Geraldine Leahy/ Drawings

Geraldine Leahy is a contemporary landscape artist with an interest in environmental concerns. She returned to education to study art, and was awarded a BA (Hons) Painting Degree from The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in 2022. Her practice involves the observation of traces and imprints in the littoral landscape, the marks of natural processes and human interventions. Observing the entanglements of natural and manmade materials on the beach, she uses shoreline debris in layered processes that suggest changes in the environment and encourage reflection on the effects mankind has had on the coastline. Her intriguing combinations of monoprint and paint reveal the devastating consequences of coastal erosion at a local level. However, the artist also brings this issue to universal attention through her continued engagement with art awards, publications, and exhibitions.

Concerned with the exigent and immediate issues of climate change, my practice focuses on coastal erosion and involves an awareness of the entanglement of natural and manufactured debris in the sand. As I walk the beach, I investigate residual marks in the littoral landscape following severe weather events. Regular sketching on-site enables me to record changes in the terrain and maintain a connection with the coastal environment. Found objects become the subject of representational drawings in the studio or are used in monoprinting initial layers of paintings. Sometimes, materials such as dried seaweeds and grasses become natural drawing tools. My sketchbooks provide inspiration and a starting point for much of my work. They allow for a space where I can record mood and weather, explore composition and experiment with techniques before commencing finished pieces.