A Gateshead artist who was inspired by Kevin Keegan as a boy is picking up his paintbrushes to create a very personal tribute to the Newcastle United legend – and it will help raise money for a charity with football connections.
Ronnie Pattison has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of grief and affection for Keegan and says he knew he had to create something after visiting St James’ Park and seeing the thousands of tributes left by supporters. But Ronnie isn’t painting a portrait of Keegan.
Instead, he is capturing St James’ Park at night, looking towards the Gallowgate End, surrounded by the flowers, scarves and personal tributes left by Newcastle fans. And there is a very special reason behind it.
Half the proceeds from sales of mounted prints of the finished work will be donated to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, part of Newcastle Hospitals Charity. As a lifelong Newcastle fan, Sir Bobby Robson was one of Ronnie’s heroes.
“My mother battled cancer, and if the Foundation was around when she was fighting it may have helped her and others like her. Since her death 34 years ago the Foundation’s work has really touched our lives.”
Ronnie, who has spent years painting iconic North East scenes, admits the project has taken him back to his childhood.
“I was devastated when I heard the news of Keegan’s passing,” he said.
“He was my boyhood dream when it came to football. I remember his testimonial and him being lifted out in the helicopter, which had never been done before.
“And then there was the way he managed the club and the entertainers team. It was fantastic. It really hit us hard.”
Ronnie initially visited St James’ Park after seeing a photograph on Facebook of a single bunch of flowers left in tribute. He and his partner decided they should go and pay their own respects, but nothing prepared him for what he found.
“I wasn’t expecting what was actually there,” he said. The experience became the inspiration for his latest work.
“I’m not actually painting Kevin Keegan,” Ronnie explained.
“There are one or two tributes that show you a little bit of him. For me, the biggest tribute I can do is a painting of everyone else’s tributes – the shirts, photographs, scarves, hats etc.
“If it’s on somebody’s wall, they’re going to see it every day of their life.”
Ronnie has already raised £700 towards the project from customers who wanted to support his work before he had even put paint to canvas.
For Ronnie, though, the project isn’t about cashing in on the emotion surrounding Keegan’s death.
“It’s not something I like to cash in on,” he said.
“But customers were saying, ‘Ronnie, you need to paint something.’
“And it just felt right.”
He will produce signed and numbered mounted prints of the finished painting, complete with certificates, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
Canvas prints measuring the same size as the original – 31 inches by 24 inches will also be available, with half the profits again going to the Foundation.
And Newcastle fans will get the chance to see the painting take shape.
Ronnie has now begun work at One Strawberry Place, directly opposite St James’ Park and the community building has given him free space to create the work after one of his customers, who works there, suggested it as a temporary studio.
“I was looking for somewhere I could actually do the painting for the length of time it’s going to take,” Ronnie said. “I’m very grateful to Claire Rothrie and Karen Haq from One Strawberry Place as it’s the ideal spot to paint within sight of the football ground.”
Members of the public and people who work there can wander in and see it taking shape.
Ronnie expects the main painting to take between four and six weeks although he admits it could take longer once he gets into the detail.
He is even producing a smaller “understudy” painting first to make sure he gets everything right.
Fans will be able to pre-order prints by leaving a deposit, with the deposit going directly to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
The money raised will now go towards completion of the Sir Bobby Robson Institute, a world leading cancer drug trials centre for the region.
Construction of the £30m institute began this year on the site of the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
Anisa Rahim, Campaign Officer at The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, said: “We’re grateful to Ronnie for his heartfelt support and we’re sure his painting will prove popular.
“The money raised will help us complete the Sir Bobby Robson Institute and allow us to expand the number of clinical trials of new cancer drugs within the North East, and further international research into cancer.”
Funded by The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, when completed, the Sir Bobby Robson Institute will enable ground-breaking cancer treatment that will directly benefit around 3.5 million people living in the North East, North Cumbria and North Yorkshire, as well as making a global impact.
Support is now crucial to raise the final funds to complete and fully equip the Institute by 2027.
For more information about the Sir Bobby Robson Institute, please visit: www.sirbobbysgreatestteam.co.uk.
ENDS
Photo: Ronnie starting the painting (Steve Brock Photography)
PR for Ronnie keith@highlightspr.co.uk 07814 397951