2024 in Pictures

JANUARY

Niamh McCann at the MAC, Belfast

Strike Captain Study

'Three in One' drawing - 3 Cadets

First completed painting of the year - 'Restraint Study'

Blizzard-esque

Sinead McKeever in QSS

FEBRUARY

Help in the office

New addition to the Family - Malcolm John Kielt

Golden Thread in Threshold

Ciarraí MacCormac in Catalyst Arts

Overturned Roots

Only saving grace of a lost work

'Upstanding'

MARCH

Vault

DLB

VOID in Derry

A crack in Dublin

Fun in the tub!

APRIL

Éabha Campbell in Catalyst

Large and small works on the go

Sketchings - 'on the tube'

Vagabond Reviews in the LAB Gallery, Dublin

Down the Hill

Mother Tongue in the MAC

MAY

Hit the North, Royal Avenue

FGB in Vault

Northern Lights

Raindrops incorporated

Rally Day

Progress - only two will survive

Deirdre O'Mahony in the Douglas Hyde

JUNE

Steps forward and backward

Cameron Stewart in Arcade Studios

Eslam Abd El Salam, Phillip McCrilly, Tara McGinn & Sorcha McNamara - Catalyst Arts

Matthias Oostrik - Belfast Photo Festival

Lough Views

ArtsFest Opening - ~ArtsForAll

'Four Years On' finished

JULY

Early stages

'Centra Bag' Pen on Paper

Apprentice

DIY holiday work

North Coast Sunset

AUGUST

Stoic snap in the studio

Caravaggio at the Ulster Museum

Golden Thread Re-Opening

'Turn to Page 5' detail

more works on the go

SEPTEMBER

The Weight of Light: Conor McFeely and Pascale Steven at the MAC

1,2,3

Late Night Art East - Creative Exchange

QSS at 40 opening

Studio shot

OCTOBER

Royale Arcade show at Arcade Studios

Laura Nelson at Vault Studios

'Restraint Study' in situ at Royal Ulster Academy show in Ulster Museum

PS2 Tour

Blowing Up

NOVEMBER

Office wall

'I see his blood upon the rose' show at the MAC

VAI's Get Together at IMMA, Dublin

Brian Maguire at Hugh Lane Gallery

DECEMBER

An experiment with moss

Christmas Letters

Detail of work all but complete - will be part of group show in new year

2022 in Pictures

January

Detail of "A New Normal"

Supermoon

Sketchbook work from childhood photographs

February

Ronnie Hughes' 'Isobar' in the MAC, Belfast

Notions for ideas in the snow

Catalyst Residency - early beginnings

Cast of my mouth by Stephanie Tanney

Temporary studio space in Catalyst Arts

Artist Rachel Macmanus hard at work

Ogham residency in full swing - late February

March

Final stages of work for Ogham in Catalyst

with artist Stephanie Tanney and curator Jen Alexander in final moments of residency

painting in progress - hair colour undetermined

Mothers' day - little Imogen is born

very early morning sunrise

back home and doing / adjusting well

at the closing night of Ogham exhibition in Catalyst with artists Rachel Macmanus, Stephanie Tanney and curator Jen Alexander

April

Quick sketching work

Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh at CCA Derry

'Ogham' work returned to the studio

'Girl with Red Hair' finished

Emic in 'Art That Made Us' documentary series

May

Decisions, decisions

Drawing from historical imagery

June

'Mothman' detail - in progress

'Peek-A-Boo' close up

Claire Barclay at the MAC, Belfast

July

A studio assistant sleeping on the job

beginnings of a small piece

Studio wall shot

Powerful work by Stuart Calvin at Atypical Gallery, Belfast

On show at the Boyle Arts Festival, Roscommon

August

Ron Mueck at the MAC, Belfast

Sunset at Portrush

detail of skulls

little and large

September

a conversation in pen

'Four of Five' detail I

'Four of Five' detail II

October

a packed opening of the RUA exhibition in Ulster Museum, Belfast

'Girl with Red Hair' in RUA

Giving a talk about practice in the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin

Springing on with new works

November

Imogen's first trip to the Ulster Musuem - infront of Alana Barton's work

Proud daddy and daughter moment

detail of eye in progress

December

The last works completed this year.

Stunning painting by Daniel Coleman at the MAC, Belfast

The opening of 'New Exits - 10 Years of Painting Shows' in the MAC, Belfast

2021 in Pictures

January

Frozen Lake in Hillsborough

"Shock" - first finished work of the year

Studio shot - all three works would be abandoned

Sketch of female police officers

February

"Shock" on display for FirstSite show

Freshly squeezed paint

Home with a dash of snow

Back and forth on work that didn't survive

Two out of Three works survived!

March

Detail of hand - in progress

Early stages of 'On Gilded Steps' detail

Horn detail for "The Infamy of Crete"

Early Spring Studio shot

In a Huff - aged around 8

April

"On Gilded Steps" detail

Longer evenings mean longer walks.

