Irish artist who moved the world
AN Irish artist whose painting of medics on the front line has attracted international attention and praise has said he’s been overwhelmed by the reaction.
Adam Crowe saw a photo of two frontline workers in PPE sharing a moment at a Florida hospital, and said the picture moved him so much he decided to paint it.
Mr Crowe, whose two sisters and girlfriend are both nurses, told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I’ve been painting all my life, but my paintings have never really had meaning up until now.
‘Before, I’d paint animals, or people smoking or doing things that didn’t matter much.
‘But when I saw my sisters’ and girlfriend’s struggle during these hard times, it changed the way I approached my art.
‘I came across this picture of two medics in Tampa, Florida, which captured the sadness, compassion, support and fear frontline workers are going through.’
It was his sister who convinced him to post the completed artwork online. ‘What happened next is something I was completely not anticipating,’ he explained.
‘It just blew up and I’ve been inundated by people all over the world contacting me – many of whom wanting to purchase it.’ Mr Crowe said news of his artwork also reached the hospital where the original photo was taken. ‘They’ve called me and were thrilled with the painting. They want a copy too. I’m overwhelmed but happy, as this is the first time I’ve ever shown my art,’ he added. Last week, Mr Crowe, from Cootehill, Co. Cavan, presented a print of the painting to the staff at his local hospital, Cavan General, to thank them for their hard work on the front line. ‘It’s honestly a minuscule act in retrospect of what they do but they loved it because they feel like they’ve been forgotten,’ he said of his donation. The artist is now selling copies of his painting, in the hope he can raise money for frontline workers. The goal is to auction the original painting and see what we can get for our frontline workers,’ he added. ‘My next painting is going to focus on children not being able to see their grandparents. I want my art to start focusing on where we could be as a country in six months - not too dark and put more joy into it to show people there is hope in all this madness.’