Tim Moloney’s influences are clear to Irish Country Living the moment we step into his on-farm art gallery in Co Clare.

From scenes of the countryside, fair days, the “characters” of rural Ireland, his paintings portray the beautiful scenery of the west of Ireland and also offer a glimpse into times past.

“I have a great old grá for the west,” says Tim. This is very much apparent in his work, with Clare, Galway, Mayo and Kerry reflected in his paintings. Documenting rural Ireland, past and present, is important to Tim.

“Having grown up on a farm in rural Clare in the late ’50s and ’60s, life was much slower. I experienced all the turf cutting, saving of the hay and the old ways. You could say I’m a bit romantic. I like to capture what I remember from that time,” he says.

“The old people at that time had great expression and character. I have to say that they fitted into the landscape very well and complemented the landscape, they were in unison with it. Country life has changed so much. Those characters are getting scarce,” he adds.

Tim, a retired teacher, started painting 30 years ago and has “never left down the brush since”.

“I started painting in the mid-1980s. It came out of the blue even though I always had an interest in art,” he says.

“At the time, I think I was off work for a few days and I just decided to take it up. There was a lovely Paul Henry print up on the wall at home and I thought it was gorgeous and I said I’d try my hand at it. He’s one of my inspirations. I really like his style, how he handles landscape and light and the interplay between both in the west of Ireland.”

He painted through the ’90s while teaching in a local primary school, achieving success at home in Clare and Ireland, with his very first sold piece bought by Sir Henry Grattan Bellew.

However, it was in 2000 when Glendara Art really took off when Tim was asked to bring an exhibition of his paintings to St Louis in the US by a friend who was the honorary Irish consulate in St Louis.

The show was a sellout and Tim and his wife Ann started exploring the possibility of doing prints to sell locally and abroad. It took “a lot of trial and error” finding the right printers and figuring out the volumes needed.

“Tim is a brilliant artist, but going into the print scene was a departure for us. There were many times when we said: ‘What are we doing,’” says Ann. “We have fabulous shops that have been so loyal to us.”

In 2012, QVC asked Tim to sell his work on its St Patrick’s Day special. The prints sold out in four minutes and he has appeared on the shopping channel twice since then.

“It was daunting,” he admits. “You must remember that at peak time you could have anywhere from 20-30 million viewers, coast to coast.”

Since then, Tim’s work has been sold across the world, from America to Africa and Asia, with a good percentage of sales through his website and commissions made through email. His paintings are even hanging on the walls of the homes of former Taoisigh.

“One thing leads to another – to think we’re in the middle of nowhere in Co Clare,” he says.

Tim’s originals range from €300-€800, while prints can sell from €10-€250, depending on the size. His work can be purchased online but visitors are also welcome to his gallery in Feakle, Co Clare.

Thirty years since he picked up a paintbrush on a rainy day, Tim could have hardly envisaged what would happen next. However, he reckons that all talents emerge eventually.

“If you’re enthusiastic and passionate about something, it’s going to come to the fore,” he says.

Visit www.glendaraart.com or call 061 924125/ 087 2204635 if you are interested in his work.