Courage

Courage - Joy - Self-Confidence - Strength - Welcoming - Open

A female figure faces a blast of light coming from the top left corner of the painting. Seaweed is intertwined with her figure, recoiling from the blast of light. Her posture is open and welcoming of the rays of light. A huge transition is taking place, the dark receeding both literally and metaphorically.

“Sea People” is a series of paintings inspired by the tale of the lost village of Cill StúifÍn, imagining its vanished inhabitants. Seaweed plays a prominent role in my work, both for its environmental significance and its similarity to the way human hair moves underwater. In “Sea People” seaweed acts as a vessel for emotion, conveying what is internal and not always visible on the surface. 

Watercolour on paper.

Previously exhibited at Clare County Museum (2023) and Culturlann Sweeney Kilkee (2025).