Tell a little bit about how you first got into creating art.
I always loved looking at paintings, but only started painting myself when I got a new job where I knew nobody and was very demanding intellectually and emotionally. I had no artistic talent or ambition which allowed me, maybe for the first time in my life, to just do something that I didn’t have to be good at and really enjoyed. It was much later in life that I realized that it was what I wanted to do more than anything else.
Colour is the thing that excites me most in painting as it connects directly with our feelings at a level that goes beyond words and bypasses our usual defenses
What artists or movements have had an impact on you?
My favorite artist has always been Van Gogh - the vibrancy of his colors and their emotional Impact. I loved the use of light of the Impressionists and then Cezannes use of colour to create form. A trip to Norway introduced me to The emotional impact of Munch’s paintings. Later, I discovered the richness of our own visual art in Ireland, which has been ignored for years, in the paintings of Jack Yeats and So many women artists.
What themes does your work involve?
I live in the countryside in the west of Ireland, and I love gardening and especially trees, so my work is mainly inspired by nature and the constantly changing light and beauty of the landscape and the ocean. Venice is one of my favorite places on earth and never ceases to inspire me. However, I also love to paint portraits of people that are special to me.
Occasionally, I have been able to create a painting from memory of something that made a particular impact on me or from an image that seems to come from nowhere, like a vision, and that is very exciting
What is important to you about the visual experiences you create?
I want my paintings to sing, to feel alive and to express the feelings that inspired them.
What is the significance of medium and color?
Colour is the thing that excites me most in painting as it connects directly with our feelings at a level that goes beyond words and bypasses our usual defenses. For me, it is the subject that dictates the medium and materials I use, whether paints, pastels, pencil, charcoal or ink.
Do you work from memory, life, photographs, or from other resources? Describe your creative process.
Whenever I can, I draw or paint from life and I always have materials with me wherever I go. Occasionally, I have been able to create a painting from memory of something that made a particular impact on me or from an image that seems to come from nowhere, like a vision, and that is very exciting.
What do you consider the role of an artist today?
I think that the role of the artist is to express themselves as authentically as they can through their art and in doing so to contribute to the enrichment of people’s lives with whatever it is that inspires them, whether it be beauty, feelings, or ideas.
