I grew up in rural Ireland beside Lough Swilly in County Donegal. After secondary school, I attended an art foundation course at University of Ulster and completed my BA Hons at Glasgow School of Art. In my final year of university I became interested in observational landscape painting and frequently returned home to Ireland. It was the only place I felt creative and could envision a future for myself as an artist.
In the words of Keith Vaughan, ' a painter has only one basic idea which probably lasts him a lifetime.' My primary subject is landscape and to explore the expressive modes of painting and learn about my materials. Living in Mayo inspires me to paint the natural phenomena I am surrounded by. The music of hills, vacant fields, strange ruins, austerity and wildness feed my curiousity. It is a peaceful place for me to walk, dream and meditate in. Here, silence is only broken by the wind. Daily walks are necessary to observe and understand the ephemeral drama and changeability of Irish weather. This time spent outside lifts my mood and influences how I interpret landscapes in the studio.
There are countless artists and movements I am inspired by; John Constable, the Impressionists and the Neo-Romantics who battled against the practice of 'copying nature' and sought to express what Paul Nash called 'genius loci' or 'spirit of place'. I admire the Impressionists; their intuitive yet sophisticated mark making, expressive colourism and ability to capture the effect of brilliant outdoor light. They masterfully recreate the feeling of being outdoors and capture the sensation of nature. My favourite artworks are those that retain a sketch-like quality in which the bloom of discovery is still evident.
Although I am based in County Mayo, Donegal remains an important visual backdrop for my work. There, I started to develop ideas about landscape and spirit of place. I've been compelled and perplexed by this subject since. Lough Swilly was isolated but peaceful. I found comfort there, alone with the elements and felt miniscule in its presence. As a child, Lough Swilly was theatre for my imagination and I yearned to paint it. Although I don't return often, the feeling and spirit of this place has never left me.
In the words of Kazuo Ishiguro, '..nostalgia is the emotional equivalent to idealism. You can use your memory to go back to a place better than the one you find yourself in'. I believe this statement to be true and often feel guided by particular landscapes in the studio. I sometimes work from past paintings and certain areas that have remained in my psyche over time, reimagining them with more light, energy and subsequently, life. This practice allows me to approach painting with purpose and greater intention to create more credible artworks. In 'Cloud over Lough' 2025 I sought to create a sense of distance, space, and depth by adding subtle areas of impasto in the foreground and sky. I have also included an image of 'Overcast' 2024 and two photographs which inspired this painting. These are useful for reminding myself of particular details such as the direction of light and to adjust tonal values. I have never been very interested in portraying a literal representation of a place, but rather the feeling it invokes in me.
'Mulranny' 2024 depicts one of the first landscape areas I visited when I returned to Mayo in 2021. After living in Glasgow for six years, I was very moved by Mulranny and began creating a series of small paintings, using a limited palette, a variety of marks and brush strokes. Every landscape stirs my mood in a different way which adds to the draw of painting and restores my passion for this medium. I returned to
this subject matter in 2024 with a desire to capture the slate grey water, limpidity and delicacy of the sky in a sensitive and reflective way hoping to express the calm I feel there.