Solo Exhibition – School of Music

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It’s hard to believe we have come to the end of a decade and are moving on at what seems a really fast pace into 2020! Happy New Year to you and I really hope that for you and yours, it will be a good year. It’s a time for re thinking old ways and perhaps taking on new ones, even though they sometimes last all of a couple of weeks, it’s always worth trying. There are times when I think things are difficult and difficult things happen within our lives, families, illness, loss and the list can go on. It got me thinking when we can hear so many sad and bad stories on the news and on social media, that it can take its toll on our minds. On the flip side, there are so many great things that happen in our world also and sometimes we are just to busy to stop and recognise and see them. There is so much good people all around our country are doing on a daily basis, and it is just in small ways making BIG differences. I love baking and sometimes its nice to just share that with some neighbours who may have things harder in life. There is so much more we all can do, and that is what I would like to do in 2020. I would like to make the time to make life a bit better for someone.

To do something that we love is a blessing, yes, I have said that before, but there are times when I can’t believe I am doing something that I love so much. To keep inspiration flowing, it is so important to keep feeding it. To do that it means making “time”. So that is another one of my new resolutions, make time for me! Make time to sit in the car and drive around the coast and up little windy roads and down hills with my camera and get a lorry load of inspiration. I was walking up Killiney hill recently and I stopped, pulled out my phone and took close up of the bark of trees. Something so simple, but yet so full of up-close texture to get my pallet knife into my oils and apply to the canvas. These things are free in life, the amazing countryside and the beauty on our doorstep. On that walk Mr. Robin was hopping along with me for a while from branch to branch, such lovely company to have along the way.

I have kicked the New Year off with a solo exhibition held in the really amazing venue of Cork School of Music. I was given and am so grateful for the opportunity to exhibit here for the month of January. It looks great! I am glad to have the paintings hanging. To give a behind the scene to getting to this point, this is what it entails.

Putting the body of work together that I am happy with. This starts months in advance. And as I said, this can only be done if there is inspiration in my head, oh and in my heart also, so it can flow through my hands and onto the canvas. For me, I am so grateful to God for all the abilities and gifts he gives each one of us to use. Living in the countryside is such a bonus for me, I love every minuet of it and never grow tired of it. When I am working, I will work on a couple of pieces at a given time. This helps to slow me down, step back look and look and look deeper. Walk away, come back see what I didn’t see before and build up layer by layer. There are times I will share a work in progress with one of my fellow artist friends and get another perspective.

When the piece is finished, it is then a trip to the framers, pricing the painting and then sharing it on social media, putting it on my website.

All of these processes take time, and there are times when without the help of others, it would not be possible. So, on that note, I want to say a huge thank you to my sister, Janet, who has helped me many a time to hang paintings and for this exhibition, she worked non stop up and down a ladder to hand the paintings with me from quite a height! Without her help, it would not have been possible. The exhibition will be running for the month of January and as a venue to exhibit, it is a really wonderful space. Anyone can pop in and there is a lovely café there also to get a coffee or lunch.