The vibrant paintings of Patrick Walshe teem with energy as they capture both the form and spirit of the rolling landscape that surrounds his home in Ireland. Having lived the fast-paced life in such locales as Dublin, New York and Los Angeles, in addition to travels throughout India, Indonesia and Africa, Walshe ceded his urban lifestyle for the quiet, soulful life found only in the countryside. “I had crossed the threshold of my half-century when I suddenly found that my work had taken on a new dimension,” Walshe reflects. “The work became clear and my own for the first time in my life.“ The subsequent works are painterly and lush, as the strong forms of mountains and green hillsides vanish into the sfumato of clouds and mist. There is a Fauvist quality to Walshe’s paintings as color leaps from the canvas with the pulse of nature. The art world has responded to the jubilant quality of his paintings with recent invitations to exhibit in Italy, Canada and the United States." March 2007
Irish artist Patrick Walshe paints with a clear, yet passionate emotion, free from intellectual subtext. Using the conventions of landscape his work is informed by a musical lyricism that welcomes the viewer to a quiet meditative experience. Walshe's paintings could be classified as Contemporary Pastorale, but in reality his style is chimerical in a quiet painterly way.
NYARTS Magazine Vol 12. Spring 2007.
Like Bill Jensen and Gregory Amenoff, Patrick Walshe imparts a visionary quality to landscape. However Walshe dilineates the lay of the land more faithfully than his American counterparts, even while imbuing his views of the countryside with misty metphysical dimension. In paintings such as the"Scenes from the City" series, Walshe approaches Turner for his near mystical evocation of majestic landscapes through vigorous painterly means.
Marie R. Pagano
