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“My art is pure and un-judged, I am creating for myself. It is personal and private; whereas with a film, comedy show or music you expect people to be critiquing, watching, assessing. Art is different, it really does liberate you.”


then I realised I was quite good at it” says Connolly. He began sketching desert islands, one after the other, each island taking on its own characteristics and personality. “The fifth island was, I noticed, consider- ably better than the first one” he recalls. This progression in such a short time frame excited him and he felt compelled to pursue his sketching as a relaxing and rewarding hobby. Connolly has sketched and


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drawn characters direct from his imagination at almost every opportunity since then. Taking it up with more energy and passion just two years ago, he began to create the Born On A Rainy Day series, six of which are presented in his debut signed limited edition collection. “I like to think that people will take their own interpretation away from them. There is no story or human faces but they are just what my wife (Pamela Stephen- son, actress turned psycholo- gist) calls ‘a bit weird and a bit strange.’ Connolly's art has been compared to cave paintings and is what he would call 'primi- tive - half fantasists or naif's if you will' possessing a charming simplicity, yet an extraordinary self-awareness and humanity. The characters are face-


less, completely anonymous; seemingly devoid of emotion or expression. It is perhaps, the simplicity of these characters that allows the viewer to connect with them so deeply, as there is nothing contrived or intended about this work. “I'm not entirely sure what the outcome will be each time I


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begin to sketch, I just 'create'” explains Connolly. In Walkies it is an image about proportion and authority as well as our relationship with dogs that just makes him smile. Pink Tie & Hanky is an apparently ordinary trio of suited men; Connolly says he always wore a pink tie and hanky when he was ‘much younger and dandier’, so that was the starting point although it went in an altogether different direction and is open to individual interpretation. His personal favourite is the beautifully defined Blue Angel which in his words is simply ‘ a wee fed up angel,’ which makes him laugh. The six drawings have no


connection to each other but all display Connolly’s incredible attention to detail and impres- sive dexterity with a pen. “I don’t even use a ruler” he laughs which seems almost an impos- sibility judging by the straight lines of the drawings. He likes to work in his Scottish home with a very strong ultra violet light that allows him to do the black pen


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