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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
Contemporary Irish Landscape Painting
