The dismal, sad weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks were an epiphany for Kevin Delaney of Bayonne. A Wall Street employee at the time, Delaney was affected by the event like much of the New York metropolitan area.
Thrust into a period of introspection, Delaney, 43, pondered where he would go professionally. But more than that, he looked deeper into himself, examining what were the things that made him happy.
At that juncture he realized that art, a long dormant passion, had been derailed by his grander plans for life and was something that he hoped to reignite.
“I had gone through the towers that morning going to work in Lower Manhattan,” Delaney said. “After that experience and getting home okay, I reflected on what happened, and it changed me; I think it changed most of us.”
“The experience reached deep into your soul. It makes you want to do something more with your existence, I know for me it did,” he said. “I wanted to appreciate life as a whole, because there were others who could not do that any longer after that day. Instead of letting all that hatred and melancholy build up and tear me apart, I needed an outlet, and a positive one. For me, it was art.”
He has been a fulltime freelance artist and graphic artist since then.
But the type of art that fostered his personal renaissance was not something he ever expected.
Going out after work to watch sports at local bars, Delaney had taken to doodling on bar napkins. The napkins gave him focus, offering a smaller canvas on which to create his work. More thought was needed to figure out which style would work best on this miniature canvas.
“I tried all different types of ink, pens, pastels, charcoals, pencils, paints, etcetera, to see what would work and what wouldn’t,” Delaney said. “That’s how it all started in a nutshell and hasn’t stopped since.”
Delaney knew he was on to something back then when, one day, he left the bar for a moment, and one of his works was swiped by the time he returned. He knew even more when he sold his first creation a bit later, in 2004.
Delaney then went through a legal process to apply for a registered trademark for his works. At first he was denied, because of the vagueness of the term “bar napkin” as it pertained to art.
“I had to show more examples of my work; ‘proof of use’ I believe was the term,” he said. “I had to show more pictures of the work, business cards, snapshots of my website, shows that I was in, signatures using Bar Napkin Art.”
About a year later, he was granted the trademark.
Since then, dozens of works have gone through the process he calls “from the soul, to the pen, to the paper.”
Delaney’s’ subjects vary, including intellectual giants such as Albert Einstein, but also characters from “The Exorcist” and “A Clockwork Orange,” as well as John Lennon and the Statue of Liberty – together, in one of his napkin pictures.
Delaney’s many art influences are obvious in his works. They include renaissance, surrealism, art nouveau, graffiti, pop, gothic, graphic design, and tattoo.
High on his list of artists are Salvador Dali, Leonardo DaVinci, Francisco Goya, and M.C. Escher. Delaney also gets inspiration from writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Rod Serling, Mark Twain, and Charles Bukowski.
Where will his work take him? He’s not quite sure, but he’s having a lot of fun along the way. He showcased his work in several shows in the city last year, and has expanded his portfolio, creating more as he goes along.
Last year he presented a show for a dozen artists of diverse media at Hendrickson’s Corner on Broadway. The show was standing-room only for much of the time, and was deemed a rousing success.
He is planning another event for Hendrickson’s in July. Tentatively titled “A Midsummer’s Night Art Gallery,” the show will include about 15 artists from New Jersey and New York.
Until then, Delaney will keep busy with other artistic endeavors. One will be a two-week show opening on May 15 at Bee’s Art Studio with six other artists.
He also recently completed graphic artwork for the Bayonne band Wicked Little Dolls’ iTunes offering.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.