A painter whose Oscar-winning brother bought him his first water colour set, is set to feature at Ireland’s biggest art fair.
Dylan Hansard’s striking city nightscapes have turned around his life following a challenging spell.
His sibling, Academy award-winning singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, gifted him the set after learning that Dylan was showing an interest in painting.
Hansard won the gong in 2008 for best original song, Falling Slowly, from the film Once, co-written with Marketa Irglova.
Dylan, 38, originally from Artane in Dublin – but now living in Portobello, found his career at a dead end after leaving a job at Dublin Airport during mental health struggles.
He is now set to appear for the first time alongside hundreds of Irish and international artists when Art Source opens its doors at the RDS from November 15-17.
“After leaving my job in 2018 I was sitting around the house and it occurred to me that much of the artwork out there was mass produced and generic,” he said.
That led him to start sketching and painting.
He now spends his time creating night street scenes, unusually using gouache – an opaque water colour, including an evocative image of a rainy night in Dublin’s Dame Street.
“I did not know I had any artistic ability, I was quite surprised when I found I could do it, and it has been getting better all the time. I discovered a new role in life. I am an artist now,” he said.
“Glen gifted me my first set of water colours when he heard I was dabbling in visual art.
“It has given me an identity. I did not really have that before. My art has been healing for me.
“Before it came along I wasn’t doing very much. I did not have anything to strive for and my life was not going anywhere.
“A whole world opened up for me when I started to paint. People seem genuinely interested in me. It has been such a surprise.”
Art Source features a huge selection from affordable art as well as pieces from some of the biggest names in the art world.
Show organiser Patrick O’Sullivan said: “Over the past number of years we have seen that the Irish public have shown an enormous appetite for art, and Art Source has become a major destination for buyers who are interested in art from some of the world’s most recognisable artists.
“As a reflection of that demand, this will be the biggest Art Source to date.
“The reason the fair is growing so much is that Irish people are interested in art and culture at heart, and many people make a point of returning to the fair annually.
“The fair also offers visitors the opportunity to purchase one-off original artworks to make their home unique and also the opportunity to meet the artists and find out about their work.”
This year will once again feature Art Source’s 100 for 100 euro event, where artists have been asked to create one original piece of artwork which will sell at the fair for just 100 euro.
Art Source opens on November 15 and runs until November 17.
For more information and tickets visit artsource.ie.
