This summer seven local artists became ‘Artists in Residence’ at visitor centres across the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark. They created new works while promoting and celebrating our landscape. The works will be on display and for sale at the Foust Gallery, Ennistymon from 16th-27th October.
The artists included Doreen Drennan, Éanna Byrt, Kaye Maahs, Mary Fahy, Patsy Ricks, Philip Morrison, and Sara Foust. They visited Aillwee Cave, The Burren Nature Sanctuary, Caherconnell Fort, the Burren Centre, Doolin Cave and Moher Cottage to promote the concept of geotourism and forge links between artists and tourism businesses. During their ‘residence’ at the visitor centres they painted the landscape and chatted to visitors about how they saw it.
The Exhibition
The An exhibition of the works they created will be held at the Foust gallery, Ennistymon 16th-27th October. The works will be on display and for sale.
Conservation Fundraising
Burren based artist Kaye Maahs has donated a painting she created during the programme in support of Aillwee Cave’s raptor and vulture conservation efforts. The painting titled ‘Night watcher (Jon Snow)’ is of a snowy owl, one of the performing artists at the Aillwee caves Burren Birds of prey centre and will be auctioned on 17th October at 7.30pm.
Sara Foust is a professional artist living and working on the west coast of Ireland. Sara trained at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design in the USA, and with master muralist Susan Cervantes in San Francisco. She exhibits her artwork throughout Ireland and internationally. Her work has been supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Clare County Council, and commissioned by CREATE, Leader/RRD, Cluid Housing and HSE.
Doreen Drennan is an impressionist painter documenting the Burren region and the Wild Atlantic Way for over 30 years. Doreen’s preferred medium is oil paint. She utilises brush and knife techniques to execute the challenging form, colour, texture and depth of her surroundings.
Her subjects range from the wildness of the Atlantic to the rugged marks left on the landscape by the sea. She is noted for her ability to capture the changing atmospheric sky lines above the Atlantic and is continually inspired by the dramatic fleeting light of the West.
Patsy Ricks
Patsy works mainly in watercolor and can be found at the courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon. She has been exhibiting her work in studios across Ireland and Co. Clare since 1978 and has pieces included in private collections in Ireland, England, Holland and Brazil.
Award-winning Artist Mary Fahy tends to paint outdoors, directly onto canvas, to capture the immediacy of the moment. Her paintings begin with direct observation of her surroundings. Working quickly, in a gestural way, she allows herself to be lead by the process. Mary has work in numerous public and private collections both national and international including the Revenue Commissioners, The Boyle Civic Art Collection, Camac Arts Centre in France and in the collection of President Michael D. Higgins. Her work is held in private collections worldwide including Ireland, the UK, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany, The USA, Australia and The UAE.
Éanna Byrt
A current resident of the Courthouse Studios in Ennistymon, Éanna is a former student of the Limerick School of Art and Design and more recently of the RHA graduate program. His current studio practice uses traditional painting methods to describe contemporary themes of the everyday. Through a blend of traditional methods augmented with digital techniques he portrays subject matter through the allegorical application of these techniques. He finds influence in the work of Vincent Desiderio, Jenny Saville, Eric Fischell, Diego Velasquez and William Orpen.
Emerging artist Kaye Maahs is a native of Kerry who lives and works in the Burren, County Clare. Kaye’s work is rooted in both the local and the personal. Her practice is defined by daily observations and musings. It is the residue of these moments that informs her work.
Phillips work celebrates the culture and landscape of Ireland and is often described as having a musicality to it. Strong colours and movement are key signatures to his unique style of painting, but the artist attempts to push his work in new directions through experimentation to help his art practice evolve.
Programme Support
The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, managed by Clare County Council, supported by Geological survey Ireland are partners in an EU-funded Interreg Atlantic Geoparks project that promotes economic, cultural and sustainable geotourism in 12 destinations along Europe’s Atlantic frontier. The project is developing new initiatives including the creation of a transnational European Atlantic Geotourism Route along with products and experiences to support it in each destination.
About the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme
The European Atlantic Geotourism Route is co-funded by the EU Interreg Atlantic Area programme and Clare County Council. The 30 month project aims to forge new tourism links along a defined Atlantic route through highlighting the common interests and heritage of the destinations along the route.
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