The Story of the
Homestead!
This series of paintings was Jeff’s first foray into his now
famous collection of paintings about buildings being carried
by hot air balloons across the world.
As we know, the idea came to Jeff on his way up Mt Tamborine,
but since those early days, the story has taken on a life of
its own.
I would like to quote from an article in the Gold Coast
Bulletin from 1997:
The journalist opens with:
“For an artist-writer saddled with the creative
responsibility of moulding a zany idea into a book, TV
series and feature film, Jeff Gilberthorpe is utterly and
delightfully vague…
…Certainly, the image of a flood threatened old Queenslander
and its dwellers being plucked from a marooned Canungra
Valley by a battery of balloons and then soaring free on a
round-the-world odyssey is compelling…
…The storyline and between 50-70 individual paintings will
follow the eight giant balloons and its tethered house
through a series of non-stop adventures embracing such
diverse but globally identifiable features and events as the
Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Melbourne Cup, Mt. Cook, Easter
Island and its forbidden historic statues, the Inca relics
of Machu Picchu and the obligatory lost tribe, the Golden
Gate, Grand Canyon, the St Patrick’s Day march down New
York’s 5th Avenue, the Pyramids, Eiffel Tower,
Colosseum, Acropolis and Tower of London…
…a story-line centred on a Canungra homestead built in the
Queensland style by Uncle Willy, the black-sheep son of
landed Yorkshire gentry…As the Gilberthorpe story
flows…Everywhere the balloons and house go, chaos erupts,
he says, warming to the theme. Most of the action involving
the family takes place in the air, with everyone, above and
at ground level, narrowly avoiding disaster and death as the
show floats on…”
Since those early days, the stories of the Homestead and the
Icon Collection seem to have merged and for over ten years
now, Jeff has been working on the challenging task of trying
to complete the journeys on canvas. Meanwhile, Kirsten and
Jeff have continued to develop the storylines of both
stories and will soon update on their progress in the News
and Events section.
The Story of the Icon Collection Paintings!
To trace the beginnings of these extraordinary paintings is to
explore the depths of an artist’s mind.
For more than 13 years now, Jeff Gilberthorpe has dedicated his
life and passion to this collection of paintings and the desire
to one day view his stories on screen. On the lighter side, this
is a great adventure, but as you look deeper you will understand
the artist’s intentions in saving these monuments from
destruction through pollution and humans themselves.
Although Jeff’s style of painting is very realistic his
paintings are full of fantasy, vibrant colours and bold subject
matters.
Beneath the colourful surface, the art delights with hidden
messages, secret names, colour codes, creatures invented by the
artist and of course the artist himself. A few famous faces are
hidden in strange places and barely visible nudes appear in the
original paintings.
The Icon Collection is a rip roaring, high flying adventure of the
world’s famous monuments on their journeys across the world to
an island in the South Pacific Ocean.
Ken Parker, an egocentric entrepreneur decides to embark on one
last adventure when he is diagnosed with an incurable disease.
With an unlikely group of balloonists and other such
adventurers, he plans and executes the heists of some of the
most famous buildings and monuments around the world. The less
than obvious mode of transport is a multitude of colourful hot
air balloons that carry their precious loads high above the
clouds.
His secret companion is his recently orphaned young niece who
joins him initially reluctantly on his adventures. She arrives
on the island and her uncle instructs her to stay safe and enjoy
the sunshine.
Nothing is further from her mind and once he takes off in his
little yellow biplane, she starts to explore the island and
discovers rather unintentionally the great secret behind her
uncle’s plans. For the next daring heist, she hides in one of
the balloon baskets and embarks on her own thrilling journey.
The paintings depict the monuments in various locations around
the world and their landfall on a mystical island that will
become known as Icon Island.
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