Kevin McSherry hand painted and digital creative Illustration, Art and Storyboards

I received a communiqué [well -a comment] from somebody who asked why I'd stopped posting to this blog recently. 'Tis true -I have only posted seven times in the whole of this year.

To Anonymous. The reasons for my lethargy were that I thought no-one was reading this stuff, for a start; so that's one reason! It's truly gratifying when I discover that someone is listening to my outpourings -especially when the comments are as cheering as yours. Thank you.

More importantly though, I've been through some challenging times, shall we say, along with many. First, a sudden and dramatic fall-off in editorial illustration work forced me to rethink how I should be directing my efforts; and really about how I should be living my life. What's true is that I had become increasingly dissatisfied with life as a jobbing illustrator and there are several strands to this: The constant but fruitless promotional efforts [I had a database of well over a thousand two hundred names t…

I've just read Marketing Magazine and saw the reference to Michael O'Doherty's Sunday Times interview. I didn't read the original article unfortunately. O'Doherty is quoted as saying that the one thing he'd change in Irish tax system is the artists' exemption. "Seriously", he's quoted a saying, "why is it that someone who writes a crap book doesn't have to pay tax, simply because they have a beard, whereas a team of well-groomed people who produce a brilliant magazine, do?".
I do suppose that the man was joking [although it does start with the word 'seriously'] or else that quote would win the Double Take accolade for being, witless, peevish and ignorant all at once. I do understand that people who pay tax regularly may feel aggrieved that a whole section of the workforce seems to be treated favourably [including myself; I'm a registered artist under the exemption scheme although I do pay tax on some work]. O'Doher…

I've been kindly invited to take a residency at the Cill Rialaig Artists' Retreat in beautiful west Kerry. It'll be this time next year but I'm already looking forward to it. It has to be one of the remotest spots in Ireland, with a hamlet of ancient cottages clinging to the side of a cliff, refurbished by Noelle Campbell-Sharpe and the Cill Rialaig Board [The hamlet, that is; not the side of the cliff]. I spent a splendid week down there in December 2002 with some other members of the IGI painting and exploring new artistic techniques -for keeping warm! Note to self: Remember to bring camera, flute [for sessions] and woolly socks [for flute]. The photograph was taken by illustrator Brian Gallagher [also taking a residency].