Artist Laurence O'Toole exhibiting at Ardhowen

Laurence O'Toole, Artist, with one of his paintings ''The Call Over Healy Pass'' chatting with Ciara Hambly, Hambly and Hambly, Gallery, Dunbar House, Enniskillen.

Back in the county this week, The Impartial Reporter met with Laurence in the grounds of the Ardhowen Theatre in Enniskillen, where, represented by Hambly & Hambly and in conjunction with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, a selection of his artworks are currently being exhibited in the theatre's foyer and gallery bar.

The exhibition at the Ardhowen links back to a special supper evening with Laurence hosted by Hambly & Hambly within the gallery at Dunbar House.

During the evening, 30 invited guests dined surrounded by Laurence's artworks and were treated to a special Q&A session with the artist following supper.

'An Evening with Laurence O'Toole' was filmed and is now available to watch online via YouTube. The exhibition will be in situ at the Ardhowen until May 21.

Originally from the seaside town of Bray in Co. Wicklow, Laurence told this newspaper that he was there up until he "got bored being right beside Dublin".

Laurence O'Toole, Artist.

"I just wanted out, so I went looking for a property, I wanted something big, I wanted Kilkenny – but everything in Kilkenny in my price bracket had no roof or no windows," he laughed, noting that he ended up in a very small town called Bagenalstown in Co. Carlow.

"I've been there for 20 years, and it was an old Bank of Ireland building. It gave me a studio that was vast," he said.

It's in this studio space that Laurence would subsequently paint, 24-7, “except for winter ¬ winter in Ireland does my head in, I can't wait to get out”.

He continued: "Normally I will pack up the van with an easel, canvas and brushes, and I'll just go. I'll end up in the bottom of Italy, the bottom of France.

Laurence O'Toole, Artist.

“Sometimes I'll fly, sometimes I'll do a residency in Japan, or New Zealand or Australia. In the States, I've done them in South America," he said, noting that from August to September last year, he was in residence at Hambly & Hambly's property in Dampierre-sur-Boutonne in the Charente Maritime region of France.

Ciara Hambly, joint owner of Hambly & Hambly with her husband Nick, said that it is important to the gallery that they represent Laurence internationally.

"It's enlightening," said Laurence, said that by travelling to paint, "life becomes fresh again".

"It's good for the head. It's good for the soul," he added.

Laurence is a self-taught painter. "I was always interested in painting and drawing. As a child I wasn't into sports.

Laurence O'Toole, Artist, chatting with Charlie Oldcroft during his exhibition at The Ardhowen Theatre.

"I would have just continually drew and painted as a child," explaining that as he got into his teenage years, he started dabbling with oil paints.

"Then you start selling, and you're part of the small local arts club. It was never an option for us to go to art college or college in general. It wasn't on the cards.

"I also never considered that I wanted to be an artist, it was just something I did and enjoyed," he said.

Talking about what inspires his art, Laurence said: "Everything I see, and everything I do. I do have a healthy interest in human nature, watching what people do – why do they do that?

"It's crazy, between relationships and bad habits, and a relationship with nature, that [human interest] really inspires me and drives me, because it's constantly changing and my perception of what we do and why we do it constantly changes."

Laurence O'Toole, Artist, with ''The Long Walk Home''.

When asked how he would describe his artistic style, Laurence responded with a laugh: "On a good day, I would describe it as 'Getting there'; on a bad day, I would say, 'Oh boy, I have a long way to go'.

"I suppose I'm a surreal-realist, if that makes sense? I grew up with some books that I borrowed from my friend's mum ¬– she was madly into art, and Dali was in there.

“That was when I was around 10, and I loved Dali. How he twisted [the definition of surrealism] and pulled it and stretched it.

"He thought outside the box. Now that had a big impact on me, that style, surrealism, that style of thinking. He was bonkers, obviously, but he was fabulous!

“And I think that hint of surrealism has never left me, never left my work. Where I'm always thinking outside the box, not by choice.

"It just happens, it's a natural style that seems to have progressed in me," he told this newspaper, going on to suggest that by having no formal artistic training means that he didn't pick up anybody else's ideas.

"I only came to that enlightenment, late in life and I realised that I suppose I have a style that is independent because I arrived at this point, independently of other people's ideas or ways or styles."

When asked why he thinks it's important to have his work exhibited out in the community in places such as the Ardhowen Theatre, Laurence said: "I think, firstly, art is for everyone – that's the most important thing.

"And it wasn't always for everyone," he said, acknowledging how in the late part of the 20th Century, art changed and became very classist.

"The accessibility to art was more problematic because it was in galleries, it was highbrow and something that was misunderstood.

"Now we have come full circle again. Now our modern day belief is that art is for everyone and it needs to be seen.

"You have Hambly & Hambly and they are pushing for these public spaces; they are incredibly important because art has to be seen by everyone.

"Art is a soothing suture for all of humanity. It can help you on your road to fixing yourself," said Laurence.

He is grateful for the support of Hambly & Hambly, who have provided him with exhibition opportunities and have promoted his work varying audiences, notably, recently facilitating the sale of three of his large-scale artworks to the Midland Hotel in Manchester, in association with Garuda Design.

"The support means that I can be seen, I can be out there, and it means that I can survive.

“When you get a gallery like Hambly & Hambly that is willing to work with you, now you have a relationship, a proper relationship.

“They are working with you, they are bringing you places like here," he said, going on to note that over Easter, he will be completing a residency at Hambly & Hambly at Dunbar House, Enniskillen, where he will continue to nurture his growing attachment to Fermanagh.

He will be immersing himself in the lakeland county with the intention of creating works that will form the base of his upcoming solo exhibition at the gallery in September.

Finally, this newspaper asked Laurence what his art means to him. He said: "I travel a lot, and while I'm travelling and while I love it, I get antsy because I'm not painting.

"So I suppose my work is everything to me. It drives me. It's one of the few things that I truly, truly care about – it’s everything."