Dublin City Liffey Swim

So last year I took the Luas to Dublin and was walking towards the city centre when I became aware of shouts and roars. Oh,  I thought I was heading towards a riot!! But no, it was the 2023 Jones Engineering Dublin City Liffey Swim in action.  

The atmosphere and energy were electric.  

I followed the swimmers up river, stopping to experience the thrill as they emerged from under bridges.  The colour, atmosphere and sense of place must have stayed with me as months later at the Greywood Arts Centre Residence the first painting off the brush was my memory of The Liffey Swim.  It depicts a swimmer emerging from under the James Joyce Bridge, heading towards Mellows Bridge with several swimmers ahead and framed by the city quays and iconic City of Dublin skyline. 

The finished painting measures 60x30cm, is executed in Chinese inks on canvas, and framed by Inniscarra Framing.  It is for sale through the Tuckmill Gallery tel 045879761

The 104th Jones Engineering Dublin City Liffey Swim takes place on 7th September and I wish the swimmers, the organisors Swim Ireland and the sponsor every success

Creating a reminder of truly wild Nature

Some time ago, 5.30 a.m .,Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, a family of deer wandered through the top garden.... I wanted to create something that would remind myself and others of the magical joy and beauty I feel when in the presence of nature. I simply placed my stag on a scattering of tumbled stones, creating a wild place within my indoor living space

A Heart of Stones, Seafield Beach, near Quilty, Co. Clare

Sea tumbled heartshaped stones found on Seafiield beach, near Quilty, Co. Clare

Naas Moat Club and Moat Theatre, Naas at the Tuckmill Gallery Naas,

Located right beside the new extension to Lawlors Hotel, Naas, this gallery is a treasure trove!!

A creative dam about to burst

YES I have been working away, painting musicians, commissions, exploring exciting 3D wire and raw wool, wilding.. a dead computer finally replaced retraining on a new machine... Possibilities

Silver Birch Visitors

Title; Silver Birch Visitors

Materials; Chinese inks on silk, bonded to painted canvas

Size; 42 x 30 cm There is a small stand of Silver Birch trees outside the house. One morning, as I was standing below a small flock/ family of birds arrived, flitting from branch to branch, harvesting and dning as they went.

Contact #TuckmillGallery, Naas

 

‘Wild Irish Hare, Spring Forward’

 

Irish Hare The hare is a beautiful creature, featuring in mythology and in folklore. Sightings at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig gave rise to the painting. A walk in Clare inspired the setting. A few years ago I was walking in the Burren near Mullaghmore. I approached what I thought was a carpet of lilac/blue flowers in the limestone and grasses. . . As I drew near the 'carpet' took off- hundreds of tiny moths in a cloud of pale blue. A few yards away another gathering of pale pink covering the ground erupted into flight.

Size; 50 x 40 cm

Contact Tuckmill Gallery, Naas

DUBLIN ART BOOK FAIR 2020

This wonderful exhibition os now online and open To see all the books visit the Temple Bar Gallery website and select 'Shop'.  

A direct  Link to Because the Small Things Matter (ahem!) 

Tuckmill Annual Fine Art Exhibition; Church of Our Lady and St. David and Mc Auley Place

 The fabulous Tuckmill Gallery in Naas

    

Delighted to have my painting of Church of Our Lady and St. David and Mc Auley Place in the shop window.

The Tuckmill Annual Art Exhibition 2020

The Tuckmill Annual Art Exhibition IS NOW LIVE! Due Covid19 it being held on Instagram and Facebook, with collection in store. Artists are Louise Barrett, Eugene Conway, Sean Curran, Lesley Fennell, Mary Ferris, Trevor Geoghegan, Mark O’Neill, Bob Lynn, Fiona Marron, Sheena Meagher, Shay O’Byrne, Maureen O’Mahoney, Des Tallon, Ester Barrett and Eva Kelly. Some of the proceeds are going to the Moate Theatre in Naas who usually host the Tuckmill exhibition. Check out our Instagram and Facebook pages for detailed posts by artist

Link to Tuckmill Facebook

‘Because The Small Things Matter. They Make All The Difference’ selected for the Dublin Art Book Fair 2020

My book ‘Because The Small Things Matter. They Make All The Difference’ has been selected to be featured at the Temple Bar Gallery + Studios in Dublin Art Book Fair 2020: Design as an Attitude from 23 November — 06 December 2020, curated by world leading design critic and author Alice Rawsthorn.

