channelled his emotions into his work.
He moved away from pencil sketches of family members and Lowry-inspired
northern cityscapes, and started working on darker, haunting images.
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This change in direction brought the confidence to stage his first public
exhibition, in Salford library. It was greeted with critical acclaim,
as evidenced by a file of cuttings full of glowing comments from the likes
of the Manchester Evening News. One journalist described him as a "modern
day icon."
Others were equally impressed with his work, including the Greater Manchester
Police Museum. They bought two of his pieces for permanent display; pencil
drawings depicting the notorious Lancashire serial killers Ian Brady and
Myra Hindley, and Harold Shipman. Both the 'moors murders' of children
by Brady and Hindley, and GP Shipman's disposal of hundreds
Zola by Gary - "my beloved companion"
of his elderly patients, still haunt the Manchester psyche.
There's no doubt that Gary is proud and a little shocked that his art
is being bought for permanent display in museums, not least because he
has no formal artistic training. He says: "I'm self taught. I'd never
have got into any college." One of 10 children, he received the worst
education that the north-west's Catholic schools could offer. "I
wasn't interested in maths or English or whatever, and to be honest I
was a little bastard. To keep me out of trouble the teachers just asked
me what I'd like to do.
I said 'draw,' so they gave me a pad of paper and some pencils and I just
