CHRONOLOGY

1952 Born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland on the 25th of November and ran wild for 12 years in a town that seemed only partly in the 20th century.
1964 Had the great good fortune of being sent to the Benedictine school of Glenstal Abbey,     which has proved to be one of the most enduring influences on my life. “It is not so much what you do as the spirit with which you do it.” It was also a time of a great artistic “renaissance” within the school which was not altogether to the liking of the parents.
1970 Became a student in Trinity College, Dublin at a time when Dublin tardily caught on to the swinging ‘60s. Won first prize at the annual Art Society exhibition and then became President of what was probably the most anarchic society on campus, being known solely for what would now be known as “raves” in it’s dungeons behind the college.
1974 Graduated with an Honours degree in Business and was promptly advised by the college authorities to emigrate if I wanted a job. Withdrew on the dole to County Wicklow to paint.
1975 Had my first exhibition in Dublin at the Tom Caldwell Gallery and remember getting encouragement from Patrick Scott which overshadowed the almost complete lack of notices.
1976 Won an Italian Government scholarship to paint in Florence, but realised quite early on that it was impossible to paint anything relevant to the 20th century in a city containing the most wonderful art and architecture of Western civilisation. Escaped to the Greek Island of Corfu.
1982 Was invited to exhibit paintings at Northeastern University in Boston, in a survey show of contemporary Irish painting. While on this trip I met Rosalind whom I married in 1984, having sold up in Ireland and moved to New York.
1985 Had my first solo show in New York as part of the “East Village” scene at a venue inexplicably called Beulahland. Slightly in awe of the hipsters, found myself unable to network shamelessly. Became Banquet Chef at the Waterclub which provided many unfogettable life experiences. The neighbourhood of our loft building in the Bedford Stuyvesant ghetto in Brooklyn was shared with many other artists who influenced each other greatly.
1986 Moved to Los Angeles and hooked up with a Jamiacan artist friend from New York to share a studio in downtown (skidrow) Los Angeles. While painting in this abandoned part of the city I was also setting up a restaurant for some entertainment lawyers in Beverly Hills. The irony was not lost on me.
1987 The studio on Wall St. again provided the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with other inner city struggling artists.
1988 Exhibited at the Los Angeles International Art Fair
1989 Was introduced to Renata Beuhler and exhibited in a group show at her Rivernorth gallery. Also took part in an invitational Exhibition sponsored by the Los Angeles Arts Council.
1990 Solo exhibition at Renata Beuhler Gallery, North Wells St. Chicago.
1991 Exhibited at the Wilshire Tower Gallery, Los Angeles and at Fullerton County Museum.
1992 Exhibited at the John Thomas Gallery, Santa Monica, California. Left Los Angeles to return to Ireland via a circuitous route that took in India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia and several African countries. Produced hundreds of watercolour sketches and became enthralled by the qualities of light and colour in these countries.
1993 Settled in the West of Ireland but had no studio. Started a business that took me back to Indonesia several times a year.
1994 Had a “Retrospective” exhibition of my American work at the Hallward Gallery in Dublin. Realised that the work I had been painting and exhibiting in the U.S. did not translate appropriately to 1990s Ireland. Decided on a hiatus from the world of paint in favour of starting a family.
2003 Began the year with the intention of sketching solely in watercolour the scenes around me in the Wicklow Hills, adapting the time constrictions I had worked to in the Far East of never spending more than 10 to 20 minutes in rendering the essence of  place at a certain moment.
2004 Renovated a studio space and began work on this current body of work, promising myself I would strip away the unessential and strive to finish while the spontaneity remained clear.
2005 Invited to exhibit work at an International celebration of Landscape painting in the Castle Este, Ferrara, Italy in October and to take part in the Biennale Art Fair in Florence in December.
2006 Solo exhibition at Gallery Gora, Sherbrooke West, Montreal, Canada in March.
Solo exhibition at Millpond Gallery, Long Grove (Chicago), Illinois, May
Residency at Cill Rialaig Project, County Kerry, September.
2007  Solo exhibition at Origin Gallery, Dublin Ireland, Spring.

http://www.patrick-walshe.com/