Artist Statement

Bear with me for a moment. Close your eyes and imagine a place that is important to you. You may have been there yesterday, last year, ten years ago. Conjure it up in your mind. Visualise it. Now try to draw it and fill it with colour (for this bit you can open your eyes). The detail is gone, and what remains is the essence of the place, the colours, the moods of the sky, the size of the sun or the moon, the buildings, the greenery. Your picture will be semi abstract and dreamlike and will be infused with the feelings you had for this place. Try it. You will be surprised with the result.

In this collection of paintings, Places in My Head, I aspire to capture the quintessence of places I have lived in or visited. Over the years, I have lived in England, Turkey, Romania, Germany and Spain. During my years in Spain, I have set up home in many different cities including in one of the two small enclaves in North Africa and on the gorgeous island of Mallorca. Naturally, many cities and towns have become a blur in my memory, but what remains deep inside me is the core, the nuances and the atmosphere of each place.

I’m a self-taught artist. I started painting at the age of around fifty, using acrylics and canvas, during the difficult days of the lockdowns. I found that painting is instinctive and intuitive for me. Since then, I have painted almost daily. On days when I don’t interact with my canvas, I feel as though there is something missing.

I tend to work quickly. I have to work fast in order to make up for so much lost time. I like to start and finish a picture in one sitting. Acrylics are fab because they dry so quickly meaning I can work at a heightened pace.

I yearn for colour in my art. Each colourful brushstroke expresses an emotion. Sometimes I find myself searching for new colours that don’t actually exist. We will have to invent or find them.

I’m loving the fact that people enjoy my art. That is so gratifying. At first, I was reluctant to show my paintings to anyone. It’s like exposing your soul for everyone to see. However, this year I have two exhibitions in Münster, Germany, and I have had many paintings placed in magazines and journals, and I’m no longer allowing myself to be shy.

I don’t really know where this artistic process is taking me. It’s a meandering and unexpected pilgrimage of self-discovery. I’m not sure what is round the corner, what my palette holds for the future, but I am certainly relishing this creative journey.

Nuala McEvoy is a self-taught English/Irish painter and poet. She started both activities late in life, and they have since become her passions. She has had poetry and prose published in various magazines, both online and in print. Her paintings have also started to appear in reviews this year, and she currently has two artwork exhibitions in Münster, Germany, where she currently resides. Nuala was recently interviewed by The Madrid Review about her creative process. Learn more about Nuala and her artwork here: Life In Three Paintings by Nuala McEvoy (themadridreview.com)