Episode 5 : Gerard Burns - World renowned artist's battle with childhood tragedy, addiction and alopecia.

Welcome back to the Remember Resilience Podcast. Today I am joined by Gerard Burns. A world renowned portrait, contemporary and Realism artist, Gerard paintings grace the walls of owners all over the world. His customer base include collectors, business people, celebrities and members of several Royal Families. However Gerard's road to success has not been easily achieved. From his humble beginnings in Cumbernauld where at just 18 he mourned the death of his younger 14 year old sister Elaine. Gerard threw himself into a career in art, becoming principal of Art at the prestigious St Aloysius in Glasgow at only age 29. However Gerard was soon to be a victim of his own success resulting in him turning to alcohol. This was the beginning of his spiral into a battle with alcohol abuse which culminated in an major nervous breakdown and the subsequent onset of alopecia. Gerard knew something had to change, he vowed never to touch alcohol again, force by alopecia Gerard presented a new image to the world both physically and mentally. He left the toxic teaching environment which had been his downfall and embarked on a journey which would make Gerard one of the most successful artists of his generation.