Finished the Abbeyleix Residency

Scratching a perspex plate

I finished up in Abbeyleix Further Education and Training Centre this week after a residency lasting just under 3 months. The original plan was to play around with some animation but after the first 2 weeks my laptop closed down and wouldn't turn back on, the timing wasn't a huge issue though because I was due to start working with the Level 5 students as their work experience module started and ran for another 2 weeks.

I really enjoyed the fortnight teaching, I had to write up a brief and the students worked from that. They were very easy to work with and are a really, really strong group technically. The work being produced over the 2 weeks was a high standard and they gave excellent presentations both at the halfway point and at the end of the module. There was also a huge variation in the work across the group, the brief linked to my my own practice in terms of making prop's and using them to create scenes as source material for paintings but some people concentrated on the prop building and refining it to a point where it served as a finished piece without anything else. Other's worked on drawings, paintings, illustration and photography working from the models that they had made. Some of the work can be seen on the Art Department's Instagram

Skull drawing

I started my second month of the residency after the teaching and decided with the laptop gone I was going to try some printmaking. I never really gave it a proper try before, I did a tiny bit of carborundum printing back in first year in Galway and I think maybe monoprint when I was a student in Abbeyleix in 2006. Drypoint was where I started just taking an old sheep skull as a starting point, it was really to try and get use to the process of scratching into the perspex plate. I was kind of happy with the results as a first drypoint print. There were a number  of problems with it, I think on one of the attempts I wiped away too much ink and on the other not enough. I don't think I scratched deep enough into the plate either so I'm not sure if it was able to hold enough ink or not. With these plates only being trials I didn't worry about dampening the paper either, I would do that for the next attempt.

The first 2 drypoint prints

I started a painting back in early January and I wasn't happy with it so the the next drypoint print would be a way of recycling that and I ended up using the remains of the painting itself to test glazes. I actually used a lot of images from previous work just so I could jump right into the process of printing but these test pieces won't ever be exhibited, so aside from social media and my blog they won't be seen beyond rough documentation.

The painting that was the source of some test prints

I started using linocut in the middle of working with the drypoint. I was using the softer blue lino and hacked through it a couple of times so I want to try using the tougher grey lino and hopefully I can avoid cutting through it. Again I used the painting above to start with and the result is below, there were a few issues to iron out too. One was the application of the ink, I applied far too much on the first print, not enough on the next few and I think the last two or three I was happy with. I think with the first couple I probably didn't roll the ink out enough before putting it on the lino. I wanted to just get going with it so it was slightly rushed.

First attempts at linocut

Overall I was happy enough with these first few attempts at the prints. I was trying to make them with a similar aesthetic to my paintings or see if I could, I think this is something I would try to avoid with the linoprints. It might work with the drypoint process. I used stronger paper and dampened it for the piece at the end of this post and felt the result worked out pretty well.

Second attempt, reusing the image of a drawing I had for Birr Arts Festival last year

From here I'm back working on a new body of paintings based on the same them of folklore and mythology, I'm hoping to keep the prints going too. Jackie, Edel and Jock asked if I would work with them to curate the Level 5 artists' graduate show in The Dunamaise Arts Centre. I haven't any exhibitions lined up this year but I have two solo exhibitions scheduled for 2018. I need to just finalize things for one in February that's going to be in Pallas Projects, Dublin and the other is down for April in Birr Arts Centre. I just wanted to say a massive thanks to Jackie Edel and Jock for having me back for the residency and for the chance to work with them and the artists studying in Abbeyleix.

The last drypoint on the residency and a small mark-making sample

Work in Westport Group Show

I have a drawing in a group exhibition opening this Sunday (December 11th) at Custom House Studios in Westport. The gallery contacted artists who have worked with them through out the year and invited us to show in their winter exhibition. There's a lot of artists showing in the exhibition, 37 in all. The exhibition is titled Winter Exhibition 2016 and it runs from December 11th to January 21st 2017. The gallery also hired a courier to pick up the work from artists over this side of the country which was great, otherwise to get from Laois to Westport I would've had to get a train to either Athlone or Dublin and go from there across.

The piece that I have showing is To Catch a Certain Fortune, it's one of the pieces that I first exhibited at Birr Arts Festival. The piece overall measures 100cm x 70 cm but below is a close up shot.

