2000-2009
The new millennium began with Furr being asked to paint the presenters Jonny Vaughan and Lisa Tarbuck for “The Big Breakfast” live in the TV studio on Millennium night.
The last of Furr’s academic portraits occurred with “Dr Robert Kendell 2000” for the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
In 2002 Furr was commissioned by Westminster Cathedral to produce three portraits of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O Connor, Bishop George Stack and Bishop Patrick O’ Donoghue. The portraits were unveiled simultaneously at Archbishop’s House, Westminster Cathedral, where the portraits now hang in the permanent collection.
Christian was offered work on television. He became the ‘Celebrity Art Club’ artist on the Richard and Judy show on UK Channel 4, holding a ‘celebrity portrait master class’ . He also became a judge on ITV’s A Brush with Fame travelling across the UK.
In June 2004 , Furr collected an Association of Colleges Gold Award at the House of Commons – given to further education alumni who have gone on to achieve excellence in their chosen field.
Furr’s series of paintings of animals began with his painting of a ‘Gloucester old spot 2000’ which was the result of a visit to Thorpe Park farm in Surrey with his young daughters and then visits to the Denham Estate with his chef friend Andy Campbell.
In between commissions Furr was able to create some paintings of his own family. A trip to Los Angeles for a work interview produced the painting of his wife Emma in a motel with “Girl with a Light 2001” and a portrait of his youngest daughter Anika was produced in Seville in 2009. The conductor of the Key West orchestra in Florida had bought Furr’s painting “Girl with Flute” and a visit to Key West Orchestra in Florida resulted in the painting of two musicians “Strings 2001”.
The noughties saw Furr’s (now in his thirties) depiction of the relationships between men and women turn from the more subdued palette / realism of the 90s grunge era – kitchen sink paintings into brightly coloured imagined scenarios using models in anonymous hotel rooms which in some way reflect the aesthetic of the decade. The K -West hotel in Hammersmith became the location for the series and sittings occurred here. A brighter palette and bolder use of colour reflect the futuristic design, synthetic music, fashion encapsulated in fur and plastic, and cyber-inspired movies and video games of the ‘Y2K’ period. Furr’s friendship with the shoe designers Terry and Liz de Havilland influenced the ‘Men & Women’ series with the inclusion of various high heeled De Havilland shoes. The fashion theme continued with artworks of de Havilland shoes and the inclusion of a Tom Baker suit which had “Not For Sale” emblazoned on the back of the jacket which is featured in ‘Not for Sale 2006”. Terry de Havilland, in turn, featured Furr’s Venus painting of a nude on a pair of his wedges which were featured in a Vin + Omi fashion show in 2014. The designer also created a unique pair of pink butterfly mules for Christian’s wife Emma which Furr made a line drawing of featured on the first of his products – a limited edition of bone china cups. Six paintings were produced in the “Men & Women” series with the final painting “Flesh and Blood” being completed in 2011.
In 2005 With “Wimbledon – the Great draw” Furr was asked to create a giant painting of Tim Henman playing Fred Perry for Robinsons. Furr’s art book “The Lost Art” was published in 2005 and launched at the Colony Room club in Soho published by Furr’s father in law – John Blake.
In 2006 Furr produced three small “joke paintings” one of which was gifted to Michael Wojas for the Colony Room and which later disappeared with other works of Art from the club. The decade includes various commissioned family portraits and in 2006 the first of Furr’s fish still lives with “Red Mullet 2006” and the first of Furr’s cheese paintings, with the depiction of “Finn 2009”.
In 2002 Furr was commissioned by Westminster Cathedral to produce three portraits of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O Connor, Bishop George Stack and Bishop Patrick O’ Donoghue. The portraits were unveiled simultaneously at Archbishop’s House, Westminster Cathedral, where the portraits now hang in the permanent collection.
Christian was offered work on television. He became the ‘Celebrity Art Club’ artist on the Richard and Judy show on UK Channel 4, holding a ‘celebrity portrait master class’ . He also became a judge on ITV’s A Brush with Fame travelling across the UK.
In June 2004 , Furr collected an Association of Colleges Gold Award at the House of Commons – given to further education alumni who have gone on to achieve excellence in their chosen field.
Furr’s series of paintings of animals began with his painting of a ‘Gloucester old spot 2000’ which was the result of a visit to Thorpe Park farm in Surrey with his young daughters and then visits to the Denham Estate with his chef friend Andy Campbell.
In between commissions Furr was able to create some paintings of his own family. A trip to Los Angeles for a work interview produced the painting of his wife Emma in a motel with “Girl with a Light 2001” and a portrait of his youngest daughter Anika was produced in Seville in 2009. The conductor of the Key West orchestra in Florida had bought Furr’s painting “Girl with Flute” and a visit to Key West Orchestra in Florida resulted in the painting of two musicians “Strings 2001”.
The noughties saw Furr’s (now in his thirties) depiction of the relationships between men and women turn from the more subdued palette / realism of the 90s grunge era – kitchen sink paintings into brightly coloured imagined scenarios using models in anonymous hotel rooms which in some way reflect the aesthetic of the decade. The K -West hotel in Hammersmith became the location for the series and sittings occurred here. A brighter palette and bolder use of colour reflect the futuristic design, synthetic music, fashion encapsulated in fur and plastic, and cyber-inspired movies and video games of the ‘Y2K’ period. Furr’s friendship with the shoe designers Terry and Liz de Havilland influenced the ‘Men & Women’ series with the inclusion of various high heeled De Havilland shoes. The fashion theme continued with artworks of de Havilland shoes and the inclusion of a Tom Baker suit which had “Not For Sale” emblazoned on the back of the jacket which is featured in ‘Not for Sale 2006”. Terry de Havilland, in turn, featured Furr’s Venus painting of a nude on a pair of his wedges which were featured in a Vin + Omi fashion show in 2014. The designer also created a unique pair of pink butterfly mules for Christian’s wife Emma which Furr made a line drawing of featured on the first of his products – a limited edition of bone china cups. Six paintings were produced in the “Men & Women” series with the final painting “Flesh and Blood” being completed in 2011.
In 2005 With “Wimbledon – the Great draw” Furr was asked to create a giant painting of Tim Henman playing Fred Perry for Robinsons. Furr’s art book “The Lost Art” was published in 2005 and launched at the Colony Room club in Soho published by Furr’s father in law – John Blake.
In 2006 Furr produced three small “joke paintings” one of which was gifted to Michael Wojas for the Colony Room and which later disappeared with other works of Art from the club. The decade includes various commissioned family portraits and in 2006 the first of Furr’s fish still lives with “Red Mullet 2006” and the first of Furr’s cheese paintings, with the depiction of “Finn 2009”.
