Meet the Cork artist who is colouring our homes happy

For several years now she’s been collaborating with a veritable tribe of like-minded creatives, all of whom have a passion for colouring our homes happy.

They developed a magazine showcasing Cora’s work in context, The Interior Edit. “Last year I put together ‘The Interior Edit: 21 Designs’,” says Cora.

So how did it work on a practical level?

“I assigned each contributor an artwork from my limited-edition print collection and asked them to design a room mood board, with the art as a starting point,” she says.

The concept came about organically.

“I love making the paintings but buyers often have a lot of questions about styling art in their home so ‘The Interior Edit’ was the best way to show art in context in a variety of different rooms, colourscapes and at different ends of the market,” says Cora.

 “It was really great to work with experts from a variety of backgrounds who really knew their stuff,” says Cora.

Based in the city’s Henry Street, Cora pivoted in her working style long before pandemic times.

“A number of years ago I took a step back from the traditional gallery model to release my collections of oil paintings and limited-edition prints directly and exclusively to my mailing list,” she says.

“By releasing the work directly, I get to spend more time painting.”

And it’s really worked for the Cork artist — whether that means wielding her palette knife on her signature giant canvases in her studio or in the middle of a field in Crosshaven.

Cora’s new collection Begin to Hope is a selection of oil paintings ranging in size from 24sq cm to 180cm by 120cm.

“‘Begin to Hope’ is about being on the right side of Covid — or at least I thought! It’s an optimistic collection of 16 new oil paintings that combines my love of the landscape with a determination to move forward into the new world,” she says.

During the pandemic lockdowns and after, Cora’s interior-design-related work has continued: “I work with interior designers and stylists directly — and honestly it saved my skin during Covid!”

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