Tómas Ó Ciobháin - Painter
Biography
Tómas Ó‘Ciobháin was born in An Ghráig, Baile’n Fheirtéaraigh, Co. Kerry. Renown for his graphic work and skill as a an etcher and engraver it was by chance that he entered into the artistic fields. Always having an interest in the arts as a child he pursued a night course in etching and engraving and began to submit his works to exhibitions.His work at present has become more abstract, less descriptive but he still looks to those tiny human traces in landscapes. He doesn‘t actually depict humans in his landscapes but he likes to feel that they are omnipresent still working or fishing. He associates etching with landscape because of its erosive qualities, and how the lines in an etching are similar to the eroded lines of the countryside. His method in his oil paintings is interesting in that he applies a layer of plaster onto the canvas and outlines the different details, which he then later works up with the oil paint. He describes it as his “embossing” technique. His work is refreshing, exciting in method, composition and perspective and his depiction of Kerry is one where “realism is extended by imagination”.