James Bond owns my painting!
OK this is a big deal for me! Being a huge James Bond fan I’m over the moon that one of the few actors to play 007 owns one of my limited edition prints of the 6 Bonds! George Lazenby now has this framed print hanging in his home in Los Angeles and I am very proud! All thanks go to his agent Anders Frejdh for making this happen.
Interview with James Bond fan site
I was delighted to be interviewed for one of the World’s most comprehensive James Bond websites, From Sweden With Love. You can read the article here.
James Bond Face Masks
“Now pay attention 007. This is the very latest piece of special equipment to keep you safe in the field. We’re calling it the ‘For Your Face Only’ mask.” – Q
Well I thought if you have to wear a face mask then why not have some fun with it and decided to create a custom mask with my painting of the 6 James Bonds! Available in 4 sizes and packs of 2 or 4 masks. You can order them here https://nickpaints.bigcartel.com/product/james-bond-face-masks
#𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎 😷
James Bond new print release
I’ve painted James Bond many times for clients over the years but have been wanting to do a piece combining all the Bond actors for some time. I had a window of opportunity this Spring between commissions and put together this piece which I am very proud of. It’s also a first for me as I haven’t painted George Lazenby or Timothy Dalton so I can now tick them off my Bond portrait list too! So we have all 6 Bond actors in a high stakes poker evening with Daniel calling Pierce’s bluff!
The original painting, titled ‘Bonds, James Bonds’, is currently for sale but I don’t expect it will be available for long so I have released a limited edition fine art print of the piece in two sizes. These are available priced at £95 (A2 width) and £145 (A1 width) and are Giclee printed on 300gsm fine art paper. Each print is hand signed and numbered. They are available to purchase on my store – please click here to order.
Shirley Eaton – the golden Bond girl!
One of the most iconic Bond girl scenes appears in Goldfinger when 007 discovers Jill Masterson’s
gold-painted corpse lying on the bed.
I’ve decided to paint this memorable 1964 scene in a series of three paintings (called a ‘triptych’) and
started with her lifeless hand hanging over the bed:-
Jill Masterson was played by actress Shirley Eaton. There were fears on the set that she could suffer
from ‘skin suffocation’ so a doctor was hired to be on set at all times and a section of her stomach
was left unpainted. Shirley Eaton spent 2 hours in make-up and the crew shot the scenes quickly to
minimise any risk.
Presumably for ‘good’ publicity, a rumour was spread that Shirley Eaton tragically died on set from
asphyxiation due to the gold paint (just like the movie plot). Despite this urban myth Shirley Eaton
is very much alive and was 79 years old earlier this month.
This series of paintings has given me the chance to try out some gold leaf techniques.
Its fiddly work but the finished result really stands out nicely.
Aston Martin DB10 up for sale at Christie’s Spectre Auction
One of the ten Aston Martin DB10 models built especially for the film Spectre is up for auction at Christie’s James Bond Spectre auction next month.
The auction takes place on the 18th February and this DB10 will be the only one that will be sold into private hands making this a very rare opportunity indeed. The estimate currently anticipated is £1,000,000 to £1,500,000 but it could easily break the upper value.
The Christie’s James Bond auction is raising funds for Médecins Sans Frontières and features 24 lots including an Omega Seamaster 300 watch Daniel Craig wore in Spectre with an estimate of £15,000-£20,000.
James Bond has had a long standing 50 year relationship with the Aston Martin brand which is why they built the DB10 especially for Spectre….and chose to ignore the brief flirtation with BMW….erm and Lotus…..oh and FORD!
About the James Bond Project
I’ve been a James Bond fan for as long as I can remember. I thought it would be the perfect theme for a collection of paintings as there are so many different elements that can be painted. For a start there are 6 different Bonds! Then there are villains, henchmen, Bond girls, cars, gadgets, exotic locations, amazing title sequences…..so much material and so little painting time!
So I started the James Bond project with Sean Connery… where else could I start than with the Daddy (or should that be Grandaddy after all this time!?). I chose one of the promotional photos as a reference from Goldfinger.
Here’s a timelapse video of how I developed the Sean Connery painting:
And here is the finished result:-
