Rolf Paints... The Diamond Jubilee

It's 2012, the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee,

and this weekend, millions of us up and down the country

have been out enjoying the celebrations

to mark a momentous occasion.

But last weekend, a group of artists made their way to London

to begin their celebrations with a very Royal challenge.

They joined art student Anneka Rice and me, Rolf Harris,

to pay a special tribute to our Queen through their art.

-G'day. G'day!

-ARTISTS:

-G'day.

Welcome to our pop-up art school. We are below Waterloo Station.

You'll probably hear some trains rumbling overhead.

And we're directly above the Jubilee Line.

We have 60 artists who've joined us with one thought in their minds -

to make some magnificent artwork.

Yes, we've just got one day to create an amazing art tribute

for the Queen celebrating an extraordinary 60-year reign.

And if that wasn't enough, we've then got to transform

this pop-up art school into a pop-up art exhibition,

which you'll actually be able to see

from this week until Sunday 10th June.

Now, the 60 artists are in six groups of ten people,

each one of those six groups

representing a decade of the Queen's reign.

-I think we're ready. ..Are we ready?

-ARTISTS:

-Yes!

We all know what we're doing, don't we(?)

OK, let's get ready and...

kill the white. Start painting!

So, as our artists get underway,

remember, we've divided them into six groups,

each reflecting ten years of the Queen's reign,

from the 1950s to today.

Each group has been briefed to produce a different type of art,

from street scenes, to portraits, to still life.

They will all work in their chosen medium - that's oils, acrylic,

watercolours, pen, pencil, almost anything they want to use.

Anneka and I will also be painting our own pieces today.

I'll be in the 1950s group,

and Anneka will join the 2000 group.

And over the past few weeks, we've been meeting extraordinary people.

-Hello.

-Oh, hello. Nice to meet you.

This is Margaret's house.

-It's not a showroom. This is her sitting room.

-This is where I live.

And I took to the streets of Windsor

to create a very special work of art.

Not just any old painting, but a big painting.

I didn't realise just how big it's going to be. It's BIG!

And for the first time in years,

I'll be working with my big four-inch brushes again.

-Shall we get on with it? What do you reckon? Shall we do it?

-Yes!

-OK.

Here we go.

And I can't wait to see how THAT painting turns out.

Brilliant.

So, let's start by rewinding back to the 1950s, and the group behind me

are capturing the Queen's Coronation in 1953, so it's the street parties

and all the colour and the excitement of this great State occasion.

Our first group range in age and ability

and have all chosen very different pictures

from different moments throughout the decade.

And some of our artists actually saw the Coronation.

-I was 18 when she was crowned.

-Were you there?

I was round...

-a television set.

-Oh!

I was...overwhelmed

by the fact that she had this terribly heavy crown on her head,

all diamonds and gold,

and how she could stand up straight all day.

Now, you're creating a scene... I can just make it out now,

presumably watching the Coronation on the telly.

Yes, this is what our street did.

We had one television set in the street

and we got as many people in our living room as we could.

-So, you had the telly?

-We had the telly.

-You were very popular.

I remember everyone smoking, and my grandmother had a toothache.

And she was sitting there moaning and groaning.

-And that's you down there, is it?

-That's me down there.

-Reading the Eagle.

-Reading the Eagle!

-And that was my first girlfriend.

-What was her name?

-June Taylor.

(OK, June.) Good, right. So, tell us the moment

where you see the Queen for the first time.

Oh, it was pretty amazing.

-Did anyone shed a tear?

-My sister did,

because she cried at anything.

-But I don't remember shedding a tear.

-Yeah(!)

But I did look up when the actual Coronation...

the coach came and the Queen got out. It was a bit exciting.

I've been a bit ambitious with this painting, I think,

but we'll have to see how I get on.

-Well, good luck. I think it's coming together beautifully.

-Thank you.

I'd better go, actually. I haven't even started mine!

Now, Mary, what are you up to?

Oh, I'm painting my home, which was dressed up for the Coronation.

Tell me about these photos.

They were all taken for the Coronation street party.

Don't make me laugh!

It's lovely, isn't it? Nice memories for you?

-For me, yes. Sad memories as well.

-Why sad memories?

Because...

-..of people that have gone.

-Yeah, I understood.

We were such a happy street.

You knew everybody in those days, eh?

Well, everybody knew you,

cos they looked out their windows.

-Well, let's see if we can recapture those days, eh?

-I hope so.

I'm not a painter, now. This is my first time doing it seriously.

-This is watercolours?

-Yeah, watercolours.

-With watercolour,

you always have to make the colour a bit stronger

than you should think it should be because when it dries out,

it fades, so if you're at all worried about watercolour,

give us a shout. I'll be setting up my painting just over there.

