Joyful, buoyant, vibrant, vital, bold, and alive are just some of the adjectives that come to mind when viewing a Brendan Loughlin painting. Loughlin, a self taught artist formerly of the picturesque town of Guilford, Connecticut, and currently residing and painting in Westbrook, CT, has attracted the attention of fellow artists, the media and collectors from all over the US. He is a phenomenon – a person whose extraordinary life story, revolutionary new method of painting (Pastic™) and brilliantly colorful paintings all reflect the unique individual that is Brendan Loughlin. In a sense, he is a sort of “Pied Piper” – whenever Brendan Loughlin shows his work or makes an appearance, an aura of the happiness, of joy, is communicated to all.
It is astounding that Brendan Loughlin’s ascendance in the art world has happened at all. It is a story stranger than fiction. Much of Loughlin’s life was one obstacle to overcome after another… a dysfunctional childhood, two broken marriages, poverty, and a bout of homelessness late in life, just to name a few. Despite all odds, never giving up, overcoming all setbacks, Brendan finally achieved his dream of becoming an artist. He started to first paint at the age of 53. The energetic optimism and determination that allowed him to eventually succeed is evident in his paintings.
Another major factor that helped mold Brendan Loughlin into the unique artist that he is today is that of his new method of painting, called Pastac™. He has created a method of combining chalk pastels, painter’s tints and B-I-N shellac to create works of bold, vibrant hues and rich textures not easily duplicated by conventional means of painting. When using Pastac™, the paintings dry quickly (within five minutes) and allow the artist to build texture without compromising the quality of the color. The result is paintings with brilliant colors that will never fade in sunlight.
The dramatic life journey, the invention of the Pastac™ process, the resilient and quirky personality… these all combine into the person that is Brendan Loughlin and give rise to a unique artist of rare qualities. With his primitive and simple style, his floral, village, angel, ocean and landscape images capture an innocence, whimsy and beauty not easily duplicated by others. Make no mistake, there are many other artists out there that are of better technique and more complexity, but if you believe art is to enhance one’s life by conveying vitality for life, a joy of living and the beauty of nature, then few rival the talents of Brendan Loughlin.
Over the last few years Brendan Loughlin’s popularity has grown exponentially. The historic colonial town of Guilford, CT allowed Loughlin to place his fantastic images on various structures throughout the downtown area. Willow & Birch in Madison, CT is now representing Loughlin’s work. Newspapers throughout New England have done many feature articles on Brendan Loughlin, the man and the artist. The January 2008 issue of Yankee Magazine featured an article on Loughlin, calling him Connecticut’s modern-day Van Gogh. Brendan has appeared on CT Public TV teaching his Pastac™ method. He continues to teach Pastac™ to both professional and non-professional artists. You can find him on the Guilford green as time allows and weather permits. Or you can call him at 860-333-7338 for more information. As a result of all this publicity and word of mouth, people from all over the country have, in the past, descending on Guilford to have him teach them Pastac™. Today Brendan Loughlin continues to thrive, living in Westbrook, CT, his paintings include still lifes and landscapes of the Connecticut shoreline, including his cherished town of Guilford, CT where he lived and painted for 15 years.
