Behold the Sea exhibition

Well-known maritime scenes from the North Clare coastline will be featured in Kenny’s Art Gallery, Ennistymon during a month long free art exhibition.

Behold the Sea is the title of an art exhibition by Ennis artist Vincent Killowry, which runs from July 4 to August 6 next.

As the title of the exhibition suggests, the show focuses on the artist’s love of the sea and maritime subjects in general. The exhibition will be opened by the Clare county arts officer, Siobhán Mulcahy, with a guest appearance by singing group Chill.

The Ennis artist and tutor works in various mediums mainly in acrylics and oils. Born in Ennis, he attended primary and secondary education in Rice College Ennis and graduated from Art and Design at Galway RTC in 1986.

Genres of painting include aviation, maritime, railway, automotive, seascape, figurative and portraits.

This exhibition explores his visual and emotional responses to the coastline.

He is drawn to many themes, ranging from fishing boats to flying boats, seashells to lighthouses, rockpools to vast crashing waves, pebbles to towering Cliffs.

“Two worlds collide at the seashore, sculpting magnificent rock formations in a timeless rhythm of movement, light, colour, smell and sound that take one’s breath away,” Vincent said.

“I visit the coast of Clare regularly seeking inspiration. I am often awestruck by the continuously changing light and mood there.

“I spend many hours observing the light, as it dances on the water and illuminates the rockpools.

“Lyrics and titles from songs by musicians I admire start to whisper in my mind and sometimes they become the titles for my paintings. With my work, I am sharing my own interests visually by use of colour and light.

“My favourite musicians of all are Mike Scott and Steve Wickham of the Waterboys. My painting entitled Glancing Dancing Waves, for example, was inspired by a lyric from their beautiful haunting song Peace of Iona,” he added.

While Mr Killowry wants the paintings to speak for themselves, he does get a real sense of satisfaction if one of his paintings sparks a memory or an emotion for the viewer.

In conjunction with the exhibition, he will also display samples of all the postage stamps and first day covers that he has been commissioned to illustrate for An Post over the past 15 years.

Many of these stamps feature Irish maritime heritage subjects such as The Jeannie Johnson and the Titanic.