Thank you very much.

Within voice distance. "Hello, Rolf?"

THEY LAUGH

This is serious. Stop mucking about.

That's lovely, Helene.

Some colour coming in there. Good.

Of course, not everybody was around in the '50s, like me.

So, for you youngsters,

here's a little reminder of what that decade was like.

# One, two, three o'clock Four o'clock, rock

# Five, six, seven o'clock Eight o'clock, rock

# Nine, ten, eleven o'clock Twelve o'clock, rock

# We're gonna rock around the clock tonight

# Put your glad rags on and join me, hon

# We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one

# We're gonna rock around the clock tonight

# We're gonna rock, rock, rock till broad daylight... #

SOMBRE MUSIC PLAYS

# The way you walk, ah-hah-hah

# The way you talk, ah-hah-hah

# The way you smile and dance with me

# Makes me believe no need to grieve

# There really is a chance for me

# When I hug you and I kiss you Well, you know I can't resist you

# If you ever leave me, darlin' You know I'm gonna miss you

# There can be no denyin' I feel just like I'm flyin'

# But when you're not around

# My feet hit the ground... #

Today is another landmark,

because television has made it possible for many of you

to see me in your homes on Christmas Day.

Wonderful. What I'm hoping to do is my memory of the Coronation,

and I thought I would just kill the white and start.

I stayed out all night the night before, in Hyde Park, and I had a...

HE CHUCKLES

I had a big blanket around my shoulders

because it was drizzling with rain.

I had my piano accordion on under the blanket

and I would sing Waltzing Matilda

to anybody who was fool enough to stop.

Oh, gosh. I've made that a bit too fierce. Doesn't matter.

I can make it lighter later.

So, I'm painting from memory.

I was in that crowd, and the Queen's coach

seemed to come gleaming round the corner straight towards me.

And I'm going to make this much darker...

off towards the left...because I'm going to put the golden coach

coming in there, and I want this to be a wonderful contrast

when the coach comes round that corner,

so I need that really dark in there.

Because Rolf's joined the 1950s group,

I decided to paint the Queen as she is today,

so I'm in the group taking their inspiration

from the last decade of her reign, the noughties.

I'm just going to sketch out some of the shapes

and some of the negative shapes,

and then chuck some paint on and crack on.

Although we want our artists

to create a work of art they're happy with,

we're also expecting some of the more advanced painters

to help the beginners.

It is an art school, after all.

These are my two little boys.

ROLF CHUCKLES

# Two little boys had two little toys

# Each had a wooden horse

# Tiddly-poo

# Gaily they played each summer's day

# Warriors both, of course. #

You're not supposed to be enjoying yourself.

-Let's get back to this.

-Good Lord, back to work(!)

So, let's take a look at the next decade, the '60s.

Now, that's a decade when the Queen had to combine her young family

and her working life, but before we meet all the artists,

let's take a look at that famous decade.

# Sooner or later love is gonna get ya

# Sooner or later Girl, you got to give in

# Sooner or later love is gonna let ya

# Sooner or later love is gonna win

# It's just a matter of time

# Before you make up your mind

# To give all that love that you've been hiding

# It's just a question of when

# I've told you time and again

# I'll get all the love you've been denying

# Sooner or later love is gonna get ya... #

# This is Major Tom to ground control

# I'm stepping through the door... #

It's one small step for man...

# ..And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

# And the stars look very different today... #

Not surprisingly, the Royal Family are the most photographed

and painted people on the planet,

which is why we've decided this decade should be all about portraits.

In fact, the Queen has sat for at least 129 portraits during her reign.

One of those was for me.

And what a thrill that was, what an honour.

And joyful, because I love painting portraits anyway.

Must've done about, I don't know,

two dozen portraits of myself over the years.

It's because you're such a cheap model -

you don't have to pay yourself, you're always available.

Good tip to anybody interested in portraits -

paint yourself over and over and over again.

Claire, that's fabulous.

-Are you enjoying yourself today?

-Yeah, loving it. It's good fun.

Talk me through your painting.

I'm trying to do an expressive painting of her

as a mother and a young woman in the '60s,

so I've chosen to do it quite colourful,

-to represent the colours of the '60s.

-Brilliant.

Are you planning on a career in art?

Yes, I'm studying graphic design, but I love to paint

so I thought I'd continue that as well.

It's really lovely.

Lenny, that's looking good.

When I'm making a picture, and I'm close to it,

I can't really see it properly. The light blinds me.

So I have to strain my eyes to dim it and get the better view,

but, for now, I think it's going really well.

Just a few more...colours and I think it'll turn out.

-And here we have Karen.

-Hello.

-Hi, Karen.

-You're an art teacher, head of art at a school.

-Yes.

-Talk us through your painting.

