My earliest memories from my Northern Irish homeland tell me I have always been an artist at heart. So why landscapes and the creatures that inhabit them? Surely it was a childhood spent roaming the fields, woodlands and coasts of that beautiful and diverse country. Combine that with a born desire to draw and paint and there it is. However refining my vision and skills have taken many more years and miles of canvas, countless brushes, pencils, bundles of sketchbooks and of course travel.
After emigrating to to North America I began taking my easel and paint outside where I soaked up the moods, subtleties and characteristics of differing landscapes, our Rocky mountains being a particular favourite.
I love the qualities and effects of light on my chosen subjects, be it a meadow, an ocean beach, a Teton peak or on the coat of an elk in the early dawn.
Ivan is a signature member of the prestigious American Society of Marine Artists.