Saturday, February 1, 2014

SEPIL Commission 006 - How to Choose?

















There are so many interesting aspects to the Corrib project that it has become so hard to choose which ideas and elements should be recorded on canvas. Each of the people I have met and am working with at SEPIL all come to the project and this commission with their own personal stories, interests and preferences.

It's such a huge project with such an interesting past, so much going on now, and so many milestones to come and be captured in the future, that we are all still struggling to figure out how to best represent the Corrib project!

How do we choose from the myriad developments and centers of interest at the different sites at Corrib? How do we incorporate all important aspects of this project, from the incredible engineering feats to the vast surrounding wilderness of Erris and the people involved on the ground, the daily lives of the workers, as well as the history of protests, controversy and reconciliation?

Last week I had a very welcome visit to my studio here in the Burren from Peter Colleran, Christy Loftus and John Egan of SEPIL to discuss these very issues now that the project is underway. We are all still coming to terms with the immensity of the task at hand, but all getting on the same trajectory - to make this a great body of work!

Among all the paintings finished and in progress we all agreed upon the inclusion of this painting which depicts two pipe welders at work in their 'welding habitat'. It was truly amazing for me to have had the chance to spend time with these welders, observing them at work. In this painting there is great use of line, which adds a strong action and dynamism to the scene. The painting is still a work in progress, but I am very happy with how it's working out.

- Richard

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