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From my 'Ballads to the Bog' series, 'Blanket Bog' was painted during my first painting residency at Cill Rialaig Artists' Retreat in Kerry. I went with the intention of painting the sea but was completely overwhelmed by the bogs and spent all my time painting there. It was glorious. I love the abundance of our bogs, their ever-changing colours and the fact they are a living, breathing thing.
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SOLD OUT!'The Big Sky' collection was inspired by a residency at The Ballinglen Arts Foundation in North Mayo. During the 6-wk residency, I spent a LOT of time walking by the sea. There is - for me - a conflict between being inside and outside the studio. - I always want to be working. Of course, in this instance walking is working. The constancy of the tides is so calming and invariably that made it's way in to this new, looser work. As did a lightness of touch (and spirit!) also manifested in the pink and peaches of the landscape. It was time well spent: Time in wide open spaces = cardiac care. Oil on Canvas 35cm x 45cm in Slip Frame -
SOLD OUT!Lacken Strand is one of those wide, open spaces that you can't hide from or in. It is, to my mind, one of the most enchanting places on the island of Ireland. In the vastness of the expanse of the scene you really can't escape or hide from the elements. While on retreat at the Ballinglen Artists' Foundation I took daily walks at Lacken. The weather was broody and moody even in mid-Summer. Oftentimes, it felt like four seasons in one walk but even in perpetual motion there is always order in the natural world. Oil on Canvas 45cm x 35cm in Slip Frame -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm SOLD -
SOLD OUT!When I first visited Carrowmore Lake it was in a deluge. The rain was incessant and it was as if there had been an evacuation. The rain teemed and solitude seemed it's constant companion. Nestled next to a bog and not far from Ballycroy National Park, and close to Erris beo - it is one of the most Irish landscapes you could hope to witness. The rain makes it all the more moody. I have seen it in sunshine and it is equally enchanting then too. Oil on Canvas 40cm x 40cm in Slip Frame -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm SOLD -
SOLD OUT!Visiting the Burren for the first time in 2016 was a wonder! The sheer elemental beauty of the landscape is unlike anywhere else I have visited. It looks and feels completely different – sort of, like landing on mars but with lots and lots of life and lichen! I was blessed to spend time working in the landscape while the wildflowers were in season. It was completely invigorating to see all sorts of plants bloom in crevices, between rocks and in the most unlikely places. Nature persists! Oil on paper 70cm x 50cm SOLD -
SOLD OUT!Dun Briste, a significant stack of land was sliced clean off Downpatrick Head hundreds of years ago. Folklore has it, that it was our own St. Patick who separated the land with his crozier in consternation with a non-believer who was slow to sign up. Regardless of the tall tales, the sight of that stack of land in the midst of the wild sea and contemplating the gap between the landmasses can't but move a body. The vastness of the scene is humbling but also an opportunity - a jumping off point - in which to make your own departure, your own interpretation of the landscape and life. Oil on Canvas 45cm x 35cm in Slip Frame -
SOLD OUT!While on residency at The Ballinglen Artists Foundation, I walked a lot on Lacken Strand. In 6-weeks I only ever met 2 other people on the lovely, long strand. During these walks, ideas would percolate - some good, some bad. It's hard to know in the solitude of a retreat if you're on the right track or veering off down (another) blind alley but the constancy of contemplation on these walks helped to refine the body of work that is 'The Big Sky' . Most times on these walks I would document those thoughts in a notebook and it is these ramblings - thoughts and tangents - that underpin this love letter to the world from Lacken. Oil on Canvas 45cm x 35cm in Slip Frame -
SOLD OUT!I often say my work is best described as holding on and letting go. Letting go of all the doubt, fear and notions and holding on for the good stuff to come through. This painting was years in the making – it just wouldn’t quit! I turned it to the wall for a while and then, one evening, it sort of painted itself. It was a time when I was attempting to close out my Mayo Lakes series but they kept turning up on the canvas. This is a sort of swan-song to my Mayo Lakes series, bridging the gap to The Big Sky collection that followed. It is, I think, about devotion – redemption and renewal –about new beginnings and moving on to new, ancient landscapes. Oil on canvas 100cm x 75cm in slip frame -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 100cm x 75cm in slip frame SOLD -
SOLD OUT!Fair Winds & Following Seas Mixed media on canvas 120cm x 100cm SOLD -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 120cm X 100cm SOLD From my ‘Land of Plenty’ collection, ‘On the Beach, Ballinskelligs’ was painted on a freezing cold but bright day – on my hands and knees on Reen Pier – the departure point for ancient Skellig Michael. It was my very first large painting. I was on my first painting retreat in Cill Rialaig, having recently returned to live in Ireland, following 15 years overseas. That trip and this painting marked a turning point – a shift into truly appreciating the spirit, abundance and latent beauty of my own country. ** NOW Available as a Limited Edition Archival Print ** -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 100cm x 75cm I was fortunate to work from a nature sanctuary on the shore of Lough Carra for 5 months in 2014. It was a magical time of contemplation and exploration. Of all the lakes, Carra is to me, the most captivating. Its unique turquoise colour (caused by the light reflecting on its marl base) is both invigorating and enchanting. It is unlike any other place in Ireland. Steeped in history, there is an energetic, enigmatic pull about this place. -
