Home Is Where The Art Is

Highly-acclaimed artist, Gerard Burns, has enjoyed working with Celtic FC Foundation, bringing his work to the East End of Glasgow.

- Martin Dalziel

EVERYONE who is born with a skill or a talent has two choices laid in front of them. Firstly, whether to use those abilities or not and, secondly, whether to use them for good or simply for selfish gains.

For Celtic fan and artist Gerard Burns it’s clear that he is blessed with talent. His extensive array of paintings and portraits which hang in galleries, businesses and in homes around Scotland attest to that.

He has also undoubtedly used his skills for good, providing not only pleasure for those who view his works but tackling important topics with his art, with each and every painting carrying a message from the artist’s brush on to the canvas and into the mind of the viewer.

However, his recent work with Celtic FC Foundation has moved his work on to a new level, helping to broaden the horizons of children and adults in the charity’s target areas of Glasgow and show them that art isn’t just for the ‘upper echelons’ of society – it can be a way of life.

Burns, a Celtic fan all his days, held an exhibition at the Shandwick Square Shopping Centre in Easterhouse in December, showcasing his work to local residents and school students as part of a Foundation-sponsored event, one of many he’s been involved in over a four-year period.

Amongst his paintings on display were images of former Celtic boss Neil Lennon, Scottish comedy icon Billy Connolly and the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

The reaction from those who attended the event was an honest and lasting one that has given Burns a new zest for his work and highlighted, in his eyes, the importance of making art available to all.

“Culture is important at whatever level and the truth is there’s a huge swath of the Scottish population who are, for various reasons, excluded,” the 55-year-old artist told the