Interview with Salvatore of Lucan: “My day to day life is also a mix between realism and imagination. I depict it in my art the same way I experience them in real life.”
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Salvatore of Lucan is a Dublin-based, half-Irish and half-Bangladeshi painter. He talks to us about the connection between his work and real-life experiences, what motivates him to continue his art practice and the meaning of his name.
Tell us about yourself! What would you like to know?
Can you tell us about your art? I make paintings. Mainly scenes where some sort of situation is happening.
What inspired you to become an artist, and how did you start your career? I really loved painting and I wasn’t very academic so it was an easy choice to go to art college. I started my career by going on the dole and renting a studio that I rarely left. After about one or two years, I started getting into some group shows. Eventually I was given a show in Pallas Projects as part of their program there.
How do you stay inspired and motivated in your artistic practice? Fear of failure is one motivator. Also, love, loving things and being sentimental. Maybe also being a bit competitive. I just always want to push myself to make the best paintings I can. It’s a nice feeling when it happens that you are proud of something.
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Could you tell us more about how you developed into the unique artistic style that we see today? I suppose it’s a combination of knowing what aspects of your painting you don’t like. So trying to not do those things, knowing what you like and what you are affected by, then trying to take elements of that.
Can you tell us more about your artistic process when creating your artworks? It’s all about the composition for me. I can spend weeks just on graph paper before I start a large-scale work. My painting process changes around a lot but with large works, drawing and redrawing to scale before committing to canvas is the closest thing to a constant process.
Your artwork often features scenes from your own life. What draws you to these subjects? Well, it’s my life, I live it. The artworks I create is unique to me, but I know a lot of the stuff that happens to us individually can also be a shared experience with others. I’ve been told I don’t represent myself accurately, I used to think I did, but most people don’t see it. I honestly don’t know.
My day to day life is also a mix between realism and imagination. So, I depict it the same way I experience them in real life.
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Why did you decide to rename yourself as Salvatore of Lucan, and what does this new name mean to you? People often asking where I’m from basically. My Ma’s Irish and my Dad’s Bangladeshi and because I didn’t know my Dad growing up. It’s kind of annoying. And also, I’m not Italian at all, I just have an Italian name. I used to have to tell my whole life story when people asked me where I was from. Also, I love Lucan. And I’m from there.
Lastly, what future projects or goals are you excited about in your artistic journey? I have a new show called Fancy Situations opening in Kevin Kavanagh on June 6thand after that the next show which I’ve already started is all about my dad.
To contact or learn more about Salvatore of Lucan’s work, follow him on social media:
Interview with Leah Hewson: “What is important in my work is the reminder that freedom of expression can exist into adulthood and that the pursuit and space for individuality is imperative.”
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Leah Hewson is an Irish contemporary abstract artist based in Dublin. Hewson talks to us about the key themes of her work, what she is proud of in her artistic career and how she accesses her unconscious mind to show herself more into her paintings.
Tell us about yourself!
I’m an abstract painter and creator originally from Wicklow. I graduated from the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in 2010 and have been pursuing a career as an artist ever since. Over the years I’ve had multiple jobs in hospitality and the film industry to support my practice but have been working as a full-time artist since 2018, making Dublin my base to work from.
Can you tell us about your art?
The roots of what I do all come from painting. For the first five years I was working with the figure and creating surrealist art using mixed media and collage before moving into Abstraction. In more recent years I’ve had the opportunities to collaborate and bring my practice into different mediums, having opportunities also to travel with this work. My painting has been translated into murals, installations, sculpture and print and I’ve also experimented with animation and video.
What are the key themes that appear in your art?
In a nutshell, my work is about escapism and excavation equally. In one sense, I am trying to exist in expression and creativity in its purest form. On the other, I have a real interest in psychology, neurology and human behaviour. I’ve always had an interest in this area, and more recently I have become familiar with aspects of neurology and cognition in the visual brain.
A huge aspect of my work is not only not being afraid of the white canvas or making mistakes but being defiant against them. The root of this fear is the fear of what people will think. This, in my opinion, is what stifles true creativity. I think my necessity for creating comes from a feeling like I couldn’t express myself verbally from a young age, or at least was afraid of being misunderstood. I needed to find my own language and way of communicating with the world on my own terms. Within my painting practice I try to access my unconscious brain. As 95% of activity occurs in this space, this is where we exist in our true essence, without social pressure and conformity. I’m doing my best to show myself who I really am through my painting.
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How do you get into a creative mindset before starting a new artwork?
The cycle to the studio journey gets me into the right headspace and also keeps my home a space for rest. I have a pretty rigid structure to my day as I work 9:00 to 5:00 Monday to Friday which allows space to breathe into work and out of it. The rhythm of this is necessary as it can be intense and very stimulating. I generally work on at least two or three paintings at a time, sometimes up to five or six!
Before I start a new series, I like to clear away any remnants of previous work, like clearing old energy to make way for new, and to hang the canvases on the wall to have their own space. It’s really exciting to step back at this point and anticipate the potential of what’s about to happen. At this point, I will ground myself in the defiance against all the white space and go in determined not to be afraid of it or afraid to make ‘mistakes’. Having a new mix to listen to can give me a lot of fresh energy and put me into the right headspace to work also!
“Dancing and moving my body has a great impact on the energy to which I bring to the studio. Even though my studio practice is 9 to 5, my senses are always in tune to absorb potential inspiration.”
Can you tell us your artistic influences?
I get influence from a lot of sources outside of the artistic realm. It’s only in the last number of years I’ve realised that I’m not a big consumer of visual art but find influence in other places of expression. I could not make what I make without music. I listen to a lot of repetitive electronic and techno music while I’m creating as it puts me into a primal flow state and keeps me there for a long time, until my body cant keep up.
The order and repetition in architecture, patterns in textiles, color combinations in clothing are all influences. Dancing and moving my body has a great impact on the energy to which I bring to the studio. Even though my studio practice is 9 to 5, my senses are always in tune to absorb potential inspiration.
I can name many artists whose work I love but have nothing to do with what I do – Richard Serra, Christo, Marina Abramovic, Ai Wei Wei to name a few. The influence they have is the gravity of their presence on the audience. I think this is what brought me to my mantra ‘persistence is the key’ which helps me to push through my oscillating doubt.
I also like reading and listening to podcasts that are about brain activity. Anything from the evolved function and squishy tissue to alternate states of mind in psychedelics to breakthroughs in modern therapies and disorders.
What artwork are you especially proud of? Why?
I recently created a design for a thirty-six-foot glass corridor over in LA. I haven’t posted about it yet as I’m waiting for the rest of the building to be finished. It’s the biggest project to date in terms of scale, budget, challenges and working with the medium of glass for the first time. Working through the imposter syndrome and giving up control along the way was challenging. Although, it was an incredible experience to work with so many talented people in their field, to all work together to bring this concept to fruition. It was a long way from just me and my canvas in the studio and I learned a lot during this time both about exterior processes and about myself.
