HIDDEN STATES (2018) is a selection of oil paintings (and a few limited edition linocut prints) created for Lennons@VISUAL. It’s been five years since I last exhibited in this inviting space. The exhibition of sixteen pieces explore all sorts of themes, often escapism, wonder at what’s above or beyond and on some occasions the imagery is led by the composition itself.
It was a rewarding challenge to work in oils rather than my usual acrylic approach. Although the process is slow the richness of colour was exactly what I wanted to explore.
The good folk at Creative Mornings (the global lecture network) were kind enough to ask me to illustrate their December theme: SOUND.
This also included an interview about my practice.
It was a terrific project to be involved with and great to have work reach such a wide audience!
Here's the original submission I decided to develop...
and here's another idea, but I thought it was way too busy...
and this piece was just too simple...
In preparation for the centenary of the 1916 Rising, one of our local schools commissioned me to provide an artwork showing how both Ireland and their school has changed over the past century.
The work includes Carlow people who, due to the violence over that Easter week, lost their lives. Nurse Margaret Kehoe, soldier Micheál Ó hAnnrachain and civilian James Connor.
Along with mentioning major Irish events such The Irish Civil War and joining the European Union in 1973, the picture also depicts changes in the school itself. It makes a reference to a quote from the Irish Constitution which says: 'Cherishing all the Children of the Nation Equally'.
Original design
Lennon's Restaurant lunch and evening menu design.
This old piano was in bad shape but could still bang out a few tunes so for Carlow Arts Festival 2015 it got a a refurbishment. I decided to convert it into an old jazzman in a hospital setting getting some much-needed life-support. It's been belting out jangly tunes ever since.
As part of the Sing & Shine project (a school choir project looking at mental health awareness and the positive qualities of singing), I was asked to develop individual paintings based on the songs chosen by the individual schools and through workshops with the classrooms, we developed concepts for each piece.
A great project to be involved with and wonderfully developed by Aspiro Choir Director, Mary Almond O'Brien and her amazing team.
For the Electric Picnic 2014, I had the opportunity to give an old caravan a revamp. It's the very same model as the one in Father Ted's holiday episode! The Caravangalists have been touring the festival scene ever since! And it's pretty cosy inside too!
SQUARE DUCK EXHIBITION 2104
The Square Duck Cafe Exhibition was an exhibition/Cafe Pop Up shop featured as part of the 2014 Carlow Arts Festival.
Based in Deighton Hall Carlow, the exhibition was made up of some of my acrylic and watercolour paintings, 3D sculpture and pen & ink drawings. It was a terrific space to work in and the venue featured live music and theatre during the festival and ultra-violet lighting during gigs resulted in pretty cool effects with some some of the fluorescent artworks.
A6 Greeting Card series
VISUAL Arts Centre Carlow / Square Duck Cafe
As part of my Square Duck Exhibition 2014, I got my hands on a very cool glass-topped white box, but what to put in it? It had a bit of a natural history museum look so I decided to make a bog man (sacrificed by his superstitious little companions (probably for a better harvest or something...) and he's made of all sorts of bits and pieces – old table legs, curtain rings, lollipop sticks and lots of balsa wood etc...
I really enjoyed making this little guy and he currently hangs on my studio wall – always watching...
A Prayer at half-time
As part of the Superstition Exhibition at Dublin's Copper House Gallery, I designed an illustration called A prayer at half-time. This particularly superstitious football fan who, although not on the pitch, perhaps feels more involved by wearing his old football shirt and surrounding himself with all his lucky trinkets. Who can remember Paul the psychic octopus? Sports fans are a suspicious bunch.
Freddy Buttons is a collection of six adventures commissioned by food author Fiona Dillon on behalf of Glenisk Ltd.
Freddy and his farm-yard friends have lots of foody fun on their farm, at the market and in school...
Published by Orpen Press 2015.
These are a bunch of various artworks I completed years ago.
It's a bit of a mixed bag...
Ah! memory lane. Sorting out this archive is somewhere on my to-do list...
This is a large acrylic on MDF piece (3x3ft) designed to hang as a diamond shape. It was interesting painting with these angles in mind.
This is a simple square piece as a gift for a photographer friend. It was around this time that I abandoned shading and embraced geometric shapes in my work.
