The swimmers pass in a line of sparkling splashes. I can hear their laughing and happy chatting from here on the cliff. Burgh Island, 2022.
mixed media on paper. 60 x 60cm.
A new, unexhibited Kurt Jackson painting is has sold in aid of the Chestnut Appeal for Men’s Health, raising over £10,000. This money will fund the training of two specialist nurses in the South West.
In 2022, over six hundred people took part in the Chestnut Appeal St Michael’s Mount and Burgh Island swims. These are a focal point of the charity’s annual fundraising calendar and attract participants from across the UK.
As the first stage of an exciting new multi-part collaboration, Kurt Jackson went along to record these joyous events through a series of paintings to be used for the benefit of the Chestnut Appeal, a charity that raises awareness and supports those affected by prostate, testicular and penile cancers.
For the second stage of the collaboration, Kurt donated the painting, The swimmers pass in a line of sparkling splashes (pictured above) to the Chestnut Appeal as a fundraiser.
This fundraiser takes the form of a ‘sealed bid auction’ (closing on Friday 10th March 2023) with the painting sold to a randomly selected offer of £8,000 or above. So, whether you’ve bid £8,000 or £10,000 you have the same chance to own this beautiful painting and help contribute to the Chestnut Appeal.
“By auctioning this painting, Kurt Jackson and the people that collect his art will kindly be enabling the Chestnut Appeal to secure the training of two nurses as specialists in psychosexual counselling, a provision that is not only oversubscribed, but simply not available anywhere in Devon and Cornwall.
– David Squires, The Chestnut Appeal for Men’s Health.
“Your support will make a tangible difference to the lives of men and their families.”
Kurt Jackson painting the Burgh Island Chestnut Appeal swim.
“Like most people I have known friends and family who have had prostate cancer. Too close to home, in 2019 we lost my father, the teacher, painter and sculptor Peter Jackson after a long period living with, and finally succumbing to, prostate cancer.
“The Chestnut Appeal is there to help raise awareness, to overcome taboo and to help those who suffer.”
-Kurt Jackson
We are now taking offers starting at £8,000, with ‘bidding’ closing at 5pm on Friday 10th March 2023.
If you would like to make an offer, more information or images, please contact us at info@kurtjackson.com.
Kurt Jackson Chestnut Appeal ‘Sealed Bid Auction’ – Charity Fundraiser
Ends Friday 10th March at 5pm.
For more on Kurt painting the Burgh Island charity swim, the collaboration and the Chestnut appeal, please see the full press release below.
Press Release:
In 2022 over six hundred people took part in the St Michael’s Mount and Burgh Island charity swims. These events are part of the Chestnut Appeal for Men’s Health annual fundraising and bring in participants from across the UK.
The Chestnut Appeal for Men’s Health was honoured that internationally renowned artist Kurt Jackson came along to record two of the charity’s favourite swims through a series of paintings to be used for the benefit of the Chestnut Appeal.
Kurt has very kindly donated one of the resulting works to the Chestnut Appeal as a fundraiser. This fundraiser will take the form of a ‘sealed bid auction’ (closing on Friday 10th March 2023) with the painting sold to a randomly selected offer of £8,000 or above. So, whether you’ve bid £8,000 or £10,000 you have the same chance to own this beautiful painting and help contribute to the Chestnut Appeal.
Kurt Jackson said, “I spent a few days painting and sketching as a witness to all those amazing people that tackle the Chestnut Appeal charity swims. It seems a distant memory now, those hot summer days with calm water, blue seas and all those hundreds of people swimming around the Mount and Burgh Island. It was a real spectacle and quite humbling. Initially, maybe naively, I had expected a line of athletic men with a racing start, churning through the seas with muscle-clad strokes. In reality, it was an amazing spectrum of all ages, shapes, sizes and genders. A happy, chatting crowd, mostly content to just complete the race in their own time. Joyful, a real delight to witness.”
One of the paintings from the clifftop on Burgh Island, shows a line of swimmers passing below Kurt as he worked. Kurt has very kindly donated this work to the Chestnut Appeal for ‘auction’. Kurt has also offered to do a dedication on the back of the frame to the winner.
David Squires from the Chestnut Appeal for men’s Health, said “The painting really captures the swim, the swimmers and the environment they are swimming in; the crystal-clear waters around Burgh Island.”
