Sinéad Smyth | Oil Paintings and Art Courses
Sinéad Smyth is an artist from Inishowen - the most northerly peninsula in Donegal, Ireland. Her paintings explore landscapes and seascapes as places of memory, connection and a nurturing influence on being human.
Sinéad has also transformed a run-down 200 year old cottage into her studio and an artists’ residency, where she now runs regular painting and creative development courses.
Latest Exhibition - Land-shape Dreaming
Echo Echo Dance Theatre, Derry~Londonderry. 25th May to 16th August 2024
We are all connected to the land. Growing up between the Inishowen Peninsula, Co. Donegal and around the border of Derry, has had a huge impact on who I am as a person, as an artist and on how I live.
My latest body of work ‘Land-shape Dreaming’ is in homage to my birthplace.
I have spent many years living away from Donegal, calling other places ‘home’. I know what it feels like trying to carve a life for your family, in a country where you can’t speak the language.
Early one January morning, waiting for a tram from Heidelberg to Mannheim, I was struck by a wave of memory so strong it pulled me back to the Inishowen coast. It called to me, as I stood by a busy tramline, at the centre of a bustling city, in the heart of Germany.
In my mind, I could vividly see and smell Atlantic waves crashing on rocks at Malin Head and realised I needed to go home.
What does it mean to dream of land by shape, colour and form? To re-live landscape as something that’s alive and breathing in your memory… a cherished companion to your past.
Inishowen Artists' Retreat and Studio
Our art classes are designed to suit all abilities. We take only six participants for each class so, whether complete beginner or professional artist, there's always something to learn and good company to be had.
Sinéad's experience and knowledge (not to mention her eye) is wide and varied and we are confident you will progress in your work.
We also offer tailor-made art classes to suit your group or organisation.
The cottage that houses Inishowen Artists' Retreat and Studio is also available to rent for up to four people.
Sinéad's artworks
Sinéad's work explores sensory relationships with landscape as a place of memory, as a defining aspect of being human. She is interested in how this relationship can be maternal and nurturing, and have meaning in personal anthropology.
Her oil paintings have evolved towards semi-representational, often abstract, landscape and seascape paintings. She works both en plein air and in her studio, using traditional and experimental processes in oil, charcoal and mixed media on paper and canvas.
Latest work
An emerging Irish artist
Sinéad Smyth is an Irish artist with a passion for people and the geography of Inishowen, Donegal.
Her painting comes from a love of observation, which is followed in many cases by painting from memory or photographic record. She creates vibrant, energetic atmospheres and emotions.
