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When your whole career and your income revolves around painting, what do you do when you can no longer bring yourself to paint?
For a year after her mother Rita’s death, this was the very real situation Roscommon-based artist Anne Rigney found herself in. Anne, who had never experienced any lack of creativity before, powered on, taking pictures and sketching, but the desire to pick up the brush was scarcely found.
Thankfully, a very novel solution in the shape of ukulele group, Ukephoric, came her way.
“I’ve a good friend Mary in Knockcroghery. I know Mary well and she said: ‘Come on up, we are starting this ukulele group,’” recalls the artist. “I thought it was mad because I never wanted to play an instrument. Anyway, my daughter got me a ukulele for my birthday. I went up and I hadn’t a clue, but we all helped each other out and now we meet once a week in Murray’s pub.
“When you are living in rural Ireland, people need something, they need an outlet to get out of the house, because you could be very isolated if you wanted to be. It really helped me, got me back working again and got me back painting again.”
Helping hands
As a young girl, Anne was always quite artsy, receiving loads of help and encouragement from her creative father, something she feels was instrumental in the career she was to go on and pursue.
“He would always encourage me, look at my drawing and try to improve it for me.
“When I was only 14 or 15 he made me a pallete out of hardboard. I still use that pallet to this day, isn’t that amazing? I love it, I wouldn’t part with it for any money in the world. It’s so precious to me because he is dead about 17 years.”
Anne’s style of painting is mostly abstract, with her objective being to capture a moment in time. Originally from Westmeath, the painter has been settled among the Rossies for nearly 30 years and describes herself as a “well-established blow-in”. A lot of the inspiration for her work comes from the Roscommon landscape, where she feels there are many hidden treasures.
“The west of Ireland gets a lot of attention, but you know something, there are so many hidden treasures in Roscommon. We have the oldest woodlands in Europe – St John’s Wood. I often go down there for walks, it’s magical. We have Lough Ree and the River Shannon. There is just so much inspiration on the beautiful walks all around me.”
There are both positives and negatives to being an artist in rural Ireland, Anne feels. It is a more serene environment to work in, but you can also be at a disadvantage when trying to get work displayed in Dublin. Anne has exhibited as part of a group in Dublin, but a solo show in the capital is most definitely her goal going forward.
For more information, search Anne Rigney Artist on Facebook or call 086-8889350.
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