By IrishArtist.NI
Michael J Donnelly, the Irish Artist 🎨 has gained a wealth of expertise in the creative industries throughout his long and distinguished career. Specific skills in fine arts and photography catapulted him to the forefront at the WPPI Convention in Las Vegas during the late 1990's and early 2000's for the Annual Professional Photographers Convention. Here, he was privileged to win prestigious photography competitions on two separate occasions! The first place portraiture awards were for the blue ribbon category of 'Bride and Groom Best Portrait'. These acolades were achieved shortly after winning a major competition with the Guild of Photographers UK. Other Awards quickly followed, including in Northern Ireland where he became the first Photographer there to achieve the status of a fully Qualified Craftsman in Wedding Photography and Portraiture.
Michael now, at this stage in his creative journey, considers himself to be more of a Fine artist and illustrative designer though photography and digital experimentation stll are important in his creative work.
He therefore spends the vast majority of his time now doing oil paintings on canvases - mostly for corporate clients with subject matter ranging from portraiture to landscapes. He also has a particularly strong skillset for doing illustrative work, focusing on creative wall murals. This branch of his work is more for the local domestic market.
Michael to date, has exhibited his work in Ireland, Britain and America and has work published internationally too.
Michael believes that these accomplishments were not possible without the educational foundation he initially gained in South Derry in Northern Ireland and also from the schools and University he attended.
Encouraged at home by his parents, Michael's late father, John Joe, insisted that the young Michael have a good education first and foremost. He would often say that education was far more important than football.
Michael's late mother Margaret, also contributed to his educational development by firing Michael's creative imagination by regular reading of bedtime stories.
Other staging posts in his creative formation came with Primary School education where cultural activities were encouraged alongside academic activities. In one activity Michael remembers winning first place in a local Feis Art Competition held at the nearby Secondary school where he remembers pupils from all around South Derry competiting for prizes in traditional Irish music, dancing and Art. Michael having entered the Art Competition and winning it believed that it was this that produced the spark that encouraged him to pursue an artistic pathway in his future career. He believed it gave him confidence to succeed and he found art challenging and rewarding.
The other things that stirred interest in the creative arts for Michael were other family members in the household and in particular the encouragement that was given by Michael's late Aunt, Dr Mary Donnelly. She was a very special driving force in his life as he grew up and very much a family person too. She became a roll model for him. She loved having artwork on display in her home. For this reason, the Arts became very important to him and through doing art the young Michael acquired a greater love and appreciation for them in general. Dr Mary, as she was affectionately known in the community, had more disposable income than his parents at the time and was more than willing to help out her nephews and nieces with generous gifts of essential equipment for painting and drawing. The Donnelly family at home were therefore able to exhibit their art work (mostly drawings and watercolour paintings of famous people)on the walls of their home environment.
Dr Mary was very fond of telling stories of family ancesters who were also artistically creative. A name frequently mentioned was Joseph McDonald, my Aunt's Great Uncle, whose people left the original family home in Coolnasillagh, Co Derry, shortly after the time of the famine in Ireland. Apparently he worked in Hollywood, California, in America as a Cinematographer on a series of top films including 'Some Like it Hot' starring Marlyn Monroe's and 'Mc Kennas Gold', starring Gregory Peck.
Michael's post primary education was essentially based around being creative and being successful in sport, particularly in athletics, at which he excelled, becoming athletics champion every year.
His old Art teacher Mr Collins was particularly inspiring too, giving him a great deal of knowledge about drawing and painting from pre-Renaissance times to the present day. This grounding, certainly helped him to improve and develop as a young artist. From these early school lessons, Michael was able to formulate many ideas for his own artwork, using the visual elements in his artistic compositions in a unique way but getting great inspiration from those very artists studied in school. Well known artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Monet, Degas, Constable, Turner, Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, Dali, and Giacometti were strong influences.
Michael's journey through the creative world became even more enhanced when attending Queen's University, Belfast Education Faculties (St Mary's and St Joseph's). He was directly inspired there by one very important lecturer in Fine Art Department in St Mary's...Terry Flanagan, who as one of the foremost Irish Artists during this period of time and who was famously very friendly with the Poet Laureate, Seamus Heaney.
Attending his lectures and seminars really helped Michael's focus on finer details about life and art's role in it. Listening to him talk and as educators, this provided Michael with a true purpose in being an Artist educator himself.
Through this educational journey, Michael too made it his life's passion to impart his knowledge and awareness of everything he experienced and learned to his new and up and coming artists of tomorrow that he had the privilege to work with. He says this journey is still going on for him in his life today despite retirement from teaching in the school setting. Some of his paintings depict the Irish landscape and the people and objects who frequent it. Others are linked strongly to his frequent travels around Andalucia in Southern Spain.
Michael now welcomes you to the Irish Artist website and aims to provide you with a platform that is interesting and informative and hopes that you will enjoy it with your friends and family.
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