I was born in Sneem, Co Kerry in 1956, I moved to Wexford in 1999 and, around that time, developed an interest in working outdoors or “en plein air”. There followed some intensive workshops in Fair Oaks, California with plein-air artist Susan Sarback and shortly afterwards, I quit my job to concentrate on painting and have worked as a full-time artist since 2007.

While I have diversified into portrait and figurative work, my main interest is still very much grounded in landscape. The main characteristics of my work are:-

– immediate impact, because of a strong sense of visual reality,

– clear sense of authentic light, whether direct (sunny) or diffuse (cloudy),

– strong sense of feeling and emotion, because when working en plein air, all of one’s senses are involved and

– a strong sense of visual focus because of varied brushwork and handling (I try to lead to viewer’s eye to where I want it to go and to what attracted me to the scene in the first place).

Since childhood, I have had a deep connection with nature and am still drawn to wild, remote places. But, increasingly, I find myself being drawn to the challenge of finding beauty in ordinary subject matter.