Born in Dublin in 1963, Padraig has been painting professionally since 2002. He is currently represented through galleries in Ireland (North and South) and England. His paintings explore the rich landscapes and coastlines of the West of Ireland and can be found in many private collections throughout Ireland, Europe and the US.
He works in oils, using brushes and palette knives. For some paintings, particularly land and seascapes, he likes to work quickly, always aiming to capture a spontaneity, a freshness in my work. Other work, such as buildings or clusters of quiet houses, take more time as he builds layer upon layer of paint to give the impression.
He likes to immerse himself in a particular place, walking the beaches, hills and mountains, discovering the views and looking for those special moments when the perfect composition for a painting seems to jump out at you . In his compositions he aims to achieve a harmony between the land, sea and sky.
He carries his sketchbook and camera on his walks. Once back in the studio he will use the photos and sketches as references and begin working the canvas with very rough brush outlines, mapping out the general composition and colour tones with swift brush strokes. The painting is then brought to life with the palette knife using primarily pure unmixed colours which are blended into the canvas or laid on thick.
His work is inspired and influenced by the classic Irish landscape paintings of Paul Henry and Roderic O’Connor, as well as contemporary artists such as Donald Teskey. His use of strong, vibrant colours to describe his Irish landscapes has been inspired by the French artists, Cezanne and Claude Idlas. His colours come from what he sees, sometimes exaggerated in order to bring out the life and energy in the landscapes and seas.
solo exhibitions
Still Lives - The Heritage Centre, Co.Dublin 2012
Still Lives – The Market House Arts Centre, Dungarvan, Co.Waterford 2012
Sentinels – The Doorway Gallery, Dublin 2011
COAST – Dalkey Heritage Centre, Dublin, 2010
Landscapes – The Market House Arts Centre, Dungarvan, Co.Waterford 2010
The Light Of Which I Speak, The Bad Art Gallery, Dublin 2009
Living Colours, Cork and Kerry, The Hungry Hill Gallery, Adrigole, Co.Cork 2007
From Clare to Here. Lahinch Art Gallery, Lahinch,Co.Clare 2007
The West of Ireland - Land, Sea and Sky, The Hungry Hill Gallery, Adrigole, Cork 2006
The Blue Loft Gallery, Dublin 2007 (2 person show with Axel Rothoux)
selected group shows
London Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead, UK 2011, 2012
Wexford FRINGE, Whites Hotel 2009, 2010, 2011
RDS Art Fair, 2009, 2010, 2011
Art Ireland Spring Collection, Dublin 2007, 2008, 2009,
Art Ireland, RDS, Dublin 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Fine Art Ireland, Belfast, 2009, 2010
Red Rag Gallery, Gloucestershire, UK 2008 - 2011
The Blue Loft Gallery, Dublin 2007, 2008, 2009
The Bad Art Gallery, Dublin 2007, 2008, 2009
Lahinch Art Gallery, Co.Clare, 2008, 2009, 2010
Clifden Art Gallery, Connemara, 2009, 2010
Dalkey Arts Gallery, Dublin 2008
ScotlandArt.com, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2007,2008
The Hungry Hill Gallery, Cork, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Christmas Group Show, Munster Fine Art gallery, 2006, 2007
Spring/Summer Show, Western Light Art Gallery, Keel, Achill, Co. Mayo, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Summer Show, OSB Gallery, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow 2005
Art on the Green, Stephen’s Green , Dublin
collections
Embassy of Cyprus, Washington, USA
Embassy of France, Dublin, Ireland
private collections – Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, USA.
selected media
Ohio Irish Americaln News, 2011 – Front cover profile/Interview by Susan Magan
RTE Nationwide, 2010 – Interview and Profile
The Dubliner Magazine, 2011 – Review of solo exhibition “Sentinels”
“McCaul catches sounds of silence in his art. His Achill houses have no windows and hardly any doors. They turn their back on you in pictures that make you wonder, reflect and sense.”
Professor Jan Erik Rekdal,
Institute for Linguistics and Nordic Studies, University of Oslo
“Inviting, provocative, unforgettable, the art of Padraig McCaul is a treasure waiting anyone who has experienced the profound beauty of Ireland. McCaul brings the essence of Ireland’s stark and isolated beauty to life.”
Susan Magan, Ohio Irish American News
“I feel that Padraig sees the world more vividly than the rest of us. When I see a landscape I may notice the shapes and the colours, but not as Padraig sees them. They seem to just take on another life, an inner life, for me demonstrating the beauty of the laws of physics and how what the artist does on the canvas translates the light that hits that canvas into the beauty that we behold.”
Pat Kenny, RTE Radio 1
“Now it has to be said that the works of painter Padraig McCaul, command attention. The scenes McCaul captures are desolate, but maintain the character of the subject he's chosen to highlight. The tone is a refreshing contrast to some of the more light-hearted themes of surrounding works (in the gallery) and again serves to make this a well rounded and multi-dimensional exhibition.”
The Dubliner Magazine
“Padraig McCaul’s romantic, painterly vision of the west of Ireland excludes all stain of human interference (apart from his windowless, doorless houses), and aims to draw the viewer into his quiet imagining of the lives lived there.”