-Well, I chose to do

just the iconic image of the Queen,

just concentrate on her face from the forehead to the chin.

What's the biggest challenge working in a place like this?

-Is the distraction of everyone else?

-Well, actually, no.

It feels actually quite relaxed.

It's nice to have the time to sit down and paint.

-Yes, because you're a busy art teacher.

-Yes, most of the time.

Good luck, anyway. Patrick.

Now, you're actually a professional portrait painter, aren't you?

-So you have a very interesting technique here, collage.

-Mm.

Where did that start from?

It started because it was so much cheaper than buying paints.

It was costing me a fortune, whereas these,

I could go down the car-boot sale,

pick up loads of old scraps, and then it suited itself really well

to portraiture, because all the pieces you use that go into it

can relate to whoever the sitter is.

I love that idea.

So every bit of newsprint and picture,

-this all relates to the Queen?

-Everything that goes into this one

is relating to certain things going on in the '60s,

mainly music and things like that,

so there's loads of stuff about the Beatles

-and things going into this one.

-It's a great idea, isn't it?

And a very cost-effective way of producing a portrait.

-Anyway, I'll let you get on with it. See you later.

-Thank you.

Ron, I gather I'm not the oldest bloke here today.

-It's you!

-It's me. Yes.

-What age are you?

-90. Yes.

-Amazing.

What are you doing today?

I'm just doing the Investiture of the Prince.

I thought if I can include this,

this is the Tree of England, the strength here,

her favourite dogs, little children that come and give her posies,

and the daffodil, of course, for Wales, and the rose for England.

-And it's a wonderful heritage, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Have you been painting all your life?

-Yes.

When I was at school, my art teacher gave me an old pair of boots.

He said, "If you can draw those,

"you're going to be an artist one day."

And I drew them, and I've always wanted to paint.

You know, I think it's important.

-It keeps you going.

-Yeah.

Well, it keeps you young.

It's something that can carry you along

for the whole of your life, I think.

It can transport you to all sorts of amazing places.

Exactly, and when things are down...

-I go down and do a bit of drawing and I'm all right.

-Yeah!

Good on you!

Now, onto the '70s, my era.

I've got many memories of my childhood -

T. Rex, flared trousers, the Wombles, power cuts,

but there was much more to the decade than just that.

# Don't stop me now

# Cos I'm having a good time Having a good time

# I'm a superstar leaping through the sky

# Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity

# I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva

# I'm gonna go, go, go There's no stopping me... #

# Cos I wanna be

# Anarchy... #

# Oh, I've finally decided my future lies

# Beyond the yellow brick road

# Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

# Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah... #

The thing that really stands, for me,

for the Silver Jubilee is all the memorabilia that was created.

There were coins, there were stamps, plates, cups, mugs, you name it.

So I thought I'd put all these things together for a still life.

But I needed some help, so I went to meet a very interesting lady.

Well, tucked away here in a quiet corner of north London

is one of the largest hoards of Royal memorabilia anywhere in the world.

It's not in a gallery. It's not in a museum.

It's just in a very ordinary suburban house.

Did I say "ordinary"?

This is the home of compulsive Royal collector, Margaret Tyler.

So, I'm planning on borrowing some of her collection

so that I can set up a still-life scene that will perfectly evoke

the 1970s Silver Jubilee.

-Hello.

-Oh, hello. Nice to meet you.

-It's lovely to see you.

-Would you like to come and see my collection?

-Yes.

This is extraordinary, Margaret.

I know. It's a lot of work, a lot of dusting, but I love it.

-It's a labour of love.

-Oh, my goodness. There's not a surface

-that hasn't been covered in something.

-No, no.

It's got to that point now. I've been collecting for 32 years.

-And how many pieces do you have?

-About 10,000 items,

starting with Queen Victoria. And I go to antique fairs,

antique shops. My children buy me presents.

My son in America can get me things that you can't get over here,

so I'm very lucky, really.

And where did this passion come from? How did it all start?

I first became interested when I was eight years old,

when it was announced that the King had died.

And my mum and dad were absolutely forlorn about it,

but then, obviously, the Coronation the following year was much happier.

I was nine then, so I was able to participate more.

And how do you clean it? I mean... this is Margaret's house.

-It's not a showroom. This is her sitting room.

-This is where I live!

People can't fathom that.

If you've got your friends round, where do you sit?

Well, we have to get extra chairs in,

but my friends are used to it now. They're very good.

Well, I can't wait to see the Silver Jubilee stuff.

-There was a lot brought out for the Silver Jubilee.

-Where is it?

-That's across the hall.

-Shall we go and have a look?

-Yes.

And there's more.

ANNEKA GASPS

Margaret, this is outrageous.

I know, this is my Silver Jubilee room. I just love it.

