New Beginnings

[Caroline Cunningham]

NEW BEGINNINGS – CAROLINE CUNNINGHAM ART
My 'New Beginnings' Exhibition of Paintings at the 'Lovin Spoon' cafe is a contradiction in itself seeing as the paintings themselves are not entirely 'new'. They have been hanging on walls of mine reminding me of my various new beginnings throughout my life. I have decided it is time to start afresh and put the 'old' behind me. Maybe my 'New Beginnings' will serve to inspire new beginnings for their new owners.

GLENDALOUGH - One of my very first efforts in Oil painting and definitely on more introspective theme. When I brought this painting along with my 'Dolmen' painting for framing, a passing gentle man exclaimed 'I wouldn't like to meet you on a dark night'. Death becomes me and when it does it too will be a new beginning.

BREAK TRUE - If you've ever experienced moments of 'breaking down' remember to Break True! It is a brand new opportunity for positive change. I remember reading in later years a Mahatma Gandhi quote: 'All that is appears and happens about and around us is uncertain, transient. But there is a Supreme Being hidden therein as a Certainty, and one would be blessed if one could catch a glimpse of that Certainty and hitch ones wagon to it. The quest for that Truth is the summum bonnum of life'. Break True was my momentary glimpse. Hitching the wagon is on-going.

VARANASI COW - A journey to India in 2010 changed my life entirely, opened my mind to new possibilities, made me more appreciative of little things, and allowed me to more fully understand and claim my feminine state of being.

MOUNT LEINSTER MANDALA - Since I could be profoundly affected by a far-away land such as India I took a closer look at the landscape from which I originated and decided for the first time to express the emotions that this Irish land triggered in me

WINTER SKY and EAGLE HILL - My first stint of education in the National College of Art and Design brought a new level of artistic expression to my paintings and drawings. I departed from the use of photographs for my productions and relied instead on drawing and painting from life and also it was my first real practice in the use of pastels. Once again I depicted the local landscape of Carlow, Ireland.

SANDYMOUNT SUNRISE - Getting so imbued by life drawing I decided one morning bright and early to do my art college homework before going to work in my office job at that time. It was a frosty 7.30am start on the strand. I wore some gloves and got straight to work. It set me up for the day. I wondered how I could make this my all day job!!

EARTLINGS - Still on the theme of life drawing but with an slightly more adventurous streak. This painting was completed in my bedroom using a mirror for the figure (self) and then moving closer to the window to capture the trees. This painting was completed just before I had my cataracts removed. My life was about to change dramatically after this painting. Surgery removed my cataracts and gave me eyes that no longer needed spectacles (glasses), which I had worn since I was a young child.

AG LÉAMH (Reading) - Representative of my Life Drawing experience at NCAD which gave me a lot more confidence as an artist and provided me at last with a circle of Artistic friends....I had found my kind at last after many years of hiding in the shadows.

'NEW BEGINNINGS' Art Exhibition will take place from April 23rd at the Lovin Spoon Cafe on North Frederick Street near Parnell Square in Dublin's city centre and will continue throughout May 2014.

To View the images that go with this post click here:

New Beginnings

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