David Egan Cover Story McGrath Magazine

HAND ON ART With his roots in Ireland, customers in New York and an art gallery in Paddington, the world is David Egan's oyster.

FROM THE MAELSTROM of beeping horns and shoving shoppers at the cusp of Glenmore road and Oxford Street, the Egan gallery offers white, bright, welcome calm. Sunlight floods through large windows, filling the space with warmth and adding even more vibrancy to the paintings hanging from the walls.

On the third floor is the studio. Three works in progress rest on easels, pots and tubes of paint stashed beneath. Spatters of every shade decorate the floor, as if an excited toddler has run amok moments before. Everything is very modern, from the vivid colours and abstract patterns of the paintings to the space itself. David Egan, owner and artist, presses a button on a keypad near the door, and the blinds in the skylight flip open.

His artistic beginnings in Dublin were nowhere near as flash. "My parents didn't agree with pocket money, so I had to make my own if I wanted to buy anything," he says, eyes darting around actively. I would draw a little picture and sell it at the checkout in the shopping centre for 12 pence."

Successful though his early enterprises were, Egan never felt art was where his career lay. After studying graphic design, he promptly relocated to Sydney and went into advertising. "It actually gave me a bit of discipline." He recalls of is days as art director at J. Walter Thompson. "I was still able to let the creativity flow, but it helped me learn how to refine it, and focus on communicating a bold idea."

Four years passed before the art bug began to work its way back into Egan's system. He tested the water by selling some pictures at the local markets. "Someone came up and mentioned that they would look good screen-printed onto t-shirts, so for a period I did that," he says. "That was the starting point to making a living from art."

More than 10 years on, there are still t-shirts on sale in the Egan Gallery, but with a difference. "Back then, they were specific t-shirt designs," he explains. "Now, I just use elements extracted from the paintings I'm working on, which is why I call them 'Off the Wall'. Painting can be a very narrow audience, and I think this can help communicate the art more globally; help it reach more people."

The global aspect is something Egan likes to return to. Before the purpose-built Paddington gallery opened last November, Egan was based in The Rocks, with its eclectic mix of international visitors. "Australia's my studio, but I know the rest of the world exists," he says. "I try to keep track of where the paintings end up, whether that's New York, Germany or Rome. Art becomes a big part of people's lives, so they like to keep in touch."

The pieces, he says, are popular with entrepreneurs. "Maybe they like the energy, the colours or the optimism, he suggests. "As long as they like it, that's what I want. And as long as it's not purely decorative. The more you look, the more ideas you see."

Meanwhile, one well-known owner is Elton John. Following a highly successful U2-themed exhibition which was personally endorsed by the band, Universal Music commissioned a painting to present to Elton John - another of their signed artists - as a gift. No doubt the signer-songwriter will be delighted to hear that Egan's work has been steadily rising in value over the last few years.


Name: David Egan
Lives: Centennial Park
Hobby: Collecting contemporary furniture.
Favourite restaurant: Bills for breakfast with the kids.
Favourite colour: Blue


As for Egan himself, his favourite artists are Picasso and Keith Haring: not just for the paintings, but for their way of working. " Generally they'd paint in one sitting, never standing back until it was done," he says. "I like that, because the scary thing about a painting is that you have a certain head-space that day you start it, and if you tackle it again the next day you might have a different energy."

That said, not all of Egan's work is done by dusk; one of the half-completed paintings in his studio has been there over a month. "The funny thing is, it's always a longer process than the time you spend standing in front of it," he muses. "Your whole life and everything you've ever learnt goes towards it. So even if it took just an hour to paint, it didn't really."

Words: Ceri David
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