Portrait of an artist: Artist Jack Hickey

I grew up and live in the town of Cobh. I was accepted into CIT ‘s Crawford College of Art and Design in 2007.

I graduated in 2011 and have been a practising artist ever since.

Most artists find it very difficult to be financially self-sufficient through their artwork. I recently won the Hennessy Portrait Prize and the prize money allows me to make and create what I want without this pressure.

Winning the Hennessy prize also validates my practice, which I believe is very important for any artist.

What’s a typical workday like for you?

I tend to put in between six and eight hours’ painting, Monday to Friday. My time is usually split between producing work and promoting it.

Most artists don’t work nine-to-five, five days a week. It is an ongoing process every day.

Tell us about a recentfavourite project or design you have worked on?

Hennessy Prize aside, I recently had an exhibition in Bordeaux in France. I was lucky enough to have a residency there in 2016, where I captured moments that would inspire the show, Arrival.

This was my first solo show outside of Ireland. Residencies can challenge and influence your practice and I would recommend it to all artists.

What’s your design style?

My style of painting would be described as realism/photorealism. This description tends to focus on the detail in the painting and the technical ability of the artist.

Unfortunately, because of this, the subject matter in the painting usually gets overlooked. Achieving a balance is key and I try to do this in my work.

What/who inspires your work?

Most of my work is semi-autobiographical with my camera never too far away. I have often painted issues which have affected me personally.

What’s your favourite trend at the moment (if you have any)?

It’s difficult because most artists are veryindividual, having their own trend and style. Itry to let my work do the talking.

What’s your most treasured possession?

My camera and iMac would be possessions that I would use daily, maybe not treasured but definitely of high importance. I do have some artwork I did in college and secondary school that I treasure.

It’s great to look back on work you produced at a time where the creative act was simply for the joy of it.

Who would be your favourite designer/artist, or style inspiration?

As for traditional masters of painting it would be Caravaggio — he is God for me as a painter. Having seen a number of his pieces in the flesh, especially the Taking of Christ in the National Gallery, it gave me a purpose and I realised why I paint.

Rembrandt would be another — after my own recent experience with portraiture, understanding the difficulty of painting another person made me admire the man who did a self-portrait most years. For contemporary artists I tend to drift closer to photography and film, artists like Uta Barth, Nan Goldin, Larry Sultan, and DougDubois.

What would be a dream project for you to work on?

I am visiting the US in July and exhibiting in New York would be on the bucket list, especially if it was a solo show in an established gallery.

I have a patron living in the city who has bought a number of my works. I will be meeting up with him and discussing my future stateside.

There is one other project that I am looking into, which would be quite different. It would be to travel with the Irish Naval Service to the Mediterranean, to see the humanitarian work they are doing over there. I would love to document it and produce a body of work that reflects the situation.

Both my father and my brother served in the Irish Navy, so the connection and relationship already exists.

Have you any design tips for us?

Try and hold onto your artistic credibility as much as you can, artists forget the power they have — without them there is no work, no exhibition, no sales.