Jo Ashby: Celebrating the sheer joy of Sherkin
Jo Ashby: Artist and painter
I was born in Birmingham, but my father came from the south coast and my mother had lived in Cornwall, so I have always been involved in painting the sea, because of them.
I trained at Birmingham University; The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University; and at Goldsmith’s College, London.
I was only going to stay in London for a year, but life kept me there and I met my partner, whose family come from Skibbereen and had a house on Sherkin Island.
Twenty-five years later, we are living for most of the year here on Sherkin as it has always been Mick’s dream to come home.
My day starts with a cup of lemon and hot water while I catch up with emails, then a quick walk to the beach or around Horseshoe Harbour.
I work in the studio until about 3pm but I often nip back down in the evening if something is calling me to continue.
During the summer months, I open the studio for people to visit — it has been a joy to meet visitors, many of whom have become friends and regular clients.
I was working on a series of four large commissions (5’ x 4’) for a private client in Howth.
It was a delight to work with her on the different subjects and themes, all about the sea and coast.
She had clear ideas of what she wanted yet showed great trust in me to interpret her thoughts.
My work, whether painting or drawing, is steeped in the concept of creating layers.
I sometimes extend this idea to collage and mixed media in my notebooks – it’s that idea of defining and re-defining, just as the tides come in and out.
I like to paint places I am very familiar with, that I feel I have an ongoing relationship with, not just a topographical dash-in — as if you are visiting somewhere for the day.
What inspires my work is my relationship with the seas and landscape. Who inspires me? I suppose my dad, who at 91-years-old still works in his studio on most days.
He is very involved with the artistic community in his area after a lifetime of being involved in the visual arts and art education.
It is interesting to see how there is a movement back towards valuing individually crafted items.
I think people appreciate that original works take time and require complex thought processes.
My spectacles – without them the world would be a very hazy place! I am very short-sighted, yet can see in great detail if objects are close to my eyes. Maybe that is why my work is an ongoing dialogue between sharp detailed focus and soft, vague definition of form – reflecting how I see the world.
I am constantly drawn to artists like Joan Eardley – a wonderful Scottish painter who sadly died far too young – who also shared that intense relationship with her environment.
We spent some time on the Isle of Lewis earlier this year.
It was amazing to be on a very different island: wide peat bogs in the north and steep mountains in the south, with savage winds from the Arctic, bright skies and then heavy snowfall. Very different from soft West Cork!
I would love to explore the differences between Sherkin and Lewis – and then extend this to other islands around our shores.
Daily practice – even if it is just a 30-second drawing over breakfast; keep looking and never assume.
And finally, I would end with my father’s advice to me: “Always be true to yourself.”
I think if you live by that and create by that — then it’s a far more honest experience.
www.jo-ashby.com
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