Tighe O’Donoghue Prints

Tighe O’Donoghue Prints

Born in New York in 1942 Tighe O’Donoghue is an artist with strong Irish roots – as his biography says he’s “head of the family known as the O’Donoghues of Ross and is recognised as the hereditary Chief of Loch Lein”.

While O’Donoghue’s work has been described as ‘magical realist’ I’m not sure how much the latter part of that description fits. The magical, mythical quality of Tighe O’Donoghue prints is plain to see.

Yet any conveyed realism appears as a craftsman’s tool to enhance the magic rather than a method of anchoring the subject in the real world.

Limited Edition Etchings

Not only are Tighe O’Donoghue prints rich with symbolism and depictions of Irish and Celtic myths they’re also beautifully executed etchings.

As anyone who’s tried using aquatint on an etching knows it can be an unforgiving and painfully difficult craft to master.

Tighe O’Donoghue’s etchings employ aquatint techniques with an effortless skill and precision that gives his prints a richness of colour and form that’s very much his own.

The prints featured here are from around 1980 as it’s been a long time since Tighe O’Donoghue has worked with etching, choosing more recently to work in sculpture such as his St. Brendan The Navigator commission in Ireland.

Tighe O’Donoghue Online

• Tighe O’Donoghue · Website
• Tighe O’Donoghue · Art.co.uk