OVERVIEW: George Callaghan was born in Belfast in 1941 but spent most of his childhood in South Africa. He returned to Ireland in his teens, working as a graphic artist in a Dublin advertising agency. Although Callaghan attended the Belfast College of art from 1961 to 1965, he insists that most of his skills and discipline he has learnt from advertising. He is a strong believer that no one can teach art because no one knows what art is. All you can teach, he says, is technique – and leave their minds alone. And he contends that he now paints with an attitude he enjoyed before attending Art College. Music is also a great influence, he plays harp, guitar and sings. The musician appears often in his works.