To Catch a Certain Fortune (Detail), Graphite on Paper, 2016

Work in Glasgow Group Show

The second exhibition of the New York - Glasgow exchange curated by Anna Bauer and Benjamin Lee Sperry is opening this weekend at Gallery Celine in Glasgow, Scotland. Opening reception is 3pm - 5pm and is titled Collective Memory (the past and future is ours). I'm not sure what's happening after Glasgow, I think there were talks of possibly bringing the show to Dublin and if it happens I'll post it here on the blog.

The pice I have in the show, To Catch a Certain Fortune, Ink on Paper, 2016

Work in New York Group Show

I have a small A4 drawing in a group show in New York. The exhibition is curated by friend and artist Anna Bauer and Benjamin Lee Sperry and is titled Collective Memory (the past and future is ours), it's comprised of a crowd of us that are based in Ireland, artists from Glasgow and artists from New York and it opened today with a reception from 4 - 6pm. I think the show runs just for today as part of Bushwick Open Studios.

This is the piece I have in it (minus the tablecloth), I liked the image from a previous drawing so I decided to rework it in ink specifically for this show. The reason I'm a little late with the blog post is because I've been painting all week and could get away from it so this is the first few minutes I've had after completing a new, small oil painting. The location of the exhibition is at 28 scott ave. #114 Brooklyn NY 11237

Installation Shots of Westport and Birr

I'm a bit late with these, the exhibition in Birr closed on August 5th and Westport closed on the 21st of August. Both shows went really well and the work received very positive feedback.

Treasures Remembered

The image above and the one below are from Custom House Studios in Westport, I didn't get a chance to take photos on the opening night so I ran down the following morning to get a few photos quickly before going home.

My work was installed on 3 walls. The fourth wall is almost completely glass and as the front of the gallery opens out onto the seafront there is great, unobstructed  natural light in the space. The ground floor is a gallery divided in two and the door in the image at the top leads into the adjoining space where Barabara Trawinski was exhibiting. 

To Catch a Certain Fortune

For this show I decided to work on a series of drawings, I'd been planning to work on them for last years festival but with the MFA finishing up I was just too busy painting, I finally got them done for this year. I need to document them at some stage and I'll have them uploaded to the website and here on the blog.

I was back down in The Vaults this year. There were a good group of us exhibiting solo shows throughout the space and there was brilliant amount of work with artists show, painting, illustration, animation and video game character design.

The lighting was a little bit of a challenge simply because I used a single bulb and while it was bright enough a day or two after installation there was a fault with the sockets down along the tunnel wall but Ian Keaveny who was exhibiting in the tunnel on the other side told me that I could plug the light into a socket in his space. 

I'm hoping to expand on the overall number of drawings in this body of work at some stage but for now I'm back painting. I have a new set of paintings on the go. I'm hoping to organize a solo show for the 4 quarter of 2017 but at present the next solo exhibition that I have planned is at Birr Arts Centre for 2018. The provisional date is April.

Out of Divilment, Graphite on Fabriano, 2016

2 New Exhibitions in July

Custom House Studios, Westport, Mayo. Opening July 28th

I have 2 new shows next month. the first is in Westport, Mayo and it's a joint exhibition between Barbara Trawinski and myself at Custom House Studios. I applied back in 2013 to be part of the exhibition programme and I received confirmation during my first year of the MFA. Originally the show was scheduled for September this year but was brought forward to July 28th and it will run until August 21st. I'll be exhibiting some of the current paintings from Beneath the Dock Leaf.

The New Baal Fires, 2015

There isn't a title as yet but I'll post an update nearer to the opening on the time.

Birr Arts Festival, Birr, Offaly. Opens July 29th

The second exhibition, as far as I know is a solo exhibition in Birr Arts Festival. Francis Kawala who is the organiser of the festival contacted me last weekend about possibly taking part. I had work in it a few years ago and it's a great festival and because a lot of the spaces are vacant buildings it can throw up a few challenges especially the first year I had work in it because there were several of us showing in the vaults underground.

Here's a link to the post from the first year I was in it - Installation Shots of Birr Arts Festival

The work that I'll be showing in Birr will be drawings because the Westport exhibition overlaps and my paintings will be up there. I can't post any images of the drawings because I only started last week and haven't any documentation but I'll probably have an installation post on the blog shortly after the opening. With Westport opening July 28th and Birr, July 29th I'm going to have to juggle installation days in both places.