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Frank Patterson, the cycling artist,
was of legendary stuff; he served under six of the
seven editors of ‘Cycling’ magazine, from the
1880s right up until his death in 1952. Frank
Patterson never took himself seriously. He was the
countryman type rather than the commercial artist,
and his gun provided him with his favourite sport.
Frank Patterson’s art (a word that he
heartily disliked!) was in his use of line – or in
it’s absence – leaving white space to express a
patch of water, a sunlit hillside or a reflecting
road. His mastery of penmanship was best seen in
the parallel freehand lines he used to indicate a
road surface in shade where they passed behind the
tyre, rim, spokes and hub of a cycles wheels, or
perhaps those of a farm cart. The continuous
weight and the texture implied remain right across
the sketch, although the pen in producing this
shadow would have to be lifted a hundred
times.
As well as his prowess with the gun
Frank Patterson was a lifelong cyclist, and the
evocative images that he portrayed are still as
charming today as ever was. Whilst out cycling
Frank would make a rough sketch of what he saw,
often on any odd scraps of paper that he had to
hand, and on one memorable occasion in his wartime
ration book! The sketches then came to life, with
further detail added, as he worked diligently away
at his farmhouse home, perhaps the place that he
liked best of all, Pear Tree Farm near
Billingshurst in Sussex.
We are so pleased
that we can now help in preserving both the memory
of Frank Patterson and of his art, by having the
collections of his work that were first put
together by Jim and Janet Willis republished
again, as well as using a selection of Frank’s
images on other items. During the coming year we
also hope to establish a selection of Frank’s work
as quality prints, on heavy rag paper, so that you
may frame and hang them yourselves if you wish.
Whatever – fear not, the memory of Frank
Patterson will live on, if we have anything to do
with it!
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