Installation shot Kin Connection_Art on Paper, New York_2022
What are the key takeaways you’d like your audience to see in your works?
I’ve made a conscious decision to work in this field, so my main goal is always to check that I’m enjoying myself in it. For me, what’s the point otherwise? So naturally there is a sense of joy in the work that comes through. I guess this is the obvious take away. I want people to feel uplifted and energised by it, to have a brief or long lasting moment of escapism from life. I would by no means classify myself as a good painter but what is important in my work is the reminder that freedom of expression can exist into adulthood and that the pursuit and space for individuality is imperative.
Looking ahead, do you have any specific artistic projects or collaborations in mind that you’d like to pursue in the future? Thank you!
I would love to turn ‘Kin Connection’ into a permanent public sculpture. I enjoy the challenges of going large in scale, and the outcomes of scale and how things exist in spaces is an interesting thing to comprehend.
To contact or learn more about Leah Hewson’s work, follow her on social media and check his website:
Interview with Vanessa Jones: “I think that meaning comes from the seeking of a true likeness, which is an idea I like to contemplate in my own work.”
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Vanessa Jones, originally from Tennessee and now a Dublin-based artist, is known for her vibrant, surreal-like self portraits. She talks to us about her figurative work the treatment of the female figure in the art world, and her future projects.
Tell us about yourself! I am a mom and artist living in Dublin since 2006. I moved here from New York City and am from Nashville, Tennessee. I worked at the Frick Collection in New York before moving to Ireland where I worked at IMMA here in Dublin on and off from 2009 to 2017 in various roles. In 2017, I took a career break to go back to school and get my MFA at NCAD and am now a part time lecturer in the painting department there.
Can you tell us about your art? I am mainly a figurative painter using self-portraiture exploring the history of painting, heritage and the feminine embodied in paint. I like to play with symbols and iconic figures in my paintings, hopefully, giving the viewer moments of familiarity that are built into the history of painting.
Can you tell us a bit more about your self-portraits? Like many female painters, the self-portrait comes from convenience – a figure to paint – but it means more than that. I think that meaning comes from the seeking of a “true” likeness, which is an idea I like to contemplate in my own work. The repetitive pursuit of painting the same image over and over again does something to the paintings as well. It makes my likeness more universal, I guess, and less individual. I also find the treatment of the female figure, or the feminine in the figure (take for example the Kritios boy), in the history of art fascinating as a reflection of culture. I like to equate it with the S-curve or the serpentine line.
You have an interesting “dream-like” style to your work. Can I ask what your influences are as an artist? Thank you for calling it “dream-like.” In my current exhibition, I try to play with this using literature and the way many female 19th century writers, particularly the Brontës, would address the reader to let them know that this is fiction but true. The paintings express what cannot be in reality but are also representational. Sort of a hyper-reality, I guess, but not realism. I think this is why I love French medieval art and the early renaissance work of Botticelli.
I also realised in the Hortus Conclusus exhibition that the device I used for reference images created a kind of unnatural light and colour. I went the Hallyu! Exhibition at the V&A, and it did a great job of playing with the way colour is represented in Korean culture in the past and now, being that they are the leaders in digital technology. Their pinks, reds and greens are so graphic and made for a digital device. Unknowingly at first, I tried to bring this digital colour to my work. I think that it plays with the “familiar” in the same way that I use art historical references in my paintings. We all know that type of light and colour saturation that comes from a digital world.
Can you tell us about your experience as an artist from the states and Ireland? I have been here since 2006, since I was 25, so I feel like I have grown up as an artist and an adult in Dublin. What I knew of the art world in The USA was really from New York Museums and Galleries working at the Frick Collection, which I’d say wasn’t really reflective of the art scene for most artists. That academic and blue chip idea of art always sort of made the art scene feel impenetrable. In Dublin, the art scene has always felt accessible by comparison with wide reaching connections globally. I started at IMMA when Enrique Juncosa was the Director and continued under Sarah Glennie, both of whom gave Dublin access to cutting edge and international artists. Not only that, they seemed to place Irish artists within that international context. I learned a lot just through observation. IMMA also had the knack for having small blockbuster exhibitions a year or two before the larger London or New York versions. I got to see Hilma af Klint in As Above So Below when her work was barely on the radar of international audiences.
We also know that you’ve been a recipient of many art and residency awards, most recently the RDS Mason Hayes & Curran LLP Centre Culturel Irlandais Residency Award 2021 in Paris! What was that like? That was wonderful. The light in Paris, in France, is something else, hence all the Impressionists, but it was hard being away for three months with a six-year-old back in Ireland. We coordinated going back and forth between Dublin and Paris, and I sent her off to my parents in the States in July with her Dad. She ended up spending much of August with me in France. I think, for my daughter, it was the best summer ever. It felt very ascetic at first having so much time to myself. It was a dream visiting the Musee Cluny and other museums without a schedule as well as the Apocalypse Tapestries and travelling around the Loire valley through rose farms all while having a studio at the Centre Culturel Irlandais. I think that I came back with a greater understanding of Medieval art from France. I found that all of the symbols and iconography in French Medieval art came directly from the land that it was made. It seems obvious, but, well, the realisation felt profound. I remember my French friend suggesting we visit the Dungeon at the Chateau Vincennes on the hottest day in Paris, because it would be cool there…and it was. I hardly knew we had a heatwave that day, and it suddenly made sense of the medieval building.
What t has been the most rewarding art experience you’ve had so far? I just had my first solo exhibition, Hortus Conclusus, open at the RHA Ashford Gallery on the 30th of March. It was the first time I thoughtfully had to work towards a single body of work and towards a comprehensive realisation in a really dedicated way. It was a process that felt slow and long until it wasn’t. Suddenly two months out, I worried I’d have nothing finished! Around January, my original idea of the Hortus Conclusus was transformed around cabbages and snails when I discovered a Korean Folk Tale that seemed to bind all my ideas together. Bar one painting that I did in Paris, I started all of my paintings over for the exhibition in January. It made time very tight but definitely more rewarding.
Any future projects you want us to keep an eye on? I’ve had a collaboration on the backburner with the friend from the Dungeon, French tapestry artist Bettina Saroyan, around the Unicorn Tapestries. We did a bit of research together when I was in France over the summer. That realisation has yet to happen, but it is one I think about often and communicate with Bettina about a lot. It’s like meditating on medieval thought when contemplating the unicorn. It also brings up a lot of contemporary ideas around the digital world and, again, that idea of unnatural light.
