When were these paintings created?

I had started some paintings before the lockdown, but the majority of the new collection was done during the lockdown. In my mind they are very much Irish landscapes captured through memories of places I have visited or have passed through. They enter my mind and later in the studio they reappear. The mountains may be from Kerry and the skies from Kells. I don’t use photos or images to paint. I always work from memory. They are my “Inscapes” and are never of specific places.

Where and how do you work?

I’m from Dublin originally and moved to Kells, Co Meath, where my studio is located and in which all my work is completed. I try to create a sense of place without a specific location in mind via a process of layering which invokes the elements of land, sea and sky. Derived from memory and emotions I bring them together in my paintings, holding onto the chance accidents and spontaneous marks which are integral to my technique without losing the overall compositional intention. I strive for a balance between habitual mark making and recognising happy accidents when they occur. This process of layering is not only physical – there is a darker edge to my paintings, a deeper meaning that lurks in the shadows. They are not only abstract landscapes but “inscapes”, bringing the outside and inside world together, merging places with emotions and letting the viewer follow me on my emotional journey while experiencing their own. That is what my art is about.

When I started painting I would always have music playing in the background. For me art was an emotional journey and music would create a feeling and atmosphere, it was like guidance some time. A lot of my early work was done to the music of Arvo Pärt, especially Spiegel im Spiegel. Now, I still use music but not as much. I have grown to love the silence in the studio and hearing the paint being applied to and scraped off the canvas.

Who or what have been the most important influences in your work?

This may seem strange, but the biggest influence on my art was Elvis and in particularly his guitarist Scotty Moore. When I was younger all I wanted to be was a professional football player but I got a bad injury and could not walk for about six months. It was during this time, sitting around the house, I found an Elvis Presley record and heard the song Blue Suede Shoes. It wasn’t just the song, it was the guitar solo that got me – it was magical and there and then I decided I wanted to play guitar. That record took me on a creative path and the journey from music to art began.

I would also name Picasso, Adolph Gottlieb, Nathaniel Hone the Younger and JMW Turner as being the biggest influences on my art. I first saw Turner’s work in London and I remember thinking this must have been what it was like to see the Sex Pistols live for the first time. It was so powerful to stand in front of his paintings (I will never forget this). For me, Turner was a punk of the art world in his day.

Where are your favourite parts of Ireland for painting?

The west of Ireland is very magical for me, although anywhere in Ireland is magical, there is something about the landscape and the light. I won an award for a residency at Cill Rialaig in Kerry about ten years ago and it was there I discovered I wanted to be a landscape painter. Being self-taught I was discovering how to paint and learning all the time from mistakes, so my early work was very much abstract. When I arrived at Cill Rialaig and started painting, unconsciously I was painting in a very different way, it was more controlled, more confident. So for me the west of Ireland and in particularly Kerry would be my favourite place to paint.

Need to Know: Ken Browne’s paintings are currently at The Doorway Gallery, 24 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2. The gallery will be hosting a question and answer evening with Ken Browne tomorrow Thursday August 13 at 8pm on its social media accounts; www.thedoorwaygallery.com.