AISLING DRENNAN

Aisling Drennan is an exciting Irish painter whose works have featured in prizes and exhibitions across the UK and Ireland. Her work is primarily rooted in abstract expressionim and explores the consequences of mark-making on canvas and the variable properties of oil paint. Each piece offers a visual dialogue about the delicate balance between chaos and structure, resulting in an overall artistic signature that boasts boldness, uniquenss energy and vision.

 

Hi Aisling, thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about your journey through this industry and what inspired you to be an artist?

 

Thanks for inviting me to be part of the Cass Art blog! Hmmmm my journey so far, well my mom is an artist so she was my introduction to the art world. I feel quite lucky to have another artist in my family as sometimes such a career path can be considered too ‘other’ however growing up painting and drawing were always encouraged. 

 

I knew I wanted to go to art school but before I entered the world of fine art I first had a career as a professional dancer with Riverdance. I was allowed to defer my place at Cluain Mhuire (GMIT) art school in Co. Galway but to keep my ideas flowing while on tour I always had my sketchbook in my suitcase and made a point of checking out the museums and galleries of each city I was performing in. 

 

Eventually I had enough of touring life and felt ready to begin my studies. I spent four years completing my Bachelors in Fine Art at Cluain Mhuire and it was a superb painting programme. I realised when I began attending art history/ critical thinking lectures I had seen most of the major art collections internationally through my dancing career which was a bit surreal. I had great tutors who shared a lot about their own art practices, experiences of the art world and overall it was a very encouraging environment which I feel lent a great start to my career as an artist. After my BA I applied for a Masters in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins and that's how I came to be in London. I’m here nearly 8 years now and over all London has been very good to me. Thinking back over my time at art school where your graduate show is viewed as a launch pad for your work but really the hard work begins when you leave art school and start finding your way through the art world, especially in a city like London- that's when the fun begins!

 

 

Along the way I worked service jobs to support my career and gradually was able to support myself through sales of my work. I’ve also won awards, bursaries and received funding which have obviously been a boost from a financial point of view but also its been great to have the support from organisations that believe in the work I’m making and the growth of my career such as the Royal Dublin Society and the Arts Council of Ireland. I think a lot of artists feel there's no point in applying for financial support because it's quite competitive and writing proposals takes a lot of time but really it is worth it- like everything once you get into the habit of doing so it becomes a lot easier.  

 

Similarly last year I applied for and was offered a residency at Cill Rialaig artists centre in a converted famine village that was purpose built for creative retreats- an amazing place. The village is situated in a very remote part of west Co.Kerry, I didn't see anyone for the first three days! It was just what I needed though, time out from busy London to sit back and examine where I was with my work and plan the next steps of my practice. That time had an immense effect on my painting and I’m currently still drawing ideas from research made there. I was hoping to apply for another residency this year but Covid-19 has delayed this idea until next year- well hopefully residencies will be an option again next year!

 

 

You grew up in Co. Clare and  as you mentioned above had a career on the International stage with Riverdance which must have been an incredible experience travelling the world for nearly 10 years. Looking at your work there seems to be a wonderful energy and fluidity to it and I wonder do you find your previous career on stage has had an influence on your artistic practice at all? 

 

Yes, it was an amazing experience that I will never forget! My career with riverdance has definitely had an influence on my painting practice. Initially when I began to study fine art I rejected dance as part of my work; I wasn't interested in making anything figurative as I felt it was too cliche plus I clearly remember a tutor of mine dramatically stating “Aisling, you are either dancer or artist” this gives me a chuckle now, what an odd thing to say because most of the arts naturally cross pollinate from one form to another. 

 

Certainly now, as a more mature artist I can see and gladly accept that there's a clear fluidity in my work that I credit to my background as a dancer… movement, gesture, musicality…. this may sound a bit odd but sometimes when I’m really stuck into a painting I sort of dance back and forth to it gauging the composition and perspective. I've a habit of holding my arm up, almost in a Grande Pose, to make those final brush marks where I know the marks have to be lightly applied but still maintain a sense of conviction, the physicality of movement in painting- same theory applies to arm positioning in dance! 

 

 

 

As I travelled so much, some of what I was exposed to was bound to sink into my subconscious. For example, I was thinking about my palette from last year the other day and wondering how I came to work with such strong blues, reds and mustards and it reminded me of visiting Frida Kahlo’s house in Mexico City. She had this amazing garden, if I remember correctly it was designed by Luis Barragan, with bold block walls coloured in cerulean blue, crimson red, and ochre so yeah I still have memories from tour that I can relate to my work.

 

Also, you know dancing has had a major impact on my career as an artist because creative professions can be difficult to navigate. If I didn’t have the training and application I learned from a young age through dance, I’m not sure I would have come as far as I have as an artist. I owe alot to dancing, particularly the self-discipline I learned because no one else is going to do the work for you!

