SAVE the Westminster Boating Base
Imagine a beautiful, large canvas print featuring London, in your home. That print having been taken from the perspective of a little kayak and so very unique. It will be a striking addition to any room and great above your settee or above your bed. One lucky person is going to win this canvas – there are eight to choose from…..
Scroll down to see the choices
The WBB is a charity which gives children and young adults the opportunity to learn to sail and kayak on the central London River Thames, at Pimlico, for just £15 per year! The WBB does a lot of work with disadvantaged children and local schools. But that’s not all, they offer very low fee sessions for the over fifties and sessions for adults too. Everyone over the age of ten can learn to sail, paddle or drive power boats. It’s great for developing water based skills, fitness, teamwork and strong friendships. All sessions are ran by qualified instructors.
Coronavirus
As a result of Covid 19, the WBB has been forced to close 🙁 and their income streams have stopped. If the Westminster Boating Base charity is to survive and continue working within the community, emergency funds to cover fixed costs are needed to see it through this hibernation period.
Win a large canvas print and support the WBB
The Westminster Boating Base has launched a crowdfunder to raise money to help cover their costs, until they can resume normal activities.
I am donating one large canvas print, which will be used as a reward for donating to the crowdfunder.
There is a choice of eight canvas prints to choose from. Each of them features a photograph of London taken from the perspective of a kayak. These prints were exhibited at the Riverside Gallery in Richmond-Upon-Thames during the autumn of 2019. The River Within – London.
About the canvas prints
They are big, beautifully printed and will make a statement in any room.
Below are the eight canvas prints that the winner will be able to choose from. The size of each print is given below each picture.
Canvas print. Size 1000mm x 1500m
Canvas print. Size 1100mm x 1650mm
Canvas print. Size 1200mm x 800mm
Canvas print. Size 1200mm x 800mm
Canvas print. Size 1000mm x 1500mm
Canvas print. Size 1500mm x 1000mm
Canvas print. Size 1050mm x 700mm
Canvas print. Size 1050mm x 700mm
These canvas prints were made by a professional lab using 12 colour UV inks printed onto 100% cotton artists canvas. The museum-quality artist’s stretcher bars, which form the frame of the print, are made using European kiln-dried knotless pine, which is extremely hard wearing and not susceptible to warping like cheaper woods are prone to do. Each bar features a rounded back edge, designed to ensure that the canvas is always kept a full ½” (13mm) above the stretcher bar to ensure that there can be no ghost impressions on the canvas. These stretcher bars also incorporate ‘wedges’ which are placed in each corner and allow the canvas to be stretched extremely tightly over the frame. It also allows the canvas to be restretched at a later date, which is particularly important for the larger size canvas prints.
So this means that these prints will not fade or sag like many cheaper canvas prints often do. If you don’t hang your print in direct sunlight or in a damp place such as a bathroom, it will last for many years.
Take at look at The River Within – London to see photographs of the exhibition and to get an idea of the size of each print.
Why do I want to help the WBB?
The Westminster Boating Base is where I first learned to paddle kayaks back in 1995. I fell in love with the people, the water, the Thames, and the Boating Base. With their support I went on to compete in kayak slalom and became an qualified kayak coach myself and taught at the Boating Base as one of their coaches for many years. It makes me really sad to think that they might be in trouble now, as so many youngsters and older people benefit from their expertise, friendship and facilities.
About The River Within - London
In 2017, I began photographing the Thames from source to sea from a kayak. I began in Kemble where the river is just a ditch and each month made several trips to paddle and photograph the Thames, slowly working my way downriver. Due to ill health the project was paused in 2018.
A selection of the images that I had made of London were exhibited in an art gallery last autumn. The Riverside Gallery.
The canvas prints were a part of that exhibition.