A PAINTER whose work is on display at the Royal Academy said art saved him from his drug-addicted lifestyle.
David Sullivan, from Chingford, was picked from 12,000 other artists to star in the academy's Summer Exhibition, but ten years ago was living a "rock and roll" existence.
The 43-year-old's work, 'Man on a beachball', now hangs on a wall alongside art by luminaries such as Tracey Emin, and the Mount Echo Avenue resident feels he has finally achieved confirmation of his talent after ditching drugs to pursue his ambition.
He said: "I was really pleased to be included, it's affirmation that I'm right in doing this. I lost the plot on drugs and rock and roll years ago and art was a bit of a salvation for me."
Personal tragedies pushed Mr Sullivan into drug addiction before he recovered and became an artist.
"I went off the rails and lost my direction in life," he said. "I was doing heavy drugs and it got worse because I was surrounded by people doing the same thing.
"Art saved me from that - I feel like a different person now. I just realised it was my way out."
He left his job as a construction worker to attend art school, but the final push he needed came in 2004, when his partner Liz Warren gave birth to his son, Shelley.
"Suddenly there was a being in the world whose needs are more important than your own, I wanted to be a proper dad - that was a transformative moment of my life," the father-of-two said.
He began to focus on his vocation every day, and ever since has created around 10 to 12 oil paintings a year.
"If there was any money in it then I would be living my dream," Mr Sullivan added. "I do feel like I'm following my calling, art is such an important part of life."
He described his work as focusing on the politics of sexuality as well as examining death and exploring socialist themes. But the overriding reason he paints is to try and understand the human condition, he explained.
"We need art to understand ourselves and all the aspects of our lives, to understand who we are and how we live," he said. "Hopefully I can use this achievement to get into more exhibitions."
The exhibition at the academy, in Burlington House, Piccadilly, runs from June 4 to August 12. Mr Sullivan's artwork is available to view on his website, http://davidsullivanart.co.uk.
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