Stanley Park is a big draw

Oct 4 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

Artist Frank Green at work in Stanley Park, Liverpool. Picture: Andrew Teebay _320

A LIVERPOOL artist is urging the public to get creative in celebration of one of Merseyside’s best-loved parks.

Anfield-based Frank Green has organised a “draw-in” to be held in Stanley Park next weekend and is inviting anyone who wants to get involved to show up and capture what it means to them.

It is hoped the results of the weekend’s work, be it watercolours, photography, sketches or film, will be exhibited later in the year.

Mr Green was inspired to set up the event to mark the changing face of the park, set to become the new home of Liverpool Football Club, which plans to build its new stadium there.

The artist, who runs his own shop and gallery on Oakfield Road, in Anfield, said: “Stanley Park is a magnificent place and I thought if I got everyone I know to paint the park, if nothing else, it would be a tribute and record of it at this moment in time.

“As kids we used to walk through the park with our Auntie Marie, pushing my brother in his pram.

“There would be concerts in the park, the boating lake, I used to take my own kids – it always figured in our lives.

“I’ve spent lots of time in the past fortnight contacting arts groups and colleges, although I’ve no idea how many people will turn up on the day.”

Capturing the changing landscape of the city has been a familiar motif throughout the career of Mr Green, who attended Liverpool College of Art on Hope Street – particularly during the 1970s, when much of his work focused on the bulldozing of Old Liverpool.

His work was most recently showcased in an exhibition at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead in 2005.

Now he is inviting professional and amateur artists of all ages to turn up at Stanley Park between 10am and 6pm on Saturday, October 13, and Sunday, October 14. Those who obtain an entry form from Mr Green, who will be based near his distinctive yellow Transit van over the two days, could then be contacted for any exhibition.

He added: “When Stanley Park was opened it 1870, it had been funded by subscriptions from the people of Liverpool – it totally belongs to the people of Liverpool.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what people can do.

“On a clear day the views from the park are great, and I really want people to concentrate on that big field and top walk with the views along Arkles Lane and Priory Road.

“That part of the park is under threat of disappearing, in a way. We want to capture its beauty forever.”

vickyanderson@dailypost.co.uk