Carol Byrne

My themes celebrate the spiritof place, exploring silk’s natural lustre to capture life in motion - loners, lovers, parents, children; working, dreaming, meeting, work-or homeward-bound. Bold lines and washes of colour breathe life into skies, fields and streets, to which the silk adds its own unique lights. Set in landscapes as diverse as
Israel and Indonesia, Dublin and New York, each image stirs human interest; humour and pathos, longing and belonging.

In 2002 I took time out to pursue painting full time. I travelled with a compact studio, ‘wheelie case’, a custom made stretch out frame and 80meters of silk. Painting in deserts, forests, cities, and on beaches: in Israel, Indonesia, America, Greece, England and Ireland. i am travelling and painting still.

I have fallen in love with Silk. The way the light comes through and how a silk painting comes to life and breaths when a slight breeze moves it. Silk has its own light.
My aim is to work on larger projects using natural pigments and to trace the life of silk to its origins in Indonesia and China: to follow the silk route home.