Three photographs in polaroid style frames of Northern Ireland landscapes, with handwritten style text below each naming the place. The first is Strangford Harbour, followed by Glens of Antrim, followed by Benone Strand.

From Bloody Bridge to Benone

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Three photographs in polaroid style frames of Northern Ireland landscapes, with handwritten style text below each naming the place. The first is Strangford Harbour, followed by Glens of Antrim, followed by Benone Strand.

One of the perks of being an artist is going on location to gather inspiration, soak up the essence of a place, and capture source material such as photographs and sketches. This spring I took myself off on a number of day trips around Northern Ireland’s coastline to create a new collection of land & seascapes.

From Bloody Bridge, just south of Newcastle Co. Down, to Benone Strand in Co. Derry/Londonderry, there were 10 settings that made the cut:

  1. Bloody Bridge, Newcastle
  2. Murlough Nature Reserve & The Mourne Mountains
  3. Strangford Village and Harbour
  4. Bangor Harbour
  5. The Glens of Antrim
  6. Ballintoy Harbour
  7. The Giant’s Causeway
  8. Whiterocks Cliffs
  9. Portrush
  10. Benone Strand & Mussenden Temple
A vector map of Ireland, with ten spots around the coast of Northern Ireland marked by brown circles.
Two photographs from a coastal road trip. The top photo is of a sketchbook in a grassy field with a sketch of the cliffs near Portrush, Northern Ireland. The lower photo is of fish and chips on a blue rectangular plate, with a small dish of mushy peas.

Apart from the obligatory (and much loved) coastal ice creams, fish & chips, and cups of coffee, I spent my time gazing out to sea, photographing from every angle, and filling my sketch book with composition ideas. Oh, plus plenty of curious looks from passing sheep and cows, adding quite a few miles to my car, and racking up a considerable number of steps on my Health app. The latter a bonus!

I have a fond connection with each and every one of these 10 places, mostly originating from my childhood and early adult years. Fleeting memories, combined with this whistle stop spring tour, have inspired a collection of paintings that embrace the very loose and gestural way in which I love to paint most.

Two photographs of cows and sheep taken on a road trip around Northern Ireland. The top photo features a herd of black and brown cows in a bright grassy field overlooking Strangford Harbour. The bottom photo features three young sheep in a grassy field before a landscape of rolling hills.

Each layer was poured spontaneously and with reasonable speed onto the blank surface, so that I could harness my feelings and my own interpretation of each location. So, forget accuracy… this collection is about what’s in my heart, and how I think of these landscapes in my mind. And hopefully the paintings will resonate with others too!

Each of the 10 original paintings will be zooming off to hand-picked spots around Northern Ireland this summer to take part in the Kathryn Callaghan NI Art Trail. We’ll have more information about where you can find the paintings soon, but in the meantime, you can view the full collection of prints and originals below or find more information here; just scroll across to see all 10!

I hope you’ve been inspired to take a holiday at home yourself. If you’re out and about this summer and there’s a particular spot you’d like to see immortalised in a work of art, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Get in touch – and happy trails! x

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