To contact or learn more about Vanessa Jone’s work, follow her on social media and check his website:
Interview with Peter Smyth: “I suppose I feel I’m making something of utter complexity or abstract thoughts we have about what goes on beneath us, underground and all around us.”
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Peter Smyth is an Irish artist based in Kildare. Smyth’s work is heavily influenced by ecological thought. He explores the dichotomy of painting and digital art, creating pieces that utilise both mediums. He talks to us about his work, his greatest influences in art and his future projects.
Tell us about yourself!
Hi, my name is Peter Smyth. I’m an artist living and working in North Kildare. I’ve been a self-employed artist for the last 2 years at this point, having built a home studio out the back of my family home back at the beginning of 2021, this is now my full-time haunt.
Can you tell us about your art?
Currently and for the past year and a half, my work has been influenced by ecological thought, the philosophy entangled with it and certain ecosystems within that such as fungal networks and the organisms they interact with. That combined with the overarching dichotomy of the ontology of painting and that of digital art. By that, I mean calling into question by means of implementation, the properties of both and their relations to one another.
My work and my process utilises both mediums in its conception. I view my paintings as a collaborator and competitor to digital art, it almost must be as why else would I paint the canvases if could print to them to the same effect, I say to myself. The weight, the texture, relief, the traces of human experiences achieved in paint, they cannot be replicated by any AI even, or maybe I’ll eat those words.
What about your artistic style?
In terms of the actual aesthetic, stylistic representation of my work. It’s formulated by drawing shapes acquired from deconstructing imagery of plant life, such as petals, leaves, stems to mappings of fungal networks.
I create usually rudimentary looking 3d extrusions of them, sometimes rigid and sharp, sometimes curved, I suppose maybe because I’m thinking of them broken down or zoomed into on a micro level. To then assemble those in a piece of software that renders lighting and different textures/materials is interesting, they’re recognisable shapes, but the colours chosen are arbitrary, like the process of constructing the compositions altogether. I’m left with something I could never have envisioned from the start, the depth achieved then within the painting is something that engages our sense of contextual space, or at least that’s what I hope it achieves. I suppose I feel I’m making something of utter complexity or abstract thoughts we have about what goes on beneath us, underground and all around us.
I noticed you implement digital processes into your art practice. Can you tell me more about this creative process?
The digital process is essential to my work. The paintings never come into existence without it and I recognise that. I can of course choose my inspiration, my point of departure in which the subject is chosen, the shapes are drawn and translated then into 3D models.
The good stuff begins to happen when you change the lighting, the colours, the reflective properties of the objects in the software. You’re taking these shapes and manipulating them to a point where they interact in just the right way, of course that’s subjective to me as I ultimately settle on the picture I will translate to a painting. The brilliance of it is that the most incongruous colours that don’t necessarily have this great colour relationship in theory seem to work together out of nowhere. Suddenly you can crop into this and see a wonderful idea for a painting.
What are your greatest influences as an artist?
The world around us in general, the systems present, the forces at work, the sheer scope of it all. I’m always baffled, like many of us, about the infinitude of things which surround and affect us in so many aspects; the individual leaves on each bush, the tree outside my window, to the quantum level of what passes through our bodies every moment we exist. I feel as though I must express that in some form, like some sort of votive offering to the world. Some do that through nurturing more growth in terms of gardening for instance. I like to think I’m doing a bit of gardening myself with my paintings, my arrangements. I coined a term for my paintings, some are titled as such, calling them ‘Arborisms’ after what you call an arborist or tree surgeon.
As a young, emerging artist, can you tell me what it’s like to work in Ireland?
The artistic community in a Dublin, theres a lot of positive things for such a small country. Maybe it’s the artist friends I’ve made and the other connections that make it all feel very tight knit, or a smaller world to me. Whether that’s necessarily a good thing I’m not sure. Theres certainly a hunger for art in Dublin and that’s great, however I’ll report back in the future on how far Dublin alone may get you as an artist. Whilst you can get great opportunities here, it’s a matter of how many and for whom, due to the scale of the creative industries/ gallery scene here.
Has there been anyone who inspired you to continue your art?
Other than the unwavering support of my parents since I was young, theres one person who’s been a massive proponent in my career so far, that would be the artist Al Maser.
When covid hit I left my retail job on the back end of finishing my postgrad and I had the time to focus on painting. Maser bought two of my early works and invited me into his studio to have a chat. He expressed his belief in me and that gave me more encouragement to go all in. He offered me a solo show in 2021 and it opened in March 2022. It provided me a platform to showcase my work and to be seen by new audiences. To have had my first show in Atelier Now at such a pivotal time, I will be forever grateful. To be told you have what it takes from somebody who has had already such a successful art career and then to be backed by him in that instance was incredible. Not only that being a success for me, it introduced me to other artists who have a similar mentor relationship with Al, whom I have become great friends with.
To see artists like Sean Atmos, who is a fantastic artist and friend, do so well from a similar position but with a different artistic background, it inspires me to keep going. When you see colleagues around you thrive you are reminded in your own practice that you can achieve things with hard work and consistency, and with a good group of artists in your circle or environment.
What is the best piece of advice given to you?
Patience being a virtue, or not to cut corners, or don’t rush anything. Whatever way you like to take that, it remains very important to me, though simple and cliché in essence. My father is a massive perfectionist when it comes to fabricating anything, tackling any project and that has rubbed off on me, though it only took most of my life. There’s an inherent urge at times I feel to push out work to keep up with everything that goes on in our online lives, that’s a massive issue in this ‘content’ generation, it’s a fine line to balance when you’re trying to make progress and be seen.
What is something you’ve always wanted to do in your art career?
Currently, I have my eyes on a show internationally. Whether that’s a group show or a solo show I’ll take that one step at a time. There might be something on the way but its to early to know for sure just yet.
I would like to do something in relation art and science being exhibited side by side, think mycology expert, some data visualisation, and paintings responding to that in the same space, but how that might be made manifest yet I’m not sure.
Any future projects we should keep an eye out for?
I have a piece being auctioned off for Scoop Outside the Box, to support the Scoop Foundation Charity in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA Gallery) on the 28th of March 2023. Beyond that I cant say too much as there are two things which aren’t set in stone just yet but keep your eyes peeled for something in Dublin in April/ May and something bigger towards the end of the year!
To contact or learn more about Peter Smyth’s work, follow him on social media and check his website:
Interview with Eleanor McCaughey: “The work grows with me, it evolves as I navigate the world around me with its ups and downs.”
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Eleanor McCaughey, an Irish artist based in Dublin. McCaughey’s work is abstract, incorporating media and creating large-scale installations. She talks to us about her work, the importance of art in her life and her future projects.
Tell us about yourself!
