I am an Irishman who followed a girl to the Pacific Northwest 17 years ago, got married, and I now have 3 very beautiful, Irish/ American daughters. We live on the glorious Whidbey Island, Snohomish tribal land, in the Pacific Northwest. I am a full-time professional, impressionist painter with a gallery on the South end of the Island. I focus on the beauty of the natural world as my passion for painting. I strive to draw people's attention to the majesty of nature, its protection, and its conservation. I bring my audience on a journey into my paintings. I tell my story of growing up in Ireland, surrounded by people who took their role as stewards of the land and sea very seriously. I bring groups of local students into my gallery where I inspire, and teach them of man's role as stewards of this earth, and the things we can all do to be active protectors of this land and its waters.

 

I grew up swimming in the pristine waters off the coast of Kerry, and in my memory, I spent more time in the water than I did on land. The ocean was my playground, and the sea was like a maritime elder to me who taught me so much. It hurts knowing how things have changed, seeing local Irish fishermen ( many of whom are family members) lose their jobs due to Climate Change, and the diminishing salmon stocks. Also, my farming family in Tipperary who, every year, are not able to harvest their crops because the land is so wet. Things are changing quickly for the worse, and time is running out to slow what is destroying the lives of small fishing and farming communities back home.

 

To engage my audience and show them an ocean teeming with life, its incredible vastness, and its immense possibilities, I paint and sell large-scale underwater ocean scenes. Free duvers who swim with great white sharks, marine biologists, scuba divers and simple lovers of the sea are some of my clients who have bought my ocean paintings. My objective is to show rich and breathtaking beauty and to begin a conversation about how to protect this beauty. Ireland has been a leading country in its effort to protect the sea and its creatures, and now living on tribal land in the Puget Sound, people are also very aware of the need to change. The objective is to turn this awareness into action. In my own way, I am trying to do my bit, like raising smelt and releasing them into the local waterways with my daughters and their school.

 

I hope this gives you a picture of who I am. One of my 10' by 5' deep ocean scenes, "Leviathan" was shipped to Taiwan, and purchased by a Taiwanese celeb, who wished to stay anonymous. Its sister painting, "Sanctum", is now looking for its own home to bring the deep, and glorious abyss of the ocean to a worthy owner.

I have included images in this, my story. Maybe it is with you, whom ever is reading this, where "Sanctum" will find its home!?