Part of the Modern Fresco Series — please enquire, as there are additional works in this series.

Part of the Modern Fresco Series — please enquire, as there are additional works in this series.

Part of the Modern Fresco Series — please enquire, as there are additional works in this series.

“This work was made in a frenzy during a two-week residency at Notre Dame, Kylemore Abbey, Co. Galway, surrounded by magnificent lakes and mountains that seeped into the work. At the time I was preoccupied with Greek mythology, and ‘Heckate’ refers to the guardians who protect the gateways to other worlds. The focal point — the seeded pod — is luscious and sensuous, holding the seeds and representing fertility. I added the small rock on the right as an afterthought, imagining that’s actually where all the life is happening — a kind of micro universe.”

Companion piece to Way Up High. “A playful riff on the song ‘Way Up High, Where Bluebirds Fly…’. These two works were made as a pair, as I listened repeatedly to the music and imagined a couple of birds soaring, twisting and celebrating their union.”

Companion piece to Where Bluebirds Fly. “A playful riff on the song ‘Way Up High, Where Bluebirds Fly…’. These two works were made as a pair, as I listened repeatedly to the music and imagined a couple of birds soaring, twisting and celebrating their union.”

Previously featured in the ‘Turning It Over’ solo exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 2022. “This is an homage to the influential painter Lucien Freud. His energy and animalistic intensity is astounding — I wanted to capture some of that darkness and energy, paying great attention to each brushstroke, keeping it in motion, active and alive. Darkness, to me, is as beautiful as light; they need each other to survive.”

Previously featured in the ‘Beautiful Decay’ solo exhibition, 2024, dedicated to Melissa's late mother, June O'Donnell, whose favourite flowers were roses. “The simple, beautiful rose becomes a very sweet metaphor for a precious memory. The painting is made to feel joyous and elated, by life and love.”

Previously featured in the ‘Beautiful Decay’ solo exhibition, 2024. “Part of an exhibition dedicated to my late mother, June O’Donnell, who I wished to honour. Her favourite flowers were roses, and I have fond memories of my parents together in the garden tending roses that were transplanted from their parents’ homes — a tradition I continue in each new home. The simple, beautiful rose becomes a very sweet metaphor for a precious memory. The painting is made to feel joyous and elated, by life and love.”

“This painting was made after a visit to the wonderful St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, Italy, in 2023. I was in awe that the original frescoes painted by Giotto in the 1500s still existed and my eyes fell upon them as generations of eyes have before. It made me wonder what power the narratives and images once had, and how that shifts over time — remaining anchored there while the world swirls and rages around it. As I made the painting, where saints once stood became ghosts to me; the translucent halos echoed a past, and a melting or mirage appeared to speak of the present.”

“Water is the source of all life. Without it, we have nothing and we cannot live or survive. Our cultures have developed around springs and wells and hold great significance in religious contexts. Indeed, we still continue the search for water sources on other planets, such as ‘Exomoons’, of which I made a previous drawing exhibition. For where there is water… there is life, which must and needs our protection.”

I am intrigued by the idea of otherworldly, other places of the mind. This painting is a dream or a memory of a deep lagoon where life is abundant, seething and in constant motion — deep and dark, with a frenetic crackle of nature to remind us of our visitor status on this planet, in this world.

Companion piece to Reflected Aviary. Previously featured at Sotheby's Irish Art Sale, Dublin & Paris 2024, based on a visit to Gustave Moreau's Paris maisonette in the 11th arrondissement. His study contains love tokens for his married mistress, gifted during her lifetime and recalled one by one after her death — the source for both paintings.

Previously featured at Sotheby's Irish Art Sale, Dublin & Paris 2024. This work is based on a visit to Gustave Moreau's Paris maisonette in the 11th arrondissement. Considered a visionary ahead of his time, his home and studio are testament to an imaginative and courageous artist. His study contains love tokens for his married mistress, gifted during her lifetime and recalled one by one after her death. This painting and its companion, Aviary of Imagination, are based on those love tokens and the unrequited, forbidden love they shared.

Previously featured and exhibited at Sotheby's Irish Art Sale, London & Paris 2023, and in Paris in 2024 alongside legacy Irish artists including P. Scott, Leech and Jack Yeats.

The title refers to Marie Antoinette and her gardens at the Palace of Versailles, where she took refuge from the vicious court life of King Louis. I imagine it was her escape and refuge.

This painting was exhibited in Paris in 2024 alongside legacy Irish artists including P. Scott, Leech and Jack Yeats.