Jottings of a Fan by Bill Parkinson - Chairman of Moorehouse's Brewery (Burnley) Ltd.

I started painting in 1998 as a raw novice when my daughter bought me some art materials for Christmas. I thought water colours would be easiest because everyone starts with watercolours. I bought Ron Ranson's book, 'Water Colour Impressionists' and discovered English artists such as Edward Seago, William Russell Flint, John Yardley, Trevor Chamberlain and others. Amazon proved to be a great source of books profiling these great artists and I devoured them. Then I joined an art class in Wigan where the teacher based his lessons on these artists and we attempted to emulate their work. I was in awe of their mastery of this most difficult medium but this was reverance at a distance. I never expected to get nearer than a book or a video to these paragons of art. Then in September 1999 I was flicking through the pages of Lancashire Life and as I turned a page these unbelievable watercolour paintings hit me between the eyes. They were by a local artist from Sabden called Trevor Lingard. Although I now live in Atherton near Bolton, in my youth I lived in Padiham and went to Clitheroe Grammar School so I knew Sabden well. I was gob-smacked at the quality of the paintings which, even in a magazine article, appeared to me to be at least the equal of the masters which I'd been admiring and studying. According to the article Trevor's creations were available for sale at a Whalley art gallery for modest sums. I phoned the gallery immediately to ensure that they had some Lingards in stock and visited them the following day when I bought my first two Lingards. As a businessman I like to think that the things I buy for pleasure will also prove to be a sound investment and I've never been more sure of anything than the potential for appreciation in value of these paintings. I now own eighteen Lingard watercolours which are proudly hanging in my home alongside my paintings by Turner, Seago, Russell Flint, Yardley and Campbell Smith. Trevor has become a close personal friend and I've been privileged to spend a couple of most stimulating and enjoyable painting holidays with him and I'm proud to have had this opportunity to recount my thoughts on this most talented artist.