ARTIST Colin Davidson has spoken of the "rare connection" he felt while painting singer-songwriter Christy Moore.
The Co Down painter posted his portrait of the veteran folk musician on his Twitter and Facebook sites at the weekend.
He said he had finished the portrait a few weeks ago, just before the lockdown.
"Christy sat for me last year," he wrote.
"I had been a fan of his music and of Planxty’s, since my teens so our meeting was all the more meaningful for me.
"I sensed a rare connection, a deep engagement, so much so that, when I returned to the studio to start the painting, I could only paint Christy looking at me - aware of me breathing the same air, our thoughts intertwined.
"I hope the painting holds something of this and that you feel this same connection."
By yesterday, the painting had been liked almost 7,000 times on Twitter, with one person commenting, "That look can tell a few stories and now that look has been captured superbly".
Moore (74), who grew up in Co Kildare and is best known for songs including Ride On and Lisdoonvarna, was one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts.
He and his band have had to cancel shows because of the coronavirus epidemic and, in a Facebook message to Scottish fans last month, he said: "Hopefully we will see you all again when things get back to normal. Stay safe everyone. Let the music keep your spirits high."
Mr Davidson has painted famous figures from Brad Pitt and Queen Elizabeth to Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley.
In June, former US president Bill Clinton told how he was moved by his pensive portrait which had captured him in a way he would "not be prepared to show myself".
In 2015, one of the artist's best-known exhibitions, Silent Testimony, featured 18 portraits of people who had experienced loss, trauma and pain as the result of the Troubles.