SOLD OUT!Painted during a time of change and in response to days spent in solitude on the shoreline. Looking out to sea and documenting it in layers felt like a meditation – a sort of roadmap in to serenity. As an island nation, I think we can be less than cognisant of the dramatic impact the sea and its proximity has on us and our lives. Taking time to really look and allow ourselves to ‘be’ all at sea is for me, invigorating, life enhancing and often life-affirming. Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm Ready to hang in slip frame SOLD -
SOLD OUT!Oil on Board 35cm x 30cm In slip frame ready to hang -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm Ready to hang in slip frame -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm SOLD From my ‘Storm after the Calm’ collection, ‘Love like a landslide’ is an ode to love, life and the landscape. I feel so lucky to get to work in, and be inspired by the landscape. Some days it’s like starting again, I see a view and am ‘floored’ by it, as if for the first time. I think love and life are like that too – magic and utterly remarkable if we take time to really look at or think about it -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm Ready to hang in slip frame -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 100cm x 120cm Ready to hang in slip frame -
NOTE: All sizes quoted are image size, please add 4.5cm to all sides for the white border (9cm addition to width and height). Example: 52cm x 52cm (image) 61cm x 61cm (paper size)
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SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 100cm x 70cm SOLD From ‘The Outliers’ collection, which marks ten years painting in Ireland, ‘On Solid Ground’ is a painting that is a reflection on and a distillation of 10 years of residencies and time out painting in Ireland. It was painted in my studio but brings together an amalgam of places that have bolstered, sustained and influenced my painting practice. In his book ‘The Outliers’, Malcolm Gladwell asserts that it takes 10,000 hours practise to master a skill. Some time during the past decade in Ireland, I have crossed over that threshold which has delivered me to this solid ground. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 100cm x 70cm SOLD Painted in a series of breathy layers, ‘A Second Coming – In Ciarraí’ was made while on residency in Cill Rialaig, in Kerry. It commemorates the life of a friend. My residency was in January when the world seemed slowly to begin again. From high up on Bolus Head during those short, moist days, I wondered how do we distinguish time and mark out days. Indeed, how do we capture the essence of a life – but in breaths. And so this painting was made slowly in lots of very loose layers. I wanted to paint like breath on glass – similar to the way weather, hovering between sea and sky, makes a ghostly impression over The Skelligs. The painting became a sum of it’s parts – lots of light layers which, when combined attempt to capture the essence of light and a life. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 120cm x 100cm SOLD The Outliers is the culmination of 10 years painting here in Ireland. It is from my first studio collection, that is –the first collection I have made from my studio rather than in response to a particular residency. It’s a reflection of 10 years of residencies and time out painting in Ireland, an amalgam of places I’ve painted – and a sort of hybrid of influences. By definition, an outlier is ‘is an observation point that is distant from other observations’. I like to think of the outliers as an outcrop of mythical islands just beyond my imagination – a sort of painting odyssey – a sort of unreachable destination I am happily propelling myself towards and constantly striving to capture. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 20cm x 20cm Ready to hang in slip frame -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 20cm x 20cm Ready to hang in slip frame -
SOLD OUT!13th - 14th October 2018 | Block T, Dublin
** SOLD OUT ** This workshop teaches participants how to abstract elements of the landscape and create their own painterly response. Through a series of fun and stimulating exercises, you will learn how to approach landscape painting in a fresh and creative manner while tapping into and developing your own intuitive painting style. Participants will take home 2-4 completed paintings, renewed confidence in their painting ability and lots of skills to help them begin, work through and complete great paintings. Comprehensive Follow-On notes will ensure you can hit the ground running when you return home. Who is it for: Open to absolute beginners and those with a little or a lot of painting experience - the only thing you really need for this class is an open mind and a willingness to have fun while painting. The aim of this workshop is to help participants make their own unique and atmospheric response to the landscape. Please note: A key aim of this workshop is to help painters to loosen their painting style. If you want to create a photo-realist likeness this is not the workshop for you. -
SOLD OUT!DATE: 13th, 14th & 15th September 2019 | VENUE: Cork City
**Early Bird Expires 20th January 2019** **Please note: Bookings on first come, first served basis.** My Master Classes have been created to help my students nurture and further develop their own painting practice. The aim of these intense 3-day sessions is to help you delve into your area(s) of curiosity, hone your skills and to ultimately develop your own unique painting collection. Who is it for: Designed with the end-user in mind, the Master Class follows on from my Level 1 Workshops, affording each student specific 1-2-1 tutorage to address and resolve any challenges they are experiencing with their work. The emphasis is on distilling the essence of your work and developing your individual painting practice. I fully expect this to be a 'game changer' for participants, so please bring your whole self and have your weetabix in advance! As per all workshops, you will laugh a lot and get a little (or a lot) messy! You will also take home completed paintings, a reinvigorated painting practice, oodles of ideas to take forward and a clear plan for completing your own body of work. What's included:- 3 days of intense painting tuition to help you develop your own painting style with a view to creating your own collection
- All materials including acrylics, oils, cold wax, mixed media and solvents (bring your own canvas to this session).