My name is Eleanor, I am an Irish artist living and working in Dublin. I have a multidisciplinary practice with a background in animation and graphic design. Currently, I have a studio in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) after receiving the Fingal County Council Studio award.
Can you tell us about your art?
My art practice is a really important part of my life, it has become cathartic and It grounds me mentally. My studio practice has gotten me through a couple of tough patches in my life, it’s definitely therapeutic for me. Recently I have been researching and developing a new visual language that deals with themes of belonging, displacement, and loss of faith, looking at theological and cosmic notions through a multifarious practice that includes installation, painting, sculpture, and video.
You started in animation! How did you pivot from that into contemporary art?
I always enjoyed film, this idea of an immersive world that you can escape to. When I made the decision to study animation and design I was just out of school and I was thinking I could combine this idea of an immersive world with drawing and painting. I didn’t really know what fine art was at the time or how one could make it a part of your life or career. Years later I signed up for figure painting evening course run by an artist, Donal Murray. The evening course introduced me to oil painting techniques. I was absolutely addicted. I enjoyed the tactile nature of painting in comparison to painting and drawing on the computer with a Wacom tablet. I loved exploring the possibilities of the medium and embracing the mistakes and mess. There is no right, no wrong, only experimentation, I enjoyed the freedom of this.
Can you tell us about your creative process?
I read somewhere, that at the end of the day in the studio, always leave a task unfinished so you have something to work on straight away when you return the next day. When I get into the studio I close the door behind me and I get a release of energy. I dive headfirst into making in a flurry and I will do this for about 3 hours, after which I have to take a tea break. Tea, chocolate and peanuts are a studio staple. There is an important focus on materials in my work so I will sculpt or paint with whatever I can get my hands on. Usually, the materials that I have lying around in the studio determine the work. The size of the studio space also influences qualities of the work and it’s output, for example, the scale of the work or the material quality of the work.
Have you in my wilderness
Could you tell us more about how you developed into the unique artistic style that we see today?
The change from painting into abstraction, media and installation work happened about 3 years ago. I underwent a couple of surgeries for a condition called endometriosis. I was in the recovery stage at this point and so I was thankful for the rest. I was in my second year of the turps banana course where they pair you up with a mentor for the year. I had a very influential art mentor who inspired me to question the work I was making at the time. He turned me on to artist, Mike Kelly. I started watching interviews with Kelly and I came across this one interview where he talked about the idea of ‘unlearning’. He talks about where he found his old drawings of when he was young. This inspired me to dig out some childhood drawings, I found one drawing which was a wax resist drawing of a rainbow, grassy hill and a blue sky.
The quality of the work was free, uninhibited and beautifully expressive, I decided to go back to the drawing board and rethink my usual techniques and reintroduce old ones. At this point, the concepts around the work were pulling the work in new directions. I started playing around with new building techniques for my sculptures, using everyday found materials and plaster. I was thinking about my body and what it was physically capable of making now that I was healing. I started concentrating more on making installation as I was enjoying the physicality of making large-scale work. With this new work I had to push my body to stretch and pull while mark making, painting and sculpting. I wanted to make works that were bigger than me.
Your work is so vibrant! Could you explain these different elements and what inspired them?
I have always embraced colour in my work. My formative years were the 80s and 90s so I was always into bright graphics, filters and patterns, I was influenced by gig posters and album covers. I enjoy colour theory and experimenting with it, I also use it as a tool to create a feeling in a painting. My paintings are becoming more experimental and intuitive with an influence by the history of iconographers in my family. My painting is steadily evolving through new materials (wax, gouache and oil sticks) and adopting decorative and uncanny qualities that animate when drenched in light.
What artwork are you especially proud of?
I am usually most proud of my most recent works because the works are always evolving. Each exhibition is built on ideas from the last exhibition, I try to push these ideas and think about the work differently for each show. The work grows with me, it evolves as I navigate the world around me with its ups and downs. If I am lucky enough to have the freedom to make site-specific work for a given gallery this also affects the direction of the work. I am always exhilarated by the idea of creating an immersive space. I suppose I could be chasing that feeling of when I was a child crawling behind the Christmas tree with all of its coloured lights on or building a hut out of the couch cushions. I am proud of the work I made for learning to smell the smoke installation that was part of the “Bones in the attic” exhibition curated by Victoria Evans at the Hugh Lane. This work was made in Temple Bar Gallery and Studio’s and it was a lot bigger than me and very physical to make.
What are the key takeaways you’d like your audience to see in your works?
Art is subjective, and everyone comes to a work with their own experiences, viewing the world through a different lens than mine. There isn’t a specific message I am trying to convey in my work, I suppose it is more of a feeling I am trying to capture. As a child and a young adult I had a strong belief in something bigger than myself. I used to visit churches and went to mass and I enjoyed the spiritual feeling that was outside of myself. The idea of the other, the unexplainable, I found comfort in the magic of it all. I miss the sounds, the smells and the sanctuary of a church. I hope my work has an inviting quality like a sanctuary of sorts that takes your mind off of yourself for even a minute. The colour, textures, the way the viewer activates the glitter in the work is all intentional.
Any future projects we should keep an eye out for?
I will be in a group exhibition at the Luan Gallery curated by Aoife Banks in April 2023. I will also have work included in a group exhibition at The Courthouse Gallery curated by Simon Fennessy Corcoran in August 2023. In 2024 I will have a solo exhibition coming up in The Ashford Gallery RHA.
Image of a video still work
To contact or learn more about Eleanor McCaughey’s work, follow her on social media and check his website:
Interview with Jialin Long: “For me, all my works relate to my own experiences, maybe it didn’t turn the camera on me, but there is a part of my story in every single of my work”
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Jialin Long, Beijing-born and now Ireland-based photographer, has seen much success after graduating from IADT in 2020. We talk to Long about her work, greatest influences and her future projects.
Photo Credit: Raisha Dong
Tell us about yourself!
I was born in Beijing, China, and came to Ireland to do a master’s degree in Electronic engineering. I turned my career into photography when my first child was born. Now I’m living with my husband and our three children.
You studied and worked as an engineer! Can you tell us more about that and how you got into photography?
Firstly, as an Asian woman who worked in a male-dominated field, I felt resistance to growing my potential in this profession in engineering when working with many white men, so I decided to pursue something that I’ve always wanted to do.
Secondly, until then, I walked on this path that my mother “designed” which will give me a “good life”, and that includes studying engineering. In the 7th year of working in engineering, every morning after I woke up I looked into the mirror and saw that I’m doing the same thing in the next 10 years, I couldn’t bear it.
I’ve been interested in photography since childhood. I started learning with a passion for making beautiful images but soon I found photography as an art form and hooked in on what it is capable to do in contemporary visual practice.
Can you tell us about your art?
