Art by Ciaran Taylor

I was born in Dublin and I trained as an artist at the National College of Art and Design, graduating in 1985. Despite some success at first I had to face the fact that I wasn't going to make a living as an artist. I had always loved science and mathematics and I studied Applied Science at DIT and eventually went on to do a Ph.D. in Mathematics at UCD. I now work as a Mathematics Lecturer at TU Dublin (Tallaght Campus) and I love the whole process of communicating Mathematics to my students.

Training to be a mathematician meant that I made no art for about twelve years. I thought I had given it up altogether, but then in 2002 art came back and rapidly took very firm hold of me! I have attended various short courses since then, and some very inspiring teachers have shown me that Art College didn't teach me as much as might have! I think this humbling realisation that there were things I needed to learn, together with the discovery that there were artists who had something valuable to teach me, has helped my work to get better.

Education

When I left NCAD I thought my art education was finished, but in 2002, having almost completely given up art-making for over ten years (while I studied Mathematics), I got started again with a bronze casting summer course at NCAD with Vivian Hansbury. Doing a taught course in bronze casting didn't bother me though: I'd never done bronze casting before, so I knew I had plenty to learn.

I had always loved life drawing while I was at art college and had done none since, so I was tempted to do a life painting summer course. In this case I felt I knew what I was doing already and I was hoping to be left alone to draw and paint the model. The tutor on that course was Ann Lynch and I discovered that actually she had quite a lot to teach me! I went on to do a lot of taught courses and started to wonder why I hadn't been taught any of what I was learning now when I was at art college. I'm still interested in courses and workshops, but while I was once interested in anything that allowed me to draw a life model I'm a lot choosier about tutors now.

June 2012	RHA/RCS Anatomy workshop with Alan McGowan
2011	Life painting in Oil: a workshop with Will Nathans
2002-2011	NCAD part-time courses (evening and summer) in Bronze Casting, Life Drawing, Life Painting and Sculpture Making
2005-2007	RHA Drawing Series, Drawing Marathon (Summer 2006)
2004-2005	DLIADT part-time courses (evening and summer) Life Drawing and Life Painting with Cecily Brennan: very practical and inspiring at the same time!
1980-1985	National College of Art and Design: Degree in Fine Art (Painting)

 

Exhibitions

2020	142nd Annual Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Exhibition (online)
2019	141st Annual Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Exhibition, CHQ Building, Custom House Quay
2018	140th Annual Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Exhibition, CHQ Building, Custom House Quay
2017	139th Annual Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Exhibition, Concourse Gallery, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall
2016	186th RHA Annual Exhibition (This picture)
	138th Annual Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Exhibition, Concourse Gallery, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall
2015	137th Annual Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Exhibition, Concourse Gallery, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Hall
	Dunamaise Arts Centre (Portlaoise): Open Submission Group Show
2014	133rd Annual Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition, Ulster Museum
	Open Submission Exhibition, Ross Fine Art, Letterkenny
	Pastel Society of Ireland 25th Annual Exhibition, Titanic Centre, Belfast
2013	132nd Annual Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition, Ulster Museum (This picture)
2011	130th Annual Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition, Ulster Museum
1993	Collection of Vincent and Noeleen Ferguson, RHA Gallagher Gallery
1990	The Glass Pier Show, Dun Laoghaire Arts Week
	National Portrait Competition
1989	National Portrait Competition
1988	Phoenix Art, Phoenix Park Racecourse
	Dun Laoghaire Street Show, Dun Laoghaire Arts Week
	Group Show, 5A Artworks, Dun Laoghaire
1987	Art Fair, Temple Bar Studios
	Group Show, Solomon Gallery
	A Place of Work: a travelling exhibition of work by artists from New Art Studios
1986	Studio '86, Temple Bar Studios
	NCAD Decade Show, Guinness Hop Store
	Group Show, Solomon Gallery
1985	Independent Artists
	EVA 85, Limerick City Gallery
	Collection of Vincent Ferguson, National Concert Hall

 

Collections

• The late Vincent Ferguson bought pieces from my diploma show and degree show at NCAD. He assembled a very important and diverse collection of modern Irish Art, which was partly dispersed by a large sale after his death in 2007. I will always remember him fondly for his practical encouragement so early in my career both in buying my work and in showing it in two exhibitions of his collection.
• National College of Art and Design
• Private collections

 

Memberships

Visual Artists Ireland
Dublin Painting and Sketching Club