'It is one thing to look at a wave but it is quite another to get inside of It. If such a delving can be achieved then it frees up the mind and imagination to explode with all the turbulence and even peacefulness that is inside our own minds. This wild environment provides us with a route to open our minds and express and discover areas within ourselves that we never would have thought we possessed' .
John Jermyn
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Water is a theme explored again and again by artist John Jermyn. His work shows a keen interest and fascination almost with the power, atmosphere, and mood that seas and waterways inspirit and generate. His paintings cover these different aspects in contrasting settings varying from tranquil shorelines or a still canal to raging high seas initially allowing a glimpse of its subject but then encouraging the viewer into something else, something bigger.
John Jermyn
lives on the edge of the cliff at Fennell’s Bay, Crosshaven in County Cork. The
proximity to sea and land added to his professional training gained
through a Diploma from London Art College, has nurtured in him a fascination
with landscape. Not surprisingly, in addition to painting, John has spent
several years as a designer and consultant in the field of landscape
architecture. Through these two closely related interests, he has gained a deep
understanding of the Irish landscape, its people and its past. This
understanding has created a highly individual painter who is held in high
regard by those who are familiar with his work, which is becoming increasingly
well known.
John’s
proximity to nature’s elements provides him with the purest form of
inspiration …’Jermyn’s use of brilliant orange into red, which is common through many
of these works, provides a strange twist. This use of colour could be described
as supernatural but it curiously pulls the observer closer in to the painting
and then beyond’ (Irish Times,2004). John himself, considers that working
and exploring with this vibrancy in colour creates even greater opportunities
to explore a subject. It lands one right in the middle of expressionism.
Within the
last three years John has held two solo exhibitions at the Miriam Bailey
Gallery, Bandon, Co. Cork.
n November
2007, John staged a return exhibition at this gallery. Aptly named ‘From Tuskar To Aran And Beyond’ , the paintings
again highlighted the depth and progression of his work. It further promoted
this individual freedom of approach and energy, a freedom which gives him the
ability to create a world all of its own, and yet a world which we can all
recognise.
‘The raw beauty of nature is constant, thereby
enabling us all to link both past and present. It is my wish, that my work identifies with this and thus increases our
awareness to appreciate, preserve and protect this environment.’
John Jermyn
