{"id":23787,"date":"2021-04-06T19:28:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T18:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/?p=23787"},"modified":"2021-04-06T19:28:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T18:28:18","slug":"im-more-interested-in-people-painting-as-a-means-of-enhancing-their-life-in-conversation-with-artist-jim-furlong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/im-more-interested-in-people-painting-as-a-means-of-enhancing-their-life-in-conversation-with-artist-jim-furlong\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m more interested in people painting as a means of enhancing their life\u201d In Conversation with Artist Jim Furlong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Limerick is a flourishing artistic hub, with many creatives inspired by the city due to its vibrant residencies and an internationally renowned art college.<\/p>\n

Artist and educator Jim Furlong takes inspiration from the city. A resident of James Street Studios, the painter often sketches from life to produce his critically acclaimed work.<\/p>\n

He continues to produce art in his studio, however the deserted streets are lacking the inspiration his work usually thrives on.<\/p>\n

Despite art often being assumed as solitary, Jim\u2019s inspirations are firmly rooted in community and people are an important component of his creative process.<\/p>\n

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A charcoal portrait exploring alienation from “The Cool Vernacular”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cDoing the work can be solitary but finding stimulus and your ideas would take root in a community and be influenced by other people, a two-pronged thing- one solitary, and one very social,\u201d said Jim.<\/p>\n

Jim is originally from Worthing, Sussex. After working as a sign writer for years, he returned to education in the Limerick College of Art and Design and developed his distinctive style of using charcoal to create pop art-inspired portraiture.<\/p>\n

He graduated with a First Class Honours degree and was the recipient of the 2016 Tom Fox Painting Award, an annual accolade bestowed on an outstanding graduate of that programme.<\/p>\n

He also received The Revenue Commissioners Innovation Prize and his work has been purchased by the Irish State Collection, with his critically acclaimed exhibitions exploring themes of masculinity, popular culture, and alienation.<\/p>\n

Jim now shares his expertise as a teacher, renowned for his engaging art lessons at the Limerick College of Further Education (LCFE).<\/p>\n

His night classes cater from beginner to advanced level, with many students returning each term to expand their knowledge and learn from their fellow classmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really miss the art classes because I have always enjoyed them and the people I have met.<\/p>\n

When you join a class, there is a group dynamic where everyone comments on each other\u2019s work,\u201d noted Jim.<\/p>\n

Despite being a highly technical artist, his ethos is to make art as accessible as possible to anyone interested in learning.<\/p>\n

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“Nothing Will Happen Twice,” Oil and acrylic on canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI see myself much more as a facilitator in creating a comfortable and stimulating environment rather than a big job pouring loads of water into small glasses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The educator believes social engagement in classes is a key to the creative process that often provides a much needed outlet to people.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch as the same way as you would go jogging with necessarily entering any sporting events, you do it for your wellbeing it\u2019s much the same thing,\u201d Jim said. \u201cI get a satisfaction out of opening new avenues for people creatively that they wouldn\u2019t necessarily be aware that they did have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Art classes provide a means of two-way communication for Jim, with students often inspired by their creative classmates.<\/p>\n

The dynamic range of attendees often takes up different mediums inspired by their peers and nurtures friendships with like-minded creatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou view art in a certain way, through a particular lens, and then when you meet other people they expose you to a different way of looking at it,\u201d said Jim.<\/p>\n

While the restrictions have postponed the classes for now, the benefits of attending a night course in art are endless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think an art class creates a feeling that when you are gathered with a people of like-minds, you feel that what you are doing is important and necessary because you see the ideas and results of creativity,\u201d said Jim. \u201cIt creates an importance to what you are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The skilled painter continues to work on his own personal projects while also looking forward to returning as an educator.<\/p>\n

When the art classes resume, Jim hopes to continue encouraging his students in the process of creating without being deterred by critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very passionate about art, but I\u2019m not so interested in creating the fantastic masterpiece,\u201d said Jim. \u201cI\u2019m more interested in people using art and painting as a means of enhancing their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“The Nobility of the Ordinary” Charcoal and acrylic on canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Limerick is a flourishing artistic hub, with many creatives inspired by the city due to its vibrant residencies and an internationally renowned art college. Artist and educator Jim Furlong takes inspiration from the city. A resident of James Street Studios, the painter often sketches from life to produce his critically acclaimed work. He continues to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11553,"featured_media":23788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101838,101965,102005],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture-fuinneamh","category-features","category-fuinneamh"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":false,"total_views":0,"today_views":0},"views":1516,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/69444075_2107404732697425_2561491600249192448_n.jpeg","wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11553"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23787"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23794,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23787\/revisions\/23794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}