Olivia O'Keeffe - Cork and USA

Irish artist Olivia O'Keeffe, Cork and USA

The artist is just like the paintbrush, a mere tool in the process. When a painting is successful it is not so much the result of how well I painted that day but more as a result of how well I listened.

The Beginning
When approaching a blank canvas I initially have little or no idea of the paintings future form. I begin with a playtime in which I basically play with the paint. The initial layers are a time of fun experimentation and free flow. The Process
Each layer reacts with the previous one and this creates a certain dialogue and tempo. Once a series of layers begins reacting with each other, it then becomes a gradual process of making choices about what needs to be enhanced and left grow and what needs to recede or be removed. It often feels like walking in the dark at first, with only vague suggestions and not much of a clue as to the direction. It depends on how tuned in one is to the source at this stage. Sometimes the instructions are clearer than other times. Either way only the next step as in the next paint stroke will be revealed and not the long term plan.

Energy and movement are key aspects in my latest series of paintings. There is the visible energy we can see in a cascading waterfall, in the motion of a dancer or in forms of an eroded rock. However, my paintings also are inspired by another type of energy, one that we cannot see but only feel, e.g. in an outburst of emotion, in a melody, in the moon. Olivia grew up in Cork and received her art diploma at Crawford College of Art and Design in Cork. She emigrated to the Netherlands in 1997 and continued her studies there at the Utrecht College of Art, receiving both a Bachelors of Art Degree as well as Bachelors Of Education in Visual Art. Olivia is currently working from her studio in Minnesota, USA.

Website: www.oliviaokeeffe.com