Geraldine Folan - Artist's Statement
A native Galwegian, I live in Bearna, on the shores of Galway Bay. My paintings are a response to the distinctive climate of the West of Ireland. I am exploring,
both in my large canvasses and smaller ones, the rapidly shifting weather patterns and changing light effects.
Watching a stormy sea fills me with excitement, fear and most of all with respect. I have seen locally what the sea can do and its effects on the landscape after
a storm and how it makes childsplay of our attempts to harness or control it.
The emphasis in my paintings is on the turbulence in both the sea and sky and the expanses of open space and distant horizons.
My paintings are the result of a process of observation and analysis. I use sketching, watercolour studies and photography to record the subject. Having
initially laid down on canvas a loose outline of shapes I am going to use in the painting, I then build up, applying colour, using palette knife and brushing
on layers of glazing. Colour is very important to me and I seek to capture the vivid colours and changing shapes of the skies, seas and landscape I see around
me. The aim is to develop the painting until I feel it captures the exhilaration I originally felt when viewing the scene for first time.
I attended the College of Art, GMIT, Galway as a mature student and attained an honours Diploma in Fine Art and Print. I am now working as a fulltime artist
in my own studio in Bearna village. I regularly undertake commissions for both private and corporate clients worldwide and will continue to do so.
For an article about Geraldine by Lynda Cookson, see the April 2007 edition of Galway Now magazine, link to the Galway Now article