photographs and, more importantly perhaps, to make my personal story just an introduction to the much wider and longer story of Berkshire’s Aviation Heritage that I had included in my many talks. This revised book has now reached an advanced stage and I and my family would dearly love to see it eventually published. However, my long business experience in printing and publishing tells me that the cost would be far beyond our present means. Is there anyone out there would like to get involved with me in publishing ’Brushes with Aviation? If so, I would be delighted to hear from you. I can be contacted on mail@geoffbeckett.com ____________________
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