Offaly man's work to be displayed at Ireland’s largest art show

Offaly native Willie Redmond served for more than two decades with the Defence Forces.

But art was the constant antidote to his demanding day job in helicopter search and rescue and air ambulance missions.

The artist’s work, including several new pieces, will be on show at Art Source at Dublin’s RDS, running from November 14-16.

"Small, simple missions are the ones that really stick in your mind," said the Edenderry man, now living in Dublin's Killester.

"Children on mercy missions and air ambulance journeys, where a child might need urgent transport to hospital for a procedure, are the toughest and give you a greater appreciation of life.

"We also transported people after car accidents to specialist units dealing with head and spinal injuries.

"Then the service of the islands in adverse weather conditions was a major role - Go Mairidis Beo (That Others May Live) is the unit motto applied by the crews."

When he retired in 2007, Redmond devoted his energies into art full-time, his talents rewarded earlier this year with an appearance on Sky Arts' Landscape Artist of the Year.

"I was always painting from an early age, drawing in my spare time, when I served in Baldonnell (Casement Aerodrome), it was my focus during downtime," he said.

"With the flying you were seeing the country though a different set of eyes, it made you more aware of how the landscape worked in terms of weather and features.

"In spring, you'd get thundery showers and behind them, it was like a white brush had passed through and made the landscape behind it white with hailstones. Or early morning flights with amber sunlight on fields and white hedgerow shadows from lying frost."

Redmond, who describes his work as contemporary realism, believes events such as Art Source open up the art world to the public.

"There's more of a universal appreciation of art now, awareness is coming through and has given people the confidence to take an interest in it."

Redmond will bring new pieces including Cliff Walk, Howth, and Greenwash, a stunning painting based on lush forest undergrowth with light coming through a canopy, to Art Source, which features over 200 of the best Irish and international artists and galleries and a big selection of affordable art.

"The Irish public shows increasing demand for art with every passing year and Art Source has become a must in the calendar year for anyone looking to add a piece of art to their collection," said show organiser, Patrick O’Sullivan.

"As a collective, Irish people have an innate cultural appreciation for the arts and Art Source not only gives them the opportunity to bring home one-off original artworks, but also to meet the artists behind the pieces."

Expected to draw more than 15,000 people, the opens at the RDS on Friday, November 14, running until November 16.

For more information and tickets, visit: artsource.ie.