Killyleagh artist ‘Duxy’ makes huge contribution to charities through his art
Killyleagh artist Darren (Duxy) Leahy is exhibiting a selection of his paintings in Killyleagh Library, situated in the town’s High Street (writes Chris Scott).
The local artist’s third exhibition was launched on Wednesday 20th July and has been proving to be a great success among locals and visitors alike.
Duxy’s art journey began during his last two years at Down Academy. He recalled:“Trevor Woods was my art teacher. A fantastic teacher… art was the only subject I excelled at.”
Duxy attained an A-grade with merit for his 0-Level Art, inspiring him to follow painting as a career. He recalls that the first painting he sold, for the sum of ten pounds, was at the age of 16 when he was at school. After a brief attempt at A-Level art, he found life pulling him in a different direction.
He said: ” I did have the occasional requests from friends and family to paint. I received my first commission for a sketch in 1996. Later I sold my first international work despite having been criticised by an esteemed artist.”
Earlier in his career Duxy had always dreamt of having an exhibition but he felt his paintings were not up to standard. “I thought my paintings weren’t good enough and that I wasn’t worth it
“There was a time when things in my life had slipped very badly and I had reached my lowest point. I suffering from severe depression and anxiety and sought help and managed to change my life around and continue my journey in a new direction.”
Duxy still had a passion for creativity and after years of inactivity he returned to the canvas in 2017 having been persuaded to create a commission once again. Not wholly content with his chosen mediums of watercolour, pen and ink, he began to explore working with acrylics. He found himself relearning his skills in new ways and has since sold work all over the world, whilst maintaining his ever-growing fan base at home through commissions and exhibitions.
His first exhibition was held in the Sir Hans Sloane Centre in Killyleagh in September 2020. At that time he was anxious about the reaction of the public. He said: “I didn’t really want to do it. I had set up my canvas and expected to be painting as I didn’t think there would be much interest in my work.”
Duxy’s first exhibition proved a real success with hundreds of viewers on the first day. The majority of the paintings on display sold within only a few days. Duxy was astounded by the reaction and positive feedback. “Are these people really talking to me and telling me these things?” he pondered.
He also donated a painting for a raffle which raised over £700 for the centre, enabling support for a Science Club for children.
Duxy was one of two local artists to exhibit their works in the Dufferin Coaching Inn and Hall, Killyleagh in April. And his generosity is well-known amongst the local community.
In 2021 he donated two paintings to the RNLI in Portaferry and the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team to raise much needed funds, and also donated another painting for a raffle which raised hundreds of pounds for homeless charities in Northern Ireland. Macmillan Cancer also received £1100 from the proceeds of two of his paintings featuring scenes from the Tollymore Forest area.
In recent weeks Duxy gave away four of his paintings to help raise awareness of a training course delivered by Suicide Down to Zero, a local charity dedicated to eradicating suicide in Northern Ireland. He was appointed to the charity’s board in October 2021. As a results of his efforts eleven people registered for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) which was held in the Crossgar area.
Through rediscovering his love for art, Duxy decided to explore and change his life, by helping others use painting to help their experience of wellbeing. Knowing that art was one side of the skills required,
Duxy commenced a pathway of learning. He began with a series of Diplomas in Art Therapy Self-healing and Art Therapy Understanding the Self, accredited by Renaissance Life Therapies, Harley Street.
Through his own self-discovery, he has completed a Wellness Recovery Action Plan and became a Five Steps to Wellbeing Ambassador. After running a number of wellbeing programmes under the banner “Duxy Leahy – Art, Mind and Soul” he completed his ASIST training and since 2021 has delivered over 15 programmes incorporating the Five Steps to Wellbeing programme for a number of community organisations.
Speaking about his exhibition to FM105 Down Community Radio recently, he told presenter Chris Scott “It is like a whirlwind adventure that you never thought would happen. It still feels strange to see my work hanging on walls. Humbling.”
Duxy’s interview with Chris will be broadcast on FM105 on Wednesday 24th August (7-8pm).
Duxy’s artwork can be viewed at Killyleagh Library, 52 High Street, Killyleagh during library opening hours, until Wednesday 31st August.
To find out more about Duxy’s work go to his website at:
 Leahy is exhibiting a selection of his paintings in Killyleagh Library, situated in the town’s High Street. ){kind=link}