My new solo exhibition, ‘The Ties That Bind’, opens in the Doorway Gallery, Dublin on July 7th and runs until July 28th.
My latest exhibition explores themes of connection. Connection to place and to family. After 10 years living on Achill Island I moved to Mullingar in 2021 with my family. But the pull of the island and the Atlantic ocean are as strong as ever and continue to inform and inspire my paintings. The full exhibition can be viewed here
Below is a written interview, in 11 questions, that I gave to the Doorway Gallery for their social media campaign....
1. I am very interested in the name that you gave the show - The Ties That Bind, how did that come about and if it has any significance to the pieces in the exhibit?
Padraig: The title ‘The Ties That Bind’ refers to the connections we have that bind us to a certain place, a certain person etc. So the connection we have with family and loved ones is one of those ties that last with us forever. Personally speaking some of the closest ‘ties that bind’ for me are my family, the connection I feel towards Dublin, where I grew up and lived for 40 years, and for Achill Island where we lived for 10 years. All of these connections feed into my work and paintings I created for this exhibition,
2. What would you say is your biggest inspiration in what you paint, does there have to be something that sticks out to you or is just more casual than that?
Padraig: The biggest inspiration continues to be the west coast of Ireland, nothing specific really just the overall sense of wide open skies and seas mixed with the colours and ruggedness of the landscape. I use buildings and figures to act as a focal point in the paintings, around which I try to create a feeling of the west of Ireland
3. I know this question may be kind of strange; but, what common phrase do you think is most reflective of your work & how do you think that is seen/shown in your art or even your work ethic in regards to how you get inspiration for art?- (note for myself- first question/ post).
Padraig: Lovely question 😊 A word that comes up very regularly in social media comments is ‘peaceful’ and I hear that feedback regularly from viewers. It is something I actively look for from the paintings myself when I am working on them. I think the simplicity of a single cottage or family grouping in an open, semi-abstract landscape setting , with no other elements fighting for attention, allows me create that sense of calmness (another word I hear a lot to describe them) and peace. The creative process itself and my work ethic can be far from calm! I tend to work very quickly and sometimes frenetically on a painting, almost fighting with myself to make the painting ‘work’.
4. One painting that caught my eye was The Struggle, can you just discuss it for a little bit, and what emotions you hope to inspire in the people that view the painting?
Padraig: Since moving from Achill Island two years ago to the midlands (Mullingar) I have found it has taken a long time to settle into our new life – new house, new studio, new routines etc – and as a result I feel that I have been struggling more than usual to produce new work. It has felt a bit like pushing rocks up a hill! I think it’s an image that everyone can relate to on some level – those times when you have to produce something, even when you may not have the energy for it, but you know you have commitments and so you keep going. Up the hill 😊
5. For the King of the Mountain, what really caught my attention was the colors, can you tell me a bit about just the painting in general?
Padraig: King of the Mountain is based on the famous wild goats of Mulranny, in Mayo. The colours I used draw on the wild ferns and grasses that are found on the hillsides and bogs in that area. I love the raggedness and wildness of the goats, their hair almost hanging off them.
6. Banshee Land interests me because for the majority of the pieces, the titles are more straightforward such as with both Home pieces. Can you describe what was your thought process when coming up with this title specifically?
Padraig: Banshee Land comes directly from the acclaimed movie, The Banshee of Inisherrin, which was partly filmed on Achill Island. The movie presented Achill in all it’s beauty but I wanted to create some pieces that would capture the ‘real’ Achill island, with dark brooding big skies, and a sense of how it feels to be on the island when everyone (including the movie crew) has long gone, and all that is left behind is the landscape.
7. Can you talk about the piece When we were young, and what type of emotions this piece reminds you of?
Padraig: I grew up in Dun Laoghaire, and my earliest memories are of playing on the pier and going for walks with my mother. As I got older the pier became a regular spot for us to go with the dogs, or on my own. So it always brings me back to my early day.
8. Can you talk about the piece Where you can find me, and what type of feelings that the piece itself along with the name gives you, and the type of emotions that you hope it gives the viewers?
Padraig: This goes back to what I said about connections and ‘the ties that bind’. I want it to capture a feeling of wanting to be there. I think it has a lovely sense of calm and it’s a title that just came into my head as I was looking at it – trying to think up a title! That’s actually how I come up with most of my titles – I need it to come without too much thought, it needs to come naturally from the painting,
9. Another question I have is do you have any specific interest with banshees? Because I have realized that you have a lot of paintings (around 4) that have in the title.
Padraig: So again, this refers to the movie, But the more I looked at the paintings the more I realised it was a perfect way to describe them! Banshee suggests something dark and ominous and I think there can be an element of that in a place like Achill. Amongst all the natural beauty and richness of the landscape you can still imagine a darker side to it, something hidden.
10. For your paintings how do you create such amazing skies that are filled with so much color and grace, such as in the piece Achill Skies?
Padraig: Thank you, I’m glad you like the skies. I guess I am always trying to capture a feeling, rather than an impression of how something should look. My skies are in some ways like an abstract painting, set in a landscape. In simple terms I would describe making them as just pushing paint around and relying on an inner instinct to tell me when enough is enough and where to move to next. The colours must feel natural and not surreal, and I think this comes from having lived so long in the landscape, in Achill. You absorb your influences unconsciously a lot of the time and so when it comes to creating a sky I know how it should feel, how it should look, so I just need to trust my instincts when it comes to painting it.
11. Do you feel like the size of your pieces can also influence what you paint, like with the piece After the Storm, it is larger than a lot of your other work in general size?
Padraig: I love painting larger pieces. They lend themselves to simpler images, and so the size does influence the type of piece I would paint.
