I started out life in London and moved to Ireland nearly thirty years ago, to follow my dream of playing traditional music; which I still do.
I was politely invited not to come back to school when I became 16 or so, so it was either join the army or take an apprenticeship. I didn't want to be pointing guns at anybody, let alone my own people. Art college was out due to family circumstances (My mum needed an income).
Thus, I was apprenticed into the printing trade (graphic reproduction) and it's there that I learned about colour; specifically the scientific side of colour. However, things change and fairly quickly, the branch of the business I was in collapsed under the onslaught of new technology. That and it was such a pressured and thankless business that there were quite a lot of barking mad people in it. I was glad I got out.
Then, married and with our first baby on the way, I decided to try out what I knew I could make a living at; art and illustration. In fact, I started out drawing cartoons for newspapers under the pseudonym Titch McCoy and over the years progressed onto full colour illustrations.
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| Cartoon by Kevin McSherry, alias Titch McCoy |
Since then, my illustration work appeared regularly in the Irish Times, Sunday Business Post and the Wall Street Journal, amongst many other papers. You can look at my fine art and illustrative work here. Around 2008, I started making my Daily paintings (small oils studies -often still lifes or landscapes - done as practice pieces and warm ups), which continued for a few years until I bounced off in different directions. I'm back doing them again and you can see some here.
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| Kevin McSherry on Culture Night, Oil Painting in a Dublin gallery |
I've been involved in exhibitions in Le Louvre in Paris and the International Cultural Centre in the City of Nantes. My work hangs in the British National Collection.
I also started teaching in 2008 in my studio. I'm a social type and I like to have people around, so the classes helped me in several ways. Since I only teach adults, I especially like the combined experience and wisdom at my classes. The conversation is good. So is the coffee. If you'd like to join us, make contact.
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| Kevin McSherry paints in the window of a Dublin Gallery on Culture Night 2010 |