Fintan Whelan's method of painting is characterised by an immediacy of process and an urgency of vision.

Despite the appearance of serendipity, his technique involves constant assessment, measurement and exploration of pigments and their configurations, combined with varnishes, oils and a variety of materials.. …let’s find out more!

Carol: What is the inspiration behind your artwork and how does it relate to your pieces?

Fintan: I suppose my environment and what I experience everyday and in the past, which somehow reveals itself in my artworks. I’m fascinated by everything that’s organic whether microscopic or on a vast scale or somewhere in between. Forms, textures, shadows, movement and capturing energy are aspects that dominate my work.

Carol: When did you know you were going to be an artist?

Fintan: It took me a relatively long time to realise I could become an artist. My first solo show, in 2005, was a revelation to me that this is what I’m supposed to do in life.
Persistence and putting in the hours has made my “dream job” a reality.

Carol: What artist inspires you?

Fintan: Antoni Tàpies has inspired me for his contribution to art using non-artistic materials such as marble dust, resin and found objects in his mixed-media abstract paintings. He developed his visual language over six decades, compelling his audience to use their own imaginations when viewing his highly tactile creations - an objective I consider important in my own work.

Carol: - Can you tell us how you start your pieces and a bit about the process?

Fintan: The only preparation I make is to have a blank canvas and the materials I need at the ready. I react to the first colour applied and step by step, the canvas slowly evolves into a work of art.

I use powder pigments which I mix in oil-based media. These are combined with water-based media on different surfaces to create various overlapping layers of paint that stretch or congeal depending on the “ingredients “I use. I have more recently reduced my palette to two or three pigments for most of my paintings which enables me to create the type of work that I aspire to.

Carol: How long does it take to complete a piece?

Fintan: I normally work on each canvas over a period of two to three months where I visit it seven or eight times. There is often a week or two break between each visit and also an hour of viewing the painting before applying the next layer. There is no fixed formula and every painting has a slightly different journey to completion. Many don’t make the cut at all and the “survivors” are the ones that I’m pleased with.

Carol: Do you have a typical question that everyone asks you about your work?

Fintan: Typical questions are: What materials do you use or how long have you been painting like this?

Carol: What is your studio like and where is it?

Fintan: I’m lucky enough to have found a new studio in a village outside the city I live in, where I not only have a beautiful working space for painting but also extra rooms to store, stretch and pack my artworks. It’s fairly idyllic and quiet, and I have wonderful views of an old castle and fields from my studio windows.

Carol: What do you like doing when you are not creating?

Fintan: I like to get away from it all. Within walking distance from my home and studio are forests, rivers and lakes. I also love reading, films and learning from others who have interesting and colourful lives.

Carol: What is your perfect weekend?

Fintan: The perfect weekend for me is spending time with my family at home or combined with a couple of hours in the studio or a few hours in a good art museum or gallery.

Artist In The Spotlight:.....Fintan Whelan

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