Hi there! I didn't realise how long it's been since I sent out a newsletter! Let me get you all up to date with my goings onsies. I have become even more obsessed with colour (if that is possible) and am really embracing the art of tsundoku which is the art of buying books and leaving them unread. I'm trying to read too many things at once.
You may not know this but one of my favourite colours is magenta. Turns out magenta is not real!? Riddle me that Batman ...
"Magenta has no wavelength attributed to it, unlike all the other spectrum colours, because it is really a bridge between colour; it was invented by our minds to address a perceived gap. The light spectrum doesn’t need to fill every gap, but obviously, the human mind wants to make sense of colour, and a part of that process of making sense of colour created magenta."
- Winsor & Newton
Exciting News!! ...
I have managed to go and get picked as a contestant for this year's Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year!!
We filmed recently and it feels like a dream. I can't share any of the details with you but stay posted! I believe the show will air sometime in October.
Me doing my thing on set.
Yes, my now infamous, wacky palette will be showcased on the show.
Viridian, magenta and cadmium orange!
It shouldn't make sense but it works!
On the easel ...
'Neuroqueer' | Cold Wax & Oils on gesso panel | 18 x 24 cm
Neuroqueer
In the past 6 years, since becoming a mother I have been searching for my own authenticity. My daughter's birth was a catalyst for a great unmasking. A mask I didn't even know I wore. We all walk through life masking in one way or another, for protection, survival, self-preservation.
Becoming aware of my neurodivergence was the first step to uncovering my true needs. Being able to recognise my sensitivities and how affected I am by my environment forced me to radically re-structure my life. With the help of an occupational therapist I was able to make practical changes to my life to make it more sustainable and healthy.
I came across this term 'neuroqueer' coined by Nick Walker and it really fits for me right now. It has inspired this painting of a rainbow brain, currently a work in progress on the easel. The colours are dialled up to eleven and I'm going with it.
"Neuroqueering - Engaging in practices intended to undo and subvert one’s own cultural conditioning and one’s ingrained habits of neuronormative and heteronormative performance, with the aim of reclaiming one’s capacity to give more full expression to one’s uniquely weird potentials and inclinations."
- Nick Walker, PhD
Learn more about 'neuroqueering'
Teaching
I'm happily continuing on as a course director with the Schoolhouse for Art.
My classes start back in September.
I have a recurring 4 week 'working with oils' on Monday mornings and a 12 week 'path to painting' on Tuesday mornings. Both are accredited and give a practical insight into using oil paints.
There's just enough time to get a decent bit of painting done before the school pick-up so if you know any stay-at-home parents with artistic tendencies send them our way.
I am also continuing to work with Schoolhouse on their 'Cornerstone' academy course.
Here are a couple of images from class. The classes I teach are hybrid, so students can join in-person or online. I've had students joining from other countries. Be sure to check out the Schoolhouse for Art website as places are filling up.
Other Shiny Things ...
Wow! Well done for reading this far!
So I moved into my new house in February and I love it! Settling in nicely. Bits of DIY and gardening here and there.
I am now the President of the Dublin Art Society so I'm working hard there to be of service to the wonderful members.
Haven't started Zelda Tears of the Kingdom as I will probably never finish Breath of the Wild.
Absolutely glued to the latest season of Strange New Worlds and also watching Lower Decks which is hilarious.
Hair still blue, nails still did.