Big fans of Peter Falk will be aware that it’s his birthday on 16th September. One London-based fan is marking that anniversary with an art exhibition celebrating the ‘Women of Columbo‘.
Artist Tika Viker-Bloss will have a dozen or so paintings on display at trendy north-London cocktail bar, The Shop NW10, from 16th September until 31 October.
Among the Columbo women immortalised on canvas by Tika are femmes fatales Viveca Scott from Lovely but Lethal; Lauren Staton from It’s All in the Game; Kay Freestone from Make Me a Perfect Murder; Joan Hudson from Prescription: Murder; and Vivian Dimitri from Rest In Peace Mrs Columbo.
“As a talented artist himself, I have a feeling Peter Falk would approve.”
Non-killer female guest stars also take centre stage, including the luckless Lisa Chambers from Double Shock; Eve Babcock from Most Crucial Game; and Lenore Kennicut from Death Lends a Hand.
The paintings were created over a period of several years and fans will have no trouble recognising the female stars and even the precise moments from the episodes.
Sergeant Habach from Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star
“Speaking about what inspired her, Tika said: “About 12 years ago I was watching Columbo on DVD. I paused the show to leave the room and when I came back in the room I was struck by the image on the TV screen, so I took a photo of it. That was Vivian Dimitri from the episode RIP Mrs Columbo.
“I would continue to occasionally photograph these Columbo ‘pauses’ with no real purpose other than to capture those fleeting images I found appealing. About 5 years later I decided I would paint Gloria from Greenhouse Jungle and with her came the start of ‘The Women of Columbo‘ series of paintings.
“Considering composition, colour, and mood mostly, I do not intend to recreate these pauses exactly, I’m more struck by the macabre glamour of these images and my intention is to capture a mood or fleeting expression caught for a split second in a TV screen still.”
As a talented artist himself, I have a feeling Peter Falk would approve. So if you’re in the north London vicinity from 16th September until the end of October, you could do a lot worse than drop into The Shop NW10 and sample the art works over a signature cocktail. Be warned, though. Dale Kingston may be there on opening night…
If you can’t be there in person, you can check out Tika’s ‘Women of Columbo’ series here.
You can also follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Finally, here’s my tribute to the most beautiful ladies of Columbo.
i have been to see the exhibit its great i grew up in kensal rise , however the artist has made a mistake in one of the displays. the picture of Abigail Mitchell with the lieutenant at the quayside from try and catch me.. the sign next to the display says 1971 this is so wrong the year it was filmed was 1977 any columbo should know thi it is one of my favourite episodes and one of the best columbos ever made.
Probably an innocent typo?
Kingston would be laughing at his own bad jokes…while checking his watch.
Harold Van Wick would be there, too, eyeing brunettes and showing off his digital watch.
That painting of Kay Freestone captures her essence perfectly.
It’s terrific. I think the Faye Dunaway one is my fave.
yes i like it but , i do not like the episode , its allin the game
Kay is one of my favourites from the series. Its certainly interesting to see a painting of her.