When I arrived in 2016 there were no plants outside my back door. Now there is an abundance! Somehow things can blossom over time with a little care and attention. It’s reassuring.

Mask up! Hand sanitizer on-check! We are back in business after a crazy couple of years of lockdowns, re-openings, and being careful. Feeling solidarity with small businesses and appreciative of government and county council supports. Time for renewal and regeneration.

Every artist needs a good framer and I am lucky to know one of the best. Come in to Scribbling Gull Studio where we have an in-house framing service. Shop local!

My cards are evolving. Each season I pick new images from my paintings and so the collection is always changing. Come in and choose your favourite.

Life in this small town passes my two big picture windows, often with a wave and a smile. Traffic can be busy and I am in awe of emergency vehicles zipping through, and the tractors that pull hay bales stacked higher than this building!

My new home offers me just what I need. The setup is simple and adaptable. I can make art while keeping an eye on the shop and be ready to help customers – an ideal arrangement for this artist.

Come in, we’re open for business!

Giving an old building new life starts with a pot of paint! Anyone who has moved house understands the process of making a new space your own. There is history here and a new story to write.

I love beginnings! Time to roll up the sleeves and start cleaning, painting and arranging everything to suit. Meet the plumber, the electrician, the painters, the carpenters, and the builders – all fantastic! Even the shop front got a facelift by Christy Byrne Painting & Decorating, Athy.

Time to put what I have learned into action! Athy offered me what I was looking for –
a combination of shop and living space, which is characteristic of Irish towns and a sensible arrangement to my way of thinking. I was a stranger in town but was made welcome by my landlord, my neighbors, and even strangers who stopped to wish me success.

Who do you trust to move your important stuff? John Smyth & Sons from Glasthule were fantastic. They dismantled the printing press, brought it safely to Athy, and reassembled it in it’s new home. Cheerful and efficient they moved all my stuff with a sense of humor and no fuss.

After two busy, learning years, Scribbling gull packed up and flew inland a wee bit, to start again! The studio was emptied out, leaving an echo and memories. Sad to go, happy for a new adventure.

Returning to Ireland after many years, I got to know my environment through plants. Walks became focused on plants and a new series developed. I set about creating a painting for every day of the year and they sure piled up! I got to love it and have not stopped yet!

Each season has it’s own characteristic colours and images. Focusing on these I hosted five workshops for children, celebrating Halloween, winter, spring, and summer. The kids got to paint and make prints, make staffs and wands, nests, hangings, and more.

Over two years I hosted five Open Studios, during which I welcomed visitors to the studio, where my artwork was on display and for sale. In an informal and friendly setting I could talk about what I do and why. Sharing tea and biscuits I caught up with family and old friends, and met new people who were interested in what I had to offer.

It is great to be back by the sea and have noisy seagulls for neighbors again. I have missed them. One day I met an old friend I have not seen in years. He asked me if I was still scribbling! Yes, I am! He made me laugh so that I combined his comment with the seagulls and called my studio Scribbling Gull!

With an empty space and a head full of ideas, I set about unpacking and transforming the studio with the help of the builders, the electrician, the insurance man, the man who installed my alarm, and so on. Shelves and storage units, picture rail, worktops, and a sink were installed and I got busy with a pot of paint.

What an adventure! Moving back to Ireland to start over. My press came from Takach in Albuquerque, New Mexico https://www.takachpress.com/, and arrived without a scratch, to sit in pride of place under the skylights. Nothing is ever achieved alone and I was taken care of every step of the way by family, friends, and by people who had never met me before yet did whatever they could to help me settle in. Thank you!

My first real studio! Back in Dun Laoghaire after years away, just a few doors from my old art school and in the heart of the town in which I grew up. Seems I had to go a long way to come back!