I've been following the work of Ronan Crowley for a few months now, and his bold lines and strong, deep style caught my attention along with the subject matter of his artworks. I instantly sensed a strong connection to the imaginative world in his work, drawing one into the deeper realms of the subconscious and the elusive places where dreams come and go; it almost seems he creates his own symbolism and meanings through the forms and figures he draws. One can easily conjure up a story or personal meaning by looking at his work.
He shares with us his childhood influences that range from illustrations of UFO's and ghosts to his first drawing of Mars; his admiration for Irish artist Pauline Bewick and why he's a full time teacher planning to move to Istanbul soon.
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| two sisters and the moon |
What medium do you usually work in? (Ex: oils, pastels, mixed media, etc…)
I generally work with technical pen, marker and acrylic ink on Bristol paper, though I have occasionally used acrylic paint on canvas.
How long have you been drawing/painting?
I have been drawing my whole life really. My earliest childhood recollections are of drawing on a school copybook on my parents living room floor. I can even remember what I was drawing, it was the planet mars, with large spikes for mountains!
Tell us about your artistic vision, the message you express through you work. Your purpose to create the work you create.
I like to paraphrase Robert Crumb by saying I don’t really have a preconceived “message” in my work…just whatever comes out comes out. I have no idea what it means, that’s up for the audience to decide.. I don’t even like to title my work most of the time.. I much prefer the audience to give it their own name. Again to paraphrase Crumb, drawing is simply a deeply ingrained habit of mine. I couldn't stop even if I tried.
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| sleep |
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I wish I was one of those artists who could look outward for inspiration, but my inspiration seems to come more from deep within me than anything else. It’s something that is just dragged up from my subconscious or whatever. Normally when I am sitting in front of a blank page with pencil in hand, I have no real idea what is going to come out.. I just start with a line and somehow something takes form out of it.
Pick up to three artworks that are the most meaningful/personal to you.
I have some deep seated childhood memories of my father bringing home a book from the library, some book about unsolved mysteries or something. It was all about ghosts and UFOs and bigfoot and the like, and I remember it was in one of these books that I first saw examples of the Irish artist Harry Clarke’s work.I believe it was one of his illustrations for Edgar Allen Poe’s Masque of the Red Death and it immediately fascinated me..it was also in one of these books that I became fascinated by William Blake's painting of Nebuchadnezzar..the painting both terrified and fascinated me as a child.
Pick one artwork you’d like to talk about more in depth, it can be on of your personal favorite.
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| witch |
Pick one artwork you’d like to talk about more in depth, it can be on of your personal favorite.
Ever since I saw a documentary on her on Irish tv when I was a little kid I have been fascinated by the Irish artist Pauline Bewick. A self-taught artist, I have loved her beautiful, symbolic, erotic, sensuous style of art for years. A work of hers I particularly like is “Reading and Thinking”, which is a simply gorgeous combination of simple sensuous line and deft symbolism. Her similarity to Picasso and Matisse has been noticed by greater minds than mine, but she is not simply an imitator, she has her own erotic, distinctly feminine style that I love deeply and in my own clumsy way have tried to emulate.
Tell us something about you we don’t know, maybe something quirky or awkward or unique ;)
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| whispering |
There's nothing much to say really…I am a qualified teacher hoping to move to Istanbul in the next few months to teach full-time. Teaching for me is just a job to pay the bills, what I would really like to do is to support myself through my artwork.
Is there anything you’d like to tell other artists and people reading this? Any words of inspiration to encourage or stimulate creativity in society?
Well I feel I am still at the early stages of my career so I can't give much useful advice..all I would say is, if you are the type of artist who works from imagination rather than observation, then trust your gut and don’t be afraid of what can appear on the page from the darker recesses of your imagination. If you can tap into this particular vein, then there are many riches waiting to be discovered.
You can view and follow more of Ronan's work at:
RedBubbble: http://www.redbubble.com/people/crowleyronan123
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