About the book;

Butterflies are associated with transformation and freedom. The emergence from a cocoon in a completely new form is a real-life metaphor for unimagined new beginnings. In August 2020, Covid pandemic notwithstanding, I was in residence at the Tyrone Guthrie Artists Centre at Annaghmakerrig.

Two varnished stretched canvases coated in Chinese inks on are bound together creating a cocoon containing a true story of resilience I found in nature during that residency. The reader is invited to untie and unfold the story of the residency, focusing on a wonderful example of simply hanging in there and being awake and open to new possibilities. Presented in a blend of text, photographs and artwork, there is an experiential surprise at the end for the reader.

Temple Bar Gallery + Studios

Dublin Art Book Fair 2020: Design as an Attitude

All Dublin Art Book Fair events are listed at https://www.templebargallery.com/whats-on/events, with full information and booking links.

WILD ATLANTIC WAY ART SALE for ENABLE iRELAND

 

I was happy to be invited to donate artwork to the to the #EnableIreland Wild Atlantic Art Sale. The site is now live here; https://app.galabid.com/enableireland/items

Enable Ireland provides support to over 9,200 adults, children and their families each year and events like this are vital to continue to provide essential services.

By happy coincidence I had visited Lahinch, Co. Clare on the 26th September 2020 where I witnessed an amazing sunset. The whole scene- sky, sea, land and beach turned rose gold – a wonderful end to a magnificent day, a fabulous start to a magical evening. Shadows cast by surfers carrying boards became Merpeople inhabiting the wet sands. Two girls ran at full tilt into the sea and sat enjoying their 99’s ice cream cones, laughing after a day in the surf. The resulting three paintings are part of this very worthwhile fundraiser, where there are beautiful artworks starting from as little as €10 and there are some really beautiful works available for this excellent cause. Congratulations to the organisors!

Culture Night 2020 at the Tuckmill Gallery, Naas, Co. Kildare

 

Many thanks to Martina Phibbs for inviting me to demonstrate Chinese Ink Painting Techniques at the wonderful #TUCKMILLGALLERY in Naas, Co. Kildare to celebrate #CULTURENIGHT 2020

Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world.

It is intended to be a meditative and spontaneous art form, capturing the essence of an image or idea with very little attention to precise details. Nature is the heart of Chinese Brush painting with emphasis on form, movement, energy and flow - rather than a photographic style

I demonstrated ‘Held line’ and ‘Flowing form’ techniques on rice paper and silk, and how these materials differ from watercolour paper. I am very fortunate to have my work included in this exceptional gallery.

Photograph by Kay Geraghty

Narrating the New Normal, Birr 2020

NARRATING THE NEW NORMAL, Birr 2020

Artist: Sheena Meagher

Title: Library Opening Hours; 24/7 for Ghosts of Pandemics Past

Year: 2008 - 2018

Width/Height/Depth/Cms/ 76cms x 123cms x n/a

Medium: Chinese inks and 25 ct. gold leaf on stretched canvas

Genre: Painting

The story behind the painting;

As part of a series of views of Trinity College I created a painting of one of the wrought iron spiral stairs in the Long Room. Some time into painting I was happy with the stairs, the bookshelves and gleaming tomes. I raised my paintbrush to bring in the figure of a Librarian on the stairs when my studio door suddenly burst open. I screamed in fright. My brush did a wobble connecting with the canvas. I calmed my dog (who had just come in for a drink of water) and turned to the painting.

There, standing on the spiral stairs was a ghostly figure, not descending the stairs but calmly reaching over the handrail towards the shelves for a book. The feeling of fright was so authentic I left it exactly as it appeared. You can just make it out at top left, under the word 'Bibliotheca'.

During lockdown I wondered if Trinity College ghosts had taken full possession of campus. Had the corridors, lecture theatres, libraries, squares, the campus playing fields ever been so empty of people for such a long period? Or were the ghosts of bygone Trinity folk roaming the grounds with the Trinity Fox and occupying seats vacated by the living? And if so, will they continue to emerge into the less populated spaces?

