In June 2007, the Blackbird Gallery, Kilkenny pexhibited a show of new works by acclaimed Cork artist Aisling Smyth.

This new exhibition “Aquarium” brought together works on paper in acrylics and charcoal which were painted on field trips to Spain, and larger canvases finding inspiration from her sketchbooks which she subsequently completed at her Cork studio.

Field trips and working outdoors are an important practise in Aisling’s work. Travel and new experiences regenerate and reactivate her way of seeing. The body of work with which she is now engaged began on a painting trip to Spain. Expecting a consistent stream of bright Spanish light, she found dull overcast days not unlike those of an Irish October. Nevertheless, like all field trips, adaption is the key, and so she kept drawing - an integral part of her practise - searching for a new point of interest. It came in the form of an aquarium in a small city square in Alicante.