Coming Soon: Winter 2025 – New Works Online & In Gallery
Award-Winning Visual Artist, Printmaker, and Filmmaker
Clare O’Hagan is an award-winning visual artist, printmaker, and filmmaker, originally from Northern Ireland and now based in Derbyshire. Her artistic vision was shaped by her upbringing in a small linen mill village near the border with the Republic of Ireland. Growing up during a period of political and social upheaval, Clare developed a keen sense of observation and a profound understanding of art as a means of personal expression—a way to find beauty and meaning amidst chaos.
A Lifelong Love of the Donegal Coast
From childhood, Clare has been drawn to the breathtaking landscapes of County Donegal. Part of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, the coastline—with its dramatic cliffs, vast beaches, and ever-changing skies—offers her both inspiration and solace. She describes the scenery as having a mythic quality, where the extraordinary shapes, colours, and textures of the land and sea continually spark wonder. These monumental natural elements have become central to her work, reflecting both the grandeur of the landscape and the quiet, contemplative solitude she experienced there—a feeling she later sought in the mountains as a retreat from city life in London.
Printmaking: From Playful Beginnings to Experimental Mastery
Clare’s journey into printmaking began in childhood with a simple John Bull Printing Set, where she delighted in the playful chaos of rubber letters bouncing across the floor. This early fascination evolved into a lifelong dedication to the medium. She has honed her craft through studies at Morley College, Slaughterhaus Print Studio in London, and Leicester Print Workshop, embracing both traditional and contemporary techniques.
Unfettered by conventional boundaries, Clare combines classical methods such as linocut, woodcut, and etching with innovative digital processes including paper lithography, photogravure, and digital manipulation. This fusion of old and new results in a body of work that is vibrant, inventive, and often thought-provoking—a testament to her relentless curiosity and meticulous exploration of her subjects.
Through her prints, Clare O’Hagan captures the beauty, drama, and emotional resonance of the landscapes and experiences that have defined her artistic life, creating work that is both visually striking and deeply personal.
Donegal Series Highlights
Poll na bPúcaí – Cave of the Ghosts (Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 50 cm)
Lug na Dríghin – Path of the Blackthorn (Watercolour & Ink, 53 x 31 cm)
Ceann an Gleann – Glen Head (Carborundum print with oil pastel, Varied Edition 1/20, 30 x 20 cm)
An Scol – The Sail (Drypoint with inks, Varied Edition 1/20, 30 x 20 cm)
View from Muckross Head (Woodcut with oil-based inks, Edition of 12 + 2 AP, 30 x 22 cm)
The series will be available both in the gallery and online, with selected works offered as limited edition giclée prints. Each piece conveys Clare’s deep engagement with the landscapes of Donegal, blending technical mastery with evocative, poetic imagery.
Stay tuned for the full collection coming soon – this Winter, experience the wild beauty of Donegal through the visionary artistry of Clare O’Hagan, only at Ironbridge Fine Arts.
Lug na Dríghin, Path of the Blackthorn, Wild Atlantic Way, County Donegal, Ireland
Watercolour, ink
The story of this painting began with its creation and took a surprising turn when it found its name. After I completed the piece, a local fisherman, Paddy Carr, with a deep knowledge of the Donegal coast, identified the location. He named it Lug na Dríghin—Path of the Blackthorn—a gift in the Irish language, given by a native speaker. This moment was a powerful affirmation of the work and the landscape it depicts.
The painting itself was created in my Derbyshire studio, using sketchbook images made on location in Donegal. The painting depicts the soft, carpet-like vegetation covering rocky outcrops, long separated from the mainland by the hammering of the Atlantic Ocean. The gentle vegetation conceals the hard basalt rock beneath. I once experienced this deceptive softness firsthand, sinking into the waist-high vegetation on a similar outcrop.
I used brushstrokes of differing weights to describe the landscape’s form. The artwork has a lyrical quality. I used birds feathers to create the energetic, sinewy lines in ink, a fitting medium for a view usually only appreciated by them.The indigo ink now evokes the memory of the blackthorn’s sour fruit, the sloe—a taste of childhood dares.
This close-up, roadside view is an unusual perspective, revealing intimate details of the coastline—separated islands, caves, and subtle colours in the rock—that are typically unseen from the common headland-to-headland vantage point.
The Golden Hare of Rathlin Island Woodcut, Oil-based ink, Edition of 10
This print is a joyous companion to “Curlew, Donegal Bay,” both born from two weeks of dedicated work in a deconsecrated church in Groningen, the Netherlands. I worked alongside my artist friend and master printmaker, Denise Wyllie. We were in our element, having carved out precious space and time to work solely on our craft, and the happy energy of that experience is captured here.
On a visit to Rathlin Island, a protected sanctuary off the Antrim Coast, I learned about a local legend: the golden hare. These unique animals are a genetic rarity, their fur a brilliant golden-blond. A local photographer, Tom O’Donnell, was kind enough to share his reference photographs. I felt a deep kinship with his purpose; he told me he became a photographer to record life, after the early passing of a young brother he had few pictures of. His generosity allowed me to capture the essence of this special animal in my work.
The print shows one golden hare in mid-leap, while another stands tall and alert. The hare, a creature often found in Celtic folklore, holds different significance for me. This image is tied to a personal memory: the hare was depicted on the pre-decimal threepenny coin. For me, it evokes the simple joy of a childhood summer, handing over a silver coin for a golden ice cream cone. That simple, nostalgic memory is what fuels this happy, hoppy hare.
