Art that’s everyone’s cup of tea

Juliana Gilbride is a self-taught representational artist hailing from Antrim and now living in Shercock. A former secondary school teacher she left the teaching profession to focus on bringing up her young family and after a move to County Cavan with her Mullingar husband, she found she had time to revisit the creative life she enjoyed as a young child. Juliana has participated in a number of group exhibitions and her work is currently part of a group exhibition in Iontas Theatre in Castleblaney, which will run until mid-January. Her solo exhibition in BailIeborough Library opened last Thursday.

Juliana mainly focuses on still life painting, with her love of old objects and gardening reflected in her work. The Bailieborough Creative Hub member finds the meaningful in the everyday, and combines her eye for a strong composition with a pure use of colour and light to produce vibrant, works of art.

Anglo-Celt: When does this work date from?

Juliana Gilbride: In December 2023 I was approached by Caroline Clarke and Sally-Ann Duffy from Bailieborough Creative Hub about the possibility of holding a solo art exhibition. I was delighted at this opportunity and have spent most of this year preparing for it, working on new pieces while also revisiting some older work.

AC: What drew you to painting tea cups? What do the teacups stand for in your mind? People? Friends? Periods in your life?

JG: I’ve never seen a tea cup I haven’t instantly loved. In times gone by they talked about bringing out the best china. Teacups come in many different shapes and sizes. Tall ones, dainty ones, round ones, square ones. Those with elaborate patterns. Plain ones. Ones you’d rather hide in the back of the cupboard or those displayed proudly on the mantelpiece. And how about the stories they could tell as they rest in the hand of the drinker?

But then came the mug and the teacup was abandoned to the back of the cupboard or packed away in a cardboard box to gather dust.

This exhibition is a celebration of the teacups, vases and other objects I have rescued from car boot sales, antique shops and charity shops. These once hidden pieces of beauty have been given a new lease of life as they gather here to whisper their stories.

Teacups in particular remind me of women I have met throughout my life. Always putting on a brave face, trying to look their best, no matter what they may be going through. All of them beautiful; all of them worthy of acknowledgement.

AC: The Celt's favourite is Midwinter Break - do you want to tell us about that one?

JG: Midwinter Break depicts a beautiful teacup my sister bought me for my 50th birthday. It has a delicate hand painted design and I painted it in a cool, moody background. It reminds me of a cold winter’s day and I imagine it holding a cup of Earl Grey or one of the fancy teas you tend to ask for when you’re away in a hotel.

AC: Tell us about your favourite piece?

My favourite painting is ‘Odd One Out’ which features a copper kettle with two shiny apples in the foreground and a third apple hiding in the shadows. It reminds me of how I’ve felt a lot during my life. While I could talk the leg off a stool, I actually don’t like being the centre of attention and prefer to fade into the background of a group. I think lots of people will be able to relate to that.

AC: While many of the cups are depicted side on, your painting 'My Mother's Favourite' is painted from a different perspective, where you can peer into the cup's contents. Do you find that work more introspective?

JG: ‘My Mother’s Favourite’ is one of the paintings I revisited and I first worked on it about four years ago, so maybe you have very astutely noticed a change in my style. I painted a few pieces from a tea set my late mother owned. It was kept safely in the back of a cupboard and never saw the light of day. It reminds me of her as she was a small woman (even smaller than me!) and she often lacked confidence, possibly feeling that others looked down on her. Maybe that’s why I chose that perspective. I wish she was alive to see it portrayed in all its finery.

AC: While the detail is very precise in your tea cups, for me your flowers are much more loosely painted. Is there a reason for that? Are they more emotional responses?

JG: No, teacups are simply very difficult to paint because of their defined structure and perfect ellipses. I don’t draw on the canvas. I paint by massing in shapes and wiping away paint with a paper towel. There were a few moments when painting them that the canvas was flung across the room in frustration, narrowly missing the dogs. And yet I tortured myself by painting more and more of them. Once I got the shape right I could enjoy painting the patterns and backgrounds. Flowers are much easier to paint loosely because every flower is different and who can say that a petal doesn’t look right? I do find that I can paint flowers much quicker, often finishing the painting in one session.

AC: What's your aim from this exhibition?

JG: My aim was to prove to myself that I could produce a body of work within a time frame and to learn more about painting. I like structure and deadlines so this was the perfect opportunity. I’ve learned so much about technique, brushstrokes, edges, background, value and how to mix colour. I’m really looking forward to exploring new ideas next year, for example, I’d love to have a go at painting my dogs or do a bit more landscape painting.

I also want to encourage anyone else who would like to learn to paint that it’s never too late. There are so many demos and teaching available for free online which makes it much easier for people to give it a go. Painting, like gardening, is good for the soul!