Waterford Artist Sheila Naughton is interested in the nature of human experience and in using abstract painting and drawing as a means of exploring the communication of thoughts and concepts.

The abstract nature of the work is the result of a process of distillation, of reducing things down to their essential elements in order to express the essence of something. In this age of art as social and political commentary and of mass audience participation, the fundamental language of painting still remains one of engagement between the artist and viewer on an individual human level. Naughton is interested in this one to one communication.

Relationships are central to the work – relationships between things and also our relationship to the world. Notions of order versus chaos, consideration versus spontaneity, logical thought versus intuition are at the core of the thought process and are subliminally present. I strive to make work that creates a sense of stillness and contemplation: work that you have to look at quietly to discover the small details and nuances in its construction, work that is reminiscent of nature and landscape but not representative of it. The process of creating a painting is left visible so that the method of construction is apparent. Colours pool and aggregate at the edges where brushstrokes begin and end, each new one a response to the one which went before it.

Although Naughton’s work originally derives from the physical world, the current body of work has become equally concerned with the nature of painting itself and its ability to convey meaning and sensation. Naughton is interested in the idea that painting is ultimately intuitive. No matter how predetermined a painting is, it is the accidental occurrences that open up new possibilities and create an excitement that can make us think about things differently. There are always new ways of looking at the world; it is the search for new ways of conveying that information that is a driving force.