Seascape, Laytown, Meath by Patrick Reel

Reeling in the years

A welcome spotlight has been shone on the work of Meath artist Patrick Reel, with a major exhibition in Dublin Castle and the publication of an accompanying book.

Fellow artist Michelle Boyle is one of the driving forces behind this renewed appreciation of Reel’s unquestioned talent. When the retrospective in Dublin Castle concludes in August, we may continue to savour the rich earthy tones of Reel’s semi-abstract landscapes courtesy of this beautifully compiled book ‘A Life in Paint’.

For those who remain sceptical of the merits of abstract art, Reel’s work may well provide a way in. Wonderfully balanced and composed in such sensitively combined colours, Reel’s works offer the viewer immediate gratification. They’re invariably striking and appealing.

However the true reward of his works are revealed through closer examination. Spending time with the paintings unveils a surprisingly complex level of detail. For example, in ‘Seascape, Laytown, Meath’ dashes of pinks, blue-greys and yellows are excavated from layers beneath the surface, warm hues emanate from the depths. At the top of the work, you may be able to detect fine grey striations, which appear to be a distant cliffshelf. Due to the quirky placement of the horizon, teetering the top of the canvas the sky is barely acknowledged, leaving the viewer with the sense of somehow hovering above the foreground.

While these epic landscapes dominate Reel’s back catalogue, there’s fabulously intricate sketches in pen of townscapes which reveal his exquisite draughtsmanship skills. It’s a splendid introduction to and celebration of Reel’s talent.

The span of the work - mostly created in his studio in Navan Town and then exhibited in his Oriel Gallery - reaches back over sixty years. The sheer longevity of his career and the very fact he has a retrospective suggests Reel’s winding down, however many of he works included in the catalogue are recent compositions, which Boyle notes in the foreword is reflective of his “ongoing energy and enthusiasm” for his practice. Long may it continue.