An Artists Tale.

When folk realise that I only came to painting late in life they often ask how I got started. Well the truth is it was really by accident rather than design. When Alicia and I left the stately home we ran in the English midlands and moved to our house in Ballagh in 1994 we were both a bit depressed. As I shall explain later, running Harvington Hall for the previous 8 years had been a fantastic experience for both of us, and when we moved to Ireland we both felt pretty low, me especially. But they always say it’s darkest before the dawn and in this case that was certainly true.
One evening in 1995 we were sitting watching a programme on T.V. showing how to paint landscapes. One of Frank Clarks ‘ Simply Painting’ series. ( Thanks Frank, I owe you my sanity!)
I happened to remark how simple it seemed then added, “ I can do that!”
In the nicest possible way Alicia suggested I should do it rather than just sit there feeling sorry for myself. So I did.
To be honest the first painting I produced wasn’t that good but, bless her, Alicia complimented me on the sky, and that gave me the confidence to keep going. Now any day that I don’t do at least some painting I feel I’ve missed out on the day altogether.
Of course it was a few months before I dared to ask anyone to actually buy one of my creations, and again it was Alicia who prompted me to do it. (Where would any of us blokes be without the woman in our lives?)
At that time Alicia was producing pressed flower pictures and we took them onto craft fairs to sell them. One day the person who had hired the table beside us simply didn’t turn up, and we were asked to spread ourselves across the two tables rather than leave an empty space. We didn’t have that many extra flower pictures so Alicia suggested that I put out some of the art work I always carried around with me in the boot of the car. At first I didn’t want to but she kept on insisting until finally, to keep her quiet as much as anything else, I brought some paintings through, put them out, and put what I thought were crazy prices on all of them. Crazy, HIGH, I mean.
Almost immediately a couple of ladies appeared at the stand, bought almost every one, and even commissioned me to paint some more! Which, of course, I was only too delighted to do…. and have been doing ever since.
That television programme I had been watching was ‘Frank Clark Paints Acrylics’ and so it was acrylics that I started with. Later I started experimenting with soft pastels and now they are the two mediums in which I produce most of my work. I have painted using watercolours but I find them such an unforgiving medium, one mistake and the whole painting can be ruined, that I usually avoid them if I can. Its usually only when producing a pen and wash work that I will use watercolours, and sadly I am allergic to something in the oil medium so I have to keep away from them.
But other than that I am now a very happy little artist painting away in my studio… which is what I’m going to do once I’ve uploaded this post along with an example of my work, a painting of Croagh Patrick, now sold, just in case you haven’t visited my website at www.alanartmarket.com