The Ruin's Red Residents. Achill Island

Inspired by a quiet walk among the deserted stone ruins of an old village on Achill Island, this painting imagines a new kind of presence within the remains of the past. Two red foxes emerge from the doorway of a crumbling cottage, their vivid forms standing out against the weathered stone—a striking contrast that breathes life into a long-abandoned place.

It was a breezy, sunlit day in County Mayo, and the silence of the landscape felt almost sacred. The outlines of streets and potato plots were still clearly visible, suggesting a time when this was a busy community. Standing there, it felt as though the village hadn’t been abandoned, but merely transformed—its new residents unseen, or perhaps just waiting to be noticed.