An article in the New York Times Style Magazine asks ‘For centuries, those who eschewed formal training have been either marginalized or obsessed over. Why are we so enthralled by people who create on their own terms?’ The article goes on to point out that a formal qualification in art is a relatively new concept. Up until that point, artists figured out the mechanics for themselves or learnt from others.

I will admit that, until recently, I did have a hang up about not having any formal art training and missing out on that grounding in classical knowledge and theory, bestowed by hallowed institutions. Feeling second best to graduates from art college who proudly wear letters after their name like a stamp of recognition ready to ping on any art gallery radar.

I admire the work of many artists both formally trained and self taught and view them as one and the same, people who are able to conceptualise and produce creative works of art. I know I am in good company when the list of self taught artists include Henri Rousseau and Frida Kahlo. Closer to home is my neighbour Mike Forbes https://www.michaelforbes.co.uk/.

My paintings had historically gathered dust in the far corners of my home and were destined to never to see the light of day. Until a colleague of mine, Andrew Newton, https://www.facebook.com/zebranewt/ who creates the most amazing photo montages, came up with the idea of raising money to put on a joint exhibition of our work.

After much coffee drinking, the concept of CelticaGraphitica was born and the journey to our art exhibition began. As part of this process, I developed my technique further and refined my style of art. I know artists should never paint solely for the pleasure of others, but it is nice to know if you are on the right track. One of the scariest things for me was to put my heart on my sleeve and present my work to others for their opinion, which varied from non-committal, to enthusiastic responses.

With a shared sense of pride we launched CelticaGraphitica to an unsuspecting public, complete with opening night, drinks and nibbles for family and friends. The response was better than we had ever hoped for and we held court for most of the duration of the exhibition, chatting to people about our work. What was interesting to me was my reaction to the comments of other artists who came to the exhibition. It was one of disbelief that they were praising my work, admiring my compositions and asking questions about my technique. I still feel very humbled to this day.

Moving on from this, we took the exhibition to another venue which has led to me now having my work for sale in two galleries. I continue to paint and develop my style further with a view to selling my work to enable me to continue the process of creating art. I no longer feel any stigma regarding being self taught, I know that what I can see in my head, I am able to put down on canvas using skills and techniques I have learnt for myself. Did I need to sit through endless life drawing classes or study concepts and theories? No is the simple answer, all I needed to do was have faith in myself, realise that I am able to create the paintings I want to, enjoy the process and feel proud of the result. As far as labels are concerned, self taught Georgian artist Tamo Jugeli sums it up in one sentence “You know when you’re an artist.”

Goodnight Bob, and god bless my friend.