The Great Atlantic Map Works Gallery

Maggie O’Brien’s land and sea paintings are a direct response to the wildness and drama of the Penwith landscape. Her working process is intuitive and exploratory, seemingly random marks will often kick start a painting until something more solid begins to emerge. Images can come quickly but more often than not they are worked over and over. Paintings are sometimes made outside and she works quickly in acrylic or water colour to capture the light. One image can lead to several others and the oil paintings that are made in the studio are an exploration of place, memory and imagination.

The business of trying to capture the mystery of Cornwall in paint began in Maggie’s childhood with family holidays in and around St Ives. As an adult and trained artist she came back and began to explore the mood and atmosphere of Penwith as weather and seasons change. What started as a holiday diversion became a nagging compulsion which led her to return again and again. In 2006 Maggie moved permanently to live in St Just-in-Penwith with her husband and three sons and she now says “I find it hard to believe, after years of being a visitor that I am lucky enough to live in this extraordinary place”.

Maggie O’Brien trained at Central St Martins (Foundation), Camberwell (BA Hons - Fine Art & Drawing) and Wimbledon (MA Drawing). She is an energetic and pro-active exhibitor with venues in London, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

A selection of work may be seen at these sites:
www.greatatlantic.co.uk/maggieobrien09l
www.greatatlantic.co.uk/maggieobrien