-We'd love to borrow a few pieces.

-Yes. Is that one of them?

-Well, it's got to be, hasn't it?

-Yes.

That colour and all the lovely reflections.

-The thing about a still life, you want quite big pieces.

-Yes.

-Little things get rather lost.

-That's true.

-Could we borrow that?

Yes, certainly. Yes, that's fine.

-Oh, and I love the look of those samplers.

-Yes, yes.

-Those are the sort of thing you have in church, as a kneeler.

-Yeah.

From potties to mugs and teapots,

I just can't get enough of this memorabilia.

Let that one go. Yes, OK.

GLASS CLINKS

It's quite nerve-wracking.

-Margaret, I think we're done.

-Yes?

-We'd better start packing.

Margaret's also letting me raid her collection for a few props

to give our artists some extra inspiration.

Margaret, thank you so much, I've just had the best time.

-Will you come and join us on the day?

-Definitely, yes.

-OK, bye-bye.

-Bye-bye, take care.

Not quite sure how I'm going to get all this on the Tube!

Well, thank goodness Anneka got back with everything in one piece.

And, as you can see,

our artists are using Margaret's still life to inspire them.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Hi, Sarah.

This looks very intricate. Explain what you're doing.

This is a linocut on linoleum tile, and I'm doing a picture...

I'm sort of taking some of the things there on the still life,

but also bringing in fun elements, like Rolf on a Chopper.

Rolf on a Chopper?

Yeah, the Queen's in a teapot with her corgis.

-Oh, that's Rolf!

-Yeah, that's Rolf.

So, what happens next?

What happens once you've cut everything out?

Then I get a roller and I ink it up, then I'll put some paper on top

and take a wooden spoon and burnish the back of it,

-and then we'll see the print,

-So it's like the old potato cuttings?

Yeah, you never quite know what it's going to look like

until you print it, and then it's like magic.

And are you a royalist?

-You have made an effort today, Sarah, I'd like to say.

-Thank you!

-I'll let you get on with it.

-Thanks very much.

And we've got Keith here. Hi, Keith.

Now, you're quite a beginner, aren't you?

Yes. Not been doing it long - two, three years.

From scratch? Before that you'd never done any art at all?

Not painting, no. Only at school, and I enjoyed it then.

That's beautiful.

-This is watercolour pencils.

-They're good, these, aren't they?

I do like watercolours,

but you get more vibrant colours with the pencils.

So, when you put the water on, will it bleed, the colour?

No, because I've got an atomiser just to give a fine film.

I mean, I do use these.

-They're great because they're so easy to carry around.

-Absolutely.

Whereas watercolour can be fiddly by the time you've got

all the palettes and everything.

And this is really simple, and you're very much in control of this.

-Yeah.

-I'll leave you to it.

Thank you.

Now, Trixie, where's she?

Good grief!

THEY LAUGH

So, Trixie, what are you finding most difficult?

I probably found the shapes, getting the right shapes, most difficult.

Yeah, I mean, the way to work round that,

instead of drawing objects, is to draw the negative shape,

which is the shape in between the objects.

You've started to do that really nicely there.

Can you see, that shape is very distinct, if you look at the handle?

What you're doing is creating the inside shape,

not the actual china bit.

And then you'll find that everywhere you look

there are negative shapes - between there, between there...

It's quite a clever way of making sure that all these jumble of objects

all stand in the right places.

That's lovely, how you've got it there. Really nice. It's brilliant.

There's about three hours to go.

-Do you think you're going to finish in time?

-I hope so.

Good luck, Trixie. It's looking brilliant.

Knowing that some of the people were painting memorabilia today

got me thinking, and I wondered if I could create my own

piece of memorabilia for the Diamond Jubilee.

BAND PLAYS ROUSING TUNE

Oh, wow!

Windsor is my big local town, so it's very special to me.

And Windsor Castle is hugely special to the Queen,

because it's where she and her sister, Princess Margaret,

spent most of their childhood.

So...

I think this castle is an ideal subject for my painting today.

Yeah!

And not just any old painting, but a big painting!

I said to the man, "Make it eight foot square,"

and until I saw it here, I didn't realise how big it's going to be.

It's BIG!

But the reason it's that big is,

we're going to reduce the whole thing down to the size of a plate,

creating our own bit of memorabilia.

-What do you reckon, shall we do it?

-CROWD: Yes!

OK.

"Good luck, Rolf," they cried in unison...

CROWD: Good luck, Rolf!

Right, let's do it.

That's a good start. What do you think?

Of course, the first thing I always do is to kill the white.

ROLF WHISTLES

CROWD CHEERS

APPLAUSE

ROLF CHUCKLES

I'm going to try and get the lighter areas of the castle.