Collecting work from 2020's RUA

Little revamp of the office/drawing space

"Gathering Thoughts" finished

Cherry Tree in full blossom

May

Layering of biplanes for "History Repeating"

Spring clean of painting storage space

Detail of "History Repeating"

Sketch from a Victorian Photo

June

Studio Shot June - with "History Repeating" on right

Three pups in a bed

Drawing from a cult 60's film still

Detail of "Moon Boy"

Ambera Wellmann at the MAC, Belfast

Maya Balcioglu at the MAC, Belfast

July

"Galamseyer" - shrub detail

Early stage of "Life is But a Dream"

A low flying balloon over the garden

Sunset over Slieve Gallion

Finished - "Galamseyer"

August

On the Cover of Geraldine O'Kane's book

Wedding Day

Detail of "Life is But a Dream"

Drawing of a dangerous individual

September

Early days of compositional juggling

First image of new addition-to-be

Memory of 1993 sketch

"Saint and Sinner" - detail of finished work

Detail of "Unimpressed" painting

Close up of "Rex Aegypti Penultimus"

Minimal sketch study

October

"Rex Aegypti Penultimus" - finished work

Cold day in the studio with multiple works

Close up of "Lady of the Manor"

Detail of large multi-imaged canvas

November

Portrait of NI exhibition in GT Gallery, Belfast

Anne Tallentire in the MAC, Belfast

Took part in Platform's Salonathon show

Drawing up a new batch of canvases

"The Doctor will See you Now" - Finished

Eva Rothschild in VOID, Derry

“Tilt [At Windmills]” exhibition in CCA, Derry

Three paintings at different stages

December

John Rainey in Naughton Gallery, Belfast

Array Collective welcoming the Solstice

"Label"

"Under Surveillance"

2019 in Photos

JANUARY

Rearranging office space

Alana Barton exhibition in the Black Box, Belfast

Studio shot with works in progress

Beginnings of "Lost Woods Study"

FEBRUARY

Detail of "Ruins" in progress

Looking over the Lagan

MARCH

Bright day in the studio and re-purposing failed works

Adding text?

I popped the question and she said yes!

APRIL

Aimee Melaugh's wonderful show in the Glassworks, Derry

Leaving work in the RHA to take part in the submission process

Francis Bacon's studio in the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin

Visit to the Royal Academy, London

The National Gallery, London

Rousseau's Tiger in the National Gallery, London

Tate Modern, London

Peter Doig in the the Tate Modern

Self Portrait by Bonnard in the wonderful exhibition in the Tate Modern

Tate's new extension with a Franz West piece in the foreground

Doris Salcedo at IMMA

Jan with Jasper

MAY

Visiting the CCA Derry/Londonderry

Very disturbing window painting

"Ferryman" and "The Bogland Sackrace" in progress

Close up of "The Lost Woods Study"

JUNE

Taping up "The Bogland Sackrace"

Christopher James Burns' "Limbo Land" in the MAC, Belfast

Rogue at the River

JULY

Macro shot of painting skin

The smallest brush I own

Ballydugan Mill, Downpatrick

Wonderful show about Cindy Sherman on BBC Arena

AUGUST

Siblings

Sleeping Dogs

Prepping works for transit

SEPTEMBER

Mark McGreevy at the MAC, Belfast

Detail of painting in progress

Work by Craig Donald in the Goose Lane Gallery, Belfast

Still of 'Midsommar' - one of the best films I've seen this year

OCTOBER

Installing Bardo in the Ards Art Centre, Newtownards

Sandra Robinson solo show in the Ards Art Centre

Wonderful gift from Action Mental Health at the opening of Bardo

Ipod has returned!

Projecting images onto a new canvas

Visiting the RUA exhibition in the Ulster Musuem, Belfast

NOVEMBER

Fresh paint

"Helen" in progress

DECEMBER

Photo experimentation with Jan

Fog filled nights

Surprise gift wrapping

Detail of a commission in progress

2018 in Photos

JANUARY

Detail of "Bereft Clown" painting in progress

Infinity symbol

Studio Wall - 6th January

Injured bird

Home in candlelight

Paw prints on canvas

FEBRUARY

Kyle Barnes on BBCNI's 'The Arts Show'

"Next in Line" drawing

Reflective palette

LOFT's Drink and Draw at Town Square, Belfast

EMIC spotted on Botanic

Gilbert and George at the MAC, Belfast

David Godbold at the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

MARCH

Jan

Office work

Cleansing the palette

Reworking failed works

APRIL

'Stalker' (1979) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Family photo

Detail of "Bye Standers" painting in progress

Drawing that didn't quite make the cut

Grace McMurray at the University Gallery, Belfast

MAY

"Damned It" part of group show in Catalyst Arts, Belfast

Solo show by Kyle Barnes at the Burnavon, Cookstown

Mate's night out

Opening of 'The Here and Now - Six Painters' at Townhouse Gallery, Belfast

Lindsay Seers at the MAC, Belfast

Drawing in the sun

Detail of 'Bye Standers'

Glenshane forest

JUNE

Playing with negative space

Studio shot - 16th June

Detail of 'Cult' - painting in progress

Rosses Point beach, Sligo

The Model Gallery, Sligo

JULY

"Requests?"

Ready for stretching

Justine McDonnell at the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

Elizabeth Magill at the Ulster Museum, Belfast

Beginnings of 'Oedipus' painting

Sunflower from the iDA Award ceremony at the University of Atypical, Belfast

AUGUST

Alex Cecchetti at VOID Gallery, Derry

Shadows in the studio

"Take Five" drawing

SEPTEMBER

Retrieving works from Belfast

Hoarding ideas

Detail of "A Manifold and Truly Glorious Strife"

The wedding of the year

Studio shot - 23rd September

Peer Critique in the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

OCTOBER

Studio shot - 11th October

Rewatching a classic

View from DLR Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire

Detail of "Pioneer Studies" - work in progress

Studio shot - 27th October

Fright Night

"Confessional" painting in progress

NOVEMBER

Progress on "Afore the Stoop"

Ali Cherri's wonderful work as part of the MAC International 2018

"Confessional" - work in progress

Sketchbook work - 28th November

DECEMBER

Work being sent to Belfast for a group show

EMIC's amazing studio space in VAULT, Belfast

Moon-rise over Glenshane

Sketchbook work - 27th December

Detail of "Confessional" - finished

Re-working "Bereft Clown" - detail