Rowland Davidson
Rowland Davidson was born in Belfast in 1942. He studied Fine Art at Belfast College of Art and among his tutors were John Luke and Tom Carr.
In 1968, he graduated and spent several years teaching Art and Design at a Belfast boys' school, where he became Head of Dept. in 1975. In 1982, he began to paint seriously again and in 1987 gave up teaching in order to pursue his art more fully, becoming one of Ireland's best-known figurative painters.
His work is always characterised by skilled draughtsmanship, warmth and softness of brushstroke with a sensitive interpretation of subject and depth of contrast. The early work was mainly based on his experience of Ireland, its landscape, its children at play, people at work, fairs and markets, traditional musicians and dancers. His most recent work marks a deeper exploration of these subjects although his heart remains very much in the portrayal of children.
To quote CS Lewis,
‘We sit down before a picture to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it. The first demand any work makes upon us is surrender, look, listen, receive.’
Rowland Davidson has been one of Ireland's best known figurative artists for 25 years. He has always been a painter of the people of Ireland-- folk at work, dealers in fairs,traditional dancers,musicians and perhaps, most
notably, children.
He says,
" I turned 70 this year and it has been a time of reflection, not just
looking back on my life and my work but also looking forward.
I felt a longing to re-visit well loved subjects and just as one
might return to a favourite childhood holiday destination and find it
at once reassuringly familiar and yet strangely different, I am
revisiting the familiar subjects, but now I see in a new way- a way in which I couldn't have in my earlier years, because, as I grow older, I sense a need to simplify, not just my life but also my work - eliminating those things which are unimportant and prioritising those things which are of lasting value."
In 1968, he graduated and spent several years teaching Art and Design at a Belfast boys' school, where he became Head of Dept. in 1975. In 1982, he began to paint seriously again and in 1987 gave up teaching in order to pursue his art more fully, becoming one of Ireland's best-known figurative painters.
His work is always characterised by skilled draughtsmanship, warmth and softness of brushstroke with a sensitive interpretation of subject and depth of contrast. The early work was mainly based on his experience of Ireland, its landscape, its children at play, people at work, fairs and markets, traditional musicians and dancers. His most recent work marks a deeper exploration of these subjects although his heart remains very much in the portrayal of children.
To quote CS Lewis,
‘We sit down before a picture to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it. The first demand any work makes upon us is surrender, look, listen, receive.’
Rowland Davidson has been one of Ireland's best known figurative artists for 25 years. He has always been a painter of the people of Ireland-- folk at work, dealers in fairs,traditional dancers,musicians and perhaps, most
notably, children.
He says,
" I turned 70 this year and it has been a time of reflection, not just
looking back on my life and my work but also looking forward.
I felt a longing to re-visit well loved subjects and just as one
might return to a favourite childhood holiday destination and find it
at once reassuringly familiar and yet strangely different, I am
revisiting the familiar subjects, but now I see in a new way- a way in which I couldn't have in my earlier years, because, as I grow older, I sense a need to simplify, not just my life but also my work - eliminating those things which are unimportant and prioritising those things which are of lasting value."