I describe my practice as focusing on issues in contemporary culture, and it uses new presentation strategies to explore social and political issues in an attempt to formulate alternative statements and positions.
Who or what are your greatest influences as an artist?
When I studied photography, I came across Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin talking about the story behind their work “The Day Nobody Died“. This work stayed in my mind for months and months. From there I see how much the meaning can go beyond the images.
Other influences includes Louise Lawler and Sherrie Levine, to young photographers like Simon Lehner, these artists inspired me of what photography is capable of. Seeing these artists use photography in a non-traditional approach, was like shaking my mind “oh, you can do it this way.”
Has any of your personal experiences influenced your work too? If yes, please tell us more!
That’s for sure. I’d like to use a sentence said by another artist, “We are not vampires, we are artists.” He meant artists are not taking everything from everyone else, but we are also giving ourselves. For me, all my works relate to my own experiences, maybe it didn’t turn the camera on me, but there is a part of my story in every single of my work.
Red Illuminates, 2020.
Can you tell me about your creative process?
It’s research, testing, research, testing… meeting friends, talking about progress, and starting again. When working on a new project, I always find it hard, because I don’t know which way I should go, so I try a lot of things, and hopefully, I will figure out a way from it.
I heard these words from Paul Graham, and I use them as my mantra when facing difficulties: “My work, every time I start something new, it is junk. Just keep going. And in the case of photography – sooner or later the world will whisper in your ear and say, let me show you something far more interesting than your little idea. You just have to keep going and keep at it. Make mistakes, make errors, and then the good work arrives. It will arrive.”
Your projects “Red Illuminates” and “The Leftover Women” both respond to China’s social and political policies, how much do these concepts influence your work?
These two works were made at nearly the same time. They both related to my experience at the time that when I visited my parents in Beijing in 2019, I felt it was hard to reach resources for visual and content research when I was in China. Instead, the political guidance was influencing what you can see and what you can hear. So when I returned to Ireland, I reflected on that experience in these two works but mostly in Red Illuminates.
How have you used your photography to reflect on Irish society and culture?
I’m still a recent graduate from college not long ago. The most relevant project since graduation for Irish society is the diversity commission for Dublin City Council Arts Office in 2020 – 2021. In this commission, I tried to challenge the stereotyping of the Chinese community by actively collaborating with the people I photographed and trying to build a deep and more expressive series of portraits of this diverse but under-represented ethnic community in Dublin.
I think photography is the ideal medium to engage other people. With the current technology, everyone can be a photographer. There are two parts involved, one is to click the shutter, and the other one is the subject. Talking about art making, with photography, when you give control to other people, that person starts to tell everyone what he/she sees.
“In this fast paced, economic-driven world, art is the food for our souls. If my work can be seen and understood by normal people, that’ll make my hard work worth it.”
What is the ultimate goal of your work?
I hope people see it, talk about it and maybe it can inspire people to rethink the current issues we have. In this fast paced, economic-driven world, art is the food for our souls. If my work can be seen and understood by normal people, that’ll make my hard work worth it.
Some of your work is included in the Making Art: Photography exhibition at Draíocht until January 2023, can you tell us about the works included in the exhibition?
The work exhibited in this exhibition is along with a selection from the National Photography Collection with Photo Museum Ireland. My work is a portrait of a Nurse Manager in Dublin, this image is part of the diversity commission I was a part of in 2020-2021. 5 artists were commissioned to make work for the diversity program and together the project is for reflecting the dramatically changed social and cultural landscape of Ireland’s capital city. I believe the diversity commission fits the purpose of the National Photography Collection for “building awareness of the politics of place and the role of photography in shaping cultural identity.”
Portrait is part of “What Do you think of Me?” series as part of is exhibiting in “In Our Own Image: Photography and the Social Gaze” at Photo Museum Ireland
Are you working on any future projects we should be keeping an eye on?
Apart from the research for the Sherkin project, I’ve mentioned, I am working on developing a new work based on the interviews I have with my subjects in “The Leftover Women (this project is about women in China who have still not married at 27 years of age and are referred to as Sheng Nu). The idea is about giving instructions to people at different stages in their life, and the reality slashes back to the ideal plan. It’s kind of a new chapter of Red Illuminates. Continuing with the instructive structure from the socialist country and interpreting it with AI images and machine learning rewrite instructions. I am still working and experimenting on the subject, I hope I will figure it out soon.
To contact or learn more about Jialin Long’s work, follow her on social media and check his website:
Interview with Gerard Byrne“When I look back at the early days of my career, those hard times were precious. They made me who I am today.”
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Gerard Byrne, a Dublin native and one of Ireland’s well-known contemporary artists. He is recognised for his vivid plein air works and figurative paintings, and he has established a comfortable gallery and studio in the heart of Ranelagh. We are delighted to chat with Gerard about his work and his recently published book “Turning Corners“.
Artist Gerard Byrne pictured with “Turning Corners” book on Ashfield Road, Ranelagh. Photo: Richie Stokes
You’ve been painting throughout the pandemic, and you’ve chronicled it so well through your artworks. How did you select the paintings that made it into the book?
Every painting I produced during the three lockdown periods is included in Turning Corners. All 150 of them. Originally, I felt it might be too much to include them all. I was conscious that several of the works are very similar – the same scene painted from different viewpoints or at various times of the day for instance. But each painting has its own unique story, its own place within the context of my lockdown journey: the people I met while I was painting it, the weather on the day, the atmosphere, my own thoughts etc. When I look at each one, I remember those moments. The book is a visual journal of a specific and significant time, so it wouldn’t be truly representative of the period if any painting had been left out.
It’s obviously much different painting in 2020 compared to this summer. What are some differences you’ve noticed yourself from the process?
During lockdown, people were more curious. They had more time to stop and talk, to ask questions, to engage with me. I think they were almost looking for distraction, for entertainment, and they seemed to really appreciate seeing me out painting. It touched a nerve; it meant something to them, and they were outspoken in letting me know. Now, it’s very much back to business, to normality. People don’t have the time, or the need. The public still engages with me when I’m out painting but not at all to the same extent. Not that I’ve had much time to paint this summer, to be honest. After the huge output of lockdown, I needed a bit of a break. The weather wasn’t great at times either. I had a few commissions to complete in Dingle but every time I wanted to go the forecast was for stormy, wet conditions. Also, a massive amount of work went into the production of the book, so that’s where the focus was this year.
Gerard Byrne “Seapoint. Ray of Sunshine”, oil on canvas 60x60cm
Once the lockdowns eased up, did you have the urge to travel further for locations? Have you done any international work since 2020?
