A Somerset artist who has sold paintings to royalty and a global superstar is encouraging people to put down their phones and get painting.
Liam O’Farrell shared what it’s like to be a professional artist with West Buckland WI at their February meeting.
He also urged members to pick up a brush and try painting for themselves and offered several hints and tips to get started.
Starting out as a technical illustrator, producing drawings for Haynes manuals, he turned to painting full-time in 1999.
Fans of Liam’s work now include the singer Adele who purchased one his works called the Poison Gardener. Liam said that, at the time, he was completely unaware of Adele’s identity and superstar status.
He has also produced two paintings for King Charles.
Through his intricate paintings, Liam celebrates the everyday routines of life. He said there was nothing ordinary about the ordinary, which has its own special magic.
Influenced by painters William Hogarth, LS Lowry and Stanley Spencer, Liam’s paintings are a unique blend of architecture within the context of people living their day to day lives.
His work is extensively published and has appeared in the Guardian, The Times, Tatler and many art publications.
Recent examples include an illustration for Tatler about the Whips office and its role in Parliament and a painting of a redwing for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds magazine.
He has also exhibited at the prestigious Royal Academy Summer exhibition.
Liam said painting outside was not without risk. He described a ‘brush with the police’ when painting an industrial scene of houses and the Tate and Lyle sugar factory, which is near London City Airport.
Inside half an hour, two police officers arrived in a patrol car and demanded to know what he was doing.
“I told them: ‘I’m hardly a terrorist, I’m watercolouring’. One policeman said: ‘You’re not painting the airport, are you?’ I told him I was painting the sugar factory. He said: ‘No one paints factories’. I told him Lowry painted loads of factories.”
Liam said the incident puzzled him as he has painted in countries around the world without ever attracting police attention.
To provide insight into how he develops a painting he described the iterative process which resulted in a spectacular painting of the beach at Cromer.
He concluded by donating an original painting of West Buckland’s village church, which was raffled in aid of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Melodie Lane (pictured above) was the lucky winner.
West Buckland WI president Christine Wombwell thanked Liam for an entertaining and informative presentation.
Following tea and biscuits, the WI continued with a report from the president.
She said activities were being planned to celebrate West Buckland WI’s 90th anniversary, including a celebration dinner at Oake Manor on July 8th.
Committee member Gill McGoun encouraged all members to have their say about what they liked about West Buckland WI and ideas for the future. This will help plan the upcoming programme of speakers and activities.
Committee member Christine Warn explained the feedback process and also provided a breakdown of the ideas and votes for the 2026 Christmas party, gathered at the January meeting.
To further support Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, the WI is holding a table top sale at the Wellington Scout Hall on May 9th.
The evening concluded with reports from secretary Cheryl Bailey and treasurer Carol Smith.
West Buckland WI meets at 7.30 pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the village hall, and new members are always welcome.
The next meeting is on Tuesday, March 10th when Bel Deering from the Somerset Rivers Authority will talk about the impact of flooding, particularly affecting the area bordering the River Tone.
If you would like to visit or join West Buckland WI, please contact Christine Wombwell on 01823 652863 or 07736712273.