NAME :
Alan Walsh.
OCCUPATION :
Artist and gallery owner.
WHERE WERE YOU BORN :
Watford, England.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE:
I spend my time between Monaco and a weekend escape in nature at our Provencal style olive farm in the French countryside 20 minutes in land from Cannes.
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS :
Fun, creative and driven.
WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF YOUR JOB :
I would say variety, one day is never really the same and some things I get to do don’t feel like work, having lunch on yachts or flying to people’s homes to discuss commissions, getting paid to stay in luxury hotels, and traveling the world to collaborate with brands. With my original works, where possible, I try to deliver them myself, It’s lovely to have lunch with the clients and hang the work on the wall, many of our clients have become close friends.
ARE THERE DAYS YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO TO WORK :
I love what I do so not really. I might have days when I’m not feeling as creative as others, or if your working on a project you might need to walk away for a while, walk the dog and come back an hour later with a fresh mindset but I’ve got a strong work ethic.
WHAT INSPIRES YOUR ARTWORKS :
The majority of my works feature glamorous females, automobiles and The Riviera. My mother worked in textiles and my dad in motorsport so that’s where things first started. I now live in Monaco, so Monaco and the Riviera inspire many of my works too. The colours of the sky, people watching at the beach clubs, events such as the Grand Prix or Yacht show, there is always something to inspire a new painting. I own a lot of vintage photography books to so they are always inspiring to look through for ideas, fashion and style was much more elegant that it is today.
AT WHAT AGE DID YOU KNOW YOU BE AN ARTIST :
I knew from a very very young age I would do something creative as a career.
As a kid all I used to do was draw, being dyslexic probably gave me and advantage as I focused on something I
was good at.
I worked in agencies as an illustrator/designer until 2010, the agencies became very political and I spent lots of time in meetings rather than creating, it was then I realised I needed to fullfill my creative void and started to create posters on my weekends or evenings. After one exhibition I made the bold move to resign from work to focus solely on art.
There was no back up plan I had to make it work, I got a tattoo on my arm saying “never look back” and haven’t!
WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTS :
My creative hero would hands down be Sir Paul Smith the fashion designer, I have so many of his clothes and books. I’ve always liked Warhol’s bold colours, and Roy Licthenstien & Patrick Caulfield’s clean key lines, Matisse’s simplicity and more recently since living on the Riviera discovered Jean Cocteau… Vintage advertising illustration from Rene Guru. My wife and I love vintage photography from the 50-80’s Terry O’Neill, Slim Arrons, Helmut Newton.
IF YOU COULD SPEND A FEW HOURS WITH ANY ARTIST ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE :
I really wanted to meet Jack Vettriano and sadly he’s just passed away. I know he liked his horse racing on the Riviera, so go watch the horses and enjoy a nice bottle of red with our winnings, he may spend his on something a little different given his vices however I think he would of been an interesting chap!
YOUR THOUGHTS ON AI AND ART :
Yeah I’m not a fan, I think the least I say about it the better.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF OWNING A GALLERY :
We signed the lease to our first Monaco Gallery 2 months before COVID, that certainly proved to be a challenge. Monaco isn’t an easy place to run a business, rent is very expensive, as is insurance and paying social charges for staff. With Monaco only busy six months of the year for the quiet months of the year you need to budget well. Managing cashflow can be challenging in general as an Artist though especially the more high profile you become, the exhibitions and events cost more to put on and take a lot more of your time meaning you have to outlay large sums first and sometimes not get a return for 6/8/12 months.
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY :
Sitting playing with a train set, my earliest artist memory though is painting a snow man at nursery school.
WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A KID :
Not much different to I am now I don’t think…Cheeky, slight mischievous, couldn’t sit still unless I’m drawing.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION :
My health. Recent family events have made me see how much people take their health for granted, I’d swap every possession I own for my wife to have her health back.
WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE :
Probably Jude Law.
CHOOSE A SUPERPOWER :
Be able to heal those. who are unwell.