Once the lockdown was over, I wanted to run away – like a lot of people in the country, I think. It wasn’t as easy as that though. It was expensive, there were problems at the airport, massive queues, luggage going missing and so on. When I go abroad to paint, I take a lot of equipment with me, a lot of excess luggage. I didn’t want to head off somewhere and then find my easel or my canvases hadn’t arrived. Also, we – myself and my wife, Agata – had been working flat out throughout the pandemic to keep the business going. Because the Gallery was closed, we focused a lot of time on the website, on social media, virtual tours, and online exhibitions etc. And, of course, the book. When travel was possible again, our minds weren’t really focused on ‘what’s next?’ or ‘where next?’. What we needed was to recharge the batteries, take a deep breath after the frantic pace of the previous two years. We took the month of August off this year to do just that.
How was the process of making the book? Was there something about this body of work that seemed especially suited to a book format?
My output was huge during lockdown. The Gallery was closed so I had accumulated a very large amount of work. Agata has had, for quite some time, the idea of producing a coffee table type book of my work, perhaps to document my thirty-year career. But when the pandemic happened, and I had this explosion of creativity, it seemed that here we had a body of work that could, in effect, frame this hugely significant period in our history. It felt like the right time to do it, for now and for future generations.
Having continued to such a positive proactive approach during the global crisis, do you have advice for artists who may be struggling through difficult circumstances?
Don’t expect it to be easy. Be true to what you want to do. Try and enjoy the pain. Accept that this is the way it’s supposed to be. I have been a full time artist for over thirty years. I did the starving artist bit in New York when I had absolutely no money, and in Berlin in the late 1980s when the Wall was coming down. I painted through the recession. Being an artist is always a struggle. Making that choice is never an easy thing to do. If it was, we’d all be doing it. But when I look back at the early days of my career, those hard times were precious. They made me who I am today. I chose to be an artist not thinking about how I could pay my bills. I just knew I wanted to do it and that if I paid my bills, that would be a bonus. I met some good people along the way, people who recognised my intent, my ambition. Those are the people who will help you and support you. We have a short life and a certain time to live it. You can spend that time doing a job you hate but it’s better to do the best you can with the time you have. That’s the decision I made, and it worked for me. I reckon I’m the luckiest person going, in that sense.
Gerard Byrne “Beautiful Moments in Time”, oil on canvas 60x80cm
Hopefully you still have the opportunity to paint the cherry blossoms of Japan. After this exhibition, do you have plans for 2023 and beyond?
I have lots of ambitions. Lots of dreams. Since my show in Singapore (Byrne was Artist-in-Residence at the Singapore Botanic Gardens in 2019) I’ve been looking more towards international exposure. I feel I’d be ready for Japan. Before Covid, I was making plans like nobody’s business, looking to the future. But the pandemic taught me a lesson: don’t make plans, just do it. I’d like to go to the States to paint the fall. I did it before and would like to do it again. I saw Boston for the first time this year and I’d like to go back and paint the streets, the architecture. I’d also like to go back to Paris to paint. I’ve got lots of ideas: painting in different climates, different lights. I’m open to opportunities and I’m hoping Turning Corners will be a gate-opener, that the opportunities will seek me out. I’m ready for the challenge and I’m looking forward to it.
Anything else you like to mention?
We are living in strange times. We’ve gone from Covid to war, to energy shortages, accommodation crises and so on. The news always seems to be bad. It plays on the subconscious. It’s doom and gloom, we’re heading into the winter etc. So, I’d like to think that this exhibition will, in some way, alleviate those stresses and strains, that it will allow people to relax, to escape from the outside world, so to speak. We have opened another room to accommodate over 60 paintings on show and it’s not often people can see such a large body of work by one artist under one roof in a private gallery. The general feedback from visitors has been that they have really enjoyed the ambience, the tranquility that comes through the work, the colour, the warmth, the escapism.
Turning Corners exhibition continues at Gerard Byrne Studio until 23rd of October 2022.
Turning Corners book is available to purchase in the gallery and online at gerardbyrneartist.com.
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To contact or learn more about Gerard Byrne’s work follow him on social media and check his website:
Conversation with Maser:“I found graffiti definitely was the vehicle for me to be able to really explore what I wanted to do, meet similar peers that had the same sort of mindset as me […]”
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Al Maser, also known as Maser, is one of Dublin’s most well-known street artists. We sat down and spoke with him at his Dublin-based studio, Atelier Now.
Maser’s studio is an artist’s ideal set up – it’s spacious, bright, open and has enough space to sit and relax with a coffee. The studio is a result of Maser’s personal philosophy and goals. When he returned home to Dublin after living abroad, he wanted to create a multipurpose space where he could do all the things he loved; meditation, build a community, host workshops, and have the space to produce large-scale artworks.
At our visit, his studio was full of works for his upcoming exhibition at Gormley’s on the 27th October 2022. It’s safe to say that he has been busy, and in addition to his upcoming exhibition, Maser recently released a new “limited edition” print of his “U Are Alive” mural, which was launched on his website in 29th September, sold in in a number of hours.
Maser’s upcoming exhibition will be his biggest to date, spanning three floors and consisting of more than 60 paintings, the exhibition is aptly named “Lost Time, Found Again.” His meditations on time have been greatly influenced by having a 7-month-old baby and establishing where his priorities lie. “That theme [time] has always been in my life, like how do you balance stuff, I haven’t figured it out but everything is moving constantly, but you make time for things that are important. I’ve had to slow down a lot of stuff, like less shows here, stop the artist residency cause I had to prioritise family for a minute. Then we get offers all the time for people to come in, first thing I’d say is I don’t have time but then where does that sit on my priorities? And it sits quite high – engaging community, especially young community. That there is no problem – just allocating the time.”
Maser is one of Dublin’s best known contemporary artists. He grew up with graffiti and street, where he used this medium to fully explore his interests. “I found graffiti definitely was the vehicle for me to be able to really explore what I wanted to do, meet similar peers that had the same sort of mindset as me […]”. But like many of us as teenagers, he was once was unsure of what he wanted to do and unaware of the possibilities of pursuing art as a career. Although the path to an artistic career wasn’t always clear for him, art and creativity have always been a passion of his. “Growing up art was definitely deemed arts and crafts […]. But it was always something that was a companion, something I always did and enjoyed and in some ways it was a bit secretive, ‘cause I guess art was touching more into the feminine side and you definitely weren’t allowed to engage with that as a young 15 year old [boy].”
Maser went to study fine arts, but eventually dropped out to study graphic design. He was already creating a lot graffiti at the time, and it is where he first encountered his love of colour and ambition as an artist. Although graphic design, especially typography, is where he found his niche and how he began to develop his signature style. He tookwhat he had learned from his studies and combined these elements tocreate avisual language that we all know him for. As he says “Graffiti – it’s typography, it’s your name and you’re skewing it, so it’s sort of abstract typography in some way.”
