'REALISM IN FOLKLORE'
NUADA
2024
14'' x 18''
The iconic feature of Nuada in our stories is his silver arm which he received after loosing his arm in the battle of Mog Tuired, I wanted the illustration to feature and acknowledge the lose of the arm however avoid duplicating it in its mythical silver portrayal , as such I decided to depict Nuada covering his arm insinuating its loss rather than outright depicting it , his face remains emotionless in understanding of the situation knowing that he must step down as king of the Tuatha de dannan, similarly however I depicted Lugh with his arm over the same shoulder in a similar pose in order to connect the two art pieces as prior to the second battle of Mog Tuired, Nuada steps down again in place of Lugh as king.
LUGH
2024
14'' x 18''
Lugh is described as a youthful man with long hair and beardless in some tails and although my interpretation is quite the opposite of youthful I decided to portray the god ages like the fellow deities I have illustrated as the aged gods in contrast to the belief that the dwell in Tír na nÓg (land of youth ) I took my insperation to age the gods from the concept of saint Nickolas in that the less who believe in him result in his magic and powers deminiahing as a result there youth is fading . I depicted Lugh holding a spear representing the spear he wielded and used to kill Balor in the second battle of Mag Tuired . I also incorporated the aspect of him being the sun god in that a light source is shining from behind directly at the viewer .
Morrigan
2022
14'' x 18''
The Morgan has been portrayed as many things and indeed too has been portrayed collectively as 3 people however my interpretation of the morrigan is inspired by one of her characters she takes form off being an old woman , she is also associated heavily with the crow in that she can take form as one and accompanies armies and surrounds battles deciding the fate of many men , as a result of this I decided to depict her gazing at the viewer portraying the aspect of judging the fate of the viewer
DANU
2021
14'' x 18''
The inspiration for Danu came from her being considered an earth goddess and considered the mother of the gods as the pantheon of gods them selves collectively are called the Tuathe de dannan ( people of the goddess Danu ). As such I decided to portray her with child representing the aspect of motherhood however the belly itself being cradled also duely represent the earth itself being cradles by her. The decision too to cover her in earth represents the aspect of being connected to the earth goddess .
DAGDA
2021
14'' x 18''
I decided to portray Dagda in this piece as an elderly man which in my eyes embodies what I imagine the wise and druidic god too look like, though I understand this contradicts other discriptions of him in our sources. My main aim in this artwork was to incorporate my very own harp I constructed myself during my Leaving Certificate in 2015 into the piece to represent ‘Uaithne’ Dagdar's Iconic harp which in the tails is said to be able to interfier and control life and death, the weather and crops, as well as time and the seasons.
