Drawn from Life: An Autobiography

by Rowel Friers

Rowel Frier's keen eye, sharp memory and delighted interest in the people and places of his native Belfast have all contributed to his outstanding reputation as one of Ireland's best-known and best-loved artists and cartoonists.

In this remarkable illustrated memoir his strong visual sense emerges in words as well as pictures as he describes his life — the excitable, talented small boy baffled by the unpredictability of adults; the dreamy young man learning his trade as a commercial artist; the hilarious embarrassment of his first life class in the college of art; the camaraderie and banter of the artists and writers who congregated in Campell's café; the pleasures of family relationships, marriage and children.

His political cartoons and caricatures — distinctive, witty and, as the Troubles tore the heart out of the North, increasingly black and prophetic — brought him a huge audience of appreciative fans. But few of them knew of the 'well of darkness' that lay behind the fame — the tragedy of family loss and the recurring nervous breakdowns that had to be confronted and overcome with courage and, ultimately, humour.

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994