His compositions are expressive and striking, and the results are a combination of both the artist’s and the designer’s mentality. “[When] you’re painting on the streets you want your piece to be as loud as possible, so you’re using quite processed vibrant colours, and that black – those black lines are coming from graffiti, usually- not all the time you’d black outline a piece. Black and white balance out the composition and the colours – without it, it would be quite muted, so they’re the levers.”
“It’s an open message, people take what they want from it, like I’ve had loads of people messaging me very kind things on how it has affected them and helped them.”
One of the most rememberable murals he’s ever worked on was the Repeal mural from 2016, which was partially removed back in 2018. The mural’s message was seen across all media; the graphic appeared on t-shirts and badges and on people’s social media profiles. “Repeal was quite important obviously for its reason, but also that collective energy, really having no ownership of the work was really nice and seeing it pull people together.” It’s clear that Maser wants his street art to speak for itself and be interpreted by people in their own way. The “U Are Alive” mural has been a familiar sight for the last eight years and brings a spark of joy to Dublin’s streets, as well as a connection to the general population that Maser really values. “It’s an open message, people take what they want from it, like I’ve had loads of people messaging me very kind things on how it has affected them and helped them.”
[…] “I’ve had loads of people messaging me very kind things on how it has affected them and helped them.”
The lack of personal ownership over street art is something Maser brings to his attitude about his art work as well, especially when painting is a means for processing or expressing emotions. “You’re sort of painting cause you’re figuring out stuff and I don’t really hold on to [works]. Because you’re growing, you’re going to develop more and develop more. I think, actually if anything, when I see artists really hold on and be precious with a work then it really slows them down and fucks them up. They don’t release. Don’t control it, just make it and move on.”
Outside of the studio and his art, Maser is a mental health advocate. Alongside his friend Conor Creighton, they established the Dublin Boys Club – a group established to build community and break down the cultural and societal obstacles that prevent men from discussing their mental health. They had activities such as meeting at his studio, hosting events, and hiking.Earlier this month he completed a cycle with a member of the Dublin Boys Club from Dublin to Galway as part of Suicide Prevention Day. The reason for the cycle itself is a worthwhile one but the physical test of endurance also feeds into his artistic practice. While the days were full of harsh and unforgivable weather, his mentality helped him get through the trip. Pushing one’s self is something he believes in. As he says comes from his art practice: “You can sit in this comfort zone but how far can you push something? Then you push through that little bit and you’re getting closer to the edge.” To quote his friend, John, to “Find those edges”. “[…]and it’s the same with painting – what if we did 60 paintings, what if we did this, and that’s why I like to do it. I like finding your abilities and your breaking point.”
So, what does Maser hope his audience take away from his art? He says people should “[…] take something positive from it. It depends who’s looking at it really, you definitely don’t want to be forcing your intentions or opinions on [others] you definitely want it to be open.” It is refreshing chatting to Maser, and it is evident that he places as much importance in his own wellbeing and the promotion of positive mental health in others as he does his work. This welcome attitude should be encouraged. Regardless of what each individual takes away from viewing his work, it is difficult not to feel uplifted when confronted with his bright, playful, and expressive paintings.
So, what are the future plans for Maser? Within the art sphere, we will be marking our calendars for his upcoming exhibition “Lost Time Found Again” at Gormley’s on the 27th of October 2022. One of his goals for the upcoming year include strengthening the Dublin Boys Club community and investing more energy there, developing a system there that will enable it to be self-sustaining
To contact or learn more about Maser’s work follow him on social media and check his website:
Interview with Owen de Forge:“I find shapes to be immensely powerful tools for conveying emotion, heavily utilised in abstract painting but also subtly present in all visual art.”
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Owen de Forge, an Irish visual artist, known for his figurative painting and his unconventional canvas structures, Here, we talk to him about all things art, his animation background and his upcoming projects.
Tell us about yourself!
I’m a figurative painter from Dublin. I’ve been working as an artist since graduating in 2019. I paint to process moments from my life. I work quite slowly, so making work gives me a lot of time to daydream and reflect on my relationships, human behavior, and how we interact in the world.
Tell me about your art and your art process.
Most of my ideas for paintings come from memories. I take a lot of photos so that I can always find a visual reference for a moment, but the photo on its own rarely captures how the moment feels. That’s where paint comes in. I interpret the photograph through paint, selectively rendering certain areas and letting others become vague or abstracted. I leave my memory on the canvas, my own heavily subjective point of view.
I read you studied animation before you began painting full-time. What did you love about animation? How was this transition?
That’s right, I always loved animated films growing up and in my late teens I started watching a lot of experimental animation and reading graphic novels. I was drawn to how animators use body language to convey powerful emotion in their drawings. I found drawing from life really challenging and fascinating. I was quite intimidated by painting. I thought you had to have a special gift for it.
I had a painting module in my first year of college and the teacher did an excellent job of teaching simple techniques and demystifying the whole process. Once I understood the basics I started to really enjoy it and I realised I could become good at it with a lot of practice. I painted a lot in my free time throughout college and by the time I graduated it was all I wanted to do.
Do you still like animation?
animation has definitely driven me towards creating an impression of motion in my paintings. My favourite paintings are a bit like key poses in animation; moments that suggest what could happen before and afterwards.
I still watch a lot of animation. I love seeing what my classmates have been working on since graduating. I haven’t actually done any animation since then. It’s so time consuming and I’m completely preoccupied with painting. I would like come back to it at at some point though, if I can find some place for it in my work.
Behind the Scenes
I love your figurative paintings! How do you choose someone to paint?
I’m not always sure what makes me want to paint someone. It could be something in the way they carry themselves or their style that appeals to me. I’m not picky about who I paint though. As long as someone is able to be vulnerable and authentically themselves I can always find something about them worth painting. It takes a huge amount of courage to let yourself be scrutinised like that. I really appreciate the trust people have in letting me paint them.
Your recent paintings are not subjected to the conventional rectangular canvas. What is the reason for this?
Initially it was just a question of ‘why not?’
I started to think it was weird that most paintings are rectangular. I got very curious about the shape in general, googling the history of geometry and not understanding much of what I found. You never see rectangles in nature do you? Only on a microscopic level like with certain crystals. I thought about being constantly boxed in by rectangles. Does this affect the way our brains develop?I have an absurd number of unanswered questions about rectangles. If anyone knows more about this could they please reach out to me?
Artistically anyway I find shapes to be immensely powerful tools for conveying emotion, heavily utilised in abstract painting but also subtly present in all visual art. We instinctively associate sharp angles and straight edges with pain and rigidity, while rounded shapes feel soft and comfortable. This seems to be universal across all cultures.
