Description

This painting of an old Irish cottage among tall grasses is based on an old photo I rediscovered recently and felt a strong connection with.

Wary of using a photo as a reference and creating a stilted painting, I carefully considered what was the appeal.

The faded off white colour of the farmhouse and peeling paint; the feeling that the farmhouse was gradually being submerged by vegetation; the quality of muted light in the sky and also the thought of the people who once lived there and what happened to them…

And then I put the image away.

Once the work was completed, I noticed the sepia quality of its subdued palette, even though the original photo had lots of greens in it, and its melancholy…