Rasher (artist)
Encyclopedia
Rasher (real name Mark Kavanagh) is an Irish figurative artist, best known for his detailed and colourful work on the human figure, and still lifes.
, County Wicklow
. As a boy he attended St Killian's School and later St Thomas VEC. The nickname Rasher has stuck with him since he was a child. http://www.irishentrepreneur.com/latest_articles/business_of_art.asp Apart from a yearlong plc course at his local college in Bray, Rasher is a self-taught artist who has achieved commerciality.
When he first thought of painting, Rasher says his father thought he was crazy and that he would never make a living out of it. "I mopped floors in supermarkets so I could paint during the day." Eventually his parents allowed him use his bedroom as a studio. When he first got accepted into a gallery, he sold his paintings to it for £50 and was just left with enough money to buy more paint. At this stage, he was producing a painting at a rate of one every two weeks.
After several self-mounted shows which attracted the interest of admirers far and wide, he held a one-man exhibition in Dublin. He was profiled in several respected newspapers and made an appearance on The Late Late Show
which brought him to national attention.
, Dali
, Bacon
and Hopper
. His still lives are influenced by a trip to Italy
and the Old Masters works which he saw on this trip. In Los Angeles
he was heavily influenced by the bold and harsh light of his surroundings.
to do a commercial commission. He has since completed many paintings for the brand. On the commission, Rasher had the following to say, "I had never done anything else like this before and I will try anything once. It's a 200 year old brand and I am a 28 year-old man so I liked the contrast between old and new."
While his principal work has always been the human figure, his recent work has included a number of flowerscapes. In his newer paintings, Rasher continues to probe deeply into the hallucinatory world of love and loss that has marked his work from the beginning. The bold beautiful bright eye-catching colours are inspired by a trip to the Mediterranean.
His exhibition, 'Into the Blue' took place in the Chateau Marmont Hotel
in Los Angeles in early 2006.
One of his paintings has fetched more than €16,000 at an auction. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/10/09/story8678.asp Among his patrons have been the late King Hussein of Jordan. Owners of his work include Tom Cruise
, Colin Farrell
and Princess Haya of Jordan. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/10/09/story8678.asp
Rasher still lives and works in Wicklow. He made an appearance on Irish television channel TV3
's breakfast show Ireland AM
on January 31, 2007.
Early life
Rasher was born in the seaside town of BrayBray
Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census...
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
. As a boy he attended St Killian's School and later St Thomas VEC. The nickname Rasher has stuck with him since he was a child. http://www.irishentrepreneur.com/latest_articles/business_of_art.asp Apart from a yearlong plc course at his local college in Bray, Rasher is a self-taught artist who has achieved commerciality.
When he first thought of painting, Rasher says his father thought he was crazy and that he would never make a living out of it. "I mopped floors in supermarkets so I could paint during the day." Eventually his parents allowed him use his bedroom as a studio. When he first got accepted into a gallery, he sold his paintings to it for £50 and was just left with enough money to buy more paint. At this stage, he was producing a painting at a rate of one every two weeks.
After several self-mounted shows which attracted the interest of admirers far and wide, he held a one-man exhibition in Dublin. He was profiled in several respected newspapers and made an appearance on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
which brought him to national attention.
Influences
He is influenced by the works of CaravaggioCaravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
, Dali
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, Bacon
Francis Bacon (painter)
Francis Bacon , was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon's painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds...
and Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
. His still lives are influenced by a trip to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the Old Masters works which he saw on this trip. In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
he was heavily influenced by the bold and harsh light of his surroundings.
Recent career
In 2004, Rasher was asked by JamesonJameson Irish Whiskey
Jameson is a single distillery Irish whiskey produced by a division of the French distiller Pernod Ricard. Jameson is similar in its adherence to the single distillery principle to the single malt tradition, but Jameson combines malted barley with unmalted or "green" barley...
to do a commercial commission. He has since completed many paintings for the brand. On the commission, Rasher had the following to say, "I had never done anything else like this before and I will try anything once. It's a 200 year old brand and I am a 28 year-old man so I liked the contrast between old and new."
While his principal work has always been the human figure, his recent work has included a number of flowerscapes. In his newer paintings, Rasher continues to probe deeply into the hallucinatory world of love and loss that has marked his work from the beginning. The bold beautiful bright eye-catching colours are inspired by a trip to the Mediterranean.
His exhibition, 'Into the Blue' took place in the Chateau Marmont Hotel
Chateau Marmont Hotel
The Chateau Marmont is a hotel at 8221 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. Built in 1927, and modeled loosely after the Château d'Amboise, in France's Loire Valley. It has served as the backdrop for a number of events in the lives of well-known rock stars and actors.-History:Fred...
in Los Angeles in early 2006.
One of his paintings has fetched more than €16,000 at an auction. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/10/09/story8678.asp Among his patrons have been the late King Hussein of Jordan. Owners of his work include Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
, Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
and Princess Haya of Jordan. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/10/09/story8678.asp
Rasher still lives and works in Wicklow. He made an appearance on Irish television channel TV3
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...
's breakfast show Ireland AM
Ireland AM
Ireland AM is Ireland's only breakfast television programme. The show is broadcast live every weekday morning by TV3 and 3e.- Early years :...
on January 31, 2007.
His name
Rasher was asked by Hot Presss Peter Murphy where he got his nickname. "I grew up on a council estate in Bray, and everybody had a nickname, same as anywhere. One summer, I must have been about five or six, I was sunburned on my back, I’d really blonde hair and I was really skinny, and my brother’s friend said, "Jesus, he looks like a streaky rasher." http://www.hotpress.com/features/interviews/2907252.htmlQuotes
- "I like looking at the human condition in its natural, everyday environment."
- "It's a long way from [selling paintings for] 50 quid in the first gallery." http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/10/09/story8678.asp
- "Paint because you love it, not because of the money." http://www.irishentrepreneur.com/latest_articles/business_of_art.asp