We've got to get the sunlight on that first bit.

It's going to be up there, somewhere, like that.

OK, this is a darker colour. Nice, shadowy colour.

That's going to go up sort of there-ish.

I just love using these big four-inch decorator's brushes.

It means I can make huge, bold brushstrokes,

and when it's reduced in size, they still register.

CHILD CALLS OUT

Yeah, I'm going as fast as I can, kid, don't panic!

LAUGHTER

I've got to get those soldiers marching in now.

That's a good bit of colour, eh?

My main aim is to get an impression of this whole scene,

with the soldiers marching out of Windsor Castle,

so that when you step back about a mile, it looks like the real thing.

I'm really loving doing these huge canvases again. Great feeling.

Now I'm going to try and get all the piping

and the little bits of white on the costumes of the guys.

The guards here are the Household Guards,

and they've guarded the Sovereign since the 1660s.

Not this actual group, obviously!

But they're all part and parcel of that same force

that looked after the Monarch for all those years.

Rolf!

-I was a Guard in 1952.

-You were there?

-I was there, yes.

Well, it's the tall, handsome one, that's you.

Thank you very much!

THEY LAUGH

-You were there when?

-1952.

I'd just arrived in this country then. I didn't see you.

How nice.

-Does it convey the image to you?

-It's superb.

Just as I remember it.

Thank you very much.

OK. Good one.

-Can you tell what it is yet?

-What is it?

It's supposed to be Windsor Castle, with all the people in the front,

with cameramen and the soldiers marching along,

and this fellow with the blue scarf here.

Shall we pretend the skies are brilliant-blue today?

What do you think?

With some lovely, fluffy white clouds and stuff like that?

Did you know that Windsor Castle

is the oldest occupied castle in the world?

It's been the home to kings and queens of this country

for something like a thousand years.

Amazing, isn't it? I've only lived in my house for 31-odd years!

That should do it, yeah.

Yes.

Got to have a Union Jack flag in a Diamond Jubilee painting.

Well, I'd better sign it. All done.

I've got to get the signature in somewhere here,

because if I do it down there, where I normally would,

it's going to be cut off when they reduce it to a circle for that plate.

So, if I have it somewhere there,

I think it's got a chance of being in it.

BAND PLAYS

I just can't wait to see what this great eight by eight foot painting

looks like when it's reduced to the size of a plate

that I could hold in my hand.

Well, there you go. That's a sort of test pressing, you might call it,

although it's not a record, it's a plate.

But I think it's worked well, going from a square into a circle.

A couple of things I want to change,

and with a bit of luck, it will go into production

and you'll be able to get your very own piece of memorabilia

for the Diamond Jubilee.

It's brilliant, Rolf,

and proceeds to charity what's not to love about it? OK?

Now, listen, don't want to put any sort of panic on the proceedings,

but...two hours to go, everyone!

Well, you've filled me with panic, for a start!

And it's not just us two that need to buck our ideas up.

It seems everyone is under pressure to finish their work.

I need to get the crowd into my canvas,

starting with me at the very back.

I hadn't grown my beard at that time,

so I was clean-shaven - charming young bloke, I was.

HE CHUCKLES

And I've started to fill out the figures on my canvas, too.

I don't know where I first learnt this technique,

but it might be a help to you in some stage, when you want to do some

fine spray of something or other, like a half-toned, blurry thing.

I've got everything blues and greys,

and now I want to add the golden sunlight

of that coach coming round the corner.

You get some water on a toothbrush

and you mix it up with the paint until it's really sloppy.

Tap off the excess water, and then you get your finger there

and you spray little bits,

and the sharper the bristles are, the better the spraying happens.

Now you're getting some gorgeous sprayed highlights.

I hope you can see that gradually increasing in intensity,

that spray there.

Wow!

That's the sort of effect I want to get.

Yes.

Is everyone having a lovely time?

I just thought I'd better check!

Cos I am. I love painting with other people in the room,

because you've got company. You can just occasionally say,

"Hello! Do you want a cup of tea?"

But you can get very much into your own painting zone. Great stuff.

Next stop, the '80s.

MUSIC: "Beat It" by Michael Jackson

# They told him Don't you ever come around here

# Don't wanna see your face You better disappear

# The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear

# So beat it, just beat it... #

MUSIC: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid

# Feed the world... #

Prime Minister, there are millions dying,

and that's the terrible thing.

# ..Feed the world... #

So, sticking with the theme of graffiti

seemed to be a very good idea.

Ignore the train, welcome to our artists for the '80s decade,

and if you're wondering why they're all looking so casual and relaxed,

they painted their canvas earlier.

It's no ordinary canvas, it's a wall, and today we're going to be doing

a mural based on '80s graffiti art,

which is when it became really popular in this country,

and it is when we all started out.

