Profile
THE ARTISTS
Marysia Harasimowicz
Born in England, of Polish origin, and living
in Ireland since 1996. She has been teaching art and crafts for
over 20 years. Originally specialised in decorative and printed
textiles and ceramics. Marysia also studied art history, fine art
and fashion/clothing. Her work has mainly been influenced by
colour, pattern, design and nature as well as eastern european
and ethnic culture. She works in pastels, acrylics, watercolour,
mixed media, fabric and print. Founding member of the group.
Emer Martin
Emer is an award winning artist and a
published novelist who lives in Kilcloone, Co Meath. She studied
painting in New York where she was awarded the
Summerville Arts prize. Recently
she was selected to spend time painting at the artist’s retreat
in Cillrialiag, Co Kerry. She had her first solo show at Noelle
Campbell Sharpe’s Origin Gallary in Dublin in 2006.
Vincent O’Neill
A self-taught artist originally from Kerry but
living in Dunboyne for the last 30 years. He is a retired teacher
who now teaches art to the active retired. Vincent had a sell-out
one-man show in Tralee in the Siamsa Theatre in 1979 and has had
numerous group exhibitions over the last 30 years. Paints in oils
and acrylics and has paintings in private collections in Zurich,
London, Germany and America.
Una Ryan
Una Ryan was
born and raised in Tipperary and now lives with husband and family in Co.Meath.
She has always had a keen interest in art and exchanged full time
employment to concentrate on art. After studying various disciplines
including pottery, bog oak sculpture and life drawing her focus is now
on nature, in particular seascapes and landscapes. She exhibits regularly
with the local art group “The Old Schoolhouse Art Group” Dunboyne and is
currently working towards a solo exhibition in her native town Nenagh in November 07
Annabel Potterton
Originally from England, I now live
on a small farm just outside Dunboyne in Co Meath and have three
children, turkeys, ducks and hens all which feature in my
paintings. Trips abroad give me new subjects to paint and I
particularly love the shop windows in Venice full of weird and
wonderful masks and puppets and buskers on the streets.
I have a diploma in ceramics and
started drawing during this period. For many years I used chalk
pastels loving the close contact with the medium. This is still
my preferred medium although I also use oils, mixed media and
print techniques and I still love drawing, particularly life
drawing. The art portfolio course has been an inspiration in that
it has taught good studio practice and development of ideas.
Besides being a member and
exhibiting with the Old Schoolhouse Group since it’s inception, I
have also exhibited at the People’s Art exhibitions in Lucan, at
Castle Park School in Monkstown at a group exhibition and in
Castleknock. As well as this I have exhibited in the UK doing
joint exhibitions with my mother, Anne Cole.
Member of the Old Schoolhouse Art
Group from 2001
Ceramics Diploma
Wandsworth Art College, London
1993-95
Studied under Nina Patterson one
morning a week
Artworks, Celbridge, Co Kildare
2000-2005
Mette Sofie Roche
Originally from Norway but living in Ireland
for the past 30 years, currently in a converted stone barn
outside Dunboyne. Her artwork initially involved wool and
textiles. She started painting with watercolours some years ago
and today her preferred media is a combination of watercolour,
soft pastels and Indian ink. as well as textiles.
She has been a member of The Old Schoolhouse
Art Group since its foundation.
Noeleen Slevin
Born in Trim but has lived in Dunboyne for the
last 15 years. Noeleen is a member of the group since it’s
foundation. She works part-time as a nurse so finds painting a
pleasant and relaxing antidote.
Larry Steen
Larry Steen (Mac Stibin) a native of Ardee, Co. Louth is a self taught artist. He started painting in the early 1960s and was a member of the Dundalk art group. He was influenced by Paudrig Lynch who encouraged him at the time. He exhibitd in Dundalk and Dublin during this time selling to private collections in Ireland, England and Australia.
He lived in Lucan from 1971 to 1986 and exhibited there in 1983. Living near Dunboyne for the past 22 years he exhibited in the Christmas exhibition in Dunboyne for the past three years and became a member of the art group this year. He mainly paints landscapes in oils.
Liz Hayes
I’ve been producing and experimenting with art since leaving school then attended a Btec course in Art & Design in the mid 80s. That started me looking at the world with the glimmerings of an artist’s eye which increased over the years.
I became totally immersed in textiles and quilt making for 10 years and carried out many commissions and turned as many away due to the time involved in making each quilt. I now paint again, and many times find myself marrying the painting element with textiles to se what happens. The irregularity of how fabric takes the paint is part of the magic for me. I often put a piece of fabric a side because it is of no use to the piece I’m producing at the time, only to pic it up later to see it’s potential for another composition that’s been lurking at the back of my mind.
Every piece of work I produce is influenced by my life experience and the people I love, not always reflecting my style of painting or embroidery. Nonetheless, something “made” me produce that piece in that particular way and in that particular medium. I favour acrylics because of their versatility and speed in drying, while my embroideries are mainly done on my old and trusted Pfaff sewing machine - I just don’t like to wait, I suppose !
I paint/produce all the disciplines of art and am happy to take commissions of the 3 P’s - people, property and pets. However, I have to emphasise that if you want a photographic interpretation you should take a photo. My pieces are always my interpretation of a subject, of what I see and feel.
I hope you enjoy my work.
Helene Malone
Helene Malone was born in County Laoise in 1957 and during her time as a boarder in Loretto in Kilkenny she was inspired and encouraged to pursue her innate love of fine art.
While working in the commercial graphics sector she continued through various part-time courses in NCAD, Trinity College and RHA to study Landscape and Life Drawing. She exhibited over a five year period during Kilkenny Arts Week and has continued to sell privately both home and abroad since. She has also taught drawing and painting privately and in local National Schools.
In recent years as family commitments have eased she returned to study with increased focus and commitment attending master classes with Mick O’Dee, RHA and Gerry Hayes and Adam Thomas Markovic both of whom are graduate students of the Florence Old Masters school.
While she continues to paint both Landscapes and Still life using a varied and vibrant palette and her influence and inspiration is drawn from a wide variety of classical and modern art, she is increasingly drawn to the techniques of the Old Masters who painted from a more limited palette.
Helene’s life journey to develop and deepen her understanding of the visual language and her abiding love of that art is evident.
Lisa Murphy
Originally from Bristol, England I moved to Dunboyne in 1992.
My husband Michael is from Kilkenny, (so I now have a great love of Hurling) and we have two teenage children Gerard & Aoife.
I run my own garden design business LRD Ltd and I am a Full member of the GLDA (Garden & Landscape Designers Association) since 1996
I have always enjoyed art from a young age, achieving A-level art at school and carried this through into design with a Degree and Diploma in Landscape Architecture BA (L.Arch).
I work primarily in Water colour, Acrylic and Pastels though I am willing to try new mediums when I get the chance.
I am a keen observer of nature and my garden is the greatest source of inspiration where I watch the seasons, the light of the day and the wildlife that pass through.
