Harrogate waits to see if Jim Moir or Vic Reeves will fly in for launch of Birdland exhibition tonight

The launch of Birdland at RedHouse Gallery on Cheltenham Mount in Harrogate tonight, Thursday is the second time in less than a year that the star of Sky Arts TV Show 'Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir' has chosen the town to showcase his artwork.

Last time around, the small but quietly cool Harrogate gallery was full to brim as the artist arrived with a wide smile, beret and beard surrounded by a gaggle of fans.

That exhibition, called Yorkshire Rocks & Dinghy Fights, revealed itself to be imaginative, mischievious and impressive in equal measure and always full of life, colour and ideas.

The new show called Birdland is an exclusive collection of 50 new paintings devoted to Moir's favourite subject - birds.

Moir was born in Leeds in 1959 and first came to prominence as hugely popular comedian, actor and musician Vic Reeves.

Boasting a string of hit TV shows as part of a gloriously surreal comedy double act with Bob Mortimer which gave birth to hit TV shows including Vic Reeves Big Night Out, Shooting Stars and House of Fools, Jim Moir now pours his creative energies into art and painting.

Described as “The Warhol of bird painting” by Jonathan Jones of The Guardian, Moir went to art college originally before turning to comedy.

His artistic reputation is now long-established; his work exhibited in the likes of the Saatchi Gallery in London.

Renowned TV naturalist and wildlife presenter Chris Packham is one of the biggest fans of Moir’s bird paintings, saying: “Jim doesn’t just see birds, he looks at them, so intensely that he understands them.

"Not just anatomically or behaviourally – he knows how they feel.

"That transcends painting or art – that is using a brush and pigment to make a future.

"Jim has imbued the bird with imagination.”

Jim Moir: Birdland, September 12-28, 2024, RedHouse Gallery, 15 Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate.

Information: https://www.redhouseoriginals.com/