Page 102 - Winter Issue

How does the practice of "allowing and presence"
shape your creative process?
Anything can only be created within the present moment, to
be authentic the act of making requires presence, the more
presence the more authentic the process. The level of
presence can vary but ultimately, the conscious intention to
allow creativity to manifest through me is always the
aspiration. When lost in this process, it’s a place of no time,
no thought, and no ego, it’s a place of peace. Lesson Acrylic on canvas, 30x30cm, 2024
The Irish landscape, with its fleeting light and
dramatic changes, plays a big role in your work. How
do you capture these transitory moments?
My most recent series have been based on landscape, but
it’s also an amalgamation of places, emotions, and
memories, also the varied, fleeting, and changing light so
typical of the Irish landscape opens what is seemingly a
familiar landscape into a new visual realm, the glory of ever
passing broken light and shade excites and focuses me. It
feels like the greater part of me, perhaps spirit is connected
to the essence of all that’s around me, however, this
amalgamation is the starting point, it’s the catalyst by which
I allow presence and therefore creativity to work through
me as I paint.
You describe your process as a “catharsis” and
“deliverance from the ego mind.” How do you think
this affects the way viewers experience your work? Sermon Acrylic on canvas, 30x30cm, 2023
Aspiring to remain present, to allow creativity to manifest
through me is paramount for me in the making of authentic
art, I can only hope that the viewers can in turn allow my
paintings to be their catalyst in connecting to the present
moment while witnessing the work. The more present the
viewer remains, the more they allow without labels, should
and should not the more they will in turn gain from the
process, and the more their experience of looking will be
authentic, a recognition of truth. I hope the truth seeker will
recognize the truth within my work completing the circle of
connection.
In your opinion, what role does nature play in
connecting us to our spiritual or divine selves, and
how do you translate that connection into your art?
There are many ways we can connect to our spiritual selves,
through music and art itself, however, nature is perhaps the
most inspiring way of all, being surrounded by creation,
around, above, and below us evokes a sense of the divine View Acrylic on canvas, 30x30cm, 2023
creation, by being present and alert to our surrounding
nature we can often sense a connection, a thread that runs
between ourselves and all things, appreciating the
dichotomy of being separate but connected simultaneously.
It’s only through ego and the thinking mind that we assume
separation. This is the same practice applied when creating
a work of art.

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