{"id":34,"date":"2018-08-27T16:15:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T15:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/donaghy.ie\/wp3\/?page_id=34"},"modified":"2025-12-10T17:47:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:47:57","slug":"about-les","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/donaghy.ie\/wp3\/about-les\/","title":{"rendered":"About Les"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Les was born in Clydebank, Scotland. His early memories include walking to the swimming baths and seeing remnants of tenements destroyed during the Blitz.<\/p>

He attended Clydebank High School, starting his artistic journey under printer Willie Rodger’s guidance. Despite being advised to seek a stable job for financial security, he enrolled at the Glasgow School of Art in the 1980s but struggled to pursue art as a career.<\/p>

Over 30 years, Les achieved goals in the expressive arts, mainly in music, performing in venues from pubs to concert halls.<\/p>

In 2012, after brain surgery, he joined a painting and drawing class at East Kilbride Arts Centre, which aided his recovery and reignited his passion for art.<\/p>

Les spent the next few years enhancing his skills, focusing on portraits and landscapes, leading to a successful solo exhibition in May 2016.<\/p>

In September 2016, the Stirling Smith Museum invited him to showcase his collection of Scottish crime writers during the ‘Bloody Scotland’ festival, followed by Clydebank’s first portrait exhibition in 2017.<\/p>

In October 2018, Les returned to East Kilbride Arts Centre, showcasing his evolved style, and this exhibition became one of the most successful in the Centre’s history, selling 15 pieces.<\/p>

In 2019, he released a limited edition calendar of 50 copies that sold out quickly.<\/p>

March 2019 saw him winning both prizes at the 39th Annual Clarkston art exhibition, with all submissions selling.<\/div>
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Despite the ‘lockdown’, 2020 was fruitful for Les, with strong sales, including a ‘bidding war’ at the CHAS charity auction and six works entering public collections via Glasgow Life. His portrait of midwife Beth was included in the book “NHS Portraits for Heroes” and appeared on BBC TV.<\/div>
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2021 was remarkable, with significant sales including his portrait of Billy Connolly entering public collections (totaling seven commissioned pieces). He showcased work in three major exhibitions and won the Scottish Arts Club Members award for his self-portrait “I’m H-A-P-P-Y” in the Scottish Portrait Awards finals.<\/div>
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In 2022, he again reached the finals of the Scottish Portrait Awards, focusing on commissions, notably painting 204 faces for the 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron and completing major works for Ron Gordon, chairman of Hibernian FC.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Les was born in Clydebank, Scotland. His early memories include walking to the swimming baths and seeing remnants of tenements destroyed during the Blitz. He…<\/p>\n

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