The Art of BAYKO
Creative Studio @ Carnaby Street Gallery - Tim Lucas

A slightly corny headline, I accept, and one which, perhaps, doesn't really do full justice to the artwork. Nonetheless, I find this latest manifestation of the world's "First and Finest" plastic construction toy truly fascinating.  The images [below], all of them generated by the creative studio at Carnaby Street Gallery, are all part of much larger, up-to-date offering of excellent artwork for the 21st century home.  You won't be too surprised to know that my walls are already adorned with these excellent, evocative images - I love 'em!

The origin of the basic piece of artwork, though redrafted, clearly hales from the Plimpton era, peak period manuals of the 1950s, but artist Tim Lucas has certainly brought it kicking and screaming into the twenty first century, building on, without sacrificing, the original ethos.  His 'licence' with colour is certainly effective, and mirrors my own sentiments as expressed in a letter to Plimpton in 1959, when I wrote suggesting they do the same sort of thing with the full range of BAYKO Windows and Doors. In this case, as a totally impartial Blackburn Rovers supporter, I particularly approve the choice of blue.

Tim tells me that his inspiration comes from having been given a BAYKO set as a child. He has created the work, with a little artistic licence, from scratch, using Adobe Illustrator. His intention was to pay homage to a wonderful product, which had "amazing packaging and graphics". It certainly must have made an impression to have stuck in his imagination all these years! If you click anywhere on the images [below], you'll launch a slightly larger version.

…and quote the code BAYKOPRINT20%