William O'Keeffe's abstract compositions are beautiful, even if they are not pretty. Intrigued by the processes of rot, decay and the inherent grace of natural forms, O'Keeffe builds three-dimensional planes on his canvases, small slices of a world that are made with natural pigments, bones, organic matter, sand, earth, wax, hair and paper - among other materials - to create what he refers to as "dreaming landscapes"

Concerned with paring form down to its bones, O'Keeffe's work reflects the rich sensuality of the earth and the muted and ecstatic vagaries of color.
Born and educated in England, O'Keeffe moved to the rocky western coast of County Clare, Ireland in 1991. Called the Burren (taken from the Gaelic, Boireann means a big rock or rocky place), this windswept lands end is a place of tiny canyons rifts, natural bonsai trees and wild orchids on vast plains of limestone.

Once living on the Burren, O'Keeffe began to break his work down deeply in response to the landscape surrounding him. Buffeted by Atlantic storms and the Gulf Stream, the plant life of the are miniturizes itself for survival. Ancient stone forts remain standing along the coast there, old tombs are still to be found, and the memory of the dead and the rushing of the live are keenly felt.

Atlantic Progression
With the specific tenor of Ireland's County Clare, William O'Keeffe's work has no locked-in signature; instead it takes on a fluidity which I would call an Atlantic progression. I see a confluence of three sources flowing out of Animus Mundi, the spirit of the coast.

Historically first are his subjective sea bird renderings, wonderfully hued oil paintings with watercolor like magic. These are not static pieces; they almost move as if going from a figurative to abstract state. Next, as if he were expressing his architectural training, are his displays of horizontals and verticals against blues and greens. At times I feel he is making an attempt to show us the futility of imposing line on Animus Mundi. The lines are measured. The composition is gracious yet there is this lurking force and danger. It is here that O'Keeffe makes a bridge between the sea and the Burren with his mental constructions, the constant deliberation between curves and line.

My last impression involves bringing together the boglands with the sea. He constructs paintings with the peat in his village. Whether it is self concious or not, he is reminding us of the connection between the elements and our artistic intentions. As he collects this peat which will be mixed and covered with acrylic gels and paint, he can feel the ocean spray that is the language of Animus Mundi.

As I try to find a gestalt, a whole, in O'Keeffe's work, I see someone spiritually drawn to sea and stone and naturally to curve and line. He is at home in this environment. O'Keeffe is an abstract painter. He takes risk with order and slowly he is making friends with chaos, the pursuit of any dedicated artist.
- Dr. Robert Doerr
Alameda, California. 2000

The Burren
At first glance, the limestone pavements of the Burren reveal little - a vast expanse of gray. Yet on closer inspection, the rich and rare plant life is a pure and surprising visual treat. Purples, blues, reds, violets, pale pinks and vibrant yellows shelter in the grykes of the rock where fierce Atlantic winds cannot destroy them.

Bordered by the ocean and stretching inland for three miles of fertile valleys, broad sweeping cliffs, underground caves and fairy rings, the "townland" of Oughtdarra (pronounced oot-dar-rah) is an area I studied intensively for four years. I have walked, painted and drawn in this magical place a hundred times. It will always be a source of inspiration.

The Burren is a limestone karst region located in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland. Its flora has an uncanny fraternity to that found in California's Pt. Reyes National Seashore.
William O'Keeffe

For the pictures on the right in their original format and color please click HERE