Coffee and Ramblings: Interview with Jane Brideson (Artist)

Shining a Bright Light Interview
by Morgan Daimler

**First published in Air n-Aithesc Volume II Issue II

1) What first drew you to visual arts?

As an only child, I read voraciously and created a rich fantasy world that I expressed through drawing, painting and making up stories. As I grew older I realised that I had a keen sense of colour, (even now I feel uncomfortable in rooms where colours seem to clash) and I continued to paint because I had to.

I also find that creativity brings a sense of balance and calmness to me as well as the feeling of 'rightness' I experience when a picture goes well.

As an adult, I went to Art College and gained a degree in Graphic Design.

2) What is your favourite medium to work in?

I work in watercolour and gouache sometimes adding pastel to get an effect I want. I did paint in acrylics for a time but returned to water based paints as I find them easier to work with and I enjoy the fact that water becomes part of the fabric of my images and alters colours as it dries.

3) You seem to draw a lot on themes from Irish mythology and folklore; what makes you choose those images?

I first began incorporating images from my personal spiritual path, dreams and pictures I had seen in meditation and ritual, back in the 1980's.

When I first came to live in rural Ireland I immersed myself in Irish mythology and folklore, listened to older people tell stories and visited many sacred sites.

I didn't practice ritual and did little artwork during those years as I wanted to listen to the landscape.

The images of the goddesses and gods, The Ever-Living Ones, came to me in a dream - so I feel that the themes chose me!

4) Do you hope that people get a specific message from your work?

I would like the people who view my work to understand that the landscape, the sacred sites, the Irish people who are my models and the stories I portray embody older Irish traditions and beliefs which endure to this day.

Although Ireland is seen as a predominately Roman Catholic country my experience has been that below the surface belief in the Aos Sí, the Otherworld and the gods continues.

I would love it if people chose to visit Ireland to experience the places portrayed in the paintings for themselves and view the artefacts in our National Museum.

The focal point of my images are the goddesses and gods who emerge from land or water to offer the viewer a gift, a way of connecting to them. For example, Mór-Ríoghain presents us with darkness where we can face our fears and find courage and strength in our own lives.

My hope is that The Ever-Living Ones themselves speak directly to the viewer.

5) Do you think your own background influences your artwork?

Absolutely. My Father's family were from Northern Ireland and my Mother's from the Isle of Man and although I grew up in Liverpool I spent my summer holidays on the island visiting family, special places and listening to stories about the fairies and Manannán Mac Lír.

6) Where do you find inspiration?

In stories, landscape, life in rural Ireland and in people. Occasionally I meet a person whose face stands out and I know that they somehow embody my own vision of a goddess or god. Coincidentally these people often live lives or practise a skill associated with the Ever-Living Ones. For example, Fred, the model for the god of healing, Dian Cécht, lives locally and when we talked together I discovered that he holds a secret recipe for a herbal cure that was passed down to him through generations of his family. He is now in his eighties but still makes the cure for anyone who asks for it.

And Carmel Ní Dhuibheanaigh, who fought tirelessly against the building of the M3 motorway in Tara/Skryne Valley and was arrested by the Gardái for her opposition to the desecration, was the perfect model for Mór-Ríoghain.

7) What do you feel is your biggest challenge?

One morning ten years ago I awoke remembering a colourful, detailed dream in which I saw the Ever-Living Ones, linked to certain traditions, places and times. I hurriedly wrote about the images and the connections I'd seen before the dream faded. From then on I knew that I had to paint, write and research to bring this dream to reality. Ten years later this is still my biggest challenge and finding a publisher who will publish the finished project of course.

8) Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself of your work?

No - anything else you think your readers may want to know?

9) Where can people find your artwork online and is any of it available to purchase?

Art cards & posters of my paintings are available to purchase through my blog, The Ever-Living Ones, where you can view galleries of my work, place an order and read posts about the landscape, myths and customs of Ireland.