To be clear I don’t have anything against rectangles on principle. I now completely understand their utility after making some very unwieldy paintings, but I feel compelled to explore the infinite potential of shape as a compositional variable.
Were there any specific influences that helped mold your artistic style?
Egon Schiele was one of the first artists that got me excited about making art. His paintings have a sensitivity that finds a unique spirit in everyone he paints. His expressive observations are a marriage of what he sees and what he feels. Every painting is a sort of self portrait. That kind of subjectivity is definitely something that inspired my approach to painting.
What is a memorable painting you’ve ever worked on?
I did a painting last year called ‘Still Climbing Trees’. It’s a self portrait but only my legs and hands are visible. The shape and colours are distorted in a way that feels very personal to me. The main appeal is that I’m climbing a tree in the painting, an activity that I’ve always been fond of and hope to keep doing well into old age. Secondly it takes place at night, outside of normal tree climbing hours, and it’s cropped so close that there’s no context to explain the situation. For me it captures how it feels to be between waking and dreaming, and shows something of myself that can’t be put into words. For selfish reasons it would have to be my favourite.
Still Climbing Trees
What is something you’ve always wanted to do in your art career?
To paint what I want, as much as I want and not have to worry about money.
Are you working on anything at the minute that you’d like to share to us?
I will be in a group show at Outset Gallery in Galway opening August 19th. It’s a new gallery run by talented, passionate people and I’m excited to be involved. Check it out if you have the chance!
I’m currently in a year-long residency with The Dean Art Studios in Chatham Row. It’s the first time I’ve had the space to experiment as much as I want and make really ambitious work. Expect a body of work of unprecedented scope and quality sometime next year.
To contact or learn more about Owen de Forge’s work follow him on social media and check his website:
Interview with Sophia Vigne Welsh:“We’re bombarded by a constant flow of information and inspiration, and painting gives me the space to figure out which bits matter to me.”
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Sophia Vigne Welsh, an Irish visual artist, chats to us to talk about the inspirations that drives her art, how she works and the impact of living and working in different places in the world.
Tell us about yourself!
I’m a visual artist who makes abstract paintings with elements of collage and drawing to try and make sense of life. Last October 2021, I moved to Lisbon and since this move I’ve been in the incredibly privileged position of being able to paint full time, something that seemed out of reach for a long time. I’ve been painting since I left college in 2016 and in the last couple of years have also begun working on large scale murals.
Tell me about your art!
I make work to explore bodily tension in various environments and relationships both from a first person pov and through observing others behaviours and what’s happening politically and in pop culture. I’d like to think that you can see both the high and low brow content that I consume come through in my paintings.
What is your art process like?
My process is pretty simple really; show up and make the work! Usually I’m working on 3 – 4 canvases at once and some works on paper. I make a lot of tiny shape drawings in my notebooks which I’ll go back to and reference when working on the larger pieces but I never have a set plan for a painting nor do I try to replicate these sketches. I tried working this way when I started to paint but over the years have found this more intuitive approach to be much more enjoyable and to yield better results. I’m happiest and most myself when painting and I think this comes through in the work but also hope that when the viewer looks a bit deeper they can see the tension that I’m trying to communicate. In the last 2 years or so I feel like I’ve created a discernible visual language through which I can express myself honestly and accurately.
Before moving to the medium of paint and drawing you worked with photography, can you tell me a bit about the transition?
I began painting in my final year in NCAD where I studied Fine Art Media with a particular interest in socially engaged work. For my final project I took on a pretty intense workload of conducting workshops and photographing students in various Youthreach centres with the aim of destigmatising alternative education paths. Initially painting was something fun to do to blow off some steam but quickly I realised that this was what I really wanted to be spending my time doing. When I graduated I moved to L.A. for the year and decided to see where painting would bring me. For a long time I felt like this was a really selfish decision but it’s one I’m very happy I made.
Do you have any inspirations (artists or beyond) that influence your style of art?
My inspiration really comes from the process of painting itself; making mistakes, experimenting and exploring with the hope of creating something that satisfies my mind and eye. We’re bombarded by a constant flow of information and inspiration and painting gives me the space to figure out which bits matter to me. At the moment my favourite painters are Helen Frankenthaler and Matt Connors, their use of colour and both loose and structured forms are next level and inspire me to be a better painter. If I’m feeling really lacking in creative energy there’s an episode of Broken Record with Rick Rubin and Pharrell that I go back to and it gets me fired up to get back to work.
You have lived and worked in Ireland, Spain, L.A, and are currently living and working in Lisbon. In what way does your location and environment have an impact on your work?
I think what has the biggest impact is the time that your location and environment allow. Living in a small town in Ireland during the first covid lockdown I made the most paintings in a small amount of time that I ever have. I was in my bedroom and out in the garden painting everyday and looking back I can see that the quick progression I made was really significant. I don’t want to make light of the horrendous situation that covid was but that time really allowed me to find my voice as an artist. After that I was back to working in the service industry and painting in the evenings and on days off. I managed to keep my practice ticking over but it was exhausting and it came to a point where I had burnt myself out creatively and emotionally. Now living in Lisbon I have both the time and space to make work but have to be strict with myself and not get distracted by the social side of the city. One day I hope I can move back to Wicklow and afford to paint full time from there.
You use your art to express and explore different emotions. Are your paintings and drawings created in hindsight of your thoughts and feelings, or do you use the medium of abstract painting and drawing to process your emotions as you experience them?
A bit of both really. Being alone in the studio gives me a lot of time to think and the physicality and concentration that painting takes gives me space to decipher my feelings. I would say it’s all a constant cycle.
I see you paint murals too! How does that differ from working in a studio, does it require more planning and collaboration with a client or team?
Yeah it absolutely takes much more prep and planning than when I’m painting in the studio and often there’s a collaborative effort between myself and the client. Generally I’ll spend some time coming up with the initial sketches and colour palette and then there’ll be some back and forth until we’re both happy with the result. The last year or so I’ve been feeling much more confident with this process and thoroughly enjoy it. It’s great to get out of the studio and I’m very lucky that any of the clients I’ve worked with have been lovely. Finishing a big wall after a long day of painting outside is a real buzz.
Is there anything that you’re working on that you’d like to tell us about or that we should keep an eye out for?
Recently, I had two paintings included in Herman’s Modern & Contemporary Art auction which was very exciting! To see my work alongside the other artist’s on display has made me realise how far I’ve come in the last few years and makes me feel pretty proud. In Lisbon I’ve been working on a collaborative art and food experience with a group of friends which will launch next week. Lastly I’m going to LA at the end of October for a few weeks after four years away and I can’t wait to see my favourite city again. There’s so many things wrong with the place but there’s something in the air that will always have me going back.
To contact or learn more about Sophia Vigne Welsh’s work follow her on social media and check her website:
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