Painter and teacher Dave Pearson created at least one piece of art for every day of his adult life until his death aged 70.
The result – a collection of 15,000 artworks, many only ever seen by a small group of friends.
The unique collection, created over half a century in the rooms of a house in Manchester Road, Haslingden, was only discovered in its entirety after the artist died in 2008.
Now Dave’s works, thought to be worth up to a million pounds, are being showcased as a lasting tribute.
Dave’s obsession with art spills out of seven rooms over three floors in the house in which he spent most of his days.
Over 50 years Dave, who lived a few doors down from his studio, created works in every medium he could lay his hands on.
The artworks range in scale from the tiniest of etchings to giant larger-than-life canvasses and papier mache sculptures that quite literally fill an upstairs room.
And while some of his earlier works were exhibited both in the UK and Europe, Dave was a modest man and chose to spend every available minute of his life producing, rather than promoting his pieces.
Born in London the son of an artistic mother, Dave trained in his passion for art and went on to teach at Harris College, Preston, then in 1964 began his long association with the then Manchester College of Art and Design, (now Manchester Metropolitan University) where he remained until retiring in 2002.
Shortly after his death Dave was described on BBC Radio 4 as ‘a great British painter’.
Since then his reputation has soared and his paintings have become collectors’ items.
There is interest in making a film about his life and work and several galleries are keen to feature his creations, with a small display now on at The See Art Gallery in Crawshawbooth.
Dave’s son Christopher inherited his father’s work and he handed it over to the Dave Pearson Trust, which now owns and manages the work.
One trustee is Bob Frith, also artistic director of The Horse and Bamboo Theatre, Waterfoot.
“Dave never talked about his work and he was all the more popular for it,” said Bob who was one of Dave’s students at Manchester and a life-long friend.
“He was completely dedicated to creating the next piece of work.
“He was a lovely man and it felt the right time to show off his amazing collections.”
Such was his dedication to his cause, the pensioner continued to paint right up to the final weeks of his life, when he was suffering from the effects of cancer.
Bob said he would rarely break from his work, and was known to resent having to leave his studio even to buy food, once surviving on a diet of little more than lemonade and cream biscuits.
“I saw him once a year and I would say I was his best friend.
“That was how little time he spared for socialising,” explained Bob, who has spent the last two years cataloguing Dave’s work.
“If I went to visit I could see him twitching to get back to his latest project, he wasn’t being rude, it was just so important to him.”
The house turned studio was never decorated until the trust moved in and still has a Victorian pull chain toilet and old sink, which are in full working order.
And Dave’s creations which adopted a different theme in each decade of his life grace cupboards, draws and walls of every room.
During the 70s Dave’s work was saturated by Van Gogh influences.
He made larger than life replicas of his pieces, based on Vincente Minnelli’s 1956 film Lust for Life, starring Kirk Douglas as Vincent van Gogh.
Some of the sculptures remain in his studio, although most have deteriorated over time, including a full size Van Gogh style bed.
“I slept in that bed once,” said Bob.
“It was in his spare room at his first house in Haslingden while I was studying, it’s probably one of the stranger places I’ve spent the night.
“The Van Gogh candle is still in the studio, but it’s the only part of that era that survived, because he made everything from paper machier.”
•To contact the trust for a tour of Dave’s studio contact hb@compnet.co.uk.
