Hillside Bells

This painting was inspired by a discovery on the side of the road during my trip around Ireland… a cluster of foxgloves standing tall along a wild hedge, their colour so rich it almost felt unreal. There was something instantly captivating about them, that intense pink-purple glow, delicate up close, but bold enough to hold their own against the sweep of the landscape behind.

What struck me most was the contrast. The foxgloves felt so pretty and intricate, and yet they were growing in the most untamed setting, with a raw, open view stretching out beyond them. That pairing of softness against wildness feels almost unique to Ireland, where the smallest pockets of colour can appear right on the edge of something vast and rugged.

With Irish Wildflower Hedge, my intention was to capture that exact feeling: the moment your eye is drawn to something beautiful and bright, and then you look up and realise the world around it is equally breathtaking. It’s a piece about that quiet surprise, and about how Ireland so often holds both delicacy and drama in the same frame.