And, yeah, hopefully, it's going to be a great piece of work.

Looking at a big space like that is always quite daunting.

Got lots of good ideas. Hopefully we're going to pull it off.

Over the next six hours, four professional graffiti artists

will transform this huge blank wall into our '80s artwork.

We're marking out the initial design on the wall.

It's a very loose sketch, which is going to change as the day goes on,

so we're just getting in the basic shapes and composition.

Here to help them get the job done are six art students

who've never done this before.

So, first off, a bit of tuition.

What you need to do is make sure the cap is pointing the right way,

or you're going to spray yourself or someone else.

Really obvious, but it happens loads.

Using a circular technique...

That's it.

Keep the can moving, that's great.

As the day wears on, the image begins to take shape,

so I thought I'd pay them a surprise visit.

I love graffiti art, and I couldn't resist coming down

and seeing how the whole gang are getting on with this.

And, maybe, with a bit of luck,

get to have a go myself, spray-painting.

G'day, everyone! Julian!

Good stuff. How's it going?

It looks fantastic!

-What are we doing?

-Right, OK.

So what we're doing here is, we're doing our '80s-inspired mural.

So we've got a classic kind of '80s cassette tape,

then we've got a great big hip-hop b-boy character,

and he's got a great big medallion round his neck,

and that is the pound coin, with the Queen's head on.

And that was introduced in the '80s, wasn't it, the pound coin?

Yes, I think it was '83, yeah.

So we're going to have 1983 written round the side of it.

Really bright, lots of shines on it, so it's going to be really striking.

-Can I have a go at something?

-You certainly can, yeah.

We're going to get you to have a go on the central bit,

-which is the coin.

-Aye-ee!

You've done it before, though.

-I've done a little bit, but I was rubbish.

-Oh, right, OK!

So you've got to point me in the right direction.

What we're going to do first is just fill in a big area,

so behind the Queen's head, here.

So if you're doing the lines going up,

-I just want you to go up to the white lines there.

-Yeah, yeah.

And then literally move it round in little circles,

so you get a nice solid base, like that.

-All right? So, over to you.

-Stick with me, kid.

In case I get it all wrong!

-Keep moving, keep moving.

-Yeah, keep moving.

I'll try it where it doesn't matter too much, here.

It dries pretty much straight away,

so if you make a mistake, you can go straight over it.

So there's no problem.

That's pretty good, I'm happy with that.

-Come in close on that.

-Yeah, that's it.

-Oh, yeah.

-See?

Ah, good.

You've got to beware of standing still, haven't you?

-If you hold it still, it all runs, I guess.

-Exactly.

You've got to keep moving all the time, yeah.

Oh, gosh!

It's not as easy as you'd think when you're going to do it.

-I've got a picture, actually.

-Have you got a picture?

Yeah, here we go. Look at that.

Wow!

Oh, that's lovely.

OK, so...

When you're planning the whole thing, do you sketch it out first?

We normally sketch it out directly onto the wall,

so it's all from our heads.

There's still plenty of work to do to perfect the artwork,

and just like Impressionist painting, they refine and refine

and then refine again.

Well, thanks, everybody, for involving me.

Thank you, Rolf!

I can't wait to see the finished product. Good one.

It's been great to have you involved.

-Good on you.

-Cheers.

-See you, now.

-Thanks, Rolf. Bye!

-Bye!

And, finally, it's finished.

It has taken 10 people - plus me, of course - over six hours,

and I think it's a work to be proud of.

Julian, were you all quite happy with the end result?

Yeah, we were all very pleased, it came out really well.

Have you always been involved in graffiti art?

Yeah, from a very early age, about ten years old.

I was always scribbling on everything,

and then, after a few kind of brushes with the law,

I decided to go legit and start doing commissions,

and then eventually I went to college and studied fine art.

How did you find the difference between graffiti and fine art?

Well, with graffiti art, it's all about working with others

and getting the community involved, as well.

We do lots of big community projects,

getting all age groups, especially young people.

-Great. Well, thanks again. Thank you.

-OK.

Well, the original has probably been painted over by now,

but we actually have a perfect copy on film,

and that is going to be projected here.

So, when you come to the Old Vic Tunnels,

as I hope you will, you'll be able to see that image

here in our pop-up Diamond Jubilee art gallery.

Details of our exhibition are on our website at...

Our next decade is in many ways the most difficult.

The Queen called 1992 her "annus horribilis", her horrible year,

but the 1990s were a decade of great change as well.

# Hold on

# Don't be scared

# You'll never change what's been and gone

# May your smile... #

It has turned out to be an annus horribilis.

