The King of Kilburn Canvas

As promised in an earlier post - here are some pictures of the King of Kilburn Canvas.

T

My Interview with Wild Rover Clothing NYC

I was recently interviewed by New York based Design and Clothing Company 'Wild Rover'.

To see the interview in full - please click the link below! :)

T

http://www.wildroverclothing.com/2009/12/just-a-wee-taste-with-tom-gallahue/

A Bad Day on the Site

Fear of Long Words

It was All Yellow!

As the song says - IT WAS ALL YELLOW!

With a massive 65% you guys voted for the yellow day of the dead image.

A big thank you to everyone who voted - rest assured - the blue image has been deleted! :)

More voting fun to come! :)

T

Fear of Belly Buttons

Fear of Objects on the Right Side of the Body

WIWT Project - 27/11/09

http://www.flickr.com/groups/whatiworetodaydrawings/

Son's of Erin - Guardians of NYC

For my new mate Michael Bermingham and the other bhoys in NYC! :)

Which Day of the Dead Image Do You Prefer???

Ok - so here it is - I've been working on this Day of the Dead image for the last few days, and its doing my head in!!! I've finally struggled to create these 2 - but cant decide which i prefer!

I need your help to decide - vote for the design you prefer - the design that receives the least amount of votes will be deleted on Wed 2nd Dec... Gone forever!!!

SO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE ON THE RIGHT OF YOUR SCREEN NOW!!!!!


If youre not too sure what Day of the Dead is:

The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos in Spanish) is a Mexican and Mexican-American celebration of deceased ancestors which occurs on November 1 and November 2, coinciding with the similar Roman Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

While it is primarily viewed as a Mexican holiday, it is also celebrated in communities in the United States with large populations of Mexican-Americans, and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Latin America.

Despite the morbid subject matter, this holiday is celebrated joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day, the mood of The Day of the Dead is much lighter, with the emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits.

The Thinker

My New Hearing Aids!

I got my new hearing aids today - thought I was just going for a fitting/measuring appointment, but ended up leaving with 2 brand new digital aids!

So far so good... seem to be making all the difference! :)

What I Wore Today Project

Another little illustration for Gemma Correll's fun project 'What I Wore Today'.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/whatiworetodaydrawings/

Fabric / Hoodie Design - 'A Taste of Home'

A fabric/hoodie design called 'A Taste of Home', comprising of:

Tayto Crisps, Celtic Shirt, Tin Whistle, Harp, Pint of Guinness, Chef Sauce, GAA Football, Hurl, Sliotar, Claddagh Ring, Map of Ireland, Celtic Knotwork, Barrys Tea, Club Orange, National Flag and Shamrock.

What I Wore Today Project

A little illustration for Gemma Correll's fun project 'What I Wore Today'.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/whatiworetodaydrawings/

Ronan MacManus Debut Solo Album Artwork

http://www.myspace.com/rmacmanus

Above is a sneak look at the album artwork from Singer/Songwriter Ronan MacManus. Ronan has just finished recording his debut solo album. 'Strawberry Hill'.

I will post the full artwork when the album goes into production - and explain the story behind the images - but for now - I hope you like the cover.

Please log onto http://www.myspace.com/rmacmanus and listen to some of the unfinished tracks.

Tom

A Bloody Flight of Earls

This was inspired by the lyrics of the following song:

Flight of Earls, The Wolfe Tones

I can hear the bells of Dublin
in this lonely waiting room
And the paperboys are singin'
in the rain
Not too long before they take us
to the airport and the noise
To get on board
a transatlantic plane
We've got nothin' left to stay for,
We had no more left to say
And there isn't any work for us to do
So farewell ye boys and girls;
Another bloody Flight of Earls
Our best asset is our best export, too.

It's not murder, fear or famine
that makes us leave this time
We're not going to join
McAlpine's Fusileers
We've got brains, and we've got visions; we've got education, too!
But we just can't throw away
these precious years
So we walk the streets of London,
And the streets of Baltimore
And we meet at night
in several Boston bars
We're the leaders of the future
But we're far away from home
And we dream of you
beneath the Irish stars

As we look on Ellis Island,
and the Lady in the bay
And Manhattan turns to face
another Sunday
We just wonder what you're doing
to bring us all back home
As we look forward to another Monday
Because it's not the work
that scares us
We don't mind an honest job
And we know things will get better
once again
So a thousand times adieu,
fuck Bono and U2
All we're missin'
is the Guinness, and the rain

So switch off your new computers
with their facebook and bebo
We're leaving as our fathers did before
Take a look at Dublin airport, or the boat that leaves North Wall
There'll be no Youth Unemployment
any more
Because we're over here in Queensland,
And in parts of New South Wales
We're on the seas and airways
and the trains
But if we see better days,
Those big airplanes go both ways
And we'll all be comin' back to you again!

