Based on the coast in Northern Ireland, Becky Cole’s joyful flower studies are painted en plein air…
Who or what kickstarted your interest in art?
My mother is the artist Lucy Doyle, so growing up in Avoca in Co Wicklow I was surrounded with art, exhibitions and the smell of oil paint. Mum would always use my sister and I as models in her paintings so we were really a part of the process from day one! From this continuous exposure to art I definitely learnt to be comfortable around colours, expressing myself creatively and seeing the world through an artistic viewpoint. As well as this I was always fascinated with nature, in particular plants and the landscape. I found a deep connection to the natural world at a young age which continues to guide and inspire me today.
All my life I particularly loved and excelled at drawing and my mum encouraged me to attend NCAD where I ended up studying fashion design. I loved my time there, and ended up setting up a popular blog, and although I was working with fabrics and form, I continued to paint and draw alongside it as an essential part of my expression. After my degree at NCAD I took a diploma in European Painting at TCD, which my mother also had done years previously. This was an incredible experience, spending time really leaning into divine works by artists such as Botticelli and Uccello. A feast for the eyes and a very formative time for me.
After this I surprised everyone by marrying a farmer and moving to a small coastal town in Northern Ireland and quite quickly having two gorgeous children. Amidst setting up an exciting environmental farm business with my husband, my eldest son was born with intense special needs and it was during these early years that painting became an even more vital part of my life. I used my work at that time as a practice to work through a myriad of emotions. Landscape was really my main medium for this and is still a very special part of my practice as an artist.
‘Avoca Cottage Flowers’ by Becky Cole
How and where do you work?
I live on a nature friendly farm on the north coast of Ireland with my husband Charlie and two small boys. My studio is a bit of a travelling entity, I swap between some of our converted barns, to my kitchen as well as out in our beautiful fields. I’m very lucky that I have such a stunning location at my fingertips and inspiration is literally all around me! I work mainly with supreme quality heavy body acrylics due to the reduced smell and more child-friendly element but I also love their supply texture and deep pigmentation. As someone who is very impatient I also fully appreciate their quick drying quality as well!
As a mother I have learned to work as and when I can, often I’ll be sketching away while I make the kids their supper or out drawing the pigs while the others farm! As any mother will know, it’s hard work juggling everything but I think I manage my time well and so I can spend a good wedge of it working as an artist amongst the wonderful mayhem of farm and parenting life. Although painting certainly doesn’t get me out of the daily farm jobs such as picking vegetables and herding sheep. I wouldn’t have it any other way though, my life and work here on the farm is what fuels my desire to paint and gives me much of my subject matter and artistic approach. I like to think my children are having a similar experience as I did growing up, with lots of colour, half finished canvases in the kitchen and lots of artwork on the walls – as well as the addition of a few goats and chickens!
Do you work from sketches?
I solely work from life at the moment. I really enjoy receiving the energy and vibrancy directly from its source while I work. As an expressive mark maker this is an important part of my process and I like to think you can see this in my work. I rarely paint from photos as I find it dampens the interaction and stifles my enthusiasm although sometimes I will be inspired by a beautiful piece of pottery that I will see in a magazine and that might entwine its way into a painting. I think this method of working from life is something I picked up from my mother, who always works her flower paintings from life. When there’s a bunch of flowers in front of you it’s a completely joyful and immersive experience. I do love working in my sketchbook however and there no rules apply, I just dive into whatever I want to explore and try out new ideas. I try and carry one with me wherever I go in case I get a chance to do some sketching.
I also adore working en plein air. As I mentioned earlier, landscape is a huge joy of mine too and there is nothing more exhilarating than battling the elements with a paintbrush and canvas in hand. Especially where I live on the north coast, it’s wild, raw and untamed. Whenever I start a painting, whether it’s in the barn with a vase of flowers or out in the field I will always do at least two sketches first as I find this loosens me out a bit and gives me an idea of what I want to capture or to let go of. Then I jump into working from life, although I will keep coming back to the canvas day after day to see what needs to change, so it can be a slow process in some cases.
‘Spring Flowers’ by Becky Cole
Tell us about your latest collection at The Doorway Gallery?
The collection is mainly composed of flower studies. There is nothing more joyful than a beautiful flower painting both for the artist and the viewer. I find the whole process of collecting the flowers that have grown on my land, choosing a vase, arranging them and then painting them so gratifying. It also feels like an unspoken connection with my mother which I love. I particularly like working with seasonal flowers, such as blooms that I find in my own garden or that are grown by local florists. Some of the flowers you’ll see in my collection were grown in my parent’s garden (and painted by me in mum’s studio), others were sourced from McNally’s organic farm and brought home from Dublin by my husband (who does a weekly food market there) and others were collected from the hedgerows near my cottage. I love all the little stories that weave themselves into the blooms. It’s what makes them special. Most of the pieces are works on canvas or board but there is also a larger work on paper which is so vigorous and one of my favourites.
‘Summer Garden’ by Becky Cole
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
For me, the joy of being an artist is seeing and celebrating the beauty in life. It feels like I’m seeing the world through enhanced lenses sometimes, keeping my eyes peeled for interesting things, stimulating colours and so on.
Painting is pure medicine for me, escapism, a dive into another world. A place of peace, where the clock slows down and it’s just me with my subject matter. I get to play as an alchemist, working with the energy of a freshly cut bunch of flowers, or a wild landscape and translate what I see and feel into something decorative that will hopefully bring those same elements of escapism and joy to the viewer.
Need to Know: Becky’s artworks which are for sale at The Doorway Gallery, 24 Frederick Street South, Dublin 2; www.thedoorwaygallery.com. Follow Becky on @beckycoleartist.
