Sorry I have not posted in a while, I have been very busy between jobs and preparing for my latest exhibition. A group of us local arists came together with a group of local writers to produce a very successful exhibition titled "Cliabhán" (which means "cradle" in Irish and so happens to be the name of the building behind the Glórach Theatre where we held our meetings.) Beside each painting on display was a poem dealing with roughly the same theme. I was lucky enough to have poems by the wonderful Mary Shanahan beside two of my works I had on display - My latest painting "The Holiday-Makers" which shows swallows getting ready for their big adventure, and my drawing of Grove Road. With the exhibition being part of the "Gather by the Feale" celebration weekend, it was complimented by showing of a short film showcasing the lovely town of Abbeyfeale, followed by a play recalling the town's history, which I thouroughly enjoyed. In all, I got a great buzz from exhibiting again and it was more enjoyable to be part of a team show than a solo exhibition, and less nerve-wrecking! Here are a few shots:
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Last weekend I took part in possibly the best cultural event of my life so far - the KFest! Now in only it's 3rd year running, the festival has really made it's mark on the town of Killorglin, Co. Kerry. For four days, the whole town was bursting with art, music, poetry and other events for the whole family to enjoy! I was one of the 140+ artists exhibiting their work in the town. With such a huge crowd of us, the whole festival could have went skew-ways, but thank God it didn't. I have to admire all the work and effort the commitee have done to make the event run as smooth as possible. I exhibited my "Doll" series again and the paintings worked surprisingly well in the space I was given - a bedroom in an abandoned town house, with bright pink walls, complete with a Sacred Heart picture hung over the fireplace. The only complaint I may have is that the building was freezing - the weather was unusually bad for the June bank holiday! I unfortunately did not sell any of my work, but the experience was invaluable. Everybody was so welcoming and the nightlife was unforgettable (even after a few drinks!). Where else could you enter a farmer's pub and be treated to an energetic bunch of rappers out the back giving it their all? And let's not get started on the poetry reading simply titled "Fifty Shades of K" - enough said. :') I haven't felt such a buzz from an event since the Rag Weeks spent while I was in Art College.
It is now Wednesday night at the time of posting this. The event has been over 2 days and I'm still knackered. Thank you KFest!! Killorgin will never just be known as "The place with the goat" anymore. I will be back again next year! Watch this space ;) Evelyn Sometimes it's nice to try new things, change things around and reach out to a fresh audience. That's why I've decided to make a tumblr page to compliment this website! It's a great website for discovering other artists and bloggers who just appreciate nice things.
If you have a tumblr too, follow me! ^_^ http://evelyns-art.tumblr.com/ It's been a while since I last updated my blog - my apologies!
At the moment in my artistic life, I'm chipping away with ink drawings for a change and gathering lots of information for future projects. It's hard to paint in the winter when I haven't got a proper studio setup at home; only a shed! I am taking part in life-drawing sessions in Abbeyfeale, which happen once every fortnight. It's a great way to keep up drawing and mingle with other artists. Plans are currently being added to the cake mix that is a possible group exhibition this summer. :) I don't fancy posting many sketches from the sessions, but I feel happy enough to post this head-and-shoulder one here. Till next time! Evelyn As the title of this post boldly suggests, I'm now officially a graduate of the Limerick School of Art and Design, graduating with a BA (Honours) in Fine Art. The conferring ceremony (as is the proper name of the event) took place on the 31st October, Hallowe'en, in the college. It was amazing meeting up with all my classmates for one last major blast in the college, putting a fine end to a wonderful 4 years.The biggest surprise of the day, and I am very proud to say, is winning the Oona O'Brien Memorial Award for figurative painting. I wasn't expecting anything as the prizes were awarded at the ceremony, but it is hugely appreciated and hopefully another major stepping stone in my career.
My only regret is not dressing up for the Hallowe'en afterparty ;) Here I am posing for a photograph with my parents in the college canteen So, I had my very first solo exhibition last Friday night, the 10th October. It was a roaring success, opened by the highly regarded artist Liam Flynn. http://www.liamflynn.com/ Apparently I made history as the first artist exhibiting in the Glórach Theatre.
I'll admit I was quite nervous the whole day of it; nervous of how the public would react to my work, and also nervous that nobody but my family would turn up. Fortunately I had nothing to worry about. For anybody reading this who has supported me up to this point, thank you and I hope you will continue your support in the future. Here's a snippet from this week's Weekly Observer commending the exhibition, written by the talented Lorcan Curtin: I'd like to announce a new exhibition coming up, displaying my 'Doll Series' in the Glórach, Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick on Friday, 10th October. It will be titled Effigy which in the dictionary means an image, representation, painting, doll, which applies strongly to my work.
Planning an exhibition or any show is tough work. I am blessed that the Glórach committee are such a friendly, co-operative team. Even after being so nice to give me the opportunity to display my first ever solo exhibition in the great space, they are brilliant so far at organising all the fine plans. If any of you are reading this, thank you. Evelyn Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to check my website. It is about time I started a blog on this site - I have this website open for a good year or so. A blog is a perfect way of making a site more personal, and more enjoyable, don't you think? At the present moment I am delighted the owner of 'Heavenly Gifts' (a beautiful gift shop in my local Abbeyfeale) Margaret, gave me the opportunity to display two of my "Doll" Portraits. It's a great way of getting my work "out there" in the public, and out of my sitting room where they were starting to gather dust. My largest portrait, with the side portrait featuring the black wig is still in St. Patrick's Hospital, too. Words cannot express how excited I got the day I received that email from them way back in June asking to be part of their Emerging Artists exhibition. I am exhibiting with two other incredible artists I know from college, Nadia and Helena and a few others from other art colleges around Ireland. I was most surprised at the great reaction my work is getting, especially when I found the theme so hard to work with at the beginning, as it is very personal, so for that, to you reading my post, thank you. Evelyn |
AuthorEvelyn Murphy, Archives
July 2015
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