An art exhibition recently unveiled in Armagh has been described as an “introspective look” at the life of local painter Paddy Kennedy.
Paddy, described by his son Ethan as a self-taught painter who was “shy and humble”, passed away in May this year, with his family hoping the exhibition can be a fitting tribute to his legacy.
Born in 1941, he was raised in Armagh, where he spent most of his life, and the surroundings of the Cathedral City greatly inspired much of his work, including his famous painting of the Callan Bridge.
Paddy was awarded the jury’s first prize in Armagh County Museum’s collection, which showcased a large number of local artists, and his paintings adorn the walls of many homes in Ireland and abroad.
Oils were his favourite medium and the majority of his works were created using oil on card.
The exhibition opened at the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre on Friday, September 6, and is set to run for a full month, right through to October 5.
Admission is free and the exhibition will be open from 9.30am to 4.30pm daily.
Armagh I spoke to Ethan Kennedy about his father’s upbringing in Armagh and how it shaped his work and life.
“Art was his passion and his life,” Ethan said. “He was all self-taught and he and a friend would have done a lot of sketches. They even went to Fleet Street in London at one stage and some of the cartoonists there said it was the best work they’d ever seen.
“He was always Armagh and a real homebird. He travelled and worked over in England for a period of time but he came back to Armagh, which really was his home. The furthest we could get him was back over to London to see the art of Turner and Constable, whom he loved and was really inspired by.”
For Ethan, Paddy’s work on local landmarks is very much the focal point of his father’s talents.
“A lot of the paintings were just inspired by him being out around the river. He loved fishing and he would see local landmarks and be able to point them out, so the paintings were inspired by those and he would recreate them in his own head.
“Even though some of the landmarks did change over time, he kept the classic vision in his head, which is what he painted and what everyone loves. It’s like a romanticised version.”
Alongside his upbringing, Paddy’s work was influenced by his interests, being a man with a deep interest in Westerns. Some of his works feature the American Wild West, while others were inspired by the Vikings.
For Ethan, he can’t pinpoint a time when his dad developed an interest in painting because “it was always in our lives”.
He says Paddy left a “huge body of work” and when the family came to producing the exhibition, they wanted to represent all styles of Paddy’s work, which did adapt over time.
Said Ethan: “First and foremost was the local landmarks, that’s why we put Callan Bridge on the invite, because that’s what he’s known for. We’ve also got things like the windmill, the old mill and river shots.
“There’s also the American Wild West, which were part of a private collection he did for my brother. It also goes into his later influences when he went into a high impressionistic style similar to Turner.
“It was about trying to get that really broad selection of his work that he really would’ve been proud of.”
A lesser-known fact about Paddy was that he eventually lost sight in one of his eyes, but continued to paint, using a stick pointing at the board so he knew exactly where the middle was.
He continued to paint commissions for others, but did it mostly as a hobby and not a business.
Ethan says the exhibition has also acted as a catalyst for people to come forward with work they possessed that the family didn’t even know existed.
“People have been reaching out privately saying they had work which was handed down through a generation. Whenever something like that happens we feel so proud because it reminds us how long he was doing it for.
“Some of these are dated from the 60s and his style has changed over the years.
“It’s uncovered a treasure trove of people who have all this stuff because he did stuff for people and then it left the house, most times without us even seeing it. We completely forgot that he had done stuff like this.”
When asked if any particular piece resonates with the family the most, Ethan pointed back to Paddy’s Callan Bridge painting, saying, “I think it’s the local landmarks that actually resonate with people from Armagh and the people who have actually taken them with them when they left Armagh.”
Ethan continued: “The exhibition means the world to us. My dad was such a shy man and we couldn’t get him to display his work. Most people knew the talent but they didn’t realise how good he actually was.
“The closest we ever came to having an exhibition was a long time ago when his work went up in the Trian. The night before it was due to go public, he made us go up and remove it all from the walls.
“It tells you what kind of shy and retiring man he was, he was very humble. I don’t think it influenced his style but he did see it as something deeply personal to him.
“To be able to do this now and showcase it to people has just been incredible. And it feels like the right time.”
Ethan hopes the exhibition will create a lasting impact, not just on the Armagh community but also the art community at large.
He said: “Hopefully it will encourage people to actually look around and see the beauty of the town they live in. I live in London, so whenever I am here I really do appreciate Armagh because it’s got really nice things.
“There’s also a friend of mine and her son really wanted to go on Friday because they have a painting in their house from my dad, and this is someone who’s just starting art college and they’re going to be inspired by that.
“That means a lot to us, to have two generations away from dad being inspired by his work. People have seen his artwork on walls and now they’ll be able to view it in an exhibition and hopefully they’ll take away from that the talent he had.”
