When a hobby becomes a vocation

Combining their collective imaginations, a talent for spotting what stands out and an enthusiasm for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, sisters Bernie Anderson and Veronica Maguire have certainly carved out an inspiring journey as artists.

The Stranorlar women are frequent contributors to exhibitions all over Donegal and beyond and their work hangs in a variety of prestigious locations

Both have a flair for exploring colour, space, and their surroundings and use what they see around them to good effect. Their art went from being a hobby to a vocation many years ago and that's perhaps the most fulfilling part of their journey.

The girls lived in London until they were 10 years old when their parents decided to move back to their father's hometown. They have always had a love of art, in fact, Bernie even won her first art competition in the London borough of Brent when she was only eight years old. Veronica took up art 22 years ago as a New Year's resolution. Neither has looked back since.

Nurse
Bernie studied art as a Leaving Cert subject at St Columba's College in Stranorlar but chose to follow her career path as a mental health nurse rather than going to art college.

“It wasn’t looked at as something you could make a career of in the early eighties and money was tight as there was a recession on at the time.

“I was always an art lover but during my 38 years as a nurse working shifts and raising two children, there was very little time to go to art classes. When I moved back to Donegal from Northern Ireland in 2000, my nursing shift pattern allowed me to take up art classes, so together with Veronica and a few friends we started night classes in St Columba’s with John White.”

The sisters joined the local art group, the Fiach Arts Circle and their chances to develop further widened as they met like-minded artists and went on painting trips with them.

Veronica works mainly with oils, alcohol inks, and watercolours. She has always been inspired and drawn to the colours of nature, the ever-changing light on the landscape, the reflections, the mountains, the colours of the trees and the movement of the sky and sea, and the sparkle of the river and lakes.

Her work is diverse: contemporary, landscape or abstract but always inspired by nature and the incredible scenery of Donegal.

She has painted in several art programmes in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Croatia, Turkey, France, and Austria, experimenting with different mediums and using her intuition and her imagination.

“I'm excited to have been asked this year to have a solo exhibition 'Escape into Art' at the Regional Culture Centre, Letterkenny in November/December with 21 pieces of artwork. They are all alcohol ink paintings and were all created in the lockdown.”

She recently launched her new website, veronicamaguireartist.com

You can see her paintings on display in the Villa Rose Hotel, Ballybofey in their walkway gallery and in Fara's restaurant. They are also available to view in Gallagher's Art Gallery, Killybegs, at the Quay West restaurant in Donegal Town, at the Red Pepper restaurant in Castlederg and in Dr Joe Bonner's dental practices Donegal Town and Ballybofey.

Achieve my dream
“It takes a long time to develop as an artist, so some 21 years later with lots of experience and courses under my belt, when I took early retirement from nursing, I was able to achieve my dream of establishing myself as a professional artist,” says Bernie.

“I express myself through the use of intuitive colour and form. I am influenced by the ebb and flow of life, my own environment, and the natural landscape sometimes just a walk in Drumboe Woods can bring me so many ideas and inspiration that I have to write down my ideas as soon as I get home in case, I forget them.”

She adds her desire is to create paintings which are uplifting, inspiring and connect to the viewer.

“I love to create vibrant colour and drama in my work while using various mediums watercolours, encaustic wax, inks and oils.”

She has recently been exploring figures in the local Donegal landscape inspired by history, raw emotion and aspects of the way lives were once lived

“I always seek to tell a story, depict a journey which is infinite, transient yet eternal.”

Bernie has exhibited widely in group exhibitions and has had two solo virtual online exhibitions due to the Covid-19 lockdown. She has received various accolades such as being selected for the Derek Hill exhibition in the Glebe Gallery in 2014 and 2018; laced second in the International Alcohol Ink competition in Montana USA, 2017; BIBLIOGRAPHY – artwork published in Treasure Each Voice Book 2005 and a painting commissioned for a national document on Parental Alienation in 2020.

“My art journey has been really exciting and I have made so many wonderful friends through it. Facebook and Instagram have really given me the chance to meet artists and collectors worldwide. Painting has opened doors to travel and I have participated in art holidays in France, Spain, and Croatia.

“It also gives me the opportunity to give something back through my art and I have donated many paintings and my time to donate as fundraisers such as the yearly Jack and Jill fundraiser called Incognito.”

Bernie believes Ireland is becoming more art friendly and is helping promote culture by providing funding for art projects.

She also praised the Donegal Local Enterprise Office LEO for its assistance in providing her with a grant to develop a commercial website which is under development at the moment.

“I am always trying to improve my skills as an artist and experimenting with new materials. I’m always learning through participating in online courses and Plein Air painting days.”

Budding artists
She also has some advice for budding artists.

“If you can’t get to physical art classes, there are thousands of online demos on Tik-Tok and YouTube you can learn about how to paint with any medium and any subject. Art is a very therapeutic activity and is proven to alleviate stress. I believe anyone can paint if they want to put in the work. You don’t need a degree to become an artist, all you really need is the passion to learn, grow and create.”

Veronica and Bernie are joining three fellow artists to present a Christmas affordable art sale on Saturday, December 17 in the Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey.

They have also been successfully selected to take part in a group exhibition with three small artworks each in Derry Echo Dance Theatre during December and January.