Snapshot Series

‘Departure‘

Mixed Media on wood

19.5cm x 16.5 cm

‘In the year nineteen hundred and forty seven‘

Mixed Media on wood

19.5cm x 14.5 cm

‘Fragile Delight‘

Mixed Media on wood

18.5cm x 14.5 cm

‘Coming Home‘

Mixed Media on wood

19.5cm x 16.5 cm

`Marguerite’

Mixed Media on wood

20 cm x 29 cm

‘All the fresh sweetness of natural things‘

Mixed Media on wood

14.5 cm x 18 cm

‘Prayer‘

Mixed Media on wood

21.5cm x 17.5cm

Remembrance Plaque - 'Butlins, 1971' 

Drawing on Wood

2023 21.5cm x 17.5cm

‘In Memories Forlorn‘

Mixed Media on wood

19.5cm x 16.5 cm - SOLD

‘A Date‘

Mixed Media on wood

20 cm x 29 cm - SOLD

‘Gossip and Reminiscences‘

Mixed Media on wood

16 cm x 20 cm - SOLD

Remembrance Plaque - 'Mum and dad' 

Drawing on Wood

2023 21.5cm x 17.5cm

Remembrance Plaque - 'Paul' 

Mixed Media on Wood

2023 21.5cm x 17.5cm

‘Times Fading Years‘

Mixed Media on wood

19.5cm x14.5 cm

‘The Light of other days‘

Mixed Media on wood

16 cm x 20 cm - SOLD

'No better life' 

Mixed Media on Wood

2023 19.5cm x 17cm

'In Springtime' 

Mixed Media on Wood

2023 24cm x 20cm - SOLD

‘Time’s fading years, to disappear ...’

A snapshot captures someone in a moment. But from then on that person will never be the same again. These moments are transient. The photo and the subject both move on from that moment.

Time passes and the photo might be abandoned, only resurfacing years later, the passage of time evident in the faded colours, the tears, the curling at the edges. At one time this photo was taken with love by a friend or family member to remember a happy moment, a special occasion or just to celebrate the act of spending time together.

The photos used in these pieces are found photos featuring unidentified people with unknown lives but there is something universal in each image. Love, friendship, family, laughter, connections between people. The text, like the photos, is also found material from old books, journals and music scores and it attempts to reinforce the mood of the image. I try to capture the transience of the moment in my technique - the blurring, the fading, the old paper, tears and rough edges. I also try to restore some of the importance of these long forgotten moments, these precious reminders of life.

‘Into Memory’ Axis Ballymun, Sept -Dec 2021

‘The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living’

Marcus Tullius Cicero

When we lose someone we try to find ways to cope with the loss and to keep the person with us. Myth, memory, superstition, mementos, dreams, nostalgia, religion, prayers, traditions, ceremonies, heaven, angels, graves, rituals, keepsakes, snapshots, stories, beliefs, poetry, places, family, photographs, memorials. These are some of the ways that we try to keep our memories alive and our loved ones with us.

This series of artworks was my response to losing my father in 2016 and an exploration of some of the above themes. The paintings are oil on canvas and the “remembrance plaques“ are mixed media collage on wooden blocks.

I have continued to focus on the above themes in my work and have been commissioned to do some remembrance plaques to commemorate and celebrate lost loved ones.

My new work has been inspired by the ‘snapshot’ theme, moments captured in time that would otherwise disappear forever. Some examples of this new work can be found on the homepage.