Ag Siúl Cois Cladaigh

Artist's Statement

I live on the shores of Galway Bay and am surrounded by constantly changing skyscape, seascape and, indeed, landscape. I never tire of watching nature alter its colour schemes, textures and shapes, season by season, day by day and even hour by hour. To try and capture the 'moment' in my paintings, I use memory and frequent forays to the beach with sketchbook and camera. I use oils as a medium because, aside from loving the smell, feel and virtuosity of oils, the colours keep their brilliancy and allow me to work up the textures in my paintings, which express my response to what I see around me.

In this exhibition the impact of the sea on the landscape was a starting point. The way, even at low tide, there still seems to be a presence of the sea on the beach. The rocks, which are bared by outgoing tide, are all weathered and shaped to face the sea and just lie waiting to be engulfed when the tide returns.

Watching the stormy sea fills me with excitement, with fear and most of all with respect. I have seen locally what the sea can do to the landscape in a storm with high tide and it makes childsplay of our attempts to harness or control it. I have tried to capture the power and movement and glory of the sea in storm.

Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands off Galway, is a very special place for my family and I. These are my first paintings of Inis Oírr. I have found it very difficult to paint, as it means so much to me, and sentimentality can impinge. For the past twelve years or so we have flown to Inis Oírr by Aer Arann and this has inspired one of my paintings. Maybe more to come on that theme!!