Joyce Hickey, The Irish Times
He works in oils, using brushes and palette knives. For some paintings, particularly land and seascapes, he likes to work quickly, always aiming to capture a spontaneity, a freshness in my work. Other work, such as buildings or clusters of quiet houses, take more time as he builds layer upon layer of paint to give the impression.
He likes to immerse himself in a particular place, walking the beaches, hills and mountains, discovering the views and looking for those special moments when the perfect composition for a painting seems to jump out at you . In his compositions he aims to achieve a harmony between the land, sea and sky.
He carries his sketchbook and camera on his walks. Once back in the studio he will use the photos and sketches as references and begin working the canvas with very rough brush outlines, mapping out the general composition and colour tones with swift brush strokes. The painting is then brought to life with the palette knife using primarily pure unmixed colours which are blended into the canvas or laid on thick.
His work is inspired and influenced by the classic Irish landscape paintings of Paul Henry and Roderic O’Connor, as well as contemporary artists such as Donald Teskey. His use of strong, vibrant colours to describe his Irish landscapes has been inspired by the French artists, Cezanne and Claude Idlas. His colours come from what he sees, sometimes exaggerated in order to bring out the life and energy in the landscapes and seas.
solo exhibitions
Still Lives - The Heritage Centre, Co.Dublin 2012
Still Lives – The Market House Arts Centre, Dungarvan, Co.Waterford 2012
Sentinels – The Doorway Gallery, Dublin 2011
COAST – Dalkey Heritage Centre, Dublin, 2010
Landscapes – The Market House Arts Centre, Dungarvan, Co.Waterford 2010
The Light Of Which I Speak, The Bad Art Gallery, Dublin 2009
Living Colours, Cork and Kerry, The Hungry Hill Gallery, Adrigole, Co.Cork 2007
From Clare to Here. Lahinch Art Gallery, Lahinch,Co.Clare 2007
The West of Ireland - Land, Sea and Sky, The Hungry Hill Gallery, Adrigole, Cork 2006
The Blue Loft Gallery, Dublin 2007 (2 person show with Axel Rothoux)
selected group shows
London Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead, UK 2011, 2012
Wexford FRINGE, Whites Hotel 2009, 2010, 2011
RDS Art Fair, 2009, 2010, 2011
Art Ireland Spring Collection, Dublin 2007, 2008, 2009,
Art Ireland, RDS, Dublin 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Fine Art Ireland, Belfast, 2009, 2010
Red Rag Gallery, Gloucestershire, UK 2008 - 2011
The Blue Loft Gallery, Dublin 2007, 2008, 2009
The Bad Art Gallery, Dublin 2007, 2008, 2009
Lahinch Art Gallery, Co.Clare, 2008, 2009, 2010
Clifden Art Gallery, Connemara, 2009, 2010
Dalkey Arts Gallery, Dublin 2008
ScotlandArt.com, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2007,2008
The Hungry Hill Gallery, Cork, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Christmas Group Show, Munster Fine Art gallery, 2006, 2007
Spring/Summer Show, Western Light Art Gallery, Keel, Achill, Co. Mayo, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Summer Show, OSB Gallery, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow 2005
Art on the Green, Stephen’s Green , Dublin
collections
Embassy of Cyprus, Washington, USA
Embassy of France, Dublin, Ireland
private collections – Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, USA.
selected media
Ohio Irish Americaln News, 2011 – Front cover profile/Interview by Susan Magan
RTE Nationwide, 2010 – Interview and Profile
The Dubliner Magazine, 2011 – Review of solo exhibition “Sentinels”
“McCaul catches sounds of silence in his art. His Achill houses have no windows and hardly any doors. They turn their back on you in pictures that make you wonder, reflect and sense.”
Professor Jan Erik Rekdal,
Institute for Linguistics and Nordic Studies, University of Oslo
“Inviting, provocative, unforgettable, the art of Padraig McCaul is a treasure waiting anyone who has experienced the profound beauty of Ireland. McCaul brings the essence of Ireland’s stark and isolated beauty to life.”
Susan Magan, Ohio Irish American News
“I feel that Padraig sees the world more vividly than the rest of us. When I see a landscape I may notice the shapes and the colours, but not as Padraig sees them. They seem to just take on another life, an inner life, for me demonstrating the beauty of the laws of physics and how what the artist does on the canvas translates the light that hits that canvas into the beauty that we behold.”
Pat Kenny, RTE Radio 1
“Now it has to be said that the works of painter Padraig McCaul, command attention. The scenes McCaul captures are desolate, but maintain the character of the subject he's chosen to highlight. The tone is a refreshing contrast to some of the more light-hearted themes of surrounding works (in the gallery) and again serves to make this a well rounded and multi-dimensional exhibition.”
The Dubliner Magazine
“Padraig McCaul’s romantic, painterly vision of the west of Ireland excludes all stain of human interference (apart from his windowless, doorless houses), and aims to draw the viewer into his quiet imagining of the lives lived there.”
Joyce Hickey, The Irish Times