Representational Painting
Open, desolate spaces, spheres, terrestrial globes, the odd cross, dead cities, butterfly people… with a touch of colourful carnival and dance!
Dancing City. Oil on board, 206mm x 180mm. Cat. no. 493. € 350
Early morning, and cold. A carnival day in a Walloon town, or a St Patrick’s Day in Ireland. Small groups of costumed people and families start to converge towards the city centre. The party has started!
Utopia. Oil on canvas, 610mm x 765mm. Cat. no. 472. € 1,200
The rainbow colours were first associated with pacifism and non-violence. Now they are also the symbol of sexual minorities, although in fact the two rainbows start with a different colour.
Island Cities. Oil on canvas, 300mm x 400mm. Cat. no. 496. € 350
Cities grounded in the clouds.
Ilga. Acrylic on board, 275mm x 600mm, framed. Cat. no. 275. € 600
This is about suicide, a calamity affecting too many of us
Vices. Acrylic and oil on paper, 400mm x 305mm. Cat. no. 457. € 300
There is a kind of a sadness here which I like. The original drawings of the vice towers were about loneliness and distance. Here, spring is burgeoning!
Atlas. Oil on wooden board, 303mm x 273mm. Cat. no. 452. € 550
I painted Atlas before Covid, hence the name. It took on a different meaning during the confinements and lockdowns. Experiencing loneliness at a different level…
After the Fall. Oil on canvas. Cat. no. 440. Sold
An abandoned city, full of sunshine and light. Not a soul in sight. We don’t know if we’re being invited or warned…
Ego Stores. Professional-quality print. 319mm x 412mm. Cat. no. 438.
The fashion shops are all empty. Not a scrap of fabric in sight. Everybody is posing for the photo. Inspired by the mass nude photo shoot by Spencer Tunick in the gardens of Blarney Castle for Cork City of Culture 2005. What a memorable event it was!
The Weatherman. Gouache on paper. Cat. no. 425. Sold.
I painted this one for the album of our band ‘The Shed’. It exists in two versions: one with caravans, one with tents. Anybody who spent some time in Kerry or West Cork will recognise the feel of the wind announcing the rain…
Traffic. Oil on canvas, 760mm x 607mm. Cat. no. 405. Sold
Futuropolis turned on its head! A termite city which never sleeps and where floating spheres go with the flow. The sky has almost disappeared.
The Pier. Oil on wooden board, 330mm x 822mm. Framed. Cat. no. 404. € 350
The beacon at the end of the pier is reduced to a sphere. A play on forms and perspectives.
Premonition. Acrylic on board, 395mm x 380mm. Cat. no. 292. € 450
The beginning and the end. For the first exhibition held in the Camden Palace Community Arts Centre, in Cork, a Polish friend built a makeshift chapel out of found materials to host this painting. After a few days, medals and offerings started to appear, transforming it into a small votive altar. I was pleased, even though the baby’s head is completely wrong
Regeneration. Oil on canvas, 1156mm x 440mm. Cat. no. 246. Sold
A helping hand, from one generation to the other. An ode to family.
Adam et ses doubles. Acrylic on paper, 300mm x 165mm. Cat. no. 222. Sold.
I might have subconsciously superimposed on the Kerry shore my childhood memory of Hergé’s levitating monk in Tintin au Tibet…
The Divine Companion. Acrylic on board, 210mm x 337mm. Cat. no. 211.
This is an early work I’m very fond of. I don’t know what happened to it. If somebody knows where it is hanging, could you please let me know? The reference to Van Gogh’s loneliness is unmissable.
Looking for Fresh Air. Professional-quality print, 365mm x 310mm. Cat. no. 205. Print only: €85. Mounted print: €99.
Another painting which got value added meaning after the Covid lockdowns. And again, a city with not a soul in sight.
Night Walk. Acrylic on paper, 460mm x 610mm. Cat. no. 166. Sold.
A take on fatherhood. A skill every man has to learn by making mistakes.
A Very Quiet Place. Acrylic on board, 300mm x 250mm. Cat. no. 160. Sold.
You will excuse the quality of the photo, but moon cobwebs welcoming earthrise don’t lack poetry
Tityre. Acrylic on paper, 460mm x 500mm. Cat. no. 165. Sold
“Tityre, tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi” is the only verse of Virgil’s poetry I remember from my school years. I’m in love with my butterfly people and they regularly come back in new paintings. Some fly in a mural in Midleton, Co. Cork.
Rush Hour. Acrylic on board, 610mm x 510mm. Cat. no. 159. Sold
This painting adorned my mother-in-law’s living room for many years. For this Tipperary woman, anything in blue and gold would do!
Rush Hour. Acrylic on board, 610mm x 510mm. Cat. no. 159. Sold.
This painting reads differently depending on whether your cultural background is Belgian or English-speaking. In Ireland, the long nose is definitely associated with Pinocchio and lying. In Belgium, it will always be the long nose of the Blanc Moussi, star of Stavelot’s Laetare carnival.
Chrysalis. Acrylic on board, 210mm x 500mm. Cat. no. 145. Sold.
This is a very early painting, and it already contains several elements that would become recurrent over the years: the tall cities, the butterfly people, the spheres, the desert. I would love to locate this painting to get a proper photo for my records. Does this ring a bell, anybody?
The Newcomers. Acrylic on paper, 440mm x 270mm. Cat. no. 144. Sold.
This was painted in the mid-1990s, during the first wave of immigration in the history of modern Ireland. Eke, a young Nigerian prince stuck in direct provision at the time, loved it.