A grandad from Bolton has produced not just one, but three volumes of his incredible paintings and poetry.
Arthur Edward ‘Ted’ Holden, 94, has long maintained an interest in painting and has recently taken to publishing his work in books, encouraged by his son Martin who now lives in Denmark.
To this end and inspired by his life and surroundings, Ted set about on his three volumes which he gives to friends and family.
He said: “I’ve always written my ideas down but now I’ve been putting them into poetry.
“I’ve always written down what I feel but during lockdown you couldn’t go out, you couldn’t do anything so this just became something to do really.
“I’ve had ten of each made and I’ve been giving them to my friends.”
As well as poems, each of the volumes include paintings by Ted himself as well as a few additions here and there by son Martin.
The 94-year-old artist and writer said: “I’ve painted for a long time now, I’m a member of Bolton Painting Society.
“My dad painted and Martin, he paints as well.”
As a younger man Ted had spent 12 months at what was then Hilda Street Art School in Bolton were he learned to hone his craft.
Like many people of his generation, he then had to leave his studies behind to go into work, where he spent many years as an electrical fitter.
But he maintained his lifelong passion for painting ever since, and since retiring he has been able to give the arts world more focus and has seen his work exhibited at the Bolton Festival.
Some of the paintings are inspired by well-known locations around Bolton like Le Mans Crescent.
But poetry is a relatively new interest of Ted’s and he has been carefully blending both the written word and visual arts together for his collections.
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The poems in Ted’s three volumes span from the comic to the more contemplative, giving full range to their creator’s thoughts and feelings while his paintings encompass both landscapes and portraits with a wide variety of styles.
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