Laois Arts Act Grant 2017

Last month Laois County Council awarded me the Arts Act Grant. I was delighted to receive the funding because it will be going towards a new solo exhibition I have scheduled for February 2018 at Pallas Project Space in Dublin. I think it's nailed down now and the dates are from the 5th to the 18th. I'll be in on the 5th and 6th installing, I think Pallas have their shows opening on Wednesdays mostly so that will be the 7th, it runs then until the 17th with the de-installation on the 18th.

The new work is following the same theme and style as the Beneath the Dock Leaf series but I have new characters and mythological figures in the paintings. Some are figures that I referenced with hats or hoodies such as the Fear Dearg, but are now in the form of actual people.

One of the new paintings. I have no title for it yet, it's oil on canvas and is 21cm x 18cm

I've started making new props for the characters too and remaking some of the older ones in the hopes they will be more lightweight and stronger. The clover that I made for the leprechaun in the previous series of work is more or less destroyed and it was never built to last, it was heavy and awkward to wear especially when running around in a dark room trying to switch between posing and set the camera.

Residency in Abbeyleix

I'm a bit late with this post due to problems with my laptop getting old. I just finished up my second week of a 2 month residency at Abbeyleix Further Education Centre. I started on the 9th of January and the original plan was to play around with some animation for the first month and the second would be taken up with painting and drawing. But again due to technical issues with my laptop the animation is out the window and I'll be focusing on drawing and painting for the duration of the residency.

One Who Holds November Sacred, given the laptop trouble the past while I thought this painting made an appropriate image

This Monday (January 23rd) I'll be teaching the Level 5 students for their work experience module. I've had to draw up a project for them to work on for the next 2 weeks and it's based on Mythology and Folklore. The main two reasons for choosing this theme was that when I was asked to work with the students Jackie, Jock and Edel mentioned that it would be good to have a tie to my own practice and it's something that I'm familiar with. The other reason is that it's a broad theme and I'm going to give them some free reign over the myths they decide to use.

I did my PLC Course here in Abbeyleix before going to Galway to study at GMIT so I'm gone out of it 10 years and in a decade it all kind of went full circle.

Work in London Group Show

I have a painting in a group show in London this week. The exhibition is titled Myth & Lore and is taking place at a venue called Styx. It's a mixed arts venue that is situated in a warehouse and the exhibition is in collaboration with Esoteric Art. I think they have worked mostly with theatre groups including The Royal Court Theatre, The Soho Theatre and a lot more. There's more about Styx and the exhibition including exhibiting artists here - Myth & Lore. I think they're open about a year and this is their first annual visual art exhibition.


The painting below is the piece that I have in the exhibition. The show is up until the 12th of January.

To be About on November Eve, Oil on Canvas, 2015