A Stroke of Genius on The Down about Down Podcast with Killyleagh artist, Duxy Leahy
In this podcast, Chris welcomes back Killyleagh artist, Darren (Duxy) Leahy. They last had a conversation several months ago during an exhibition of a selection of this local artist’s paintings in Killyleagh Library, situated in the town’s High Street.
The local artist’s third exhibition proved to be a success. The local library now features in new art venture for Duxy!
The Christmas season is just around the corner and the rush will be starting soon. Perhaps sending Christmas cards is a thing of the past, but Duxy begs to differ.
After a gentle persuasion, he has released one of his 2021 paintings as a Christmas card, which are available to purchase direct from the artist.
“When I released the details on my social media a few weeks ago, I found it to be the busiest forty-five minutes of my life!” he tells Chris.
The cards depict one of the area’s most iconic landmarks – Killyleagh Castle, complete with Santa Claus, snow and a Christmas tree. Due to the demand, Duxy has released another batch of the cards, bearing the greeting, “Merry Christmas from Killyleagh.”
Do have a listen to the podcast and hear the talented artist talk about his painting and mindfulness. Chris scratches below the “layers of the paint” and Duxy reveals what is really on the canvas. An interesting conversation, revealing how a life story can be painted and an explanation of the artist’s “inner child” works.
Earlier in his career Duxy had always dreamt of having an exhibition but he felt his paintings were not up to standard. “I thought my paintings weren’t good enough and I wasn’t worth it.” “There was a time when things in my life had slipped very badly and I had reached my lowest point.” Suffering from severe depression and anxiety, he sought help and managed to change his life around and continue his journey in a new direction. He still had a passion for creativity and after years of inactivity he returned to the canvas in 2017 having been persuaded to create a commission once again. Not wholly content with his chosen mediums of watercolour, pen and ink, he began to explore working with acrylics. He found himself relearning his skills in new ways and has since sold work all over the world, whilst maintaining his ever-growing fan base at home through commissions and exhibitions. Duxy has now had three successful art exhibitions.
A stroke of genius!
To find out more about Duxy’s work and to order one of his unique Christmas cards go to his website - https://duxyleahy.com/