In 2018 I gilded the work with 25 ct. gold leaf.

SOUNDS MUSICAL 3

THE GOLD RING COMMISSION 

Ceoil Draíocht, beomhar agus binn… Music, magical, living and sweet. 

THE STORY BEHIND THE PAINTING;

 

 The Gold Ring. Chinese Inks on canvas

Since 2019 I have been developing the concept of representing on canvas the atmosphere created by musicians, storytellers, poets, dancers and singers.   I contacted Muireann Ni Dhuigneain as I was particularly interested in finding some sacred harp music, and following that conversation she commissioned me to create a painting- leaving the brief wide open.

The painting evolved, a group of musicians emerged, seated around a table shaped like a fiddle.  From the outset the musicians, even the instruments were not the focal point, rather the notes merging and blending.

Once I had the group in place I had the idea of inviting Muireann, a musician herself, to help me bring the painting to life.She visited my studio in Johnstown and Muireann produced a recording of ‘The Gold Ring’ played by Willie Clancy.  The Gold Ring is a seven part jig, much loved by traditional musicians and said to have been channeled from the Other World.Coincidentally I had pre-prepared two smaller canvass, one featuring a fairy and one a harp, to use as a tutorial in mixing and applying Chinese inks.  

The theme was set and after lunch we set about the main work.  Muireann instinctively chose colours for each instrument, three for the Uileann piper, indigo for the bodhran ….and played music with finger tips dipped in colour directly on the canvas.

The painting took two more sessions in studio to complete- each one adding another layer of life and meaning to the finished work where I worked on the piece with Muireann looking on, advising.  Two of the musicians took on personalities of actual people.  Full creamy pints appeared on the table.  The notes blended and a sweep of my fingers dipped in gold paint evoked gold rings suspended in the air above the players.  The rings are not so obvious, appearing as light falls on the canvas. 

I have always worked closely with clients when commissioned to create a painting. 

This was a new experience to invite the client to become part of the actual painting process.

I feel the piece has the qualities we set out to evoke.

SOUNDS MUSICAL 2

UILLEANN PIPER

SOUNDS MUSICAL 1

TUNING UP

FULL TILT

MELLOW 

It’s Whats NOT There.

It’s Whats NOT There.

This Summer I was adopted by three robins.  During the fabulous lockdown weather I spent most hours in the garden, clearing ivy, reading,.. 

Three robins accompanied me wherever I was and it got to the stage that no matter what room I was even inside the house, one or other would be perched by the window right outside. 

Our three dogs come and go in and out the back door at will.  Having to get in ahead of the robins and close the door before they came in too became a habit.

One morning I had a dream one was in the house (again).  I was woken by my mother calling me saying –“Do you know there is a robin outside your bedroom door?” 

Two weeks ago there were just two, not three.  Last week one perched on the top of the old magnolia branch I have ‘planted’ as a prop to hold the bird feeders and made the same note, over and over  - not a song, but a constant ‘peep’ - looking me in the eye for a solid 5 minutes.  I reaiise now that was it’s ‘goodbye’ – Robins may nest in a couple of different locations during the Summer and they are off to pastures new now.  

A friend from Clare has a lovely phrase – ‘Some things and some people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime’.  I enjoyed the company of the three robins and wish them well in their new garden.

#Sunday Wink

#SundayWink this 5^th July 2020 goes to longevity. 

I have been producing greeting cards from my artwork since 2002.  Not all my paintings make it onto cards, but those that do seem to have staying power (whenever I do a commissioned piece I create a personalised greeting card file for the client’s sole use – but that’s a different line of work.) 

In the past couple of weeks I created a pack – a real mixture  - of my cards and they have gone very well.  It’ s the same with everything we do - the knock on effect lasts and fans out like ripples in a lake.  

An uplifting and scary thought at the same time!

Happy Sunday!!

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Sea Dreams

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I have been dreaming of the sea, of resting my eyes on the horizon and smelling the salt.   Friends have been sending beautiful photos over the past three months and while we’ve been chatting I have half an ear to the sounds of the sea in the background, coming through the phone.  
It’s a magnetic thing.
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