A lasting memorial to an artist’s work

ARTIST Diane Hoskins, who died this year, aged 71, after a three-year battle with cancer, spent the last 28 days of her life painting intensively on her new iPad, producing a lasting memorial to herself and her work.

The results are now to be displayed in a unique exhibition – with a major innovation at its heart.

“We’re very excited,” said Patrick Robbins, Hoskins’s partner of fifteen years and a dealer in fine art and antiques. “The centrepiece of the exhibition is a large, flat screen with a constantly running video showing each of the pictures being built up, stroke by stroke, just as Diane created them. Even the David Hockney exhibition didn’t have that!”

The iPad had been a gift from Hoskins’ sons, Matthew and Cass.

Diane created the pictures using the Brushes app, which Cass downloaded onto her iPad for her, having just read a newspaper article about Hockney’s iPad paintings at the Royal Academy.

Patrick said: “She worked on the iPad day and night, producing about 50 paintings in just 28 days.

“She drew cats, sea gulls, flowers – whatever she could see around her – and some wonderful abstracts, too.

“They all have an extraordinary energy, vividness and brightness.”

A selection of sixteen of Hoskins’ pictures will be displayed at the exhibition. They are to available for purchase as exclusive, limited-edition prints to raise money for cancer charities.

The limited edition prints are priced at £70, unframed. All profits will go to Macmillan Cancer Support and the McCartney Day Unit at the Conquest Hospital information, contact Patrick Robbins on 07837 784683 or at [email protected].