# Hasta manana

# Always be mine

# Viva for ever

# I'll be waiting

# Everlasting, like the sun

# Live for ever... #

BELL TOLLS # ..For the moment

# Ever searching for the one. #

It's hard to think that that was only 15 years ago.

Our artists here are taking a different approach in their work.

First of all, they're doing all their work

on the same size piece of paper

and they're all doing it in black and white,

so when we bring all those images together,

we will have a pictorial chronology of the '90s.

Oh, I love it! The Scream! What prompted that?

It just came to me.

Gosh! I wouldn't know what to suggest to make that any better.

-And this is the annus horribilis.

-Absolutely.

I decided to go for Hubble and Halley,

because it was with Hubble that in the '90s

we also discovered the first planets outside our solar system,

so it's lots of nice science.

Are you going to get some feeling of roundness on that?

Yeah, I was thinking of using some silver ink

and giving a shine to one surface of the telescope

because, obviously, the sun is over there.

It won't be back again for another, what, 63 years or something.

-And will you draw it then, when it comes back?

-If I'm around!

-If you're around!

ROLF LAUGHS

That's good. Scarlet, what are you up to?

I'm doing something to represent the IRA ceasefire in 1994.

When the ceasefire happened,

I moved over there, so it's got a personal thing for me as well.

So I've just put it into fingers crossed.

-Hope it works.

-To hope the peace continues.

-That's lovely.

And this represents all the people laying flowers for Diana.

What I did was I restaged the event with just one person,

so I took my wife and baby and laid flowers just earlier this week.

-Wow.

-The last stages will be to darken the grass,

perhaps add some washes into the sky, but I like the openness,

-the space.

-Yeah, it's lovely.

Letting the white of the paper speak.

-Do all the work, yeah.

-Yeah, absolutely.

I thought I'd have a look at some of the positive happenings in the '90s,

so I looked at the construction of the Channel Tunnel,

which was the first meeting of Europe and the UK

in over 8,000 years,

and the erection of the London Eye in preparation for the Millennium.

You're going to darken all these blobs up?

I'm going to... Yeah, shade the bottom of them.

Well, as we now know, the country and indeed the Royal Family saw in

the new millennium with a new-found strength, and what a decade it was.

# ..For auld lang syne... #

CHEERING

SIREN

# So throw those curtains wide

# One day like this a year would see me right

# Throw those curtains wide

# One day like this a year would see me right

# Throw those curtains wide

# One day like this a year would see me right for life

# Throw those curtains wide

# One day like this a year would see me right for life... #

Wow, what a fantastic weekend it's been,

to celebrate the great job our Queen has done,

and I can't wait for the Olympics.

It's very exciting, we're right up to date now.

Let's look at the last decade and see what's been inspiring our group.

I'm doing a large-scale photographic collage of Buckingham Palace,

this fine building.

I will take probably around 100 photographs

of the vista going across from left to right,

not with the intention of making them into one single image

but putting the photographs together so that it makes you look

more carefully at the building, it makes you see it in a different way.

I try to get into a space of my own

where I'm responding to what I'm taking,

rather than planning too much,

and that's when interesting, exciting things happen.

-Francis, this is great.

-Hello. Thank you very much.

-Wow, that's one of our camera ladies.

-It is, that's Fleur, yes.

-And in fact the last photograph is just about to be stuck.

-Good.

-So shall we do that?

-Do it, yeah.

I'll need these.

ROLF CHUCKLES

How many pieces have you got, all told?

Well, there were about 140 photographs in the shoot.

Um, probably 100 of them have ended up in the collage.

It's amazing, actually, as a building. I live in London,

haven't been to Buckingham Palace for many, many years.

Going down there, you see what a beautiful place it is.

Not only the palace but the areas around it as well.

I tell you what's nice - the fact you've got

all the characters all on that one shot.

They're all perfect there, and then everything else is a hotchpotch

-at different times and different colours and things.

-Yep.

-But that is stunning.

-It's the focal point.

-Yeah.

-But the rest is slightly more quirky.

-Yeah.

Blaze, one of our other artists in this group, was also working

with photographic paper but not in the traditional way.

I'm going to sprinkle some sequins onto the paper,

then we should end up with really nice silhouettes of the sequins.

I don't know how this will turn out.

It might be brilliant, it might not work.

That's the wonder of working in here -

you never know how your prints are going to turn out, and it's exciting.

Sometimes a little disappointing, but mostly just exciting!

Blaze, tell me about this. How does it all work?

Well, it's photograms.

Instead of using a negative to make a picture,

I used newspaper articles, pictures,

anything I could collect on the Diamond Jubilee.

And how did you make them into negatives, then?

-In some cases, like the big photo...

-Yeah, Tower Bridge.

..I covered them with resin to make them semi-transparent

and then I got a direct print from them.

Wow. And this is the sequence they have to be in to please you, is it?

