Dún Laoghaire – 2020
Ink, acrylic, pencil on music sheets and an old Irish map.
42 x 30cm
I’m sure all artists have up and down times. Times when the creative juices really flow and times when it’s a real battle. After a few weeks struggling with my arty mojo, it was good to be back on it.
Sky Arts Artist of the Week returned after a summer break, which was perfect timing for me. Just what I needed to get my arty mojo back. This week’s artist was Sara Lavelle and the sitter was DJ Annie MacManus
So so nice to have this back with us again.
Usually when I use a collage backgrounds to draw/paint onto, I try to keep the collage element as simple and as uncomplicated as possible. Otherwise it can interfere too much with the portrait. With a nod to Annie’s Irish roots, I decided to use an old Irish map, which was rather busy, so this artwork has also had a lot of acrylic scraped onto it too, just to tone the background down a wee bit.
Original artwork and signed prints of this piece are available to purchase via my online shop.
And for anyone interested in exactly how I put this artwork together. Here’s a video of me discussing my process, my ways of working and then some very sped up video film of me completing this from start to finish.
