I am a contemporary artist living in Shenley, Hertfordshire. I graduated from Winchester School of Art in 1994 with a BA Hons in Textiles/ Fashion and had a successful career designing knitwear for the luxury and top end of the high street for many years. I have always painted and these days it is my primary passion.
I work primarily in acrylics and am endlessly inspired by nature and the strong feelings it evokes in us; the power it has to soothe us in times of emotional turmoil.
Colour and texture are integral to my painting; I endeavour to evoke the feelings I had when I was in a certain place and hope that the viewer is also thus moved.
My recent paintings are inspired by the Cooley Peninsula in Co. Louth, Ireland. I have family there and it is a place of outstanding natural beauty. It was while I was on a trip there following the untimely and sudden passing of my wonderful mum three years ago, that I was struck by nature’s powers of soothing – the intensity of the colours of the heather and the gorse and the sheer scale of the landscape made me feel so close to my mum. It was a fleeting moment of awe in the midst of sorrow and was to profoundly stay with me in the months to come. Woven through my paintings are the feelings I experienced there and I hope that others can find their own solace in my works.
Instagram @irenemayeart
website www.irenemaye.com
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