Page 3 - PAUL McCLOSKEY’S ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT michele-andree-unblugged

honesty given to the creation of a work and therefore how more open he
was to inspiration or divine influence. However, a point comes when I know I

have to let go of a particular work as a catharsis has taken place and released
me, this is when I become an observer to its creation which is probably one
of the most compelling desires for me as a painter, is to witness it as a

creation. True art connects with the viewer on a deeper level than just the
superficial and if the viewer is open, they too can experience that connection
to divinity through great art.

No. 2) What inspires you?

My most recent series of paintings ‘Awakenings Reloaded’ is inspired by the
landscape, what we perceive as every day and perhaps ordinary, the places we
merely glance at without allowing ourselves to get lost in the breath-taking
creation and beauty that surrounds us, this visual influence is determined by

the surrounding landscape of my environment, but its intention is primarily as
a catalyst in expressing divinity and is therefore secondary to this expression.
The varied and stunning Irish landscape coupled with our unsettled weather

and therefore often fleeting and mottled light inspires me greatly. Often a view
will change or an area will be spot lit by a simple break in the clouds,
highlighting like a shimmering treasure or jewel, a corner of a field, the side of

some rocky cliff or the dynamic sweeping curves of a valley reminding us that
we are an integral part of and connected to a whole, encouraging us to see and
most importantly feel its beauty and spirit and therefore reconnect to this vital

part of us.

No. 3) When you are creating, painting, where does it take you? I mean where does
your mind travel?

This is difficult to say really, ideally the mind should remain as absent as
possible, the mind needs to be quietened and still in order to allow divinity to

work through unhindered, it is a place of no mind, a place of connection to