‘Upon Small Shoulders’ raises €19,500 for ‘Penny Dinners’

Sinéad O’Connor raised a staggering €34,000 for the charity ‘Penny Dinners‘ at Whyte’s art auction in the RDS last night (see her post).

Sinead’s put two of her paintings up for auction; a portrait of Sinéad as a child by Thomas Ryan and my ‘upon small shoulders’, they were lots 150 and 151, so it was a nerve-racking wait watching each of the preceding lots go under the hammer. Eventually ‘lot 500’ her portrait, was presented and bidding shot from the hundreds to thousands and was eventually sold for a magnificent €8,500 (I had the absolute pleasure of meeting the buyer after the event). Next up was ‘lot 151’ ‘upon small shoulders’ I could hardly breathe – then the biding took off eventually ending at an incredible €19,500 I was stunned. I’m hopeful to discover who the bidder was – I’d love to know where my painting’s new home will be. Sinead was understandably thrilled with the results and very generous with her praise for my painting.

A huge thanks needs to be given to Sinéad O’Connor for her unceasing selfless generosity, she is a most wonderful woman. She could have left her paintings hanging on her wall instead she decided to auction them to raise money for ‘Penny Dinners’.

Thanks to the new owner of ‘upon small shoulders’ for your benevolence and for liking my painting, I hope it will please the eye for many years. And congratulations to ‘Penny Dinners’ and the people under their care who are the deserving recipients of this wonderful success.

Thank you Sinéad, I’m indebted to you for your appreciation of my work and for giving ‘upon small shoulders’ and me a global audience. I’m very proud to know you.

N.

upon small shoulders

Sinéad is selling ‘upon small shoulders’ for charity

My painting ‘upon small shoulders‘ is in Whyte’s forthcoming auction (see catalogue page 101).

The extremely wonderful and benevolent Sinéad O’Connor is selling two of her paintings to raise much-needed funds for ‘The Penny Dinners’ an long established Irish charity.
In case you missed one of my countless references to her album over the past year – ‘upon small shoulders’ was used as the cover of Sinéad’s latest album ‘How about I be me (and you be you)?’.
I’m so proud to be included among some of Ireland’s great artists and humbled to be facing Thomas Ryan’s portrait of Sinéad.

I hope it sells well for ‘The Penny Dinners’.

N.

Thanks everyone….especially Sineád

Thanks everyone for all the kind words about my painting ‘upon small shoulders‘ and the ‘fame’ status it’s achieving. At last after what seemed like an eternity Sineád O' Connor‘s album ‘How about I be me (and you be you?)‘ is on the shelves and getting incredible reviews. I still can’t get over seeing my work spread all over the globe albeit on the back of Sineád’s success.

When she initially approached me I was more impressed that ‘Sineád O’Connor’ was buying my painting than the exposure I’d get being associated with her album. She seemed demure and totally ordinary when I met her first, I was expecting a bit of a ‘diva’ and was blindsided by how totally unaffected she was.
Typically my mouth detached from my brain and I went into verbal autopilot. Herself and her lovely daughter Roisin were examining the painting while I was trying to act unfazed and appear like a self-confident artist – I failed on both counts! Don’t you wish you could reshoot those awkward moments. 
Over the past six months since we first met I’ve had occasional bursts of communication with Sineád, I’ve also watched her highs and desperate lows and worried about her ability to cope with the pressure that she was under.

I saw Sineád perform in the Olympia in Dublin with my daughter Lana (Roisin was one of the backing vocalists) her concert was both emotional and powerful, we were totally blown away. I knew then that her album…ouralbum…would be huge….thanks Sineád, love you.

did I happen to mention…….

OK form an orderly queue…..IT’S IN YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE…..!!!!

I’ve been waiting to have this in my hands for months…it’s been worth the wait!

In case you missed one of my many ego stroking posts here or on Facebook (where have you been for the last few months?) – the cover painting of Sinéad’s CD is ‘upon small shoulders’ by yours truly [:)]
Do I have limited edition prints did I hear you say……well as it happens…I do!

Scouts honor, ‘bragging rights’ will be wound down – eventually!