WHAT IS YOUR WORST TRAIT :
I learnt to cook durning COVID, I would say I can cook to a decent standard now, however.. I do leave a trail of destruction behind me and the kitchen in chaos!
WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT :
Red wine and cheese! In general I sleep pretty well, I’m normally in bed before 10pm and awake by 5.30am. At the moment I’m dealing with projects in NYC and Sydney so I’m up late then it can be a little hard to switch off.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT :
I think relocating from Australia to Monaco, opening our Gallery as a husband and wife team, then keeping it going during Covid with no government help or bank loans and coming out the other side of that… I certainly have a few more grey hairs, however we did it.
DO YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS :
Yeah, I like listening to interviews of successful people and seeing how I can use some of their knowledge to better my life. Recent podcasts I’ve enjoyed would be Formula for Success & Sodajerker on Song writing, Art Talk.
WHAT’S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE
I have a pretty good diet so normally I’m pretty healthy… occasionally my sweet tooth gets the better of me and I have been known to come out of the supermarket and sit and eat a full bag of marshmallows before I’m made it home!
WHAT ARE YOU TOP 4 MUSICIANS / BANDS :
Oh that’s a tough one, I have such an eclectic taste in music, anything from Oasis to Pavarotti Nessun Dorma.
Often depends on what I’m doing at the time to what I’m listing too. If I’m sketching some Riviera ladies concepts at a cocktail party I’ll listen to some Jazz to set the mood, Bit of Rock and Roll if I need to work a bit more up tempo.
If I’m going off most played from iTunes then its Oasis, Elton John, Richard Ashcroft and The Beatles.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING YOU EVER STOLE :
A Bag of ingredients to make spaghetti bolognaise. I was backpacking in Australia, I had no money at all, a young couple came into the hostel and put these bags of shopping down and walked off, I pinched a bag took it to the hostel around the corner where a friend was staying and we cooked it! Was great!
YOU ARE HEADING TO THE ISS / INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, CHOOSE 4 PEOPLE TO TAKE A LONG :
My wife Emily, My dog Alfred, Jamie Oliver to cook and Mrs Doubtfire to keep everything neat and tidy.
WHAT WOULD A PERFECT DAY FOR YOU LOOK LIKE :
I haven’t had many days off recently so relaxing by the pool at our house in the country with family and a few close friends enjoying a long lunch and a few nice bottles of red, something very chilled would be ideal… And half way through the Gallery ringing to say they have sold several paintings!
IF YOU COULD BE FRIENDS WITH A FICTIONAL CHARACTER WHO WOULD IT BE :
As a kid I loved the film, ET. I always wanted to be friends with him.
YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION :
I’m lucky to live in the French Riviera which is so beautiful, sometimes you appreciate it more when you’ve been away for work and come back, by contrast I love English country pubs, every time I visit England I love to have Sunday lunch in a country pub that’s one of my favourite things.
YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE DESTINATION :
The hospital and the dentist.
WHATS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST :
Top of the list would be The Orient Express with my wife, Hopefully we get to do that soon.
I love train journeys it’s one of the only times I really switch off.
DO YOU LIKE BEING INTERVIEWED :
It wasn’t something I found naturally at first but something I’ve had to get used too.
WHAT’S THE CLOSEST YOU HAVE COME TO DEATH :
A Karting accident when I was about 14, another Kart came through the air and hit me in the head breaking my shoulder and collar bone and knocking me out. I came around in the ambulance on the way to hospital in a full body brace unable to move, even today I still can’t bare my neck to be touched by anyone since this.
IF YOU HAD A BOAT WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED :
Playful eleganc. It’s how I describe my art.
WHATS A PERSONAL MOTTO OR MESSAGE :
I mentioned this above, when I left my day job to be a full time artist I had the words “never look back” tattooed on my arm, this was to remind me that there will be tough days but if you really want something and work harder than anyone else around you you’ll get where you want to be!
walshgallerymonaco.com
instagram.com/alan.walsh.artist
walshgallerymonaco.com/emily-print
