The Shed
Our sheds date back to the 1800’s and are attached to an old stone farmhouse in a ‘courtyard’ shaped layout.
Architecturally it’s a wonderful example of an original Irish vernacular farmhouse and out buildings. As far as I know, there aren’t many of these historic working buildings left in Ireland.
The slates that I use to create my (single, diptych and triptych) paintings are from our cowsheds. These slates have become dislodged over many years.
Every now and again, I collect some of the loose ones and take them to my studio. I’m intrigued to see if these old slates can be given a new lease of life…
The Process
Quite a bit of work goes on ‘behind the scenes’ before the slates are ready to paint on.
Choosing a particular slate requires much consideration. Is it for a potential single, diptych or triptych study?
I try different possibilities of shapes and decide on those that I feel ‘work’ as a pair or a ‘triple’. A certain aesthetically pleasing ‘flow’ has to be apparent from one panel to the next even before the first mark of oil paint is applied.
Wire brush at the ready, the elbow grease now begins.
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A total of three coats of the highest quality matt finish primer is applied – (the slate drying fully between each application). This ‘prep’ work can be strangely cathartic and I already feel a certain connection to each slate having now brought it to a pristine and perfectly primed state.
After so much care and attention to detail has been given in the preparation process, I feel a genuine sense of excitement and anticipation when the very first smear of buttery and richly coloured oil paint connects with the historic slate surface.
The Story
The imperfect and rugged perimeter of these slates lends itself to a subject matter that I have enjoyed painting for years. Ever since my degree show at Ulster University (where my theme was County Clare’s, the ‘Burren’), I have been fascinated by the energy and colour of the West of Ireland’s seaboard.
My grandfather was a Galway man – an electrician, who having traveled to Belfast in the 1950’s looking for work never left! Of course, I’m also very proud of my ‘O’Grady’ West of Ireland surname!
Applying oil paint to these rough, uneven stone slates, to represent this wild coastline, makes perfect sense to me. And how appropriate that when arranged as a diptych or triptych, the coast’s raging sea and headlands roll from one slate into the next, following that jagged and colourful coastal perimeter!
Their unusual terrain is geographically similar and special – found nowhere else on earth but on our Wild Atlantic Way.
I also love painting the very calves that stay in this shed, on these slates that provide them with shelter. Perhaps that is why their characteristics flow spontaneously onto the rough and beautifully uneven surface.
I feel that I can express the calves’ idiosyncrasies and mannerisms by loosely and intuitively painting on this unique surface.
I also feel right at home capturing my Belfast observations in the form of my slate studies.
My two worlds of Belfast and Waterford finally meet in these small pieces of art. Emotions of belonging and identity that I have always struggled with while living between two homes seem to dissipate as I merge Belfast subject matter with Waterford slate.
Presentation
Mounting & Framing
Each piece is meticulously mounted and framed, ensuring that the slate is protected and showcased to perfection. If you have any questions about these studies, please get in touch for further details.
