Name: Fran McCann
Occupation: Artist
Location: Gort
Favourite thing about Galway: It is one of the finest cities in the world with such a great friendly atmosphere.
Worst thing about Galway: It is changing too fast.

Artist Fran McCann has been a permanent fixture on the Galway art scene for the past ten years and recently cemented his place on the international stage by claiming a prestigious Italian award for the second year in a row.

Belfast native Fran McCann grew up in a large family, all of whom had an interest in art. From a young age, he experimented in several different forms of art but soon realised that it was going to be tough to make a living from painting alone.

He kicked off his career in commercial design, designing murals and art for the Supermac's chain of restaurants. He stayed in the position for almost 15 years, thanks to a "very supportive" Pat McDonagh, however, the job had its own constraints and Fran began to get slightly frustrated that he couldn't produce anything "too arty farty".

Twelve years ago, Fran branched out, setting up his own art school in Gort. It proved to be a strategic move and before long Fran's students were spreading the word of his talent.

"Around Christmas 2004, Tom Kenny asked me to bring in a few pieces to the gallery after hearing some of my students talk about my work. They sold quickly, so he asked me to bring in some more!"

Shortly after, Fran was granted his first exhibition at the Kenny Gallery, which was a resounding success. He has also shown his work at various other venues around Galway and in 2006 displayed his paintings at the international art exhibition 'Estense Castle' in Italy. This was to the beginning of great success in Europe, culminating in prestigious awards last December.

Fran was "shocked and delighted" to claim two European awards in the space of a week before Christmas. The first was in Ferrara, Italy and the second was the Michelangelo Buonarroti Award, which was presented in a glittering ceremony in Italy. This was an even more amazing feat given that Fran had claimed the same award 12 months previously!

"We didn't head over for the presentation the first time, as we weren’t really sure what the award was all about, but when they sent the statuette over to me they included a DVD of the award ceremony as well. It was a huge event and looked fantastic, so when I heard that I was to receive the honour for a second time, we were on the first plane!

"It was the 500th anniversary of the painting of the Sistine Chapel as well as a big occasion for Human Rights, so it was very memorable. There were four or five presidents of different organisations, as well as people from Amnesty International and the captain of police! It was much bigger than we imagined and was an amazing experience."

Fran describes his work as both realistic and abstract and says he is inspired by everything from music to nature. He also has a great interest in photography and has taken "tens of thousand of pictures" over the years.

Looking forward, Fran hopes to concentrate on developing more creative and abstract work for exhibition, in addition to his commercial works. He creates his pieces from his home on Lough Cultra, outside Gort.

For more information, log on to www.franmccann.com.

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