A special showing..

Dave Pearson left his series of almost 300 illustrations of the Book of Revelation to his close friend Margaret Mytton. Margaret is one of the trustees of the Dave Pearson Trust, and she has carefully organised the series into a audio-visual presentation, as well as a website of its own, with detailed notes on each image. Link to the Book of Revelation website here.

Now Margaret has arranged for a special showing of this wonderfully inventive series of illustrations at the Whitaker Museum and Art Gallery in Rawtenstall. 

Book your seat at the Whitaker for this event, along with Halloween storytelling, with this extract from the Whitaker's website...

Dave Pearson -The Book of Revelation

All Hallows Eve World Premiere

Friday 31st October 2014

7.00 pm

Adults £5/Children £3 ( this is a combined ticket for this and the Halloween story telling event. )

Whitaker World Premiere!

Dave Pearson’s series of 284 illustrations of the Book of Revelation will be shown for the first time in its entirety in the deadpan but unearthly setting of the Drawing Room. This will be running as a special event alongside our Halloween story telling.

The Book of Revelation has long been associated with the three-day celebration of Allhallowtide: All Hallows’ Eve on 31st October, and especially Hallowmas or All Saints Day on 1st November and All Souls Day on 2nd November. The Book’s message is at once terrifying and consoling to the elect. On All Hallows’ Eve, Christians traditionally believed that the veil between the material world and the afterlife thinned, and imagery from the Book of Revelation was used in the 7th century prayer of the Office of the Dead, traditionally read on All Souls Day. 

In Mexico the 3 days of Allhallowtide is celebrated as the Day of the Dead during which it is believed that the deceased return to visit their loved ones. At midnight on November 2 In the town of Patzcuaro, people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (butterflies) to where their dead are buried at Janitzio, an island in the middle of the lake.

The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back 2,500–3,000 years to a festival in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar – about the beginning of August – in which rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors were celebrated for an entire month.

A successful weekend

Dave's brushes. Photograph: Tobias Pearson 2014

Opening Dave's studio at the weekend turned out to be a big success. We finally seem to have struck the right balance between enabling access for people but also protecting the work. In 2012 fingering the work meant that there was some, fortunately a small amount, of damage done. This last weekend, with improved signage and at least one steward on each floor of the building, it worked well. Visitors were appreciative and clearly enjoyed the opportunity to spend time in the studio, looking at the work that was on display, watching the 'To Byzantium' film or Margaret Mytton's presentation of the 'Book of Revelation' series, or simply enjoying the atmosphere of the building packed with artwork. 

Thank you to Dave Smith, Ella Cole, Kay Kennedy and Tobias Pearson for stewarding over the two days and your support of Chris, Margaret and Bob from the Trust.

Rossendale Art Trail weekend

Image by Ruth Evans

This weekend we'll be opening up Dave's studio in Haslingden from 11am until 5pm on both days. It's part of the annual Rossendale Art Trail and Dave's studio will open alongside Globe Art, Valley Artists, Prospect Studios, Geoff Butterworth (Whitworth), The Whitaker, Jefferson Conway (also Haslingden) and, on Sunday only, the Boo.

The Dave Pearson Trust is to be found at 54 Manchester Road, Haslingden, BB4 5TE, and you can pick up a leaflet for the whole event at any of the studios - or at the Whitaker which also has a rather lovely cafe.