In the News

Banbha, 16 x16, acrylic on canvas, SOLD

Here is the latest painting for the From Beyond the Ninth Wave Series: Banbha. The third of the trio of sister goddessess/queens of Ireland. Banbha requested that her name be given to name Ireland after the Milesians took control of the land. Her sister's name, Ériu , became the popular choice, while Banbha and her other sister, Fódla, found their names used mainly in poetic reference to Ireland.

This painting is more similar to Fódla in that is it a combination of glazing and stroke work. I used a photograph of lichen growing on a Northern Irish rock as a reference for this painting. The colors here are more subtle than the other paintings too. It was a goal of mine to capture the different qualities that I personally relate to Ireland through the three paintings. Ériu, is the colorful, wild, and vibrant aspect of Ireland, Fódla, darker, wiser and more sombre, and Banbha the innocent and quieter side. These qualities associated with each painting is not necessarily representative of the goddesses, at least not from anything I read. It is just a feeling that I had while working on these paintings, that I wanted to express. I suppose they represent my own personal connection to Ireland, the land, its people, culture and spirit. It is my hope that you will find your own ideas and feelings to connect with these paintings.


Press!

This is a little late, but I wanted to share the news that I had a painting featured in a cover photo of Downtowner (The Dream of Oenghus Mac Og--do you see it there behind Natalie?) a local arts and entertainment newpaper. Thanks to Natalie Hager for organizing the 510 gallery and Nancy Hopkins for organizing the activities and publicity for January's Final Friday, the event came off very well. I was pleased to have had the opportunity to share my work, meet and talk with people in my studio. Lian had a great time entertaining guests as well. Special thanks to Johnny and Jamie for all your help in the studio...it wouldn't have been so smooth without you both there. I will post photos from January's open studio soon. There are some exciting things in the works for 510 Studios at The Pendleton Art Center. All of the artists here are contributing in different ways to help bring something new and exciting to Pendleton...so keep watch for things to come!

DoAn