 

Could you take us through your process of production, when you’re presented with a blank canvas, what comes next?

 

Blank canvases are my worst fear, I tend to splatter paint on them straight away to remove the stark whiteness! 

Painting demands a particular type of concentration and that is the most absorbing thing for me. A close second is the sheer physicality of paint as a medium; there is something very indulgent about mixing large swathes of oil paint. My process is quite ritualistic really, I always begin with studies in my visual diary and see what emerges. These initial studies inform each body of work but the constant within my practice is the malleable qualities of paint and its mark making abilities.

 

 

It’s a very empirical process that sometimes drives me mad! I’m intrigued by the idea of letting the paint do the work and palette-wise all you need to pay attention to is light over dark- Sean Scully talks a bit about this in his Wall of Light series. 

 

I find that preconceiving the agenda of a painting removes its spontaneity; instinctive visual decision making is the backbone of my work. I have learned not to labour my decision making in the studio (or I would never get a painting finished!).  Sometimes this goes catastrophically wrong but I believe failing gloriously is part of the process; it’s how I learn to trust my decision making. There’s a realisation that a lot of finer work is derived from failings. 

 

Your work is immediately recognisable as yours which I think is really the key currency in an artist’s work. You seem to explore the conventions of colour and each brush stroke seems to be an exploration of passion almost. How did you discover this unique style?

 

Thank you! That's a lovely compliment to receive as it's really important to me that my work has its ‘own voice’. That's part of the reason I decided to do my Masters degree at Central Saint Martins, I wanted to execute my style and felt that CSM had an alumni of artists who did just that such as Peter Doig. 

I spent a good chunk of those 2 years just making marks, learning how to better load my brush with paint and just being playful really. Playfulness plays a big part in my practice- to be playful is to be curious and being curious about paint and painting has consistently held my interest. I guess curiosity leads me to contradictory visual conversations and playing with opposites on canvas such as construct/ deconstruct and hard lines versus soft lines. I like the paint boundaries these relationships build because I’m interested in solid structure against gestural marks. 

 

 Could you tell us a bit about your studio and studio habits at all?

 

I have a studio at Delta House Studios in Earlsfield. I've been there just over two years now and it's an integral part of my work because it's a very comfortable space to tune into my painting. I've come a long way in terms of studio rentals as my first studio post my Masters was an old kebab shop on the Holloway road that stank of oil and old chicken but it was free!

I cycle to my studio each day which takes about 40 minutes. Once I arrive I just sit and look at work from the previous day, piecing together where I was at and what I was thinking about. I stick a lot of post-its to my wall to remind myself of different thoughts but sometimes I can’t even make out my own writing or what I was trying to convey as I write quickly! I’ve got into a habit of keeping these notes though and sticking them into my visual diary- a nice written narrative of what I’m thinking about week to week, year to year. My studio’s not particularly tidy- my floor and walls are paint splattered and there's a lot of old dried paint and general studio debris hanging around which is funny because in my home I like everything neat and tidy but this would be too clinical for my work space.

 

 

 

After taking time to review yesterday's work I’ll tend to admin and a couple of my friends at the studio will pop in for a chat about work or whatever's going on. I really appreciate having progressive, talented artists around me because it's a great support network. I generally don't start painting until after lunch as I don't like to be distracted when working as once I find that creative flow I need to tap into it- it's not something that always available hence my previous comments about being a ‘do-er’ in the studio even if I’m having a crap day I'll just start painting- paint anything to get my mind focused. Music is playing when I paint or sometimes a podcast. I’m currently a big fan of the Blindboy podcast. Blindboy is an Irish social satirist with a very creative mind. I’ll keep working till 5 or 6 then cycle home contemplating the marks I made and wonder how I can tease them out, play with them to make them more entertaining for myself. 

 

 

What can you not do without in the studio?


My painting overalls which I've had since my first year of art school. There's a little bit of every painting I've made on them- they've a look of a Philip Guston fashion statement (his early work)! Also my visual diaries as I’m quite meticulous about their format. For example I only use A4 black hardcover books. They act as intimate reminders of my thought processes and what has led me to this point in my practice. I regularly flick through these to recap on the visual vocabulary I have developed. 

 

 If we were to drop by your studio what materials are we likely to find and what are key to your practice? (Ideally could you link it something we sell? Lol)

Oil paint which I’ve been using for years, oil bars which I got into about 4 years ago and my current studio favourite are gesso boards which of course I source from Cass art. I'm enjoying working on this new surface, it totally changes up how I approach a painting and apply paint. 

 

You can check out Aisling Drennans website aislingdrennan.com and follow her on Instagram @aisling_drennan_art