The Shelton Forest Collection

IN 1976 we moved to our new home on Beech Rd. between Avoca village and the Dublin Rd., across from the turn to the splendid demesne of The Earls of Wicklow and later the home of Lord Wicklow. Early in the 1970s, Shelton Abbey was appropriated as an Open Prison for low risk, white-collar offenders.

I walked freely in the woodlands in delight - this was my first sustained exposure to the natural surroundings of my childhood in Co. Wexford - other than my previous year by the sea in Castletown. In the following decades Shelton Woods, later the Millennium forest and the hills of Barnisky, adjacent to my home, became my default sources of inspiration. Later in the 80’s, whenever possible, I returned to screen printing and experimented with mixed media in the attic where Walter had created a workspace for me. High up, I could keep an eye on our and neighborhood children playing football in the back garden - through the large window in front of where I worked. If arguments ensued I could knock on the glass or open the window and shout down to them!