Adrienne Clarke

My very kind Art Teacher, Mrs. Muriel Goggin, Ursuline Convent told me in my first year of Secondary School that I could paint. This was probably the first compliment I had ever received for any talant to date (besides from my Mum which didn’t count then!!) and for some reason I believed her and have truly loved to paint ever since.
On leaving school I moved to Paris where I was fortunate to work for a highly regarded Interior Design couple. There I was given an opportunity to paint on silk which was a joyous experience.
On returning to Ireland I studied Interior Design in DIT where I realised I loved working on the drawings more than becoming an Interior Designer.
Life changed once again and the corporate world beckoned. I later moved to Norway to work for a Shipping Company. The simplicity of Scandinavian design fascinated me and I tried various art forms during my time there. Once again painting came to the fore where I began to explore abstract art in acrylics.
On returning to Dublin I was extraordinarily lucky to discover the Artist and Teacher, Brian McCarthy, based in Clontarf. There I learnt how to paint with oil and studying with Brian over the last 20 years has been my real pleasure while continuing to work in the "real" world.
I have enjoyed exhibiting on Stephen's Green occassionally and am thrilled to say I now have given up the "Day" job to spend time doing what I love most - to paint. I particularly enjoy painting animals but as you can see my subjects are varied as they take my fancy. All I can say now is – how lucky am I?