Born under the name of Martin Hasson in 1950 in Northern Ireland, Hasson began painting and drawing at the young age of three.
Hasson worked as an in-house and freelance graphic designer and painted landscapes, portraits, abstracts and seascapes using oils, watercolours and pen and ink. In the 80’s, Hasson staged his first successful one man show, displaying work in watercolours, tempera, and oils.
In the 90’s, Hasson experienced a shift in his work. His work was portraying the darker and harsher side of life, in particular the struggles and sadness of times gone by and the endless battle for survival in the present day. With this marked change in style, he felt a new name would be beneficial to allow both styles to continue, therefore J.P. Rooney was created.
The strength of the Rooney name was quickly established. The demand increased rapidly, leading to many one man shows and the Rooney paintings became the sole representation of Hasson’s work.
His work is sold in galleries around Ireland and the UK.
