Factum Arte & the facsimile in art

Program presenter Roger Law

A friend told me about a relatively new radio programme on BBC called, WOW! How did they do that?
Presented by the colourful Spitting Image founder, Roger Law, the show features the people behind some of Britain's most outrageous and successful designs, inventions and events.
I'm now committed to every episode, convinced by the recent inclusion of Madrid-based Factum Arte, whose work in facsimiles, from the paintings of Caravaggio to Tutankhamun's tomb, jumped out of the radio in full- blown technicolor and whose website has to be one of the most fascinating and creatively interesting around. To be astonished see www.factum-arte.com

Two of the paintings by Caravaggio facsimiled by Factum Arte: 
www.factum-arte.com

'Clueless' goes home

My painting, 'Clueless' commissioned by BBC broadcasters Tony Wadsworth and Julie Mayer has been on display at BBC Radio Leicester but the couple now have their painting hung at home. They were kind enough to send through this charming photo. Thanks guys!

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Tony Wadsworth & Julie Mayer at home with 'Clueless' by Lizzy Hewitt

The Ingenious Thomas Heatherwick - on BBC iPlayer now!

Thomas Heatherwick

The BBC has once again delivered a corker of a TV programme in Alan Yentob's Imagine series. This one features the multitudinous talents of Thomas Heatherwick, architect, model-maker, sculptor and designer, probably best known for his rising copper cauldron for the 2012 London Olympic & Paralympic Games.

The programme, which features the development of his 'Garden Bridge' across the River Thames, brings into sharp focus the diverse talents of the man who's been called 'the Leonardo da Vinci of our times' by no less a figure than Terence Conran.

Mayor of London & new Routemaster bus

I had no idea Heatherwick was behind London's new Routemaster bus, or the Rolling Bridge at Paddington Basin. In fact I first heard of Heatherwick when his extraordinary Seed Cathedral, the UK Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, won RIBA's Lubetken Prize. 

Seed Cathedral / Expo 2010 / Shanghai

His work for UK and overseas institutions, transit authorities, tourism centers and hotels have until recently gone unnoticed by all but those in the know, but with a studio of around 100 specialists in London and offices overseas, Heatherwick's reputation and presence are growing, controversy notwithstanding.

He makes furniture, interiors, urban infrastructure, has designed the forthcoming Teeside Power Station, and Laverstoke Distillery, as well as an astonishing 'Learning Hub' for Singapore and a strategic new frontage for Guy's Hospital in London. 

The Unstoppable Thomas Heatherwick; on BBC iPlayer for another 3 days. Or look out for the Imagine repeats showing on BBCTV later in the year. One way or another, don't miss it!

Thomas Heatherwick's cauldron for the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games