Jonathan Byrne is a professional mid-career artist who lives in the coastal town of Blackrock in Dublin, Ireland. After many years of making images and exhibiting at home and abroad, he returned to a subject that has always enthralled him, the Face of Christ. The images, of which there are over 30 in different colours, are being assembled into an exhibition that will go on tour in Europe in 2018. I interviewed him via email over the past week.

Melanie: How would you describe yourself?

JB: I would describe myself as a servant to a thought that a life should be spent in crafting a decorative, and, hopefully, a more beautiful world around you. This can be done with prayer devotions or parenthood or building nice roads or colourful gardens but in my case, the images are the thing. I believe that there is an appetite amongst a new generation…