Where is your studio?
My studio is in the well known institution Ross’ Auction House in Belfast City Centre. It's been an amazing location to paint in right in the centre of town. We’ve now had 25 years of peace here and you can see such a huge change in the city from the street art, to multicultural influences and a vibrancy that just wasn’t there when I was growing up.
What would you say your artist style is?
My style is a form of chaotic, mad, Irish expressionism.
When were you first interested in art?
I, like so many, loved art when I was a child and I have such strong memories of drawing and painting when I was in primary school. As I moved into adulthood, as is the way, I was encouraged to go down the path of academia as this was deemed the more secure route.
What has your journey as an artist been so far?
I haven’t taken the traditional route by any means to become a full time artist. After university I worked as a professional rugby player for a few years before working in finance in the City in London for a decade. It wasn’t until lockdown in 2020 that I had the time to stop and reflect about the path I was taking and like a lot of people I revaluated what was important to me in my life and I knew I needed to do something creative. It was with this extra time indoors that I started to paint and I used social media initially just to share my work with my family and friends. It wasn’t long though until I started to get requests to purchase my artwork and after a year of managing this and my 9-5 I decided it was time to give it a proper go and made the terrifying and liberating decision to hand in my notice. Since then it’s all been a bit mad with my first ever show at the Hallows Gallery in Belfast in 2022, my first London show in the Zari Gallery in London in 2023 along with multiple shows in my studio in Ross’ Auction House and another London show coming up in April 2024.
With no background in the arts, how have you managed to make this into a career?
The landscape has changed dramatically over the last 10 years with the thanks to social media. Traditionally artists were very reliant on galleries and art dealers to showcase their work but now with the likes of Instagram, Facebook etc anyone can show their work and its up to the audience to decide if they want it or not. This not only makes the art world more accessible for artists but for people too who may not have felt they belonged in these spaces, they can now see art from all over the world on their phones.
What and who influences your work?
I’m always inspired by my environment. I’m currently working in Belfast City centre and I’m constantly being inspired by the rawness of the industrial parts of the city and the vast amount of street art we have here. I’ve also recently had a son and him and his books are inspiring me in a more playful direction now too. In terms of artists the neo-expressionist movement in the 1980s in New York has had a huge impact on me with the likes Keith Haring, Julian Shebel and John Michel Basquiat. It amazes me how fresh their work still feels even though its over 40 years old.
What has art done for you personally?
I find it a great way to express myself. I used to play a lot of sport when I was younger and when that all stopped I felt there was this hole in my life. Art gave me the chance to express my emotions and communicate my feelings. Something that we Irish men can sometimes find difficult.
