Situated on the grounds of our Victorian home overlooking Cork harbour is our studio. Both Jan (my wonderful artist wife) and I paint from this inspiring location. Having a studio at my home allows me to paint into the night and this also allows me to have a home life. My studio is divided into two rooms and whilst most of my day is spent in my dockyard working studio, when I return home in the evening I am met by Jan, who may have worked on her own art during the day, that is if he creative talent hasn't been focused elsewhere, our garden.  We relax with a glass of wine in the studio and find this is a wonderful way to end our day, discussing our individual creative endeavours.

DOCKYARD STUDIO

Perhaps seen as a strange location for establishing a studio but this Dockyard holds great nostalgia and significance for me as an artist. During 1985, whilst still in the Navy, I was assigned to  this very Dockyard where the Irish Naval Ship,  LE  Eithne was being built. When the ship launched in 1986, we sailed to the New York to participate in the Statue of Liberty celebrations.

This voyage was a great  experience, but it also became the turning point for me in my career, I decided to devote the  rest of my life to my art.  Little did I realize at the time that when the  dockard closed as a ship building dockyard that this would enable me to move into the area under the slipway and  make it my space  -  my studio. So today, instead of building and launching ships from this slipway it continues to play a pivotal role in my voyage of creative expression. The space breathes creative energy and in the words of my students, they paint better in this space than in any other location.