Snow

A winter landscape is reduced to light, colour and a few spare marks. Pale washes of grey, lavender and blue suggest a snow-filled sky and distant ground, while a sudden band of ochre and glowing red brings warmth to the line of trees. Dark, slender trunks interrupt the colour and are reflected faintly in the still water below. Much of the paper is allowed to remain open and luminous, giving the scene its sense of cold air and spaciousness. The painting is wonderfully economical: a handful of shapes and washes are enough to suggest a whole landscape suspended in winter light.

Artwork by Maire Morrissey-Cummins

Background for 'White Book,' Christmas 2021

A small hare occupies the foreground beneath a pale, wintry expanse, while behind it a loose band of blue-grey washes gives way to warm ochres, oranges and yellows along the horizon. The distant forms suggest buildings, trees or a broken skyline, but they are left deliberately unresolved, allowing colour and atmosphere to carry the scene. The hare is more carefully observed, creating a gentle contrast between the quiet animal presence and the abstracted landscape beyond. The result feels like an illustration poised between story and memory — spare, soft-edged and slightly mysterious.

Illustration by Maire Morrissey-Cummins

Sunset over Glengarriff

A small boat rests quietly in sheltered water as the last light of evening opens across the bay. Deep blues dominate the foreground and surrounding hills, while turquoise, pink, coral and pale gold break through the sky and shimmer in the reflections below. The dark shapes of the land draw the eye towards the bright centre of the composition, where sea and sky seem almost to merge. The moored boat gives the scene its still point, holding everything in place while colour moves around it. There is a strong sense of the west Cork coast here — dramatic, luminous and calm at the same time.

Artwork by Maire Morrissey-Cummins

Woodland Trail

A narrow path winds forward through a quiet stand of trees, drawing the eye into the pale distance beyond. Dark trunks and overhanging branches create a loose arch around the centre of the composition, while muted greens, greys and soft earth tones give the woodland a cool, damp atmosphere. The watercolour is handled freely, with edges allowed to soften and merge so that the scene feels observed rather than over-defined. The path becomes the painting’s invitation: a small opening through the trees, leading the viewer deeper into the wood.

Artwork by Maire Morrissey-Cummins

Rocky Waters

A broad sweep of water moves through dark rocks towards a softly wooded distance, with cool blues and blue-greys carrying most of the composition. The heavier forms of the rocks frame the lighter current and give the scene a strong sense of direction, while the trees beyond are handled more loosely in warm greens and earth tones. Maire uses the white of the paper beautifully here, allowing it to become both moving water and reflected light. The painting feels fresh and immediate, with the contrast between solid rock and flowing water giving the scene its quiet energy.

Artwork by Maire Morrissey-Cummins

Giants Causeway

This view of the coast is rendered in bright, simplified colour, with sea, cliff and shoreline broken into bold outlined shapes. The blue water opens calmly across the left of the composition, while the land rises in bands of vivid green, yellow and ochre along the headland. In the foreground, the rocks and causeway stones are treated almost like mosaic pieces, giving the painting a lively decorative rhythm as well as a strong sense of place. The work feels both observational and interpretative: Maire is not aiming at photographic detail here, but at the energy, structure and colour of the landscape itself. The result is cheerful, striking and immediately recognisable.

Artwork by Maire Morrissey-Cummins