Barry W, Artist

Born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1943 Barry W became fascinated with painting at an early age. Early on the family moved to Derry / Londonderry and through a friendship with one of the American servicemen who were stationed there he became interested in still life painting, particularly early American still life painting and trompe l’oeil ( to deceive the eye) paintings. My early influences were Dutch painting, Rembrandt and Franz Hals then later the work of Jean Chardin and the work of Henri Fantin Latour. Barry has also studied with current American realists like David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw
In 1961 he moved to work in Dublin where he had his first one man show in 1966 in the Molesworth Gallery in Dublin. Later that year he exhibited in the Oireactas, the prestigious National Art Exhibition and in 1967 with the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Returning home in Belfast I exhibited with the Royal Ulster Academy in 1970 and had another one man show in the Piccolo gallery later that year.

A career as an organisational psychologist and management consultant in London distracted Barry from his passion, but after his retirement he has returned to live in Ireland and paint professionally.
In recent years I have held one man shows in the Waterfront and the Cregagh Library galleries in Belfast, the Flowerfield Art Centre in Portstewart and the Puffin Gallery, Ballycastle.

Influenced by the Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland he has turned his attention to paint the wonderful sea and coastline on his doorstep. His style has changed over the years: “it is much looser than in my trompe l’oeil days, but I paint for the sheer enjoyment of trying to capture the beauty of everyday objects that are around us all the time but that we so easily fail to notice.”