Poulshone artist Bridget’s first solo collection

A LARGE GROUP of people crowded into St Michael’s Place, Gorey, last week to catch a glimpse of talented artist Bridget McLoughlin’s first solo exhibition of oil paintings.

Bridget from Poulshone is an artist of prominence within the community and her work has continued to evolve over three decades.

The collection, entitled ‘Land and Sea’, features large framed Irish landscape pieces such as the Cliffs of Moher and Courtown Harbour and was officially opened by the Tara Hill arist Emma Roche who congratulated Bridget on her wonderful work.

Bridget is renowned for her dramatic use of colour and texture to capture the spirit of her compositions. The boldness of her stroke with brush or knife is both striking and compelling. The pieces are grand in scale, structure and form, and capture the quintessential character of the Irish landscape – haunting, unique and enduring.

‘My works, while rooted in place, are timeless depictions of the essential texture of Irish landscape,’ she said. ‘Their ruggedness communicates a sense of the drama, scale and sheer physicality of our unique natural environment.’

Colour and texture are the key components used to convey the essence of the place – its mournful skies, troubling waters – with each piece perceiving the inherent melancholy and dynamic nature of the country.

‘The canvas strains to contain the shapes and forms of ancient stone walls, cliff tops by the sea strewn and coloured by wild heathers and the myriad moments when the long shadows of early morning or late afternoon stretch across the earth’, said Bridget

Bridget’s daughter Catriona McLoughlin is also an artist and has had a number of exhibitions of her 3D work.