Kerry and I conducted the interview, which Athena described as “the scoop of the decade”, hoping that our questions would draw out what every reader would want to know: how such an accomplished artist who had become so successful, had also been a victim of domestic abuse before rediscovering the love of his life.

But there had been no need for us to try and get Flynn senior to open up. He had been more than happy to talk about his love of art, and the wonderful Lily who he had loved and lost before finding again. Then there had been Merry Wood, the house he had planned to share with Lily, but then couldn’t bear to part with when he thought they couldn’t be together.

Finally, there was the subject of his alter ego, Chandler, who for years, had brought the beauty and rich spectacle of art to the streets of Scotland. Everything from empty factory walls to abandoned public toilets had experienced the brush strokes of Flynn.

It had made one very interesting read and I liked to think Kerry and I did Flynn Talbot senior – and Chandler – proud.

So, alongside the glossy feature on Avanti cosmetics, with its enchanting, ghostly statues and the wild beauty of the gardens of Merry Wood, there was also this:

Goddess magazine, Christmas 2022 edition

Affairs Of The Art

Read our exclusive interview with Flynn Talbot, the debonair artist who reveals that he is elusive street artist Chandler who, for almost fifty years, has brought his brand of rebellious art to the masses, but that he suffered for years in an abusive marriage…

By Leonie Baxter and Kerry Wicks