... and son Blake gets in the picture
THE O’DONNELLS’ solicitor son spent most of the last decade either in court, or wading through reams of legal documents in an ill-fated effort to save his family’s home from repossession.
Now, it seems that he is expanding his employment repertoire and is diversifying his hand as an artist, one of his long-held passions.
For over the course of more than a year, images of a sombre and serious Blake wearing a black coat and suit and carrying a document-laden briefcase were splashed all over the front pages as he made the daily trek to the Four Courts.
If there was one image that could encapsulate the Celtic Tiger excesses and the crash which brought the country to its knees, it was perhaps the O’Donnells taking on the banks.
Now Blake, who is still practising law, is hoping to make a splash in the art world. He recently showcased his work at contemporary museum Harbingers in London which bills itself as ‘a game-changing arts platform for emerging artists and counter cultural figures’ and Blake as ‘an Irish artist and a man of letters’.
It is perhaps no surprise that Blake turned to art as an outlet, as his former home housed a practical gallery of art, which included a painting by Leo Whelan, entitled Waiting, bought for €306,593 in 2007.
He has exhibited at The Royal Scottish Academy summer exhibition, The Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the upcoming London Group Exhibition. One of his paintings was on sale for £1,200.
‘One painting was on sale for £1,200’