7 minute read
HITTING THE CANVAS
FF/AP Geoff Tracey talks to Adam Hyland about creating works of art
FF/AP Tracey with his stencil work of Adrian O’Grady P Pablo Picasso once said that art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. With this in mind, it was fitting to see the artworks of emergency services personnel go on display as a collective at the Frontline Emergency Services
Art and Photographic Exhibition held at the Printworks in Dublin Castle in
August.
Featuring paintings and photographs from members of the various services, depicting either their experiences or their impressions and inspirations over the last 18 months when all emergency services were stretched to the limit by the pandemic, it included a work by Dublin Fire Brigade FF/AP Geoff
Tracey.
His piece “A Fresh Coat” – a spray paint and acrylic on canvas – depicting a young girl painting a sun over an enlarged depiction of Coronavirus, took its place among works by other frontline workers, and is something he is very proud of.
“It is nice to have your art recognised and framed somewhere, to be able to bring my family in to have a look at it hanging, to be able to say I did that,” FF/AP Tracey, who works on
A Watch in Tallaght, tells me. “I don’t care about it being sold, just having it hanging in a gallery was important to me, especially because of the subject matter and everything we have been through as emergency personnel in the last couple of years, and the message I tried to get across in it.”
“A Fresh Coat” which featured in the recent Frontline Emergency Services Art and Photographic Exhibition
Howya Horse
CREATIVITY
This work is just the latest from FF/AP Tracey, who has been commissioned in the past by DFB colleagues, friends and local groups to bring his eye-catching imagery to life, especially in public settings. Some may recall his beautiful depiction of the much-missed Adrian O’Grady, which was completed last year, or seen his works around the county.
“I was always interested in art, always drawing as a child,” he says, “but I didn’t even do it for my Leaving Cert, but when I went to college I diversified and went into landscape design, which has creative elements to it. But when I joined Dublin Fire Brigade, I took it up in earnest, especially in the last ten years and particularly in the last two or three years, when I have been making a proper go of it.”
Self-taught, he started off painting images on bedroom walls, he tells me, and from there he went off and taught myself how to spray paint, watching artists online and learning how to do it. “It was always a hobby, but I wanted to learn how to do it properly,” he tells me.
“From there I branched out into doing stencil art, and I began hand-making all of my stencils. The Adrian O’Grady piece, for instance, was all hand-cut stencils, and the process I use to make these pictures is very time-consuming, there’s probably 20 hours of work involved in making it, but the result is good and it looks just like a stylised photo of him.”
That particular picture came about through a fellow DFB and Athletics Club member Podge Thompson. “We were doing the Big Jessie Challenge fundraising run in remembrance of Aido during lockdown, and we came up with the idea,” he says. “The Athletics Club sponsored it and paid for the materials, so I created it and we presented it to Aido’s wife Helen. That picture now sits proudly in her house, and means a lot to me.
“I was very fond of Aido,” he continues. “I worked with him in Dolphin’s Barn because although we were on different Watches our paths often crossed, and he was a Station Officer in Tallaght when he passed away so we would have chatted several times a week.”
The process of stencil-based artworks itself is complicated, and takes time to master.
“I get a photograph – that one was taken of Aido at the top of a ladder years ago on O’Connell Street, before digital photography – and manipulate it in photoshop into however many colours I want to use,” he says. “In the case of Aido’s picture, it was 11 or 12 different colours, then I get 11 or 12 copies at full size and cut out each colour and spray and layer them up. It’s a complicated process to get your head around to do it properly, knowing the order to put them in. It just takes practice.”
WORKS
The piece from the recent exhibition also stands out. “I had the idea of that image knocking around in my head for a while – a little girl painting the sun over COVID-19,” FF/AP Tracey tells me. “I had it drawn and went about stencilling it as a canvas, using the same process as I used with the Aido piece, and am very proud of the results.”
His works have also adorned otherwise unremarkable pieces of street features, such as electricity boxes and walls. “I’m not just spraying walls,” he is quick to point out, “but I have covered a lot of walls in my local area for various projects, such as the artist collective Dublin Canvas.”
I ask if he has a favourite from these, and FF/AP Tracey says one of the beloved Dublin character Patrick Finlay, otherwise known as Paddy Drac, who donned a full Dracula costume every St Patrick’s Day and at local festivals and events, springs to mind.
“The feedback I got from that was great,” he says. “Paddy was a real character and everyone knew who he was. I grew up around the corner from him and asked his permission to paint the picture, but unfortunately he passed away before I could finish it.”
Another favourite of locals, “Howya Horse”, has recently been painted over due to Dublin Canvas’ approach of replacing artworks every three years in order to give other artists a chance at exposure.
“I’m sure Paddy Drac will be painted over in the coming years too, but that is just how the process works with street art, it’s transient temporary, an evolving art form,” he says.
INFLUENCES & INSPIRATION
When it comes to influences, FF/AP Tracey mentions prominent Irish artists who he says he admires and aspires to be like, including activist and artists ADW, who he describes as “the best stencil artists in the country”, and Maser, who he sees as “a pioneer in that he has gone from street art to established artist”.
When it comes to inspiration, FF/AP Tracey says a lot of his work is “trial and error” and that while many of his works are commissioned requests, he likes to “try come up with modern ideas with a bit of a twist and a message”.
He returns to the exhibition piece as an example. “It’s a message disguised as a child painting the sky,” he says, “and you look at it and at first that’s all it is, but when you look closer you see what it is I am getting at. It’s those things I want to aspire to, things that make you think about what you
are looking at and seeing the message within it.” FF/AP Tracey is also full of encouragement for any other DFB member with creative talents, and urges them to be proud of what they do.
“When I am at various stations or just meeting other DFB members, the amount of people who have creative interests – whether it is painting, poetry, whatever – is huge, there are lots of people doing it. Maybe they are shy or embarrassed about it, because in our line of work there is a lot of mick-taking, but if people can get a bit of recognition, like I did with my gallery piece, maybe they can be encouraged or inspired to pursue their talents. Don’t mind what anyone says, let your talent come to the fore.”
Check out FF/AP Tracey’s Instagram account to see his works: @geoff.tracey81
A favourite of FF/AP Tracey’s – Paddy Drac
FF/AP Tracey has been commissioned for several private works
