I had the pleasure of spending time with Mr President last week. By appointment I turned up at his office, a bright airy room in the city centre.
The wealth of this office was displayed on the walls - art works dating back to 1856, the top names in portraiture and landscape, mixed media, stone and wood, wire and fabric, oils, watercolour, crayon and acrylic.
This is the majestic Royal Ulster Academy of Arts Diploma Collection, where every item is held in trust never to be sold, though perhaps loaned for special occasions.
Work dates back to Sir John Lavery - whose triptych, Madonna of the Lakes, can be seen in St Patrick's Church on Donegall Street in Belfast, where he had been baptised - and collection members have to go through a selection process, be a prize winner and exhibit for several years in a row.
This is indeed a wide ranging, historic and prestigious collection including iconic names - Conor, Luke, Praeger, Piper and Barry Orr, side by side.
And the man responsible for this collection and the RUA in general is artist Dan Dowling.
He took on the mantle of president in June, taking over from Betty Brown, working with a board of directors and committees, dealing with finance and funding, exhibitions and educational projects.
But Dan's the man for this: "I have the best of both worlds, the art world and the commercial side of life." He explained that after school he studied pure physics and maths at Queen's University, but that painting was much more interesting to the young student.
"My parents wanted me to be a physicist full time with art as a hobby."
But It Wasn't To Be
"After QUB I achieved A-level art at Rupert Stanley and was considering going on to the art college," he recalls.
"I talked to Neil Shawcross who reckoned I had developed a certain style and as a result I just kept going on my own."
As luck would have it about that time he and his friend decided to take time out to visit New York. However, no bank would help them with funds. They didn't think the boys were a good bet with Irish accents, and in their wisdom bank managers thought they wouldn't get work, would have no wage, and so would have no way of paying their dues.
"My last visit was to the Ulster Bank who were more generous and I ended up working for them," says Dan. He rose to the dizzy heights of assistant manager in the regional office in Belfast city centre but he wasn't happy.
"I was sent on a decision-making course where early retirement was one of the topics discussed; I was too young to consider this but the idea of freedom was very attractive so when I got back to the office my boss wanted an opinion on the course. He looked at me and questioned, 'Well?'
"Decision made, I told him I was leaving with immediate effect - one of the best days of my life."
Since then the young man has grown into one of our most respected artists, taking inspiration from his visits around the world and his love of walking. His exhibitions reflect these travels.
When the Arts Council gave him an award he went to live in Spain and Barcelona became his home for some months. He regularly spends weeks walking the Camino de Santiago, the Spanish pilgrimage route which offered great inspiration, but Belfast is where his heart is and his work depicts every day life in a most unique way.
Many of his cityscapes feature big beautiful red buses - much more interesting to Dan than the purple monster that prowls our streets these days.
He spent time with me walking the walls of the Diploma Collection at the RUA home at Rosemary Street in Belfast - here there are examples of the best of the best, a private historical collection open to the public by appointment, from 10am to 3pm on weekdays.
October Exhibition
When we were joined by vice-president, artist Simon McWilliams, the talk turned to an important event next month - the 140th annual RUA exhibition which opens to the public on Friday October 29 in the Ulster Museum.
From 1,557 pieces submitted by artists from Ireland, Britain and Europe, the selection committee chose 200, which are all for sale during the exhibition.
This year they were scrutinised online and each artist was limited to one work - very different from past years, when judges were able to view multiple applications physically.
Despite this being the biggest platform for visual artists and their works, sadly Covid still makes its presence felt; however, it is hoped the exhibition won't be affected.
The Diploma Collection will also remain open but it's important to book ahead for this and to keep up to date with arrangements for both.
To make a booking to view the Diploma Collection, telephone 028 9032 0819. For details of the annual exhibition, to be held in the Ulster Museum from October 29, visit royalulsteracademy.org.
