These pieces look at the tension that occurs between elements. They were heavily influenced by the experience of swimming in a kelp forest during the equinox in Co. Donegal. The eye is drawn to the distinct line across the canvas where colour and form are pushed against each other, as if from different vistas. Water and air pull together at the submerging horizon. The use of negative space adds to a sense of blurring between plains. Quick-blended brushstrokes in oil capture the feeling of dancing fractures where light succeeds and fails to permeate.
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Port Inks - An exploration
Cloud footed findings,
Harboured in slumbering sludge,
reveals alchemy.
Port, Donegal. Lay of the Land Residency. 2019.
For two weeks we rooted down in Port, Donegal. The off grid stone cottage was the backdrop to our investgations into the landscape. Immersing ourselves in the flora, fauna and bogland for a fortnight gave space to the beginnings of an exporation that I believe has sparked a limitless direction.
Starting out I had no idea what to expect from the roots, leaves, and shoots of plants. I gathered rust and stones in hopes of pigment and hues. I ground charcoal and ash from the well used fireplace, and foraged from the shores of the harbour. The experiments were a catayst for conversations around colour theory and nature based creativity, with close attention paid to the processes we were undertaking.
Two hours passed since beginning the first boil. The ingredient was crowberries, foraged from the top of the bog behind the house on the Slieve League Peninsula. The berries, we believe, were those lucky to be missed by flying Chough birds, and the grazing of sheep. The haul was just over a handful but the hue was deep and luscious.
Deep purple in colour, we dipped our brushes in and began teating the ink. The purple ink glistened on the paper and as it began to dry the colour transformed to a steady blue. Nettles, kelp and lichen followed. And over the course of the residency we created blacks from the charcoal, dusty beige from ash, orange from seaweed and pretty much all the variations of brown you can imagine.
The pink landscapes of Brazil.
Going into the residency at NaCasa I was determined to paint every day. I wanted to have time and freedom to make work that I was unsure of, or that was outside my comfort zone. I have moments where I question what I do; why the marks are important, why I make certain aesthetic decisions, how far I should push a certain idea. I felt that this residency would allow me to work out some of these questions.
The colours in Brazil are so bright yet there is a haze to the air which causes a dulling effect over the landscape. I was constantly met with pinks and wines and dark marroon shades. The light falls in a sparky way; the sun blocks a lot of my vision, and often I found myself squinting to see the colours behind the light. This process led me to a deeper enquiry, a kind of pairing back in order to really view what was hidden. Light bouncing off a purple creates a bright mint colour for a flash. Sun streaming through trees bounces turquoise against it’s leaves.
The landscape, although formed from the same ocean as Ireland, has evolved in a less jagged, rugged way. Boulders are soft and pink and fold into themselves, which reflect in rockpools a much lighter shade.
Throughout my residency in Floripa I quickly filled my notebook with strokes of colour. Nogalina became my go to material. When mixed with acrylic pigments and paints the nogalina transforms the colours into deep vibrant hues which seem to dance across the canvas.
Experiments in Light and Colour - From the East Coast of Brazil
I was introduced to a beautiful material while living and working in NaCasa. Diego de los Campos, an Uruguayan artist who works full time at the house showed me how to slowly mix Nogalina into a fine liquid paste. Nogalina is the dried shell of walnuts and is ground into dust. The dust is water soluble and moves in a deliciously smooth way. Mixed with acrylic paint the colour takes on a new life, rolling around the paper like ink, before soaking into the pages.
There is something quite extraordinary yet simple about using colour found in nature.
These are the paintings which came from the experiments with Nogalina while trying to capture the essence of the Florianopolis landscape.
These pieces are all for sale. Please get in touch if you would like to purchase a bit of the Brazilian Coast!
Photos: Fellipe Lopes