31 May 2019
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
West Cork artist Eilbhe Donovan will present an exhibition of birds and marine wildlife in a new exhibition at Cronin’s Pub, Crosshaven which takes place from 5 June until 21 July.
Artist Eilbhe Donovan at work in her studio at Seven Heads, West Cork.
Photo Joleen Cronin
The artist who works predominantly in ink explains it a fabulously versatile and fun medium to work in and one that is so often overlooked in favour of watercolour. “Ink is more challenging, it is entirely unforgiving and It has its own way of doing things and I enjoy that challenge. My subject is birds, particularly marine birds and I endeavour to depict them in flight, to try to capture their essence through minimal detail. I like to leave some of the painting up to the viewer to ascertain. My work is ‘suggestive’ – after all, when we see a bird in flight hundreds of metres above us, we can only guess what they look like up there!” says the artist who works from her studio at home in Seven Heads, near Timoleague, West Cork.
Eilbhe has been working in the arts for over 20 years. She qualified with a degree in Illustration from West Wales School of the Arts. Her work has ranged from small illustration to large scale public mural works. She has participated in many exhibitions and shows both in Ireland and overseas. Eilbhe also trained as a teacher of Art in Crawford College of Art & Design and spent a number of years teaching overseas, in places as far-flung as Burma, SE Asia. She has been working with her local primary school under the Cork County Arts funded ‘Artist in Schools Programme’ for the past three years and was granted an Arts Council Bursary last year. She works from her garden studio in Timoleague, West Cork where she also runs a number of Fine Art & Print courses and workshops.
The exhibition will run until 21 July in Cronin’s Pub in Crosshaven. The popular seaside pub is widely known for its lunch and dinner seafood offerings and is also included in the Michelin guide to eating out in pubs. Cronin’s host exhibitions of local artists on a regular basis and this summer they are planning a number of other cultural events including supper theatre evening with Hysterical Histories on 24 June. If you are an artist would like to show a body of work, get in touch with Joleen on joleen@croninspub.com to find out more.