Yorkshire’s favourite soap inspires a colourful collection of paintings
There have been times over the years when the Woolpack has been in dire need of a lick of paint. Like when a plane fell on it, it was struck by lightning in a freak storm or when Cameron Murray went berserk in the beer cellar with a sawn-off shotgun (well, they’d run out of Nobby’s Nuts, so you can hardly blame him).
But now it has been given a particularly pleasing spruce-up by art director Jo Baker, who has created a new collection of paintings inspired by the soap she has worked on since 2010 (in Emmerdale years, that’s just after Jack Sugden, the longest-running character, finally bought the farm).
‘I adore working on the programme,’ said Jo, who previously worked on other ITV programmes like Heartbeat and My Parents Are Aliens. ‘The art department works tirelessly to create scenery and props that reflect the authenticity of the show. Every detail is considered and every character analysed.
‘Both Gillian and Robert, my current and former boss, have encouraged me to use my skills and creativity to help tell the stories of the characters and the places they live. I am so proud to be part of the huge success that is Emmerdale.’
Gillian, and very probably Robert, have also encouraged Jo to express her passion for Emmerdale through her art. The result is a set of colourful representations of various aspects of everyday rural life in soapland, including the Woolly, the iconic village sign and a full village-scape.
There’s no sign as yet of a life-size watercolour of Ashley’s memorial stained glass window, which Jo created for the village church after the show’s much-loved vicar was called in for an everlasting meeting with his boss, but it can only be a matter of time. I mean, who wouldn’t want that tousle-haired, topless Adonis on a tea-towel?
And that’s one of the many good things about this particular art collection. Like the soap that inspired it, you can enjoy it in the comfort of your own home, on a tea-towel, a mug, a set of coasters or a fridge magnet (oh, come on, who doesn’t love a fridge magnet), all available from the Emmerdale Studio Experience in Leeds.
