|Sea and Sky|
In 2012, while living on the West Coast of Ireland in a town called Lahinch, after a period of very productive painting, a decision was made to shift the direction of my work by moving away from canvas and studio work to working on large scale wall paintings. The opening night of 'Sea and Sky' was, coincidentally, almost exactly 6 years to the day after that first wall was painted. Subsequently this change of direction put into play a series of events over the following years which led to me leaving the West Coast and following opportunities to travel and paint all over the world. from Extensively throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe, to across the US and Australia and into Asia. After a period of living and working in the UK in 2016, the West Coast and the Atlantic Ocean drew me back again.
It was at this time that I decided that I would like to do an exhibition in this area of the country as a mark of what it had inspired in me and everything that it had given me in the years of travelling around and seeing the world.When the opportunity of putting on a show at the Courthouse Gallery was brought to me in February this year, although the timeframe was going to be extremely tight and pressured to produce a successful body of work in 6 weeks, I immediately accepted and things were put into play.
With the photography side of the exhibition, I wanted to show some of the elements of this part of the country that I have been drawn to over time, that of which has inspired me both in my personal life and professional practice, and more specifically the elements which helped inspire this new collection of paintings in 'Sea and Sky'. Both the photographic install and the photography book served as a sort of visual guide/statement to accompany the work rather than having a written statement on the intention of the paintings.
Again, as with my previous exhibition 'Moments', the Hasselblad 500c/m was the main camera of choice, but this time also accompanied by the Olympus 35RC and an Agfa Billy 1 which was modified to shoot past the sprocket holes on 35mm film.
