‘You’re solo until you find your tribe’: Works by Cork artists' collective on show

Artist Fiona Devlin has come full circle since first suggesting to the owner of the Hideout Café on Wellington Road, eight years ago, that she should exhibit her work there.

Fiona, who lives in Belgooly, thought the bright, airy premises would make a great gallery.

The owner, Agnes Stawosz, agreed and now the Hideout Café and Gallery, as it is called, is showing Fiona’s work again as well as that of 13 other artists, all of whom are members of Kinsale Atlantic Artists.

It was Agnes who welcomed Fiona back this spring and also gave space to her colleagues, just before she sold the business to her Polish friend, Magda Zimowska.

Magda, who describes herself as artistic, is committed to hosting exhibitions at the venue and says the calendar for the remainder of the year is full up.

Fiona, 78, previously worked as a psychotherapist across the road from the Hideout Café and Gallery in Sydney Place.

“This became almost our canteen,” she says over a cup of tea in the venue.

Painting is very much her hobby. She enjoys showing her work – abstract landscapes – with others, but Fiona is as interested in the process of making art as exhibiting it. She has taken classes in life drawing and stained glass at the Crawford.

Having lived for a long time in Montenotte, she moved to Belgooly four years ago to be close to her daughter, son-in-law, and her two teenage grandsons.

Fiona was invited to join the Kinsale Atlantic Artists, who had studied art at Kinsale Community College. They meet regularly at Kinsale Pottery.

During the pandemic, Fiona’s way of life totally changed.

“I had to pack up my office and move lock, stock and barrel to Belgooly. I practised from there, online, and didn’t open another office. I was in the process of retiring. It was great to have the opportunity to live in the Kinsale area with its gorgeous surroundings.”

And it proved to be the catalyst that now sees Fiona painting very much as a way of life.

There are 18 members in the Kinsale Atlantic Artists, only two of whom are men. Members are aged between 40 and 80 years old.

From digital collage to sculptures, every visual art form is represented.

“I’m a colourist really; I love playing with colour. I use cold wax, which gives a lovely texture to my paintings.

“I’m more interested in the collective than individual showings. It’s a bit intimidating showing your art on your own. Painting solo is not really so interesting. I like to have conversations about our approach to the work. We challenge each other in the group which is inspiring.

“It’s great to be back here in a completely different way than eight years ago. I’m now with friends from my new life. Agnes has been so positive towards the artists.

“In Kinsale Atlantic Artists, it’s primarily about art for enjoyment. And there are some people in the group who sell a lot. I sell once or twice a year when I have an exhibition and sometimes, I sell prints.”

Gillian Good, 67, is a friend of Fiona’s and a member of the Kinsale Atlantic Artists. She is from Ballinadee, which is about seven miles from Kinsale. She has been painting all her life and was in the first cohort of the BA in Visual Arts on Sherkin Island. Prior to that, Gillian studied painting and drawing at Kinsale Community College.

She used to run a guesthouse in her four-storey Georgian rectory. It’s now a lodging house.

When covid put paid to her business for a while, Gillian was fortunate to receive the Basic Income for Artists (BIA). “That is coming to an end in August. It meant I could throw myself into art for three years,” she says.

Gillian’s subject matter is influenced by the plight of refugees.

“I decided to try and imagine what it would be like in a small boat thrust into the Mediterranean. I have over 20 paintings that start off with people in a boat, then on a beach. Some of the family has been lost. There are just four of them left.”

At the exhibition, Gillian is showing a painting that depicts a part of Rome. Fascinated by stone pines, she has painted dark shadowy figures representing migrants underneath these trees. They are barely discernible until you look closely at the painting, a testament to their anonymous nature – just another unfortunate group of people escaping from difficult lives elsewhere.

Gillian is also showing two paintings that are influenced by the metaphysical poet John Donne’s writings.

“They are paintings of people tumbling together. They’re in different colours, representing different races. The theme is ‘no man is an island’. That’s to remind us that in these Trumpian days, we are all interconnected.”

Like Fiona, Gillian likes having the company of other artists.

“The thing about being an artist is that you’re solo until you find your tribe. It’s hard having no-one to bounce off. The great thing about being in a group is that you get stimulation and challenges as well as the opportunity to talk.

“People have very different approaches; some are interested in painting, exhibiting and selling. There are others for whom art is a very personal part of their journey.”

The Kinsale Atlantic Artists exhibit regularly at the Ballymaloe Grainstore, Gallery Asna in Clonakilty, Grey Heron Gallery in Bandon, and Kinsale Arts Weekend.

The exhibition at the Hideout Café and Gallery on Wellington Road, entitled ‘A Journey Well Travelled’, continues until May 30.