Coláiste Iósaef, Kilmallock

Teacher: Niamh O’Hara

Mollie Daly

Hidden

 

Pencil and acrylic

‘Hidden’ is inspired by a photograph of a portrait of Sybil Connolly by Seán O’Sullivan in the Hunt Museum (HM 2002.019X). This woman was smiling and I thought that a smile can hide a thousand feelings.

I could have taken the predictable path, along the same lines as the photo, instead something struck me. A lot of women and men don’t experience domestic abuse until after they get married, feeling trapped and unable to speak up. So I brought what most would consider a lifetime of happiness and showed them a lifetime of fear.

Mollie Daly

Innocence

 

Pencil, acrylic and watercolour

I responded to a painting in the Hunt by William Leech, Suzanne Botterell (HML 017) because it really caught my eye: the little girl herself and her look of innocence.

I really liked the idea of using a child to portray innocence and how the flowers around the girl added to the delicacy of the scene and the beauty within. 

Emma Walsh

A Process

 

Pencil and acrylic paint

This work is inspired by B.Watson’s representation of a torso (HM 1998.02). For my own piece I decided to paint the torso of a pregnant women because family begins with the giving of new life. Pregnancy is an independent ‘process’ after conception and the purple background represents strength and independence.

I drew the torso with pencil to be able to shade in all the contours of the woman's body and painted the rest with acrylics putting it on thick to give texture and definition to the flat drawing. Then to finish and give dimension, I used the residue from the lead on my fingers to add the woman's shadow on the wall.

Emma Walsh

Start of the Beginning

 

Pencil and oil paint

The piece is a response to Nicola Maloney's oil painting, ‘Entwined' (HM 1999.06). It wasn't so much the items in the painting but the bright vivid colours that inspired me. I painted a couple in a Cherry Blossom forest with the male proposing representing traditional marriage: the ‘Start of the beginning’ of their new married life.

I drew the couple, filling the figures in with pencil to give the illusion of a silhouette. I then used oil paint to depict the grass, trees and sky. I used acrylics on the path to finish the piece and give a glossy effect.