Sheeran’s father has shared how he encouraged his son’s creativity from an early age and changed his direction of work to support him and his brother following the 2008 financial crisis, while speaking at a charity event.
John Sheeran shared details in an illustrated talk entitled My Life In Art, which raised more than £40,000 for “two Suffolk charities that mean so much to my wife, Imogen and me” – GeeWizz and Castle Community Rooms.
Mr. Sheeran, who retired at the age of 60, has worked in the arts for over 40 years, as a curator, exhibition organizer and teacher.
He said in a souvenir program for the charity event at Elveden Hall in Suffolk: “Imogen and I encouraged Edward’s creativity, including drawing and painting, from an early age.
“In 2019, after the end of his Divide world tour, he went back to painting and produced 40 abstract photos in a month.
“As with his music, he was just incredibly driven.
“He was inspired by the technique and style of Jackson Pollock.
“I filmed and photographed him at work.”
Mr Sheeran said he and his wife had moved from their one bedroom flat in London to Hebden Bridge in ? West Yorkshire in 1986, with their son Matthew born in Halifax in 1989 and his brother Edward in 1991.
They moved to Framlingham in Suffolk in 1995, with their art consultancy Sheeran Lock.
Mr Sheeran said the company was “hardly hit by the financial crisis” from 2007 to 2008 and that he and his wife “found it difficult” to support their two sons, who were both studying music at the time.
He said they changed their “direction of work” as a result.
“Projects and sponsorship have dried up,” said Mr Sheeran.
“Our children also left home: Matthew to study classical music composition at the University of Sussex, and Edward to attend Access to Music College in Bow in the East End of London, performing and recording.
“We found it difficult to support them.
“Due to the urgent need, we had to change our working direction.
“We decided to focus on what we both wanted to do individually.
“Imogen started a jewelry business from scratch and worked from home.
“I started a public art teaching practice combining art history with art appreciation.
“After traveling so much for my work as an art curator, I decided to limit my lectures to Suffolk, and to locations less than an hour’s drive from home.
“I read hundreds of art books over many months in preparation.
“It was incredibly stimulating.
“Necessity really was the mother of invention for me when I finally created my perfect job.
“After a very difficult year where we felt we could go under, we were back on our feet.”
The two charities supported by the event Mr Sheeran spoke to are GeeWizz, which supports children and young adults with disabilities or life-limiting illness, and Castle Community Rooms in Framlingham, Suffolk.
The near-completed hall will replace the late Victorian St Michael’s Rooms, where Mr Sheeran first began public art lectures in 2008.
He said on the program printed and sponsored by Healey’s Printers that his pop star son took him to meet with art world giants, including Damien Hirst and David Hockney.
“In 2015, Edward took me to visit his friend Damien Hirst at his studio and home in Gloucestershire,” said Mr Sheeran.
“We visited Damien again in 2019, this time at his studio in central London.
“He was working on a series of cherry blossom paintings.
“Imogen and I saw them exhibited at the Fondation Cartier, Paris, in 2021.
“It was one of those special feel-good exhibits that we just didn’t want to leave.
“In 2018, Edward introduced us to David Hockney at one of his performances in Los Angeles.
“I had briefly met Hockney thirty years earlier in Bradford, West Yorkshire, when I was working there as a curator.
“In 2020, Hockney invited us both to his LA studio to see his latest work, including some of his first Normandy photographs.
“We had such a nice time with him.
“We love his unwavering positivity, how festive his art is and how he brings so much joy to so many.
“He broke open a bottle of champagne and started singing raunchy old Yorkshire songs to us.
“It was hilarious. What a highlight that visit was for both of us.
“A good and wonderful man.”
He added: “Edward encouraged me to take up art as a hobby before retirement.
“I am very much an amateur.
“I thought I was going to be hypercritical of what I was producing, but actually I didn’t care.
“I love creating landscapes – expressing what I feel, rather than capturing what I see.
“Like Edward, I give my photos away to family and friends.
“I like the idea that they have a little piece of me hanging on their wall.”
Mr Sheeran said giving the charity talk at Elveden Hall was a “real treat for me”.
“We have lived in Suffolk for 27 years and passed by the Hall many times as we went to Center Parcs or Euston Hall or Thetford Priory with our boys,” he said.
“I’ve always wanted to visit but never thought it would, as the venue has been uninhabited for decades and is now mainly used as a filming location.”
But he said he “finally got my wish” when he, his wife and Gina Long of GeeWizz Charity met Edward Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh, and he “hugged” their idea for a charity event, including an auction.
Mr Sheeran said afterwards: “I was thrilled to deliver the ‘My Life In Art’ talk to two Suffolk charities who mean so much to my wife, Imogen and me.
“Being able to give my lecture in Marble Hall, in all its exotic splendor, was a real treat for me.
“I feel blessed to have had a work life so full of interest, challenge and excitement, and to be able to share it with those invited in such a beautiful, historic home.”
Gina Long MBE, founder of GeeWizz Charitable Foundation, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Lord Iveagh for donating this highly prestigious venue and the remarkable opportunity to host a fantastic fundraising evening in Elveden, in the amazing Marble Hall, which is compared to a Taj Mahal magically transported to the cold interior of Suffolk.
“We are also deeply indebted to John Sheeran for sharing his My Life In Art during these challenging and uncertain times.”
For more information about GeeWizz Charity, see www.geewizzcharity.com
For more information on Castle Community Rooms, see www.castlecommunityrooms.co.uk