Biography
Patrick was born to Irish parents in London in 1948. He began painting and sculpting at the age of twelve. His early years were spent in the galleries of London and he received support and tuition from many contemporary painters and sculptors. A thorough training in art restoration gave him an excellent grounding in a wide variety of techniques. Having exhibited round the world, he came to live in Ireland in 1980 and has become a powerful and beneficial influence, founding many projects including galleries, exhibitions, workshops, charity events and work with cerebral palsy children, inner city youth and refugees.
His main influences in painting and sculpture include Turner, Bacon, Yeats, Lavery, Michael Angelo, Giagometi and Henry Moore. Frances Bacon gave hime advice on his early work and put him in touch with the Marylebone Gallery, which gave him his first exhibition in London.
Past patrons of his projects include Robert Ballagh, Ciril Cusack, The Hon Lady Goulding, Senator Ald Sean Haughey, Senator Ald Carmencita Headerman, Senator David Norris, Sean Ryan and Catherine McGuinness.
Quotation from John Fitzpatrick's book on Kilkenny
'Patrick Randall's paintings at the Mayors Walk beside Kilkenny Castle were my favourite works at this year's Art Festival. It's a matter of taste, of course, but there is something utterly compelling about Randall's spiritual compositions. Cosmic or psychic themes - and the influence of the English painter William Blake inspire all his works. Each work offers a fresh insight into other worlds beyond the physical. You see exploding supernovas in the depth of space, swirling vortices of cosmic energy, portals into parallel dimensions, shimmering land and skyscapes and enchanting vistas of idyllic perfection that call to mind descriptions of near death experiences.
Mr Randall makes the invisible world visible. There are beings of light and benevolence, gently perceived through the thinnest of veils that separate this world from the higher levels of spirit. The painter was born in London, but has lived and worked in Kilkenny since 1980. As well as painting, he sculpts, composes poetry and writes plays and short stories. He receives much of his inspiration while meditating, which he does whenever he can find the time. He feels that this process of self realisation puts him in touch with the 'far country' of the spirit. He then tries to convey a glimpse or a fragment of what he has heard, seen, dreamt or otherwise perceived in those altered states of consciousness. Viewed from the street opposite where they hang, the paintings have a way of pulling your eyes towards them - a strange, eerie, almost hypnotic quality that woos whatever smattering of creativity you have in you. I noticed quite a few people falling for the siren-like call of the compelling mystical force that ia at the heart of all his paintings spread across the ancient wall.'