-Is that...?

-Yes.

-You want it that way and no other way?

-No.

So you're going to, what, take a photo of that so...

-Yes. I'll take a photo so...

-..whoever's hanging it will know?

-Yeah.

-Have you taken it?

-Yeah.

-I was expecting a huge click.

Helen is taking her inspiration from various London landmarks.

I'd like to do a portrait of the Queen but I thought, to make it a bit abstract,

throughout her hair, I'd do a mixture of sort of pen and watercolour images and collage,

a whole representation of the noughties.

Today, I'd really like to do some sketches

and illustrations of some of the fantastic architecture

and aspects of the Millennium.

I'll do them large to start with, then bring them down in size,

so that they will form a smaller part of the Queen's hair,

so that's what I'm hoping to achieve today.

My last colour.

-ROLF CHUCKLES

-Any good?

-Very good, yeah!

-That's great. What a lovely likeness.

-Do you like it?

-Yeah.

Everybody tells me you're the fastest drawer in the West.

So they say.

And the other members of this group also created some surprising pieces.

So, Sarah, tell me,

how does this relate to the Queen's 60 years on the throne?

-If you want to grab that end, Rolf, I'll show you.

-Oh. And...?

Just pull it.

HE LAUGHS

Next one?

Oh, I like it.

HE LAUGHS HEARTILY

-It's compulsive, isn't it?

-It is.

-You can't stop. What a great idea.

-That's fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Good idea, beautifully executed.

I don't know what I'm doing -

I haven't even finished my own painting!

I'm working from a reference photo of the golden coach

and trying to get it blurry and sort of...

..mixing in with the background a bit

so that it looks mysterious and magical

and almost like a fairy tale. I remember it well.

I think, while that's drying off a little bit,

I'm going to sign this picture.

What, with a nice red? Yeah.

HE CHUCKLES

I'm pleased with the progress I've made

and the composition generally, but I think I was a little overambitious

with the number of people sitting in the living room watching television.

In fact, there were more on the real day,

but I'm quite pleased with it.

If I have another go at it at home, I might even finish it properly.

This is when I find out if it really worked. Here we go.

-Oh, yes! I love linocuts. It's me, is it?

-Yup, it's you!

-In the '70s, anyway.

-Oh, it's lovely. Sarah, it's lovely.

Thank you very much.

-And the corgis!

-Actually, you've got three legs!

-Oh!

-I just saw your Jake The Peg last night on YouTube.

THEY LAUGH

Isn't it exciting, when you suddenly see how it's all working?

I love it, this is the best moment.

You've been working on it all day

and you really have no idea what it's going to look like.

Let's see. How exciting!

-Well...

-It's not bad.

I love the three-legged bit and the dogs.

-What is that bit behind there?

-That's the teapot from the display.

Oh, I see. The teapot! I see it.

I love the dogs.

Wow, that's lovely.

-Isn't that good?

-Thank you, Rolf.

You've got the attitude, the feeling and the electricity of it all.

-It's just perfect.

-Thank you, Rolf.

You saying that is praise indeed.

I thought we should come bang up to date, though,

because of the Olympic torch going across the country at the moment.

We were talking about the Olympics earlier. So, I've got my tablet here

and I've become really obsessed with doing quick little sketches.

I did this, literally, you can see, yesterday, over a cup of coffee.

It's Zara, the Queen's granddaughter,

holding the flame as she goes round Cheltenham Racecourse.

There it is, bang up to date now.

I think we can safely say we've done 60 years.

Well, it's been a fantastic day.

As everyone finishes their paintings and packs up their materials,

I know we're going to have a brilliant tribute to Her Majesty The Queen.

Oh, crikey, what a day!

It was amazing but I'm not quite sure

how we're now going to transform this into an exhibition space.

But very exciting, just the variety of artwork.

It's been amazing.

I must say I can't wait to see it

when you've transformed it into an exhibition.

Thanks, Rolf, neither can I!

Oh, wow, look at this!

Everyone's gone, everything's been packed away,

the place is completely empty.

We've now got to transform this into an art gallery.

OK, guys.

Are you happy with that, guys? That's good.

And despite being exhausted,

we all worked against the clock to create our very own art gallery.

Wow, you must have been up all night to get this hung like this!

It's fantastic.

It's just brilliant, I'm thrilled.

So, here you have it, it's our own Diamond Jubilee tribute

to Her Majesty The Queen, created by some of her people.

And the gallery is now open until Sunday 10th June.

Entrance is free, so please come along and see the exhibition.

It's at the Old Vic Tunnels at Waterloo.

Cup of tea afterwards?!

We hope this has inspired you to pick up a brush, pencil or crayon

and create your own works of art.

What have you got to lose?

Do it!

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