About Diarmuid Boyd
Diarmuid’s ingenious talent of capturing the warmth and atmosphere of traditional Irish scenes has put him at the forefront of Irish art, gaining him a reputation that is completely deserved and respected among Ireland’s top artists.
Born in 1951, Diarmuid was educated in Northern Ireland before moving to Dublin in 1964. He entered The National College of Art in 1968 where he studied Fine Art. Upon completion of his degree at NCAD, he continued his Fine Art studies at the Ulster College of Art. Diarmuid Boyd is a very highly respected Irish painter, having studied and exhibited as far a field as Domicile in Florence. Much of his younger years were spent travelling in Europe. He lived in Germany, Cyprus and the United Kingdom for some time.
Diarmuid’s range of subject matter is vast as can be seen from the paintings hanging in this gallery and other collections. He tends to tackle the traditional notion of celebrating the history and charm of old Dublin and the world around him. His approach to painting his subject is what sets him on a different level to other traditional landscape painters.
Diarmuid’s daring application echoes volumes of visual energy and form, his plaster like knife and brush marks sometimes leaping centie meters from the canvas, adding a beautiful, almost sculptural effect to his work, making him a master of texture. Diarmuid’s style has been known to randomly change and develop. The norm been his loose impressionistic earthy style, however he sometimes opts for an almost abstract approach, based on vivid mark-making and atmospheric tone and colour. We have also recently seen him bring his style to a tighter finish, experimenting with a more “realistic” approach. His paintings are always evolving and continually progressing, making each one as interesting and as unique as the last.
Diarmuid has participated in numerous solo exhibitions and has exhibited in The Green Gallery since 1995. He has also exhibited regularly at The Royal Hibernian Academy.
Public collections of Diarmuid’s work include the headquarters of Norwich Union and the V.H.I as well as the Faculty of Engineering at University College Dublin. Private collectors include Mike Murphy, Thelma Mansfield, Norma Smurfit and Patricia Cornwell (the celebrated crime novelist).