Art

My career in fine art spans thirty years, and I have been practising and teaching classical drawing and realist painting for the last ten years.

Education

Although music took centre-stage in my education and career in my 20s, it was actually through my music studies that I really began to learn about the history of art and composition. Music and art evolved in parallel and the cross-fertilisation between the two has always proved important. Indeed, many famous composers (and musicians) were also serious artists in their early careers, and vice versa. So I drew and painted throughout my college years.

In 2012, I began studying classical drawing, initially for one year at The Drawing Studio, Dublin. I felt at the time, and I believe even more acutely today, that sound draughtsmanship must come first before turning one’s attention to painting.

In 2017, I felt ready to begin formally studying realist painting, and I enrolled to the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. Since then, I have taken courses online and in studio at many classical realist painting academies and with individual artists including Vitruvian Studio (USA) and Florence Academy of Art (Italy).

This kind of education in classical realist drawing and painting is just not available in mainstream third-level art colleges here in Ireland, so it was necessary for me to look elsewhere, at specialised international fine art academies, to learn these traditional painting and drawing techniques and practices.

Teaching

I began teaching classical drawing, and later, realist painting, in 2015, when I established my own private art academy, Classical Art Atelier. Since then, my academy has enrolled hundreds of students over the years, and from diverse backgrounds – amateur and professional, art students and graduates, young and old, and from all over the world.

The traditional classical method is proving to be more and more popular today, as many artists are trying to reconnect with traditional methods and techniques.

Venues

Since 2015, I have run courses and workshops in these traditional fine art skills and techniques at some of the most well-known arts and education venues in Ireland.

  • Triskel Arts Centre, Cork
  • MTU Gallery (Crawford College of Art & Design), Cork
  • University College Cork
  • Trinity College Dublin
  • National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
  • Galway Arts Centre, Galway
  • St. Patrick’s Parish Centre, Kilkenny
  • Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick
  • Hunt Museum, Limerick
  • Cahir Arts, Cahir, Tipperary
  • South Tipperary Arts Centre, Clonmel, Tipperary
  • Coastguard Cultural Centre, Tramore, Waterford
  • Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford
  • St. Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford
  • Mount Congreve Gardens, Kilmeaden, Waterford
  • Tourin House & Gardens, Cappoquin, Waterford
  • Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford

Courses, Workshops & Ebooks 2023

Follow the links below to see what educational programmes I have running this year.

Studio Courses Studio Workshops Online Courses E-Books

Art

My earliest professional work in art (and design) was during my adolescence when I produced calligraphic copies for a local firm, and I was also creating large murals at that time.

My interest in visual art has always been concentrated on traditional drawing and painting media, and inspired by the Old Masters, and I regard these fundamental skills and techniques as essential building blocks in my own work.

Beyond pure classical works, a play on compositional devices and visual elements and a strong graphic and geometric quality are some of the key features of my own work. I would best describe my style as Abstract Realism – figurative, inventive and semi-abstract but retaining some degree of realism.

Exhibitions

In 2014, I held my first solo exhibition – a series of Classical Portraits and Master Copy Drawings – at 33 The Mall, Waterford, Ireland.