Brian Mc Donagh is an artist from Sligo in the west of Ireland. His work can be described as figurative, lyrical, poetic, symbolic, atmospheric with oblique philosophical/political references and a strong sense of place, but with an over arching love of paint and painting. The importance of colour is immediately evident in his paintings, subtle rich colours are harmoniously combined or roughly laid on in wrinkled impasto. Working with paint which he grinds himself using only pigment, cold pressed linseed oil and natural bees wax he explores and exploits the individual characteristics of the ground pigments to make raw, beautiful paintings in an individual and instantly recognizable style. Jack B Yeats is clearly an influence and other Irish painters such as Sean Mc Sweeney , Gerard Dillon and Nora Mc Guinness are also a reference. Born in Dublin in 1959 he moved to Sligo 30 years ago to study art under the instruction of Sean Mc Sweeney and John O Leary at the Sligo Regional College. He has exhibited widely in Ireland, Europe and the far east and his work can be found in collections all over the world. He is also an accomplished musician and a founding member of the Traditional Irish Music troupe Dervish. Many of his paintings get their titles from Traditional Irish Songs such as an Sean Bhean Bocht and Spalpin Fanach and are charged with an underlying melancholia, a longing to unwind the ever ticking clock and return to a mode of existence that is fast fading into the past.
