Artist Paddy Cunningham is making waves with his first art exhibition. On show at Callan library, his drawings of celebrities, especially GAA stars, has cast a spell over the Town on the King’s River.
Local man Paddy is a relative newcomer to the visual arts. For decades he made his mark as an eagled-eyed amateur photographer in Callan and the surrounding district.
He snapped many of the town’s milestone events, such as the filming in Callan of Neil Jordan’s movie, Breakfast on Pluto…the simulated explosions, crowd control by 1970s style Gardai, make-believe new shop fronts for the movie, and the choreographed movements of silver screen icons round the streets of his native town.
He was at the Moat field for the construction of the now immensely popular walkway and its official unveiling by a government minister, and attended just about every other civic occasion of recent times in Callan.
But during the first Covid lockdown, Paddy, like so many people, was restricted and largely confined to his home, and this curbing of movement naturally impacted on his photography. Then, one day, he opted to try his hand at drawing as a way to cope with the long days and nights of confinement.
After a few attempts, he found that he had a natural flair for drawing. He showed some of his initial work to family members and they encouraged him to develop his talent. Paddy began turning out drawings of celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen and Tony Blair, before settling into his favourite subject…depictions of his beloved GAA stars, the players who had fired his imagination since childhood as they kicked or hurled across the great pitches of Ireland.
Paddy has been a familiar face at matches for decades, so it was natural that he’d wish to apply his pencil, marker or acrylics to offer his own unique impressions of his heroes, people like legendary Kilkenny trainer Brian Cody, and Derek Lyng, Henry Shefflin, Noel Skeehan and his own uncle, Frank Cummins.
Paddy took his new calling a step further by joining the acclaimed KCAT, where tutors helped him to develop his skills. He loved the company of other artists, and was surprised at how quickly he progressed through the classes.
He finds his photographic experience a distinct aid to drawing. “My acquaintanceship with the camera has helped me to focus” he explained, adding that he finds an innate and mutually beneficial interaction between the two pursuits
Paddy eschews the temptation to render a conventional likeness of his subjects, instead relying on his inner vision to capture the essence of each person he portrays. The result is the zany and eye-catching collection of work on display at Callan library.
The exhibition is open to the public and continues until July 2nd.
– John Fitzgerald
