About the artist
Alison, born in 1961 grew up on the family farm near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Her work is in collections throughout Ireland, the UK and further afield, including that of Michael McIntyre, comedian.
Her paintings have been selected for the Glebe Open art exhibition Co Donegal, RSA (Royal Scottish Academy) and RSW (Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour) annual exhibitions. She had a 35-piece sell out solo exhibition, ‘Breathing Space’, in Enniskillen and followed this up with a second in London.
She recently completed a prize-winning residency at the inspirational Tyrone Guthrie Centre, County Monaghan, where artists from all disciplines can find peace and quiet to develop their work, as well as an environment enabling a rich cross-fertilization of ideas.
Artist’s statement
I take much inspiration from the natural world. My rural upbringing, surrounded by the beauty of Fermanagh and helping out on the farm and the gardens, instilled in me a strong awareness of the passing of the seasons and the growing cycle. This is where I began to develop my love of painting both garden and wild flowers from the verges and hedgerows. In my still life paintings of flowers and everyday objects and I try to achieve simplicity and subtlety of line and colour, often simplifying shapes and playing with perspective. I’m also interested in creating a narrative through my work, perhaps prompting the on-looker to consider what the story might be, behind the objects on a table or the view through an open window.
Landscapes and seascapes under weather-laden skies are also a favourite. I love that combination of dark sky and bright sunshine just before a downpour, or the hopefulness that bad weather has just passed. When possible, I escape to the country, coast and wild places. The contrasting shapes, colours and marks on the land, the flora, sea and sky and the effects of changing weather and light are a constant inspiration.
I approach my paintings in a structured way, carrying them forward intuitively. That way, every painting feels like an adventure – never quite knowing where it is going to end up. Using a reduced palette, shapes, colours and patterns are simplified to create a level of abstraction. The texture the work comes from using skewers, knives and sometimes collage, creating shifting dynamics within each piece.
Current/ on-going exhibitions:
Doorway Gallery, Dublin
Flint Gallery, Norfolk
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
Hadfield Fine art, near Cheltenham
Lighthouse gallery, Penzance
Laurel Gallery, Edinburgh
Hatch Gallery, Christchurch
Scotland Artists, Bothwell
Arterie Gallery, Glasgow
Found Gallery, Dunbar, East Lothian
