A Frogman Tale

After 4 years of waiting, we welcomed Tim 'Frogman' Cotterill back to Westover Gallery for our eagerly anticipated show on September 23rd 2023. The last time Tim was here, was September 2019. We have had a frogman show every year (sometimes twice a year) since 2005. Covid stopped Tim visiting in 2020 and 2021. 2022 came and we hoped to have Tim visit, but sadly he couldn't. On to 2023 and YIPPPPEEEE! We finally manage to secure a date and firmly set it in our diary. 

We knew that the event would be busy because our collectors had been waiting 4 years to see Tim, so we set about thinking of ideas to make it extra special!

The team at Westover Gallery worked hard and thought about what our clients may like and that would make this event one to remember! Tim, the foundry and the Westover team work tirelessly, to create 3 stunning bespoke Frogman sculptures especially for our Frogman collectors, exclusively available from Westover Gallery for our show. 

The first sculpture we produced was 'Live Wire' with the help of an established and passionate Frogman collector, we created a wonderful green patina with fantastic veining overlapping throughout the sculpture at the foundry. We took the sculpture usually called 'Jackpot' , the  standard edition has a golden patina and we made 'Live Wire' with only 30 available in the green . Live Wire was officially launched at the end of July, at the time we sent out our Frogman invitations to all our collectors announcing the show date and frog. 'Live Wire' was an instant success! We took orders in the gallery, online and over the phone as soon as the invites landed through our clients door and as soon as the email was received. It certainly was a Frogman hotline for a few weeks!

With many collectors feedback 'we love that Live Wire looks like a traditional green frog!' 

Some other fun feedback about our first show frog that we loved to hear:

'He's a very froggy frog' one collector exclaimed!

'You can pair Live Wire' not only with frogs, but as his pose is very versatile you can pair him with 'The Diver' and they make a great statement together' 

'I love the dark green with the light veining on this frog, I have to have it'

'I like that this patina is a close resemblance to some of Tims earlier frogs'

There are very few 'Live Wire' available so order yours HERE before its got forever ....

The guest list for our show started to grow and after only 1 week after announcing the show date we had over 100 people on our guest list - we knew then that this was going to be one very busy Frogman event! We also announced a photo competition and we received so many fun and quirky entries, it was hard to choose the winners, so we also had some runner ups! Well done to all who won a little Frogman prize!

After a few more weeks and 6 weeks still to go before the event we were nearing 200 people on our guest list! Woweee.... that meant we had better start thinking about some more ideas and order some more champagne! 

Moving on to a second show frog - one that we would keep secret until the show, we created 'Treasure' a small chubby little frog with a silver nitrate patina and polished bronze textured back. 'Treasure' is an edition variation of 'Pumpkin' - usually an autumnal orange frog, we took 30 from this edition and made it silver.

We thought of names and initially we had a small list of names, but none of them quite felt right. After a few weeks the name 'Treasure' developed and it felt perfect for this little frog. We created bespoke packaging, for 'Treasure' to sit in. So she really felt like you had a special little treasure to cherish forever when you unwrapped your Frogman sculpture. This then later inspired the theme for our event, buried treasure! Where we used treasure boxes, pirate maps and buried treasure for our Frogman display and themed our entire event around this lovely frog. 

'Treasure' was launched at the event and unveiled for the every first time for all attendees to see. We had 30 edition numbers in a frogman bag and when you purchased 'Treasure' - you got to put your hand in the bag and then your edition number was unveiled. 

We have very few 'Treasure left - so secure yours HERE and we will unveil your edition number for you. You will receive your frogman bronze in a beautiful bespoke box

We had been chatting with the foundry most days for several months to get our frogs created and the team at the Frogman Foundry had been creating stunning pieces for you and we had been discussing Frogs, Owls and all sorts to make sure we had something for everyone to fall in love with at the show.

That's when 'Oscar' our bespoke owl came to life!  With knowledge and passion from one of Tims most loyal collectors along with our understanding of what clients like and almost 2 decades worth of Frogman experience, we chose 'Shackleton' and  made and Edition Variation of 12 bespoke bronze owls. The patina was going to be challenging, to create the rich toffee colour we wanted and the creamy framed face of the owl - to resemble a Barn Owl. The foundry worked so hard for weeks and weeks, redoing the patina over and over again until, finally, 'Oscar' was born!  

With only 12 ever made, we knew this one would be a sell out. We kept this sculpture under wraps until the show date, they were put on display and collectors fell in love with the pieces at the show, saying that they loved the way the owl looked, with the most established collectors choosing their Oscar based on the heavier circle detail in the patina on the back of the owl , which felt more 'feather' like than the smoother looking owls. All collectors who bought Oscar said they loved the way the face was framed with the creamy patina. This made it look like a true Barn Owl .

'Oscar' is a real statement and I'm sure any one who bought him is delighted with him. Oscar is sold out - there are some other owls in our collection you can still treat yourselves to HERE

The SHOW! Well, what can we say, Tim arrived safely from California, Frogman collectors flocked from far and wide, nationally and internationally  (as far as Germany and Florida!) to meet Tim and see our stunning HUGE collection of Frogman Bronzes. The show was intended to be 2-5pm but, as it goes, 9am the doors opened for Saturday trading and the collectors started to arrive to have a sneaky first look at the collection... many pieces including some from Tims private collection were snapped up before the event even started! With hundreds of Frogs and Birds to choose from, the collectors arrived and from 2pm, the gallery was packed full! 

Tim did a talk and also some questions to the attendees where collectors could win prizes, including a fantastic Jacket, Sterling Silver Tadpole pendants and Bronze Frog keyring. We had an very rare and unusual BF2 (Tims second ever Frog design he created) up for auction and that frog has now moved to sunny Florida to our lucky winner of the auction!

The established collectors, who have attended many of our shows and know the Frogman collection well were looking for rare and unusual sculptures, which we had plenty - but they didn't last long and got snapped up! Some collectors were looking for a partner to a frogman bronze they already had at home and others looking for that special frog as a statement for their home, some were even looking to make their first Frogman purchase (and have since made more!)  We had so many to choose from, but Frogs soon started coming off display and our team were wrapping them up and writing out certificates of authenticity at lightning speed!

It was so lovely to see collectors that are new to Frogman bronzes and they were so excited to meet Tim, make new friends and treat themselves to something special. 

What a pleasure to welcome Tim back, see some familiar faces and some new collectors on board. We cannot thank you all enough for making the event a huge success and your passion for the Frogman Sculptures.  Westover Gallery are the UK's largest Platinum Frogman Gallery and we couldn't have done that without the support of you all, so thank you, it means a lot to have you all loyal to Frogman and Westover Gallery! 

1. We hold a large collection of Frogman sculpture all year round, we are proud to be the largest Platinum Gallery of Frogman. Check out the collection HERE and please, ask any questions, we'd love to hear from you !