Feb 14th 2012 – take a look at the new Celtic Miscellany page, for some new versions of some very old Welsh and Irish tales.
(the reproduction of these images and writing is the property of the artist)
Gareth Allen, or as known here Gareth McNamee Allen, is an artist, more specifically an illustrator, painter and cartoonist and this is a makeshift BIOGRAPHY of the man himself. If some of the information below seems enigmatically terse this is because I decided it was better to put something up than nothing and so this is how it is for now.
By the way, McNamee is my mother’s maiden name and is there to distinguish myself from sundry pencil squeezers the world around named Gareth Allen.
TIMELINE
• Born, June 8th 1968 on the Gower, South Wales.
• Spent childhood and grew up in the village of Llandeilo Ferwallt, (aka Bishopston).
• 1979 – spent two weeks in London with older brother, life irrevocably changed.
• 1981 – spent summer in Galway, Ireland with relatives, start of a long relationship with Galway and its denizens.
• 1987 – left home, lived in squats in London and stone cottages in Ireland. Started creating artwork and promotional material for Galway band, Toasted Heretic.
• 1992 met Moira
• 1993 went to live in Asturias, North west Spain
• 1994 went to live in Madrid, had first proper exhibition of paintings.
• 1996 went to live in Valencia
• 1997 went to live in Dublin
• 1999 wrote “One Jago Upperdog” a picaresque comic novel that no agent or publisher was interested in.
• 1999 married Moira.
• 2000 – 2003 Clockworks, Irish Times, IGI award.
• 2003 went to live in Seville, various exhibitions, work for local press, cartoon strip – “El Duende Rascarabias”.
• 2004 – Oscar born.
• 2005 – Did artwork for re-issue of Toasted Heretic’s “Songs for Swinging Celibates”, caused minor scandal and appeared briefly on RTE news.
• 2007 – Louis born.
• 2003 – now, Commissions, exhibitions, etc
• 2010 – now Podcast radio shows
• Currently…Jude illustrations