Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 100cm x 100cm
Framing: standard-edge canvas, ready to hang
‘Snapshots of Guinness’ is a 49-panel ‘Snapshots’ painting depicting a number of iconic buildings and locations with links to Guinness and the Guinness family in Ireland.
I painted this piece following a number of commissions by Guinness (Diageo plc) to visually document their iconic St. James’s Gate location in Dublin city.
In researching these paintings I was granted access to the buildings on the site of this world-famous Brewery. These site visits resulted in a number of ‘snapshots’ paintings including parts of this ‘city within a city’ which few are privy to. The St James’s Gate Brewery has its own metro-style tunnel running under James St, its own narrow gauge railway track and a ‘cash room’ that dates back to the days when publicans came to Guinness to pay their bills.
The “Snapshots” series seeks to elevate the everyday, shining a spotlight on the often overlooked beauty of our urban surroundings. How often do you truly look around you or really notice the detail of a building or streetlamp? Capturing the essence of an area is central to my work.
My Snapshots pieces are vibrant yet minimalistic compilation paintings. These paintings use various panels to reflect different aspects and views of the built environment of a particular area. Using social media as well as traditional sketchbook methods allows me to incorporate the feeling for and views of an area, creating a work which is enduring as well as being immediate and current.
I paint using clean lines and strong colours. These bold blocks of colour suit the subject of largely urban environments, taking ‘snapshots’ of views which are the familiar evocative pieces that make up the jigsaw of the world we inhabit.
