My Process and Inspiration

I am a mixed media abstract painter living in a beautiful unspoilt location overlooking the sea, on the west coast of Ireland, County Sligo.

I find painting to be totally meditative and loosing myself in the process is just magic! I paint intuitively and almost never have any idea beforehand what the end result is going to be.  I just start with expressive brush marks, loose and free, and when it’s time to start responding to the surface of the painting, I swap over and back between spontaneity and more considered marks, moving freely between the two states. The movement is energetic and it reminds me of dancing. Time to turn the music up!                       

During the process when I see an emergence of a partially recognised image, I nearly always like to take it further……so although my paintings have strong abstract elements, many of them have recognisable elements too. Almost always working on several at once, the paintings evolve organically.

I am inspired by the surroundings of my home, between the sea and mountains, and am acutely aware of the generations that lived here in this exact location before me……I see them looking around at their surroundings, which are even many decades later, identical to mine.  

I also live directly between both of my parents ancestral homes. This really inspires in me a deep connection to the past. I celebrate this by layering my paintings with pieces of old documents, maps or old letters and I love the surprising results that can unfold as the paint is removed in various ways, and the history is partially revealed. I am also inspired by my travels from over the years; by urban and architectural shapes….. and by old stone buildings.