- Guided demo's developed in response to your requirements
- Lots of 1-2-1 tuition and support structured to your specific needs
- Plenty of learning resources including an extensive library
- A great, yum, nutritious lunch every day
- Unlimited refreshments and snacks
- Structured Follow-On notes filled with resources on everything you will need to complete your first painting collection.
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SOLD OUT!4th - 5th April 2020 | Dublin
Please note: ** POSTPONED t0 2021** ** Fully booked ** please email: cora@coramurphy.com to join the wait list This workshop teaches participants how to abstract elements of the landscape and create their own painterly response. Through a series of fun and stimulating exercises, you will learn how to approach landscape painting in a fresh and creative manner while tapping into and developing your own intuitive painting style. Participants will take home 2-4 completed paintings, renewed confidence in their painting ability and lots of new skills to help them begin, work through and complete great paintings. Comprehensive Follow-On notes will ensure you can hit the ground running when you return home. Who is it for: Open to absolute beginners and those with a little or a lot of painting experience (in any medium!). The only thing you really need for this class is an open mind and a willingness to have fun while painting. What is included:- 2 days of intense painting tuition to help you create your own unique paintings in response to landscape.
- All materials including acrylic paints, inks, mixed media and a variety of mediums*
- 2 X great quality canvasses and all paper supports*
- All tools, brushes and palette knives* All you need to bring is yourself!
- Guided demo’s developed in response to your requirements
- Lots of 1-2-1 tuition and support structured to your specific needs
- Plenty of learning resources including an extensive library
- A great, yum, nutritious lunch
- Unlimited refreshments and snacks
- Comprehensive Follow-On notes filled with LOTS of online and offline resources and structured guidance on everything from colour management, to how to start and stop!
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SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm Ready to hang in slip frame After many years traveling and living overseas. It is a constant comfort to feel 'at home' in Ireland. It is a place for my heart to rest. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm Ready to hang in slip frame I am not a strong swimmer (and a terrible surfer!) but anyhow - I love to do both - there is a feeling being in or on the sea that thrills and renews me at a cellular level. It is one of my favourite happy places! -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm Ready to hang in slip frame The back strand at Lacken in North Mayo is one of the most breath-taking places I have ever been. It's wide and long and surrounded by huge, high dunes. In the early part of the year, a breeze blows directly across the beach creating gentle gusts of sand - it feels otherworldly and a bit magical - as if for a few moments you are suspended between worlds, neither holding on or letting go. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm Ready to hang in slip frame This collection has felt very much like a bunch of songs of praise to the shoreline and the magic, renewable energy of nature. This was painted after listening to Jack Lukeman's song - Magic Days & Magic Ways - a really lovely, hopeful tune - listen to it HERE. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 45cm x 35cm Ready to hang in slip frame Oró, Oró was painted while on a painting fellowship at The Ballinglen Foundation in North Mayo. While walking along the shoreline in Ballycastle the tune deeply embedded in every Irish childhood psyche - 'Oró se do bheatha bhaile' - came free in my mind. It is traditionally a rallying call but always to my mind - conjured up the image of rowing across waves, homewards. It heralded (to me!) a new way of painting, that felt much like being on the crest of a wave with home in sight. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm Ready to hang in slip frame I was fortunate to walk some of the Camino de Santiago trail earlier this year. It was wonderful - lovely clear seascapes and plenty of sunny times. I think I brought back some of the blue with me as it magic-ed it's way into my work for some time afterwards. As did this determined figure - a pilgrim who seemed to forge forward in faith - sure of just rewards. -
SOLD OUT!Oil on canvas 40cm x 40cm Ready to hang in slip frame Suaimhneas is the Irish word for tranquility or relaxation - to be at peace. In recent times it has come to be associated with mindfulness and being aware of ones surroundings. Eitherway, being tranquil or mindful - the sea is always a balm to me. **Now Available As A Limited Edition Print HERE**
Contemporary Irish Landscape Painting