Other paintings and sketches that Kurt made across the summer and featuring the Burgh Island and St Michael’s Mount swims will be used to create a more relaxing environment for prostate, testicular and penile cancer patients, at three sites, namely, The Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, the new diagnostic hub in Bodmin and the brand-new Chestnut Unit in Plymouth.
“When patients attend a cancer diagnostic unit for invasive tests, which may lead to a potentially life changing diagnosis, the physical environment is so important in helping to put them at their ease. After a refurbishment of the Urology Diagnostic and Treatment Unit in Truro we’ve been incredibly privileged that Kurt Jackson has kindly produced such amazing artwork to grace our walls. Kurt and Caroline have been incredibly generous with their time and support.” – Mark Mantle Consultant Urologist at Royal Cornwall Hospitals.
Kurt continued “Like most people I have known friends and family who have had prostate cancer. Too close to home, in 2019 we lost my father, the teacher, painter and sculptor Peter Jackson after a long period living with, and finally succumbing to, prostate cancer.”
“It seems to be so common in our society, a design fault in the plumbing maybe that comes with our species. But it can be treated if caught early if people are aware. The Chestnut Appeal is there to help to prevent the ignorance and raise awareness, to overcome taboo and help those who suffer.”
David Squires from The Chestnut Appeal for Men’s Health said, “We have been proudly serving the community of Devon & Cornwall for over 20 years. A big part of our work is raising awareness of the three male cancers: prostate, testicular and penile – and any funds we raise go towards new treatments, nurses and additional equipment that the NHS can’t afford.”
“By auctioning this painting, Kurt Jackson and the people that collect his art will kindly be enabling the charity, to secure the training of two nurses as specialists in psychosexual counselling, a provision that is not only oversubscribed, but simply not available anywhere in the entire region.
“One nurse will work out of Derriford Hospital whilst the other will be based in Truro.
“So your support will make a tangible difference to the lives of men and their families right here in Devon & Cornwall.
“We can’t thank Kurt Jackson and his family enough, for supporting this much needed charity. Bringing art and health together, whilst making a real difference to our local communities, really is amazing.
“Thank you Kurt, from us all at The Chestnut Appeal for Men’s Health.”
To make an offer on this painting, more info or images, please email info@kurtjackson.com.
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Note to editors:
About the Chestnut Appeal
The Chestnut Appeal was founded in 1999 at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, however we work right across Devon & Cornwall.
We believe that every person suffering & affected by Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer and Penile Cancer should get the help and support they need, and we will continue to raise funds to pay for the very latest equipment to make treatment of cancers easier, we continue to help fund the work of specialist nurses, we endeavour to develop and help patient led support groups and offer respite free holiday breaks for those recently diagnosed with cancer.
Men’s Health suffers from an imbalance, and at the core of our work is highlighting the most common cancer in men; Prostate Cancer. As well as this we also raise awareness of Testicular Cancer and Penile Cancer, two other quite treatable cancers that sadly if left can be devastating.
We believe it is vital to get more men talking about their health and taking action when they feel like something could be wrong, and a lot of our time is spent out in the community giving free talks and seminars about these three cancers.
About Kurt Jackson
A dedicated environmentalist and true polymath, Jackson’s holistic approach to his subject seamlessly blends art and politics providing a springboard to create a hugely varied body of work unconstrained by format or scale.
Jackson’s artistic practice ranges from his trademark visceral plein-air sessions to studio work and embraces an extensive range of materials and techniques including mixed media, large canvases, print-making, the written word and sculpture.
The son of artists, Jackson was born in Blandford, Dorset in 1961. While studying Zoology at Oxford University he spent most of his time painting and attending courses at Ruskin College of Art. On gaining his degree he travelled extensively and independently, painting wherever he went before putting down roots in Cornwall with his wife Caroline in 1984.
A dedication to and celebration of the environment is intrinsic to both his politics and his art; a holistic involvement with his subject informs his formal innovations. Jackson’s focus on the complexity, diversity and fragility of the natural world has led to artist-in-residencies on the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, the Eden Project and for nearly 20 years the Glastonbury Festival, which has become a staple of his annual working calendar.
For over 30 years Kurt Jackson and his wife Caroline have lived and worked in the most-westerly town in Britain, St Just-in-Penwith where in 2015 they set up the Jackson Foundation Gallery. They have three grown children and seven young grandchildren.
Chestnut Appeal Press Release