What brought you to the Singapore Botanic Garden?
Last year I was celebrating 30 years of painting en plein air at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland with a show of more than 50 paintings, Inside, Outside & Beyond.
The newly-appointed Irish Ambassador to Singapore, Pat Bourne, happened to visit the show and took a liking to the painting Springtime in Glasnevin, which he took to his residence in Singapore. This piece was the starting point of my engagement with the Singapore Botanic Gardens, as the current director, Dr Nigel Taylor, saw it and offered me a one-month artist residency at the gardens.
What will the exhibition entail?
Botanical Fusion launches during the first three weeks of my residency. On show will be 17 artworks, including 14 oil paintings and three charcoal sketches. On completion of my residency, I’ll be relocating to Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay as I’ve been invited by the CEO, Felix Loh, to create my artistic interpretation of this iconic garden.
Which of the works are you most excited to share?
My latest creations, a series of four large-scale abstract paintings. They were all painted outdoors, under the heat of the midday sun and very high humidity. Three of them are depicting Heliconia plant, while the largest piece, Green is the New Black, features leaves of the Monstera deliciosa [the Swiss cheese plant]. I am really pleased with these.
This story is from the November 2019 edition of Artists & Illustrators.
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This story is from the November 2019 edition of Artists & Illustrators.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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