Leap Painting

Dermot O'Grady was born in 1969 in Manchester, England and now lives in rural Ireland. After a career in I.T. Dermot began painting in 2012 and in that year took 1st place in The Irish Show Societies All Ireland Amateur painting competition. Dermot has sold to several private collectors in the UK, and the USA "I moved from the UK to live in rural Ireland in 2010. I found this landscape very different from Manchester, the pace was very different, the clarity of light, the colours were more vivid, the intensity of the greens alone are unlike anywhere else on earth. Initially I tried painting the local farm animals, It gave me a starting point and I had fun but felt I wasn't quite on track. I eventually realised that what I wanted to paint was something much less tangible. I started to play with Abstract or more acuratly non- representational art. Leaving representational art behind was a liberating process and opened the door to a freedom of expression. There's a kind of purity to not having to paint "something else" but just paint and let the painting itself become the object. As I continue to paint I see with increasing clarity the direction my art is taking. I think of my paintings as depicting a tension, a rythm and kind of natural pulse.There's also Themes of containment and the relationships between a more polished exterior and a softer more fleshy interior. The Process:- When i start a piece, I have no real idea where the painting will eventually lead and how the finished piece will look. As an artist not having a clear picture where you're going can be quite daunting but I believe that an artist needs to be willing to take a leap into the unknown and accept that originality and uniqueness often comes from a willingness to let go. I start the paintings with simple sweeping curves or spiral shapes. These are really only a jumping off point. Then I work into it with more considered applications. The process can be a long one. I rework the painting again and again. I've found this re-working process can give a really nice depth to the finished piece. I like to feel the painting and try not over think it but aim for a simple, strong compositional balance and a tension to the lines. I know a piece is finished when I look at the canvas and don't want to change a thing. When I apply colour I tend to think in terms of warm and cold.