DRAWING COMFORT WITH DON CONROY
AS DON CONROY RETURNS WITH A NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL, HE ALSO GIVES SOME VALUABLE WISDOM ON COPING WITH CIRCULATING FEAR NATIONWIDE
AS we are all only too well aware, we find ourselves living in chaotic times at the moment. There’s a lot of fear and negativity out there and it can be hard to find a few moments of calm to soothe a restless mind. Enter Don Conroy.
A man with many strings to his bow – environmentalist, artist, broadcaster, author – he brings a palpable positivity and calm to everything he does. As calls regarding Covid-19 and it’s frightening impact on our lives stack up on a daily basis, even hearing the dulcet tones of ‘Uncle Don’ on the other end of the phone has a calming effect.
‘It’s really great to talk to you,’ he beams. ‘It’s amazing how this whole thing has taken off.’
He is referring of course to his newly launched YouTube channel, sparking a return for ‘Draw With Don’ – a segment which was a staple of RTÉ’s ‘ The Den’ and was a real favourite for kids across the country in the ’90s as they tuned in and attempted to copy Don’s drawing of some magnificent animal or other. Of course a lot of the children who tuned in with their pieces of paper and pencils at the ready in those halcyon days now have children of their own and Don’s return is spreading a little bit of joy to a new generation, as well as a healthy dose of nostalgia for his fans from the past.
While it’s been a busy year for Don, you get the impression that he’s a man who doesn’t stress. Life moves at it’s own pace and we all must adapt accordingly. Having lived in Monart, just outside Enniscorthy, for many years, earning honorary Wexfordian status in the process, he spent a few months living in Greece recently before moving into his new home in Wicklow town.
‘We’re not that long living here actually,’ he explains. ‘Recently I spent a couple of months away in Greece. We have friends there and decided to spend some time there. It was wonderful. We were in a very remote area near this little fishing village. It was like walking into one of those wonderful impressionist paintings in spring time with all the lovely wild-flowers blooming. So I spent a bit of time there doing some painting and drawing and it was lovely.’
Although a fond one, that’s now very much a distant memory for Don as the Ireland he has returned to is now one battling a crisis the likes of which we’ve never seen. Characteristically though, Don is upbeat.
‘It’s like everything, you have to turn a disadvantage into an advantage,’ he said. ‘It’s a good time to be reflective and value each other and maybe be a bit creative. I’m trying to help with that a little with the YouTube channel.’
‘I’ve been on, what I’d call, a creative journey since I was four years old. I would love to see more people looking at the world with creative eyes. When you start to look and understand the shapes and forms of things, it gives you a different perspective. You look at the world in a different way with fresh eyes.’
For Don, there isn’t likely to be any boredom arising from spending more time at home.
‘Well I’m busy making these shows and then I’ve been doing a lot of interviews about it like this one,’ he laughs. ‘I really am surprised by the amazing reaction it’s received. People are really lovely. Over the years I’ve had people come up to me and say that I was the reason they passed their Leaving Cert art exams or what happened quite a bit was that I had young mothers coming up and asking me why I wasn’t drawing on TV any more. A lot of them wanted their children to have the same experience that they had when they were children.’
It was here that the seeds for Don’s new YouTube channel were sown. With more than a gentle prod from his daughter Justine, he had been seeking to make some videos anyway and with more people stuck at home and looking for something to do, the timing was perfect.
‘ This wasn’t planned at all,’ he says. ‘I’m delighted people are taking a bit of pleasure from it at a difficult time. People are worrying about life. I would say to them, take in the information, because it’s important. But don’t overwhelm yourself with fear because eventually you’ll implode. Try to stay positive about the situation. Read the book you’ve been meaning to read. Write some poetry or maybe do some drawing.’
With Don’s first video ‘Let’s Draw a Clown’ rocketing to nearly 45,000 views in just a couple of days, it’s fair to say that the appetite is certainly out there among the general public, kids and adults alike. A second video was added inviting young and old to join in and draw a Barn Owl – giving all the nostalgic feels for rainy afternoons sat in front of ‘ The Den’.
‘ The painter Juan Miró said that we should all try to draw like children again,’ Don says, reflecting on the enjoyment the kids get from his videos. ‘I always liked that. The reason is that when children draw, they are telling a story. It’s the joy of drawing. Miró believed that the joy was not in the result, but in the action.’
Don has some big ideas for the YouTube channel too. He hopes to add new videos every couple of days and he also hopes to add storytelling for the children, as well as workshops for adults too. When he’s not doing that, he’s putting the finishing touches to paintings and portraits that had been left to one side – heeding his own advice and turning disadvantage to advantage and taking stock.
Within a couple of days, the Don Conroy YouTube channel had over 8,000 subscribers and one would suspect that this will increase even further in the coming days as homes across the country welcome a familiar favourite back into their sitting rooms.
IT’S A GOOD TIME TO BE REFLECTIVE AND VALUE EACH OTHER AND MAYBE BE A BIT CREATIVE. I’M TRYING TO HELP...WITH THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL