Will R Millar

The King Of The Glens

For thirty years Will led the popular “Irish Rovers” around the world with their lively brand of Celtic music. The songs they sang told stories about Unicorn, Harbour lights, boats and oceans. About Moonshine men, Tinkermen, drunken sailors, beautiful colleens, fine Irish racehorses and fast dogs and most of all about the magic of the Emerald Isle.
All of these songs implanted images in Wills soul. It was only natural therefore that all of his writings, music and paintings portrayed the same theme.

Will has been in love with painting since he was a child. He recalls how his family ate humble meals at a table cluttered with paints, brushes and small works of art, and how he used to thin his cheap oil paint by dipping his brush in the glass oil lamp that lighted the house! Will knew an old art teacher who lived in an ancient manor house full of glorious clutter, and hundreds of paintings. In exchange for art lessons Will would cut sticks for her fire.

Will says “My mother always said that I was a Jack-of-all-trades & Master-of-none. She might have been right! But the paintings that I turn out nowadays make me happy and give me great joy to paint. Isn’t that the main thing in life? What a gift God gave us when he gave us a creative soul. We all carry some of it with us and a lot of time it gets buried in the mad rush of the modern world. I urge you to find a silent place and write and hum and think just how grand and beautiful this old world really is.”

In recent times Will tours a lot less with his music and takes a bit more time to discovering nature. His most recent book “Messing About in Boats The Nautical Confessions of an Unsinkable Irishman” to his great surprise made it into the top ten in Canada for Non-Fiction. Inspired by this Will has spent the past year painting subjects that belong in my story. He feels that the characters and the boats, seascapes, harbours and all are part of him.

We, at Irish Art Plus, are honoured to have been invited to introduce his artistic talents to the art buying public in this part of the world, a region very dear to his heart, and where Will spent his early years before heading off to Canada.
We have several pieces currently available and each of these has been attracting tremendous interest since going on display in our gallery just a few weeks ago. Many of these paintings accurately depict the characters, customs and activities of the Ireland of yesteryear and each tells its own story. We strongly recommend that you have a look at the various works on display all of which the artist has kindly agreed to offer at an initial special introductory price.