Take a Trip to Hollywood in Ted’s virtual flying car

Artist Ted Coney was forced to close his regular pop-up exhibitions beause of the pandemic and has now made a virtual tour of his artwork available from his website to raise money for the NHS, writes Alex Spencer.

The nine-minute film takes views through the artworks in his house and focuses on four of Ted’s paintings, all of which have their beginnings in family life.

One of the pictures, Dear Reginald Owen, features Ted ‘flying’ back in time to the 1930s Hollywood in his Morris Minor to research the fate of one of his relatives.

The film, called Ted Coney’s Family Portraits, is available to watch for 99p, the proceeds of which will go to the NHS Charities Together.

Red Says: “The inspiration for the Dear Reginald Owen picture was a story about my mum’s cousin, who was the brother-in-law of Reginald. He went our to Hollywood to try to start a career there, with the encouragement of Reginald, who was in films all the way from 1916 to 1970 and was in Mary Poppins.

“I went back in the film to research what happened to him. He never quite made it in Hollywood and eneded up coming back to England and edititing a magazine about jazz. But I started thinking about him when I found some sepia estate agents photos he had obviously brought back from Hollywood.”

Ted is seeing flying back in time to Hollywood in his 1931 Morris Minor, which he has owned for the past 40 years.

He adds: “The car has been in several of my paintings and I loved the idea of flying back in time in it – a bit like Doctor Who.”

Before he retired from his role of the head of art at Hills Road Sixth Form, where he worked for 34 years, Ted used to drive the car to work. He still owns the car and it is on display when he opens his house to th public as a pop-up gallery.

“I am sad people can’t visit my exhibition in person at the moment, especially as I’ve just got an extra gallery sorted out in my garden because I ran out of space for my paintings in the house,” says Ted.

He is hoping lots of people will be interested in his virtual exhibitions to raise money for the NHS and wants to let his former students know he is still around.

“it would be nice for my former students to know I’m not dead yet! Over the years ex-students have made contact and that has been lovely.”

Visit tedconeyfamilyproits.co.uk before the end of March.