Shaken Not Shtirred

A signed, hand carved, hand pressed Linocut print of Britain’s most famous spy, as depicted by the inimitable Sean Connery.

On 25th August 1930, Thomas Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh. Most known for his portrayal of 007, he starred in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. I listened to all of Ian Fleming's Bond books in chronological order whilst working on this piece and in my mind, of all the 007s, Sean Connery most closely resembles Fleming's description of his hero, down to his "comma" of dark hair and knitted tie. I’ve since read that Richard Burton and James Mason were both put forward to play Bond, but that Fleming himself wanted an unknown actor and when Connery was cast, he said that he was exactly how he had imagined his protagonist.

With a career that spanned seven decades with over 70 movies, Sean Connery was a hugely prolific actor, starring in films as varied as 'The Hunt For Red October' and 'Indiana Jones'. But one of my personal favourites was alongside that other iconic British actor, Michael Caine, in the adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s short story, 'The Man Who Would Be King'.

Some ideas take longer to percolate than others, and my Linocut of Sean Connery's 007 is a case in point. I sketched the initial design out onto lino in 2020 when Sean Connery died, yet never quite started carving it because I felt something was missing… it took a further four years to add the iconic gun barrel around 007, and finally I was content to start carving!
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ITEM SPECIFICS:

This Linocut Print is a signed, hand-carved, hand-pressed, Linocut print limited to 80 editions. As with all handmade items, each one will vary slightly, making it completely unique.

It is printed with black Schminke water-based ink onto Gerstaecker linoprinting paper, a 100 gsm paper that is warm white with a grippy surface, torn to approximately 300x225mm in size. The image itself measures approximately 150x205mm.