Over the years I have been approached by a number of interested parties to produce what they like to call a ‘coffee table book’ of my historical paintings. Never feeling that I have had enough of the right quality or subject matter in the past I have ‘side-stepped’ the issue but at last I have come to understand that I can ignore this request no longer and so this year will hopefully see me making some kind of headway into what will become ‘The Historical and Military Paintings of Chris Collingwood’ I already have one publisher anxious to become involved, with a sound offer of producing a large format edition and I am in negotiations with other interested parties concerning distributions and promotion.

Now the serious hard work begins ….firstly I will need to sort out the images associated with my chosen timescale, starting from the classical period and progressing through to mid twentieth century that will mirror my website content. A few obvious omissions will undoubtedly be apparent, however by the time this project comes to it’s conclusion I will have hopefully filled in at least one or two more of the blatant gaps. I will need authoritative text to accompany the reproductions of my paintings and I have begun to contact various accredited authors, whom I have dealt with over the years and who have kindly tendered their services, promising to write on their particular fields of expertise.

Please watch this space for further updates.

Over the past few months I have been working on a series of Napoleonic images centred around the Waterloo campaign. The detail seen here is from my last canvas showing the French attack on La Haie Sainte and was sold and added to the collection of Peter Jackson the film director.

I am in the process of completing two more paintings of the struggle in and around Hougoumont June 18th 1815…this time the attack and defense of the infamous North Gates. These paintings will be part of ‘Project Hougoumont’ the ongoing campaign to help maintain and repair this historic building for generations to come. I will then return to WW1 for a Gallipoli painting commissioned by a prominent American senator. I then move on to a large image of WW11 rangers during the D Day beach assaults of 1944. This is for a US exhibition in New York. After this I have been commissioned to paint two large Cavalry battle scenes, yet again Waterloo pieces . One canvas will depict the charge of the Scots Greys and the second the massed French dragoon charge.

All I can hope for now is the ability, time and energy to for fill these interesting and exciting obligations….and bring them in on time! Back to the easel!