Growing up in Northern Ireland wasn’t the best craic all the time. The people and especially my family were great but it’s not until I lived elsewhere did I realise I was marked by it. Violence, anger and sectarianism to me were synonymous and whilst I grew up inside that environment I always had an unassailable urge to be creative. It was arresting - music, art, poetry and drama. To me the arts became an escape. Now it wasn’t a grandiose understanding of art back then but a clawing at any culture that helped me or made me feel good. Breakdancing, comics and BMX then Van Morrison, poetry and playing football, then drawing, sculpture and cycling, then making music, printmaking and performing live. Whatever form it has taken, culture has become a way to understand my own failures and hang ups. My mental health has been continually fed by these considerations and helped me in times of anxiety or fear. The recent Art and Kindness campaign was a way to deal with some of these issues head on from the wee poetry chap book “Neverblunt” to the letterpress demonstration signs, posters and pendants.

I now live in Aberfeldy with my family and have a Gallery and Studio there. After graduating from Dundee University we moved here and I continue to make music with my band Star Wheel Press and run an independent music events collective under the name - Beeline.

So, the work on this website I suppose is an expression of my background and current concerns and inspirations but its also a way for me to make a living. Most items are for sale and I’ve been actively simplifying my output to make it easier for those who maybe interested in the work to buy it directly. Understanding the business aspect of being an artist has been like training for a football match and then somebody handing you a shovel. So please bear with me as I represent myself. The work takes three main forms - Fine Art, Printmaking and Design. The website will hold a collection of these as they become available or at least as I finish making the actual work - I hope you enjoy it.

Ryan