Connemara to Venice

"In the autumn of 2002 I spent a couple of days in the City of Venice. It is one of the few cities in the world that can truly be described as unique. Little of the essential fabric of Venice has altered in 200 years, and I think it was this timeless quality that made me paint Venice in its many moods; the mystical past, together with the ever-changing demands of the 21st century. Venice also reminded me of another place... Connemara, and I felt that the two places had a connection in trying to marry the past with the ever-changing present."

Sara Sue McNeill

The Kenny Gallery hosted 'Connemara to Venice', an exhibition of new paintings by Sara Sue McNeill, in June 2005. Paintings included images of the blanket bogs of Connemara, native flowers of Connemara such as Flag Iris, and the Connemara Landscape. The Venetian images include the famous Lagoon, canal views, and St. George's Island. The exhibition also included images of everyday items painted on panels of oak.

Sara Sue McNeill was born in Belfast, obtained a Diploma of Art in 1974, and afterwards, a post graduate study with Kenneth Webb and the Irish School of Landscape Painting. She has been exploring the boglands of Connemara for many years now, and has been recording the area on canvas in all its moods and lights.