Maintain calm this Christmas with this helpful arty gift guide. Choose from top picks, price range, recommended order dates to avoid unnecessary stress while giving the gift of original Irish artwork.
Carlow Arts Festival and VISUAL Carlow have announced Dreamtime Ireland as the title and theme of Artworks 2025; the annual open-call exhibition hosted by VISUAL as part of Carlow Arts Festival
Dreamtime Ireland exhibition is part of a wider research project by artist Sean Lynch that brings together overlooked, forgotten, controversial or unrealised artworks, pointing to often undervalued yet vital cultural forms of commentary, interaction, exchange, and provocation towards the shape of the world and its environment, both today and historically.
Carlow Arts Festival & Visual Gallery
The 2025 exhibition will be presented in the galleries at VISUAL from Thursday 5 June-Sunday 31 August 2025.
Entry Title: Saoirse
Medium: Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
Description: Finding freedom; the eternal quest for a life of authenticity, escaping conformity even if only for a short time. What does freedom mean to you?
Entry Title: Earthlings
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Paper | Framed with Glass Protection
Description: Who are the true Earthlings? A self-portrait painted prior to cataract surgery, trees have always been a grounding energy and source of self-healing.
Visual arts background in life drawing, a colourist, deeply influenced by creative studies in vocal expression (20+years).
Drawn to themes of connection through nature and places, quest for authentic self and the life experiences of women. Author of 2 self published books (wellness and poetry genres).
Favourite art quoth:
Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable
Cesar A. Cruz
In 2025, there is much need for comfort as our civilisation moves further away from all that's authentic, gentle and kind.
We'll find peace outside when we find it within, for this to work we need listening, acceptance, with a good deal of compassion. Peace for one is not enough however. Peace is an ongoing search and practice.
Doing the little that I can.

Through my art and writing I share stories and inspiration for transformation, healing and dreams turning to reality. When you visit my gallery you glimpse my journey, my authentic path. It took a ‘Break True’ moment to point me towards developing my artistic talents. It’s never too late to make a new start. I’ve achieved a lot in a relatively short time. My work has been presented in New York as part of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, has been displayed on county Post Office and has been show-cased on National TV. Read more about my art journey here.
Maintain calm this Christmas with this helpful arty gift guide. Choose from top picks, price range, recommended order dates to avoid unnecessary stress while giving the gift of original Irish artwork.
Two things I love and appreciate in life, colour and it's ability to lift moods and the healing power of nature, trees in particular. Put these two things together and you have my reason for painting the collectoin I call 'The Sacred Lives of Trees'. "While many of my tree paintings are in homes across […]
Colourful miniature paintings to brighten up your home or someones life. Gift ideas from €80 to €200 - Art of Caroline Cunningham, Carlow Artist