Foreword to Ian Stables tribute book . ( or ' the man who never had a proper job')
Hello, my name is Gaye Stubbs, I was Ian's wife in all but marriage certificate for the last 27 years. This is my recollection of Ian's dedication and talent for painting and modelling during those happy times:
We first met as teenagers in 1979 growing up in Essex. Ian was painting Hinchliffe and Airfix models in between revision.for A levels. Ian attended the University of Sheffield and he completed the first year of an undergraduate course in Zoology . He did not turn up at many lectures, he was too busy re-building Airfix kits and re-sculpting models, adding equipment and giving them life.
My mum provided our first home together in Woodford Green back in the early 1980's . That is the point in time when Ian and I turned up at Salute! armed with hand painted leaflets advertising Ian's painting services. Ian found an early and loyal client base. Barry Edwards was Ian's first major customer and supported his work for almost 20 years . It also lead to the happy meeting of Ian with Kevin Dallimore. Kevin took on Ian as a painter with Special Forces and developed Ian's painting skills and recognizable style.
Over the years we moved ,mainly for my job reasons -Barkingside, Newbury Park, Norwich , Harrow and finally Westward to Trowbridge in Wiltshire.
During all of that time 1985 - 2006 Ian was painting for various private clients including Celts for Ceri Springsguth , Saxons & Vikings for Paul Richardson, Romans and others for Tim Clifton, Pirates for Jimmy and also for Richard Fox. Ian had now also become the Painter to Front Rank Figurines, thanks to Alec Brown. Ian had also carried out some commissions for Wendy at Westwind. Ian's standard of work was steadily improving and he was gradually moving away from painting figures to wargaming standard to the top quality collectors standard.for cabinets and for website displays.
Although he was chiefly known for his ability to paint Napoleonics, Ian also painted other military periods and fantasy models, too. Ian had taught himself History and French in order to study the books in order to get the uniforms and equipment exactly right. During the last 2 years in Trowbridge Ian had never been happier and that was reflected in his work- Ian had moved on from being a craftsman to becoming an accomplished artist. The last completed model he painted was an experiment in blending , the first time he had ever attempted that style.
Ian never really knew how much his talent was recognized by others - only a few weeks before his death he told someone that he'd ' never really had a proper job'. Quite an incredible remark, considering that he had worked for more than a quarter of a century as a professional painter to the military modelling industry. I am therefore very grateful to Steve Dean for his painter's forum - because in the last few weeks of his life Ian found out on that forum that other painters knew and valued his work .. I recall that he recently exchanged messages with Tom Weiss and explained who he was - Tom told Ian that he had known about him and his work for a long time - that really surprised and delighted Ian. He knew he'd got the recognition that he wanted and had deserved.
Ian's interests throughout his life were painting , fishing, cooking, chess and drinking mainly cider. he is affectionately known as Cider Man and Old Scrumpy. Ian died aged 43 years on 30 May 2006 of an untimely and tragic brain haemorrhage He'd had a good bank holiday weekend, cooking his favourite lamb curry and drinking a few pints of cider while chatting to other painters on the Steve Dean website. He was happy because he had made it to the next round of the painters own painting competition. He went to bed on a high and he would not have known anymore.
Ian had a short life - but isn't any death untimely for the loved ones and friends? Ian lived his life on his own terms and became a master painter . This book is dedicated to the memory of Ian Peter Stables and in the hope that his work will reach out and inspire future generations of model painters. The proceeds of this book after production expenses will be donated to the Royal United Hospital in Bath who provided all possible comforts to Ian in the last few hours of his life.
Yours Sincerely
Mrs Old Scrumpy 19th June 2006
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