Cecil McCartney - Hey Alethia I Want You Liquid Blue

Cecil McCartney (1938-01-05 - 2018-10-24), also known as King Om, was a Northern Irish artist & musician who lived in Bangor "where much of his early life was spent" and who as a painter worked with the Kenny Gallery in Galway, Ireland. On the gallery's site the bio also states that "Cecil McCartney was born in County Tyrone and received his early education in Omagh and Belfast. He studied at Belfast College of Art and Kennington College, London, where he became president. His subsequent travels resulted in influences from Paris, Rome, Madrid and Greece as well as museums of modern art in the United States (...) Travelling in many European countries, the USA and Hawaii, McCartney derived inspiration from the lives and work of the great composers, notably Wagner, Beethoven and Bach, and his studies (...). The artist has been deeply involved in the world of rock music and his work is in the collections of John Lennon, George Harrison, Eric Clapton and members of The Who and Traffic. Former Queen Frederica of Greece owns examples of McCartney's work, as do astronauts Wally Schirra and Colonel J B Irwin, Steve McQueen, the eminent actor Martin Sheen and the Dahl collection. He also features in the art collections of Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Keith Moon, David Carradine, Steve Winwood of Traffic, Bono of U2, or Colin Middleton." He used to hang out with Roger Daltrey (according to Joe Creighton) and apparently, he was "the inspiration behind " and possibly a "distant cousin of Sir Paul" (though that remains unconfirmed). Cecil McCartney & Van Morrison met around 1966 in Belfast, during which time the painter was being named "Belfasts answer to Andy Warhol". According to Morgan Enos in Billboard (2018-11-29), "Back in 1966, Morrison visited the Belfast, Ireland, home of his friend, painter Cecil McCartney. Hed been working on some paintings themed around astral projection, and they caught the singers eye ; hed go on to translate the visuals into a song." Cecil McCartney & Van Morrison remained friends, apparently "going off on walks on Bangor Golf Course

• thekennygallery.ie