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About The Artist - Ronnie Ireland
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I was born and raised in Glasgow. Due to long
periods of illness during childhood, I found
myself retreating into my own imaginative world,
through my love of drawing. As I grew up, it
became clear that drawing and painting were my
passion Finally, a long held ambition was realised
when I graduated in Drawing and Painting from
Glasgow School of Art. |
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After Art School, I felt I needed a wider context
for my work, so decided to study with The Open
University It was hard going as I was teaching art
at the time, but it was very useful. I specialised
in 20th century arts, with the study of Music,
History and Poetry giving a much wider range of
reference to my work. |
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Mainly, my work is for private collectors, often
being specific commissions for their home or
office. Usually these are Allegories, Portraits or
Figure Studies. I have had solo and group shows in
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Harrogate and Brighton. |
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My approach is in many ways traditional, following
the methods of the great masters of figure
painting At the same time I have always been
fascinated by the way the camera captures people
in both still and moving images. In my work, I try
to combine these two potent sources of inspiration
to make intriguing images. |
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“The narrative is implied, but has to be
completed by the viewer…” |
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Ronnie Ireland - Jazz Singer
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I was born into a family of singers - from my
father there was opera and the legendary classical
singers; from my mother the Hollywood musicals and
the show tunes. |
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Pop and Rock I found for myself. |
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This broad base has served me well however, as I
have enjoyed performing in all of these styles and
found their interaction fascinating.Formal voice
training followed, with lead roles in opera and
international choral performances with the world’s
leading conductors and orchestras. |
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At the same time, I led my own rock band,
writing much of the material. “The Great American
Songbook” was always there however and audiences
were often surprised to be introduced to standards
by Irving Berlin or Duke Ellington in between the
rock classics! |
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Nowadays, I centre on those jazz and swing
standards, but am always open to including any
song from anywhere that catches my interest. |
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