Laois Offaly artist's unusual new animal paintings a big hit

Vibrant oil paintings on old bits of corrugated iron by a Laois educated artist have struck a chord with the public.

Deirdre Dunne who grew up on a farm in Moneyquid, Offaly near Mountmellick, attended school in The Rock NS and Mountmellick Community School before heading off to Cork art college and later travelling the world.

Now an established artist and art tutor settled in the Galtee Mountains with her family, she is renowned for her vibrant paintings of safari animals, farm animals, nature and portraits.

Deirdre said that she uses experiences, things she has seen and the inspiring landscapes around her, to draw on, for inspiration.

“At the moment, I’m painting on corrugated iron.”

The unique idea came from a call from the Arts Council for submissions for their tent at the ploughing championships and Deirdre’s unusual painting medium saw her secure a spot.

She explained that while she has a collection of rural paintings, she thought she would need something different to get a place in the tent at the busy agricultural event.

She went to her neighbour’s shed, cleaned off a piece of old corrugated iron and started working.

She said that the “paint went on nicely and organically. There’s a bit of texture from the rust and I’m playing around with it and enjoying it.”

“I like the idea that a painting could create nostalgia, especially the Irish ones with the landscapes or farm animals, they might remind people of where they are from, of working a farm or an uncle on a farm.

“The exotic ones from my time in Africa could create a desire to travel or get people thinking about wildlife conservation,” Deirdre said.

For two years, around 18 years ago, Deirdre and her Australian husband Bryce worked in Africa as tour guides and cycled through Africa, which gave her years of inspiration for her work.

She joked that when she is stuck for inspiration, she remembers another artist telling her to paint what’s familiar and she said:

“When in doubt, paint an elephant!”

Deirdre explained: “In some ways, the hardest thing for an artist is to work out what to paint, so by painting something familiar and I love painting elephants, it kickstarts me back into action.”

Deirdre works at home in a combined gallery and studio space, which people can visit to see her work and this is where she does most of her creative work.

“It’s like my own haven,” she said, adding that she used to teach art classes there before Covid, but with social distancing it became too restrictive and she now teaches classes in Kilbehenny Community Centre two days a week, which are fully booked out.

Herself and her husband also run two unusual holiday rentals on their property, in a yurt and a converted horse truck and Bryce also runs off-road electric bike tours across the mountains.

Deirdre said that she paints the most and works on her art in the winter, when their other work isn’t as busy and when their teenage daughter is back in school.

As the days get darker and shorter, people might assume that it’s harder to get motivated to paint, but Deirdre says she spends the school holidays and summer enjoying time outside, hiking and having fun with her family, while also running their other ventures.

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“In the summer, I like to be outside and having fun and in the winter, there’s more of a routine - painting becomes more like a job and I go out into the studio every day.

“I’ll often work from photographs and ideas I got during the summer.”

People can purchase paintings from the exhibition or prints can also be ordered through Deirdre’s website https://deirdredunne. weebly.com/.