Billy Connolly to release a book of artwork

Drawing is 'a portal for my imagination' says comic

More than 200 of Billy Connolly’s artworks are to be published in a new book this autumn.

The Accidental Artist is subtitled Drawings & Stories and includes anecdotes about the comedian’s life and travels which inspired them.

Connolly said: ‘My drawings started by accident. I was on tour in Montreal a few years ago and found myself sheltering from the pishing rain in an art store. I went in to get dry and came out with an armful of felt-tip pens and a sketchbook, then went straight back to my hotel room and started to draw. I’ve never looked back.

‘People think I paint or draw things on purpose. I don’t, I just draw. It is a portal for my imagination. And, just like my stand-up, I never know where it will lead.’

The 304-page book is being published by John Murray on October 24. For the first print run, the 81-year-old comedian’s signature will be sprayed on the outer edge of each book.

The company calls the title a ‘joyful collision of colour, creativity and storytelling, and an exhilarating new portrait of Billy's extraordinary life’.

It will be published at around the same time a major new BBC arts documentary is expected to air about Connolly.

John Murray previously published Connolly’s reminiscences Tall Tales & Wee Stories in 2019, Windswept & Interesting in 2021 and Rambling Man in 2023. According to trade website The Bookseller, they have sold more than two million copies across all formats between them.

Last year, Connolly released a very high-end art book, starting at £995.

Blurb for The Accidental Artist reads: 'Welcome to the visual world of Billy Connolly - comedian, actor, storyteller and artist. In elegant, simple lines Billy conjures up a land of fantastic beasts, mysterious inventions, and blissful calm. Some drawings are charmingly simple, others feel complex, strange or rebellious. Through them, Billy offers fascinating glimpses of his childhood and his Scottish homeland, takes us on journeys to far-flung places, and shares his life-long obsession with music, wildlife and fashion.’

It is available from Amazon, priced £20.19 – or for £24.70 from uk.bookshop.org, below, which supports independent bookstores.

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Published: 17 Jul 2024