Boots or No Boots Artwork.

This is the eagerly awaited second album from The BibleCode Sundays, released 25 May 07, (40th anniversary of the lisbon lions) through the bands website. The band was keen to have the same graphic look to the second album artwork as was in the Debut Album ‘Ghosts of Our Past’.

The title ‘Boots or No Boots’ refers to the work ethic of the Irish workers who helped to build huge areas of London. The Album artwork shows a group of workers in the foreground with the London skyline in the background seeming to rise from the earth they are working.

The lead singer of the BCS boys revealed live on Diverse 102.8 FM yesterday evening that the band have signed a deal that will see the Album released in the coming months through Scarlet Records.

Until then the album is available for download from the bands website: www.thebiblecodesundays.com

Ghosts of Our Past Album Artwork.

The debut album artwork for The BibleCode Sundays was originally released in by the band in 2006. The original brief was to work from the title track and develop a look that would reflect the bands London Irish Roots.

I found an image of an old man with a pint, staring off into the distance – this seemed very poignant when coupled with the title of the album. He was faded to become almost see through – becoming a ghost himself. It speaks of places like Hammersmith (which is in the background of the cover), Shepherds Bush, Cricklewood, Kilburn etc that were huge Irish communities of migrant workers moving to London to send money home, or to start new lives. That generation has since died off, or moved home or out to other locations, yet the ghosts of those people live on through our generation.

The album was released in America in 2009 through Cosmic Trigger Records, and as a consequence the artwork was given a rework – this is the artwork seen above.

This album is available as a download from the bands website: www.thebiblecodesundays.com and from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghosts-Past-Bible-Code-Sundays/dp/B001CW7LW0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1258535617&sr=8-1

The King of Kilburn

Above is a fairly new illustration entitled – ‘The King of Kilburn’. The inspiration for this image came from a number of different places.

Firstly, one of the reoccurring themes that pop up in my work is the focus of the Irish that came to London in the 1950’s & 60’s, their treatment, the lives they led and how they managed to survive. Both my parents were part of that mass emigration for work, so it’s a subject that is close to my heart.

I often heard stories from them, and other members of the family that made it across the water, about the poor conditions they both lived and worked in. The ‘King of Kilburn’ is trying to make the statement that even though this character was seen and treated by society at the time as a second class citizen, his roll as a Hot Asphalt Man gave him the opportunity to physically rise above the daily grind and constraints and affords him the opportunity to look over the roof tops while enjoying a cup of tea – making him feel like king of all he surveys.

It also is in stark contrast to the vast majority of people that moved to the cities from rural Ireland. My father would have looked out on forests and the Galtee Mountains as a boy growing up – he than found himself looking over the ever expanding city of London – it must have been a huge shock to the system for many of them.

Another source of inspiration was the song ‘The Hot Asphalt’ – an Irish Folk song, sung by among others Damien Dempsy. ( to check out a live version click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Jj0F6VWRQ ). This seemed to sum up everything I wanted to say in the Illustration.

I’m currently working on a painted canvas version of this image – I’ll post pics when it’s completed.

Welcome

So. I’m officially here. In the blog-o’sphere. Finally.

I struggled with what would be the first official post. It should be prolific after all this time, right? Grand in nature. Broad in scope… and then I thought – sod it – just introduce yourself!

So - my full name is Thomas John Gallahue – 2nd Generation Irish – living in West London. I was brought up in a fiercely proud Irish house hold – full of Faith, Gaa Sports, Music and family. All of these things have slowly seeped into the art that I create.

I gained a BA Hons Degree from Central St. Martins college and currently work as an Art Teacher in a Secondary School, as well as creating Art / Illustrations for a number of clients in the UK and Ireland. I’m married to an amazing woman who is incredibly supportive of what I do – as well as being my soundboard and chief reviewer! I still live in West London – with aspirations of living back home in Ireland… one day!

There will be no shortage of passion in this blog. Sometimes you may agree with me, sometimes not. I want to hear from you. Anytime and all the time.

So, there you have it. My little introduction to the blog-o’sphere. I want to use this space to record my thoughts, unveil new pieces of work, and comment on things that matter to me. If you have questions or comments, please ask!

Tom