New Season 2020

The season here at the North Mayo Heritage Centre got off to a promising start back in late February. Although the studio had flooded, things were drying out and I had moved my plants in and brought two cheery gorilla buckets of daffodils over to put outside the door. We all know what happened next and I retreated to our tiny spare room, dismantled the bed and got drawing and painting.

Now that some of the restrictions have been lifted, I am back in the studio enjoying the space to think and paint and play music nice and loud. The studio got flooded out again due to all the rain but the new café has opened and some of my Black and White series is on display there.

Here are some pictures of the Kaffa Café at The North Mayo Heritage Centre looking out on the lovely garden of Enniscoe House and some lockdown doodles.

Art and coffee…great combination!

Lockdown doodles began with an ink drawing of Robert Plant. Things progressed to include an imaginary lockdown dog named Swanky, Jam Jar Dreams where all the memories of things that I was missing were preserved in jars, a white pencil drawing of a beautiful woman, a self portrait study and my Covid 19 poster. Art and the garden kept me going through the lockdown.

Cairde Visual Art Exhibition 2019

I have just been notified that my black and white portrait of Pam has been selected for the Cairde Visual 2019 Exhibition at The Model, Co.Sligo.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 6th July and runs until the 18th August.

The festival includes eight days of music, dance, theatre, circus, art, craft and literary events beginning on the 6th July.

Pam

New Season

The new season has begun at The Old Forge and on Easter Sunday I was delighted to be able to show Cillian Rogers his completed portrait. Cillian was at the North Mayo Heritage Centre in the guise of the Woodland Giant as part of the Easter celebrations taking place in the woods. He had to dip under the doorway to get into the forge and he towers above the painting in his brilliant costume made by Imelda, his wife.

Cillian Rogers at The Old Forge Art Studio, North Mayo Heritage Centre

One of my tasks this year is to complete a full sized portrait of Cillian set in the Dromore West Workhouse where he and Imelda live, work and create.

The Workhouse, Dromore West, Co. Sligo, Ireland

The history of Cillian and Imelda’s home dates back to The Great Famine. Dromore West Workhouse in Co. Sligo was built in 1849 to accomodate those suffering following the potato blight. Part of the building was burned down by the Anti-Treaty IRA. The location of the building is unique as most workhouses were built in towns and cities. Phil Connolly, Cillian’s grandfather, was clerk of the workhouse in the early 1900s.

Arthur appearing at the Ballina Salmon Festival on Heritage Day

Cillian also makes metal sculpture. The Black Pig in Enniscrone, Co. Sligo.

Diarmuid and Grainne

Festival in Sligo to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of W B Yeats’ birth.

The Jester

This is the completed portrait of Cillian Rogers.

The Old Forge Art Studio

October 2018

It has been an interesting first season at The Old Forge Art Studio at The North Mayo Heritage Centre, Ballina, Co. Mayo. The last blacksmith to work there retired five years ago and the space has been used for storage since then. Once everything was moved out and we cleared up the dust and soot, I was able to move in in July.

Many thanks to the staff at the centre and The Secret Garden cafe, who have been very welcoming.

I’ve been working on a portrait of Cillian Rogers, a sculptor and giant puppet-maker extraordinaire, who is based at The Workhouse Arts Studios in Dromore West, Co.Sligo.

The painting shows Cillian as a Jester. One of his many guises! The work is in oil on canvas and is not far from completion now.

I’ve also been producing some work for our home. In conjunction with planting a group of Silver Birch trees in the garden, I have painted a Silver Birch wood for our living room. In twenty years our young trees may look something like this!

150 x 100 cms Oil on canvas