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Whenever I’m wandering around a gallery space I often find myself gazing at a painting and wondering how it got here? How did this painting begin its creative journey? Well, recently I was in Green Acres Gallery in Wexford where some of my own paintings were hanging on the wall and I thought it might be interesting to share a little bit of the creative journey of my own work – to show the evolution of a painting and how they come to life.

As always I start out with my sketchbook and my camera

For these paintings, my source of inspiration was the beautiful landscape of the Wexford coast, in particular, Raven’s Point in Curracloe. It’s a place that I have been visiting my whole life. It still manages to look different every time I’m there and recently it’s been recharging my creativity. In my sketchbooks, I try to capture the light and the colours of the day. Once back in the studio I’ll work on creating mood boards. I’ll use my photographs and sketches to develop the textures and layers to capture something that will inspire a painting.

Then it’s down to the studio where work starts on the blank canvases

First, they are primed and prepped. As any creative will tell you the blank canvas is the most daunting part of the process. So I usually attack it by painting a block of colour all over to get rid of that stark white and begin to add textures to the painting. Then I build up layer after layer of paint, allowing transparencies to build up between each layer. Although I will have an idea of the type of painting I want in my head I always try to let the paintings happen naturally. I will work on 3 or 4 paintings at a time, moving between canvasses so I have fresh eyes and keeping the work instinctual and spontaneous.

So how do you know when to stop? How do you when the paintings are finished?

Sometimes you just know when that last paint stroke will be enough. Others times there’s a niggling feeling that something is not quite right. For me, I’ll always bring a painting home to hang it on my wall for a few months and live with it to see if I’m happy. Then, if I’m lucky enough to make it on to a gallery wall, I know that I found my way and created something that just might have been worth all of the effort.

VERONICA DOOLEY – CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER
Veronica is our resident artist and brings her undeniable flair for the creative into her role as Client Services Manager. She’s always on hand to guide you through all the aspects of your project right through to the final stages. When she’s not at her desk, you’ll find her getting creative in her own private studio, working away on everything from paintings to printmaking and drawing.