Interiors Column with Louise Higgins of Aspire Design

This week I was out and about at Art Source 2019 in the RDS. The art fair ran from 15 – 17 November and had some inspiring artwork on display from some of Ireland's top artists, as well as some prints from renowned artists like Banksy on the Gormley’s Fine Art display.

Art source showcased over 200 Irish and international artists and galleries gathering together to feature painting, sculpture, prints, photography, ceramic and glass art. Due to the variety of mediums on display there was something to suit all tastes and budgets.

The Art Fair had a mix of styles from cutting edge contemporary art, realism or portraiture, abstract art and landscapes so there was something to suit everyone. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet up with some of the existing artists I use for my interior design projects, but also to meet new emerging artists as well as established artist that I never had an opportunity to meet in person before.

One of my favourite seascape artists Theo Hanley was exhibiting at the show. His seascape paintings evoke feelings of tranquillity whilst portraying the energy of the sea and I was not surprised to hear that he had sold the majority of the artwork from his stand. See www.theohanley.com

I also met with many fellow members of the Interiors Association — Karen Hickey, Fran Halpin, Michelle O’ Donnell and Jean Lowndes who had fantastic displays of their artwork. Kildare artist Karen Hickey had a fantastic display of her larger than life character portraits. Karen draws her inspiration from bygone days and creating portraits that tell a story through her art. www.artistkarenhickey.com

Irish artist Fran Halpin shares her childhood memories of skimming stones with her dad through her stunning pebble paintings. Her paintings depict her love of water and its reflective properties through her calm water scenes and highly reflective wet pebbles. Her slow drying water-based medium allows her extra time for blending and creating textures to create a three-dimensional feel to her artwork. www.franhalpinart.com

Jean Lowndes is a palette knife artist with stunning artwork that awakens the imagination. See www.jeanlowndesart.ie.
Michelle O’ Donnell of Glass Hammer studios creates stunning sculpture with glass. Her work covers a broad spectrum from internal architectural commissions to large public state bodies. See www.glasshammer.ie

Art Source gave me an opportunity to meet with other artists are hear their story of what inspired them to create their stunning pieces. I met with Kildare sculptor Brian O’Loughlin from Rathangan who creates stunning sculptured pieces from bog oak.His stand was a hive of activity and it was fantastic to see a local sculpture do so well. Everyone was so interested to hear how he worked with bog oak and how he could create stunning pieces from this precious and ancient material, formed thousands of years ago when the great oak forests of Celtic Ireland were subsumed into peat bogs.

Brian went on to explain how he comes up with the idea for the sculpture he wants to create and then searches for just the right piece of bog oak to create the piece. Pictured here is his violin piece that was on display at the show. Contact Brian O’Loughlin, Rathangan, or visit www.irishbogoak.com or call 087 245 3021.

Another Kildare artist exhibiting was Lisa Keegan from Celbridge who launched her ‘snapshot’ series with Snapshots of Dublin at Art Source. These colourful snapshots use vibrant colours and thick black lines to accentuate shape and form. See www.lisakeegan.com

Upstairs in the balcony section I saw an additional 25 artists displaying their artwork. Some of the artists that caught my eye were Rosemarie Kamana whose work is influenced and inspired by her African heritage and tradition. Her work is about ethnicity, diversity, freedom and natural beauty. My favourite was Rosemarie’s The Chosen One Masaai portrait pictured left. www.rosemariekamana.art

Another innovative Irish artist that caught my eye was Julie Potter of www.juliepotterart.com who paints using a unique technique of bleach and acrylic paint on black fabric to create captivating artwork that almost looks like movie stills. Truly amazing.

Lastly, I also met with Rita Oates of www.ritaoatesartist.ie who had some lovely serene paintings on display that were thought provoking and optimistic. Perfect in our busy world where mindfulness is growing in important.

Overall the Art Source art fair was amazing, and I will certainly be visiting again next year. I hope you found this column interesting and that these inspiring artists have made you feel proud of the wonderful artistic talent we have here in Ireland. Contact Louise at info@ aspiredesign.ie or phone 045 982265 / 086 399 9926.